chevy
9th October 2006, 04:03 PM
[tscii:41c3a7673c]The Dressing Room
1
It was just five thirty in the morning and the sun was already out. Looking out of the window , Vinod , smiled at the familiar settings around him .He wasn’t out of the plane, yet he could feel bristling of the neem trees’ leaves, the smell of the muddy roads , the moist air , the endless noise of people chuckling and chatting in their own dialects…..
‘ We have arrived at the Anna International Airport . The local time here is …….’
Vinod couldn’t believe that three years had past since he left his family, home and friends for England for his postgraduate degree .Then came the unexpected scholarship offer . He had struggled through exams and interviews and to everyone’s surprise achieved the full scholarship for the research programme without any influence or recommendation.
And now he was back home on a vacation. His mother would chide him for the short duration of his holiday .His brother wouldn’t show the slightest difference in his attitude towards him. His brother , the so called “cool-dude” of his college .Envisaging all this , he picked his luggage and walked out of the arrivals building. Blasts of cool air in the airport gave away to the moist and humid air outside. Looking over the large , bristling crowd of expectant relatives , parents and friends awaiting the arrivals of their dear ones , he couldn’t miss his brother’s flamboyant shirt. “At least he is useful in one way ,one can’t miss him in any crowd”, he thought . Waving at him, he walked in the direction of his brother. His mother welcomed him with a tight hug , his father a quick embrace and his brother, a pat.
As they drove back home , they chatted without even a second’s pause. From the neighbour’s daughter’s marriage to the buying of a new house by his uncle in Kolkata , his mother had so much to tell him .
Somewhere in the middle , Suresh , his brother said , ‘ Ma , he’s not come here to chat and gossip about all this nonsense . Keep this kind of a conversation with ladies only , ma ..guys talk much ……’,and he fell silent at his mother’s unavoidable glare .
At the entrance the old gurkha greeted him displaying his pan-stained teeth .Everyone’s just the same, everything is just the way it was when I left it, he thought .That day from the cook to the maid , everyone in the house was working only to make his stay comfortable. His mother bustled around charging at every human on her way. Everyone had to know her son had come from England.
‘Dude , you’re getting so much of attention , I wish I could also get lost somewhere for three years ..’, Suresh complained to him .
Finally , after lunch , he was left alone. Everyone was taking their afternoon siesta. He locked the door of his room and searched for his address book. ‘Damn , I am such an unorganised person’. , he cursed himself. As he searched he could hear his heart beat faster and skip a beat when he finally found it .
His finger automatically found the page he was looking for. Under ‘P’ the very first and neatly written entry, Preeti Shankar . He quickly dialled ‘24386382’ and waited for the ring. ‘Shit, the line’s busy’ , thought .
The entire afternoon he did nothing but dial a line that seemed to be perpetually busy . After dinner , he bid everyone an early ‘ good night’ , locked his room and tried again .
If only he knew………..
2
He had been waiting for this vacation for almost a year now. He’d promised to meet his e-pal, a mysterious girl who he had become really close to over the year.
Sometimes he wondered , if he was making a mistake and wasting his time with a silly girl who was years younger to him .Sometimes he would just wonder how this girl would look like or would he really get to meet her . Would she be tall and thin as she described herself or was she a totally sickly looking kid who had just been lying to him ?
He had never been so curious to find out about anyone, but this girl had something canny about herself that fascinated him . At first , she had given him a fake name and place and told him that she was over cautious and did not trust people online. He took him weeks to convince her that not all people were untrustable and finally got her to tell him about her true self. But now she had gone to the extent of giving him her address and phone number and made him promise her that he would visit her sometime. And she calls herself over cautious?
‘I’ll catch her online’ , he thought. At 1 am in the night , with the entire house asleep and without sleep for almost two nights , the tired and weary guy forced himself to the computer.
Preeti – offline
‘shit!’
3
Preeti signed in .
1:30 am preeti : hi …how are you ?
1:30 am preeti : are you there ?
1:31 am vinod : hi …sorry I slept ….I was waiting for you anyway
1:31 am preeti :really ..vinod you promised to reach India and call me .
1:32 am vinod : I did , many times .. your line was always engaged …
1:32 am preeti: ok , anyway now tell me , when are you planning to start visiting your less important friends ?
