I went into the hall where some of my classmates were practising for the play we were putting up for Annual Day. Some of them had to sing a chorus, some had to dress up as old hags, a few others had to be soldiers… oh, this play was a real scream! I was glad that I had nothing to do with it. Poor Shanku! He had the lead role in the play. I thought I could have some fun with these fellows. "Hey Shanku, got hundreds of pages to memorize, haven't you? You go home and practise in your room too, right?" I laughed.
"Give me a break! You are the last person I want to see today!" he said.
Just like him to whine like that!
Then I saw Vinay and the others practising their song for the hundredth time! I simply couldn't resist. I sang along loudly in a croaky voice and they grumbled and complained. I mean, they had to start all over again, so I don't blame them. But it was fun!
"It's not funny Akash! We've been trying to perfect this all morning," Vinay grumbled morosely.
"You know Vinay, even now, when you're talking, it looks like you're singing. Wow, if this isn't perfection, what is?" I asked. Vinay shook his head in despair and the group moved to the farthest corner in the hall.
(As if I couldn't go to that corner and do it again. Duh!)
I yelled out to them, "Hey guys, can't you be sports?"
"What is going on here?" a voice demanded suddenly.
That booming voice was definitely our History teacher's. This play was her idea and she had been training them the whole week.
Yes, it was Ms Neha, all right. She came into the hall, looking all angry and upset. She cast a dirty look at me. She does that often. Everybody thinks they can blame me for everything.
"What are you doing here?" she asked me.
"I just came to watch how the play is going on and… err… to cheer these fellows up, Ma'am," I told her.
"Some cheering up you've done. See! They look muddled. It was going on perfectly, Akash… till you came in!" Ms Neha said. Trust these people to hurt a boy's feelings! I decided to leave the place before I got thrown out or something. I thought I'd come again when she wasn't around. But she sat right in the centre of the hall. Sigh! The next day, I sat waiting for Suji to join me for lunch. I love to tell her something exciting every day. Suji listens to everything open-mouthed. Sometimes, I even make up things so as not to disappoint her. I believe that is the duty of a good elder brother!
As soon as Suji came, I told her, "Today, I'm going to show you something really amazing!"
