The Leave :

It's been eight days since that fateful day. On a cold Saturday morning, after physical conditioning and other "requirements" being met with, i was basking in the sun, my back flat against the football field, my feet touching the freshly cut grass. It was divine, almost a mirage. Then out of absolutely nowhere, a hand shook my head; gently at first, and then vigorously. The football field spun out of focus, and i was transported to a classroom. I though i was dreaming about harry potter and the pensive, for the concept of a memory bowl had awed me since the day i heard of it.

Sadly though, i was not harry potter, there was no pensive; instead, there were about fifteen pairs of eyes staring at me, and to my horror, one of those pairs were my program chair's. I had fallen asleep. I stood up, groggily made my way out of the class to face him. Fortunately i was not going down alone, i had compatriots. It's always a welcome sign to have more people, partners in crime. It reminds me of that basic desire for life to seek life.

We were commanded to stand outside his office. "Phew!" i said to my mates. I honestly thought i was getting out of this situation easily. How wrong i was. Our program chair, stepped back in and had pieces of paper with him. We were to write out applications for a weeks leave, because "we could not keep our eyes open in class". So much for my sigh of relief; my breath was sounding more like moans of agony. A weeks class to me is like a timely insulin shot missed by a diabetic on a pastry diet. I'd suffer bad.

We were told to pack our bags and get out; out of the campus, and come back on 3'rd November. We pleaded and pleaded, but he was in a real bad mood. He actually called on security to have us thrown out of the campus, which was highly unnecessary because his loud voice had already scared the shit out of me. We phoned our respective mothers and explained the situation. Then the proctor did the same. For all those who do not know who a proctor is; he is the topmost authority on hostel administration. Even when the mothers of the other two called up, he refused to listen. And so we were sent on a jolly good vacation.

I have taken the lighter side of this comedy, and enjoyed my vacations to the fullest. Sadly though, i will now have to go for extra classes, or stay back till at least 5:30 (right up until the exams) to cover all my missed academics. Jolly good show. Now if you'd excuse me, i have some packing to do.

Cheers.