…
…
4:30 am vinod: ok , done . see you tomorrow for lunch then…bye good night …morning actually …
4
Chen’s Kitchen was at the other end of the city. The thought of Chinese food reminded him of his Chinese crush , Mei . ‘Big shit , any day I am more worth a guy than that fool she’s going out with.’ , he told himself. ‘And it’s not going to take me much time to forget her any way.
For a smart guy like me I ….. ’, he stopped mid-sentence to look at a somnolent and weary face at the mirror .
‘ should get some sleep .’
He hadn’t slept well for three nights and was looking terrible.
It was 3 o’clock in the afternoon and still there wasn’t a single sign of a tall and thin girl.
There were a million possibilities. May be she came and didn’t recognise any one , and left or she got the time wrong or she got the place wrong ……….. or something happened to her on her way !
Or maybe she couldn’t make it because …of a million reasons. Or may be she is just here and noticing him from a distance ………
‘That sounds so much like her’, thought Vinod .
5
Preeti signed in .
1:05am preeti says: hi
1:05am vinod says: hi
1:05am preeti says: why didn’t you come today ?
1:06am vinod says : I did. I waited till five and then I had my lunch and left.
1:06am preeti says : yeah , right . I was there from two o’clock and finally I had to leave. I have classes in the evening , Vinod.
1:07am vinod says : Don’t lie. I am sure you didn’t come. I was there.
1:07am preeti says : oh really. You don’t believe me isn’t it ? Okay then good night . Bye.
1:08am vinod says : Hey wait . sorry . But really I was there. Maybe you did not recognise me. You still have the picture I sent you?
1:08 am preeti says: yes.
1:09am vinod says ; Why don’t you give me your picture? Maybe I’ll recognise you easily
1:10am preeti says: …
1:10am vinod says: ?
1:11am preeti says: I’ll see if I have one and …
1:12am vinod says : No . It’s fine. I’m not forcing you . Any way I’ll see you soon.
1:13am preeti says : Exactly.
1:13am vinod says : It’s up to you. If you are not comfortable with it , leave it .
1:14am preeti says : ….okay
1:14am vinod says : Okay then . tomorrow ….. same place ? same time ?
1:15am preeti says : Okay.
…
…
4:05am preeti says: Hey it’s almost dawn. I have to go.
4:06am vinod says : Hey. I haven’t slept for almost a week now. Why don’t you come online in the mornings. And your line is always engaged. You run a telephone booth or what?
4:07am preeti says : No way. In the mornings , I have school and other stuff to do so I won’t be able to come. Sorry. You need not come tomorrow. Good night now.
4:08am vinod says : No . It’s okay. It’s only now that I am free and …
4:09am preeti says : I really have to run now. Damn, the sun’s almost out.
4:10am vinod says : Okay. Why are you so uncomfortable about the sun , mornings ….
4:10am preeti says : No, my mother will wake up now. Bye
6
‘Vinod , wake up , it’s 5 o’clock .’
‘What ?’
‘Remember. We are going to the temple today. We have to be there by six. It’s already late’
‘I-I ..just slept …’
‘What?’
‘I mean I didn’t get sleep. I was awake all night .You know the time difference, ma ? It’s just eleven thirty in the night there . I am just feeling sleepy. And…..’
Vinod sat up resignedly on the bed. He couldn’t believe he had managed to lie so blatantly even when he was semi-conscious.
‘Let him sleep now.’, his father told his mother. ‘Vinod , come with Suresh at nine , okay ?’
He was already sound asleep.
7
‘Hey, when are we starting , Suresh ?’
‘No idea. As late as possible.’
‘Huh?’
‘I need to bunk college effectively , dude . I’m not wasting time with some priest. Let’s start at nine thirty. I going to tell them you woke up only at nine okay? Come on , you’re their pet, they won’t say anything to you. And….’
‘Shut up. Just tell me when are we going to be back?’
‘ After lunch I think. It’s some special puja for you , man. Or generally we’ll be back in an hour.And…’
‘What’s special about it?’
‘Ma thinks everyone is talking about you. She says that going to arouse evil spirits against you ‘cause everyone is jealous. Boooo’
‘What !! She really embarrasses me at times’
‘She’s really proud of you , man.’
‘Yeah. I know’
‘But she overdoes it’
‘Really?’
‘Yeah ……. Hey I hope you don’t think I am jealous of you. Do you ?’
‘No, I am not thinking like that. Are you any way?’
‘Yeah. In a way. I wish I get lost from here.’
‘Come on. Why ?’
