The Long Night
The Morning
A cold winter’s morning and I was woken to the regular shouts of “Jol Jol Jol. Utho re Paban. Utho re b**wale.” It was still dark outside. There was 17 hours for the clock to tick over to the new year. 13 hours to hog myself to death and 9 hours to watch the performance of Dus Bahane Karke.
Cold winters and late sunrises meant I could wear the cozy blue jersey on and sleep my way through the morning roll call. But that day was different. I woke up on the right side of the bed and like Carly Rae says there was a cool song in my head. (Prince ella keltirlillappa avaga)
Josh running high, I took 2 rounds of the running track, doubled another and even did a couple of push ups. Did a couple of checks on my 8th grade biceps, as the cool song intensified in my head. Marked!
The Afternoon
Flexing my 8th grade privileges, I took a few veiled shots at the “seniors” before the evening of performances. They went unnoticed. My confidence sky-rocketed.
At the auditorium T-6, the performers came on the stage swinging “Hey nah, hey nah. Everybody puts your hands in the air nah.” All the dancers were oozing swag except the guy at the back. He was fuck-all. Woos for all, boos for the fuck-all senior. Marked!
The Dinner
At the dining hall, I amassed piles of manchurian, noodles and carrot halwa on to my plate. Ate all of it and then fell asleep. The dimly lit candles only enhanced my sleep and within seconds I was dreaming of more food. And as I was getting my hands on carrot halwa, I was jolted awake to see the a pair of black eyes glaring at me. It was senior Sith lord. Marked again!
The Bonfire
I was marked thrice. One more and I knew I was dead meat.
Anyway the clock stuck 12AM and we made merry around the bonfire. The bonfire was tirelessly put together with blood, sweat and toil of the 8th graders. And as we danced and sung I lost count of my marks. That cool song started playing in my head again.
The crowd started going bonkers picking random folks and dedicating songs to them. The 12th graders got “Papa kehte hain”, one kid was dedicated “Dekha hai pehli baar” and since I had lost track of my marks by then, I picked that fuck-all senior and dedicated a song. Not just a song but the cool song from my head. Which went.. “Sexy lady on the floor. Chori chori kiya re.”
Aftermath
Before the senior realized who had done this, I knew I had fucked up really bad and had to find my escape immediately. I thought I will run, but that wasn’t my forte. 2 rounds around the athletic track? FFS.
I thought of all the things I could do. It was 1 past the midnight. The new year wasn’t looking that promising. I was sleepy and scared AF. So, I picked my best option. Find the best place to sleep and sleep well.
And thus began the first morning of the new year..
I woke up..not on the right side of the bed. But inside a cupboard. All cramped, muscle aching but with the same cool song inside my head. Crazy crazy kiya re.😅
PS: Things might be mixed up from the true version of what transpired on that Long Night. The senior might have been different. The sequence remains the same.