‘They think I am the black sheep in the family. I don’t care about that. But I bet you’re not a saint too’
‘Definitely. I could be worse than you , who knows’ , Vinod laughed. ‘ Just that , I keep my mouth shut at home.’
‘Yeah.’
‘Why don’t you do that?’
‘I’ll try…Besides..’
‘WAIT !!!! Did you say we won’t be back for lunch?’
8
Vinod was visiting Chen’s Kitchen the second time this week. Looking over a score of people , Vinod desperately searched for a face he had never seen. Giving up finally , he left a message at the bill counter and left.
‘Now , where the hell is this idiot’, thought Vinod. As though his mind was being read ,….
‘Hey Vinod , I am here .’, Suresh shouted to him.
Vinod walked over to their car and got in.
‘Was she there?’, Suresh asked.
‘Huh?’
‘Come on. Why would you really be so desperate to wait and look for a guy unless you’re so gay. It has to be a girl , man . Come on tell me.’
‘No.’
‘I Know it’s a girl…’
‘I said , no she wasn’t there.’
‘Oh! Who is she anyway ?’
9
‘Don’t tell me , Vinod , come on dude ! She could be anyone. Huh , never thought you’d be this stupid.’
‘What is your problem ? She is just a friend , okay ?’
‘Whatever ! You’ve never seen her . You don’t know who she is , Vinod ! And she is calling you somewhere. What if she does something to you ?’
‘Like what ?’, Vinod asked giving his younger brother a rash look.
‘Threaten . Kidnap. Or just hang around with you , have some fun , make you pay her bills , etc .’
‘Shut up . I’ve never met her before , all right but I know her as a person , Suresh and she’s cute . She’s a school-kid . Come on .’
‘She could be lying.’
‘Yeah ? Even if she is , I still seem to like her as a friend and I am still interested in meeting her okay ? The kid is having a tough time at home , with school .She goes through a lot of pressure .I am glad at least she feels good talking to me . Now you just keep your mouth shut? Clear?’
‘Hmph !’
‘And be a good driver otherwise let me know , I’ll hire one who’ll mind his own business’
Suresh walked out of the room and went into his own. Vinod fell back on the couch and recollected the events of the day .He didn’t expect his brother , who has tried probably everything under the Sun to advice him . He better keep his mouth shut .
10
`That night , the chat was brief and clear . Chen’s kitchen was too crowded. The best place to meet was her school .On the 24th of October,each year Ignatius School celebrated their annual day. Unfortunately , Preeti is part of one of the Dance Programmes , so she won’t be able to see him in the Visitor’s Gallery or watch the function with the rest of the students and guests in the Auditorium. The dressing room is the best place.
So , this is impossible to miss . Vinod thought . Definitely , she’ll be there for at least four hours , till the function is over . Only for about forty five minutes she’ll be running around and she’ll be busy . The rest of the time , it is impossible to miss her. After all , Ignatius is a small school .
In her mail , she had assured , there will be no teachers around . Her friends will all be either watching or participating in the programme. Just come to the Senior Girl’s Dressing Room on the Ground Floor .
That was simple wasn;t it ?
11
Traffic in Madras is such a curse to it’s citizens. More so , because it means to listening to a hunk’s advice . Who else ? Suresh .
Ignatius School was a seven buildings in one fifty-nine acre campus. A school purely for the kids of the elite class. The auditorium was a huge air conditioned hall . Suresh didn’t fancy watching a school program. He was going to pace around the campus.
At the gate , the watchman was not holding back anyone . There were many guests. Parents , relatives ,friends , students and many others just walked into the well lit and decorated campus .
Finding the Dressing Room was no big deal. Getting into it , was the problem . Girls walked in and out with make up , towels , scarves , brushes and combs . “I better wait for the programme to begin.” Vinod thought . “Where’s Suresh ?”
12
Suresh , for the first time saw a different side of his brother. Anxiety was something that was never seen on his brother’s face. He was always calm and composed , atleast appeared to be .
He walked to main school building. The foyer was filled with graffiti and posters. Suresh walked over to the door with “Visitor’s Gallery” inscribed on it.
Gazing around the trophies, cups and plaques , Suresh whiled the time away. He walked over the room to the attached lounge and seated himself comfortably on a couch. He wondered where his brother was or what he was up to. As he looked around dreamily , a black book caught his attention. It was a dusty diary with “1995” printed on it. Suresh looked around . There was no one except him. He went on to take the book and patted off it’s dust. Slowly as though his inner voice was commanding him to read the book, Suresh hesitantly opened it and skimmed through the pages. The page October 24th caught his attention. It was blood stained. It took him some time to realize that they were not blood stains. That diary entry was written with blood ! He was even shocked to see that the rest of the dairy was written in blood as well. A shock went up his spine. His blood curdled . He looked around for any signs of human movement. The room began to get hotter. The ceiling fan had stopped.
‘Relax.’ He told himself. He had never switched on the fan in the first place. Slowly he tried to read the blood stains.
October 24th 1995
Dear diary
Today, was the last day of my life. I am dead now. I can’t hold a pen to write. My friends and my family are crying over me. I told them I am okay . It was my foolishness that killed me. But they can’t hear me. I was a fool to wait behind in Dressing Room while others went to perform. It was stupidity on my part to agree to meet some unknown fool. I don’t know for what reason he wanted me. But what ever he wanted , he really wanted it . He was ready to kill if he didn’t get what he wanted. He had been so nice. He was so friendly and affectionate. How could I be so stupid ? I am not dead. I am still alive in my spirits. Hereafter , I am going to run around making stupid ,job less guys believe me and come to this very same place where I was killed. Every year , October 24th will be my Revenge Day. The very same Dressing Room where I was killed will be the Revenge Room. I am going to ki…..
Suddenly, the lights went off and the fan began to oscillate. Suresh’s heart bet faster and faster. He dared himself to get up from the couch. His palms were wet. He strained his eyes to look for the exit. The Visitor’s Gallery was a curtained room and there was no light. He breathed heavily and trembled. ‘Is this really me? Why am I scared ? There could have been a power cut off? Come on Suresh ….” Suddenly the lights were on again . Suresh ran for the exit. The lights went off again. He pulled the knob.
It was locked !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
13
Vinod waited impatiently. The girls seemed to be there forever. Once in a while someone would ask him what he wanted.
“Nothing” ,
“My sister is performing today.” Or
“Is the principal’s visitor’s room this side? “
Some student came up to him and told him to clean up the mess in classroom number thirteen.
“I should have worn something smart. I guess I look like a cleaner in this stupid black shirt . Sheesh .”, he told himself.
As the time ticked on, Vinod was getting impatient by the minute.
“Preetiiiiii ….” , some student shouted.
Vinod stood upright and looked around.
“Are your students ready ? Their show is next , right ? They should be ready in another three minutes.”
Vinod sighed and leaned against the wall again. It was some teacher by that name .
A line of girls dressed in a rainbow of colours and in absurd costumes walked out of the Dressing Room. Vinod waited for two minutes and put his right step forward towards the Dressing Room.
14
Suresh jerked the knob as hard as could. He kicked and yelled for help. He felt for the window and bumped his hand on another knob. He quickly realized he has been pulling the book shelf’s door. He ran his fingers over the wall. It seemed to go on and on. He tripped over a pot and realized he was near the couch again. The door was right across the couch . He slowly walked straight across and felt the knob again . Crossing his fingers , he tried to open it and sighed heavily when it did. He has forgotten the way the gallery looked . Now how was he going to get out of this ?
He crawled and felt for any door ahead.
CRASSHH……….
He heard glass breaking. He crawled all the more slowly. Glass ? Is that what is going to kill him ?
He envisaged a ghost holding a piece of glass and fiercely thrusting it on him. Would anyone find him by tonight ? Tomorrow was a weekend ? People would get to see him , no , his dead body only on Monday . No , his parents would look for him and find his body before that. Vinod would tell them that he was here . Oh , Vinod would find him by tonight. Not all that bad. He was drenched in sweat.
“I wish I was wearing some cotton not this stupid thing.”, he said to himself.
He heard footsteps. As if that was to remind him that it doesn’t matter in which dress you die in.
He suddenly bumped on a hard wood and realized he was at the door. He quickly got up and yanked the door open and ran out.
Where the hell on earth was his brother ? He was supposed to meet that girl in the Dressing Room !!!!!
“Vinooooodddddddddd”
15
“Girls ! On Saturday you all were supposed to stay back and clean up the mess. Hasn’t the school provided you with tissues. Ignatius School has a tradition of good discipline. Students like you all will bring down it’s reputation. We are highly disappointed , girls ! The Senior Girls’ Dressing Room was scattered with torn pieces of black cloth and red body paint smeared all over.”
[/tscii:41c3a7673c]
1
It was just five thirty in the morning and the sun was already out. Looking out of the window , Vinod , smiled at the familiar settings around him .He wasn’t out of the plane, yet he could feel bristling of the neem trees’ leaves, the smell of the muddy roads , the moist air , the endless noise of people chuckling and chatting in their own dialects…..
‘ We have arrived at the Anna International Airport . The local time here is …….’
Vinod couldn’t believe that three years had past since he left his family, home and friends for England for his postgraduate degree .Then came the unexpected scholarship offer . He had struggled through exams and interviews and to everyone’s surprise achieved the full scholarship for the research programme without any influence or recommendation.
And now he was back home on a vacation. His mother would chide him for the short duration of his holiday .His brother wouldn’t show the slightest difference in his attitude towards him. His brother , the so called “cool-dude” of his college .Envisaging all this , he picked his luggage and walked out of the arrivals building. Blasts of cool air in the airport gave away to the moist and humid air outside. Looking over the large , bristling crowd of expectant relatives , parents and friends awaiting the arrivals of their dear ones , he couldn’t miss his brother’s flamboyant shirt. “At least he is useful in one way ,one can’t miss him in any crowd”, he thought . Waving at him, he walked in the direction of his brother. His mother welcomed him with a tight hug , his father a quick embrace and his brother, a pat.
As they drove back home , they chatted without even a second’s pause. From the neighbour’s daughter’s marriage to the buying of a new house by his uncle in Kolkata , his mother had so much to tell him .
Somewhere in the middle , Suresh , his brother said , ‘ Ma , he’s not come here to chat and gossip about all this nonsense . Keep this kind of a conversation with ladies only , ma ..guys talk much ……’,and he fell silent at his mother’s unavoidable glare .
At the entrance the old gurkha greeted him displaying his pan-stained teeth .Everyone’s just the same, everything is just the way it was when I left it, he thought .That day from the cook to the maid , everyone in the house was working only to make his stay comfortable. His mother bustled around charging at every human on her way. Everyone had to know her son had come from England.
‘Dude , you’re getting so much of attention , I wish I could also get lost somewhere for three years ..’, Suresh complained to him .
Finally , after lunch , he was left alone. Everyone was taking their afternoon siesta. He locked the door of his room and searched for his address book. ‘Damn , I am such an unorganised person’. , he cursed himself. As he searched he could hear his heart beat faster and skip a beat when he finally found it .
His finger automatically found the page he was looking for. Under ‘P’ the very first and neatly written entry, Preeti Shankar . He quickly dialled ‘24386382’ and waited for the ring. ‘Shit, the line’s busy’ , thought .
The entire afternoon he did nothing but dial a line that seemed to be perpetually busy . After dinner , he bid everyone an early ‘ good night’ , locked his room and tried again .
If only he knew………..
2
He had been waiting for this vacation for almost a year now. He’d promised to meet his e-pal, a mysterious girl who he had become really close to over the year.
Sometimes he wondered , if he was making a mistake and wasting his time with a silly girl who was years younger to him .Sometimes he would just wonder how this girl would look like or would he really get to meet her . Would she be tall and thin as she described herself or was she a totally sickly looking kid who had just been lying to him ?
He had never been so curious to find out about anyone, but this girl had something canny about herself that fascinated him . At first , she had given him a fake name and place and told him that she was over cautious and did not trust people online. He took him weeks to convince her that not all people were untrustable and finally got her to tell him about her true self. But now she had gone to the extent of giving him her address and phone number and made him promise her that he would visit her sometime. And she calls herself over cautious?
‘I’ll catch her online’ , he thought. At 1 am in the night , with the entire house asleep and without sleep for almost two nights , the tired and weary guy forced himself to the computer.
Preeti – offline
‘shit!’
3
Preeti signed in .
1:30 am preeti : hi …how are you ?
1:30 am preeti : are you there ?
1:31 am vinod : hi …sorry I slept ….I was waiting for you anyway
1:31 am preeti :really ..vinod you promised to reach India and call me .
1:32 am vinod : I did , many times .. your line was always engaged …
1:32 am preeti: ok , anyway now tell me , when are you planning to start visiting your less important friends ?
…
…
4:30 am vinod: ok , done . see you tomorrow for lunch then…bye good night …morning actually …
4
Chen’s Kitchen was at the other end of the city. The thought of Chinese food reminded him of his Chinese crush , Mei . ‘Big shit , any day I am more worth a guy than that fool she’s going out with.’ , he told himself. ‘And it’s not going to take me much time to forget her any way.
For a smart guy like me I ….. ’, he stopped mid-sentence to look at a somnolent and weary face at the mirror .
‘ should get some sleep .’
He hadn’t slept well for three nights and was looking terrible.
It was 3 o’clock in the afternoon and still there wasn’t a single sign of a tall and thin girl.
There were a million possibilities. May be she came and didn’t recognise any one , and left or she got the time wrong or she got the place wrong ……….. or something happened to her on her way !
Or maybe she couldn’t make it because …of a million reasons. Or may be she is just here and noticing him from a distance ………
‘That sounds so much like her’, thought Vinod .
5
Preeti signed in .
1:05am preeti says: hi
1:05am vinod says: hi
1:05am preeti says: why didn’t you come today ?
1:06am vinod says : I did. I waited till five and then I had my lunch and left.
1:06am preeti says : yeah , right . I was there from two o’clock and finally I had to leave. I have classes in the evening , Vinod.
1:07am vinod says : Don’t lie. I am sure you didn’t come. I was there.
1:07am preeti says : oh really. You don’t believe me isn’t it ? Okay then good night . Bye.
1:08am vinod says : Hey wait . sorry . But really I was there. Maybe you did not recognise me. You still have the picture I sent you?
1:08 am preeti says: yes.
1:09am vinod says ; Why don’t you give me your picture? Maybe I’ll recognise you easily
1:10am preeti says: …
1:10am vinod says: ?
1:11am preeti says: I’ll see if I have one and …
1:12am vinod says : No . It’s fine. I’m not forcing you . Any way I’ll see you soon.
1:13am preeti says : Exactly.
1:13am vinod says : It’s up to you. If you are not comfortable with it , leave it .
1:14am preeti says : ….okay
1:14am vinod says : Okay then . tomorrow ….. same place ? same time ?
1:15am preeti says : Okay.
…
…
4:05am preeti says: Hey it’s almost dawn. I have to go.
4:06am vinod says : Hey. I haven’t slept for almost a week now. Why don’t you come online in the mornings. And your line is always engaged. You run a telephone booth or what?
4:07am preeti says : No way. In the mornings , I have school and other stuff to do so I won’t be able to come. Sorry. You need not come tomorrow. Good night now.
4:08am vinod says : No . It’s okay. It’s only now that I am free and …
4:09am preeti says : I really have to run now. Damn, the sun’s almost out.
4:10am vinod says : Okay. Why are you so uncomfortable about the sun , mornings ….
4:10am preeti says : No, my mother will wake up now. Bye
6
‘Vinod , wake up , it’s 5 o’clock .’
‘What ?’
‘Remember. We are going to the temple today. We have to be there by six. It’s already late’
‘I-I ..just slept …’
‘What?’
‘I mean I didn’t get sleep. I was awake all night .You know the time difference, ma ? It’s just eleven thirty in the night there . I am just feeling sleepy. And…..’
Vinod sat up resignedly on the bed. He couldn’t believe he had managed to lie so blatantly even when he was semi-conscious.
‘Let him sleep now.’, his father told his mother. ‘Vinod , come with Suresh at nine , okay ?’
He was already sound asleep.
7
‘Hey, when are we starting , Suresh ?’
‘No idea. As late as possible.’
‘Huh?’
‘I need to bunk college effectively , dude . I’m not wasting time with some priest. Let’s start at nine thirty. I going to tell them you woke up only at nine okay? Come on , you’re their pet, they won’t say anything to you. And….’
‘Shut up. Just tell me when are we going to be back?’
‘ After lunch I think. It’s some special puja for you , man. Or generally we’ll be back in an hour.And…’
‘What’s special about it?’
‘Ma thinks everyone is talking about you. She says that going to arouse evil spirits against you ‘cause everyone is jealous. Boooo’
‘What !! She really embarrasses me at times’
‘She’s really proud of you , man.’
‘Yeah. I know’
‘But she overdoes it’
‘Really?’
‘Yeah ……. Hey I hope you don’t think I am jealous of you. Do you ?’
‘No, I am not thinking like that. Are you any way?’
‘Yeah. In a way. I wish I get lost from here.’
‘Come on. Why ?’
‘They think I am the black sheep in the family. I don’t care about that. But I bet you’re not a saint too’
‘Definitely. I could be worse than you , who knows’ , Vinod laughed. ‘ Just that , I keep my mouth shut at home.’
‘Yeah.’
‘Why don’t you do that?’
‘I’ll try…Besides..’
‘WAIT !!!! Did you say we won’t be back for lunch?’
8
Vinod was visiting Chen’s Kitchen the second time this week. Looking over a score of people , Vinod desperately searched for a face he had never seen. Giving up finally , he left a message at the bill counter and left.
‘Now , where the hell is this idiot’, thought Vinod. As though his mind was being read ,….
‘Hey Vinod , I am here .’, Suresh shouted to him.
Vinod walked over to their car and got in.
‘Was she there?’, Suresh asked.
‘Huh?’
‘Come on. Why would you really be so desperate to wait and look for a guy unless you’re so gay. It has to be a girl , man . Come on tell me.’
‘No.’
‘I Know it’s a girl…’
‘I said , no she wasn’t there.’
‘Oh! Who is she anyway ?’
9
‘Don’t tell me , Vinod , come on dude ! She could be anyone. Huh , never thought you’d be this stupid.’
‘What is your problem ? She is just a friend , okay ?’
‘Whatever ! You’ve never seen her . You don’t know who she is , Vinod ! And she is calling you somewhere. What if she does something to you ?’
‘Like what ?’, Vinod asked giving his younger brother a rash look.
‘Threaten . Kidnap. Or just hang around with you , have some fun , make you pay her bills , etc .’
‘Shut up . I’ve never met her before , all right but I know her as a person , Suresh and she’s cute . She’s a school-kid . Come on .’
‘She could be lying.’
‘Yeah ? Even if she is , I still seem to like her as a friend and I am still interested in meeting her okay ? The kid is having a tough time at home , with school .She goes through a lot of pressure .I am glad at least she feels good talking to me . Now you just keep your mouth shut? Clear?’
‘Hmph !’
‘And be a good driver otherwise let me know , I’ll hire one who’ll mind his own business’
Suresh walked out of the room and went into his own. Vinod fell back on the couch and recollected the events of the day .He didn’t expect his brother , who has tried probably everything under the Sun to advice him . He better keep his mouth shut .
10
`That night , the chat was brief and clear . Chen’s kitchen was too crowded. The best place to meet was her school .On the 24th of October,each year Ignatius School celebrated their annual day. Unfortunately , Preeti is part of one of the Dance Programmes , so she won’t be able to see him in the Visitor’s Gallery or watch the function with the rest of the students and guests in the Auditorium. The dressing room is the best place.
So , this is impossible to miss . Vinod thought . Definitely , she’ll be there for at least four hours , till the function is over . Only for about forty five minutes she’ll be running around and she’ll be busy . The rest of the time , it is impossible to miss her. After all , Ignatius is a small school .
In her mail , she had assured , there will be no teachers around . Her friends will all be either watching or participating in the programme. Just come to the Senior Girl’s Dressing Room on the Ground Floor .
That was simple wasn;t it ?
11
Traffic in Madras is such a curse to it’s citizens. More so , because it means to listening to a hunk’s advice . Who else ? Suresh .
Ignatius School was a seven buildings in one fifty-nine acre campus. A school purely for the kids of the elite class. The auditorium was a huge air conditioned hall . Suresh didn’t fancy watching a school program. He was going to pace around the campus.
At the gate , the watchman was not holding back anyone . There were many guests. Parents , relatives ,friends , students and many others just walked into the well lit and decorated campus .
Finding the Dressing Room was no big deal. Getting into it , was the problem . Girls walked in and out with make up , towels , scarves , brushes and combs . “I better wait for the programme to begin.” Vinod thought . “Where’s Suresh ?”
12
Suresh , for the first time saw a different side of his brother. Anxiety was something that was never seen on his brother’s face. He was always calm and composed , atleast appeared to be .
He walked to main school building. The foyer was filled with graffiti and posters. Suresh walked over to the door with “Visitor’s Gallery” inscribed on it.
Gazing around the trophies, cups and plaques , Suresh whiled the time away. He walked over the room to the attached lounge and seated himself comfortably on a couch. He wondered where his brother was or what he was up to. As he looked around dreamily , a black book caught his attention. It was a dusty diary with “1995” printed on it. Suresh looked around . There was no one except him. He went on to take the book and patted off it’s dust. Slowly as though his inner voice was commanding him to read the book, Suresh hesitantly opened it and skimmed through the pages. The page October 24th caught his attention. It was blood stained. It took him some time to realize that they were not blood stains. That diary entry was written with blood ! He was even shocked to see that the rest of the dairy was written in blood as well. A shock went up his spine. His blood curdled . He looked around for any signs of human movement. The room began to get hotter. The ceiling fan had stopped.
‘Relax.’ He told himself. He had never switched on the fan in the first place. Slowly he tried to read the blood stains.
October 24th 1995
Dear diary
Today, was the last day of my life. I am dead now. I can’t hold a pen to write. My friends and my family are crying over me. I told them I am okay . It was my foolishness that killed me. But they can’t hear me. I was a fool to wait behind in Dressing Room while others went to perform. It was stupidity on my part to agree to meet some unknown fool. I don’t know for what reason he wanted me. But what ever he wanted , he really wanted it . He was ready to kill if he didn’t get what he wanted. He had been so nice. He was so friendly and affectionate. How could I be so stupid ? I am not dead. I am still alive in my spirits. Hereafter , I am going to run around making stupid ,job less guys believe me and come to this very same place where I was killed. Every year , October 24th will be my Revenge Day. The very same Dressing Room where I was killed will be the Revenge Room. I am going to ki…..
Suddenly, the lights went off and the fan began to oscillate. Suresh’s heart bet faster and faster. He dared himself to get up from the couch. His palms were wet. He strained his eyes to look for the exit. The Visitor’s Gallery was a curtained room and there was no light. He breathed heavily and trembled. ‘Is this really me? Why am I scared ? There could have been a power cut off? Come on Suresh ….” Suddenly the lights were on again . Suresh ran for the exit. The lights went off again. He pulled the knob.
It was locked !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
13
Vinod waited impatiently. The girls seemed to be there forever. Once in a while someone would ask him what he wanted.
“Nothing” ,
“My sister is performing today.” Or
“Is the principal’s visitor’s room this side? “
Some student came up to him and told him to clean up the mess in classroom number thirteen.
“I should have worn something smart. I guess I look like a cleaner in this stupid black shirt . Sheesh .”, he told himself.
As the time ticked on, Vinod was getting impatient by the minute.
“Preetiiiiii ….” , some student shouted.
Vinod stood upright and looked around.
“Are your students ready ? Their show is next , right ? They should be ready in another three minutes.”
Vinod sighed and leaned against the wall again. It was some teacher by that name .
A line of girls dressed in a rainbow of colours and in absurd costumes walked out of the Dressing Room. Vinod waited for two minutes and put his right step forward towards the Dressing Room.
14
Suresh jerked the knob as hard as could. He kicked and yelled for help. He felt for the window and bumped his hand on another knob. He quickly realized he has been pulling the book shelf’s door. He ran his fingers over the wall. It seemed to go on and on. He tripped over a pot and realized he was near the couch again. The door was right across the couch . He slowly walked straight across and felt the knob again . Crossing his fingers , he tried to open it and sighed heavily when it did. He has forgotten the way the gallery looked . Now how was he going to get out of this ?
He crawled and felt for any door ahead.
CRASSHH……….
He heard glass breaking. He crawled all the more slowly. Glass ? Is that what is going to kill him ?
He envisaged a ghost holding a piece of glass and fiercely thrusting it on him. Would anyone find him by tonight ? Tomorrow was a weekend ? People would get to see him , no , his dead body only on Monday . No , his parents would look for him and find his body before that. Vinod would tell them that he was here . Oh , Vinod would find him by tonight. Not all that bad. He was drenched in sweat.
“I wish I was wearing some cotton not this stupid thing.”, he said to himself.
He heard footsteps. As if that was to remind him that it doesn’t matter in which dress you die in.
He suddenly bumped on a hard wood and realized he was at the door. He quickly got up and yanked the door open and ran out.
Where the hell on earth was his brother ? He was supposed to meet that girl in the Dressing Room !!!!!
“Vinooooodddddddddd”
15
“Girls ! On Saturday you all were supposed to stay back and clean up the mess. Hasn’t the school provided you with tissues. Ignatius School has a tradition of good discipline. Students like you all will bring down it’s reputation. We are highly disappointed , girls ! The Senior Girls’ Dressing Room was scattered with torn pieces of black cloth and red body paint smeared all over.”
[/tscii:41c3a7673c]