CHAPTER 3

CHAPTER-3

Back to school...

I thought, making roads into the school building. It was almost after two and a half months that I had entered school again after the summer holidays had finally ended. But the usual reaction after the vacations end is-"How did they end so fast" and no one wants to go to even loiter around the school . I had wasted my summer vacations watching great United matches of the past much like the 1998/99 European cup final against Bayern and also the semis against Juve, the 4-3 game against City(Shit-ty) in which Michael Owen had scored late and 2008/09 semifinal and final against Barca(0-0 and 1-0 to United) and Chelsea(1-1 and 6-5 on penalties to United )respectively, I played some video games, read some novels etc. I felt somewhat relieved and still reluctant to come back to school. But I was still glad to meet my mates again after talking to them only over the phone or through Facebook. But, the thing I looked at as an achievement was the fact that I’d completed my Holiday Homework and the irony was that I had not been able to complete the project we were working on that day . School started at half past eight but since my mother, who was employed as a receptionist, arrived at half past seven we had to hop in. Some kids were trying themselves out at badminton in the court ,only a little amount of population seemed to be around that early. The School had 3 floors and the ground floor and basement. There was even a terrace but it served a nominal purpose as no kid was supposed to go any way near to it . It just goes to show how much the school authorities cared for us, even if we spoilt the school property. My class was on the third floor whereas my kid brother's class was on the first. My brother as usually, stormed off to play badminton without even bidding a proper goodbye. I continued my monotonous and habitual walk up to the third floor. I turned left towards the ramp, and started climbing upwards. It gave a clear view of some of the areas around. Many cars zoomed past on the currently less populated roads, maybe heading to schools or offices. People were out to stroll around in the fresh air, even I was always desperate to have some because I had some sort of a respiratory problem called- Bronchitis...or something like that.

 The ground was made of gravel and on the sides were green colored tiles. The ramp was a sort of a graveled pathway instead of stairs, it was too damn tiring, especially for me. But it helped increased my stamina but sometimes I'd wonder that why don't the school authorities open a Fitness centre titled from “Fat to Fit” on the ramp for people. Just to curb down obesity problem in an overpopulated country. But the problem in that case would be that there would be more appliers for the center rather than the school admission.

Phew

I heaved a sigh of exhaustion. I almost surprisingly, saw to two kids running past me and almost clattering into me. How can you run around here on this ultra long ramp way??? The energy of the two kids reminded me of sprinting around on a football pitch.

Finally, I entered my classroom and it felt great to see the tampered label of VIII-B stuck on the upper window of the classroom. It was spotlessly white when I had entered the classroom before our 8^th standard classes had begun but you know,there was no shortage of notorious kids around.

No one was in the class yet, which was octagonal in shape if seen from the top or seen properly from Google Earth. I walked into the room, which had windows right in front of us as we entered and the big blackboard beside the windows. Beneath the blackboard were the same green colored tiles which ran throughout the school. I dumped my bag onto the second desk of the middle row ,where I sat with Srijan. Raghav and Kunal sat behind us ,and never stopped tapping on our shoulders to ask for a thing or two.

I pulled out my water bottle and drank some water, panting frantically. Relieved , I once again recalled how I’d spent my holidays. My eyes fell on the brownish desk and how good I felt on seeing what was scribbled on it.

It was titled as -"Unnerving the rivals". I felt good on seeing this. I shifted my gaze outside, where the huge water tank stood beside the school. I looked at the old structure which seemingly contained hell lot of water. Several honey bee combs clung to the lower part of its circular area. Being alone in the class, I felt kind of bored and lonely by only staring out of the window at the birds which flew by and hearing to their noisy chirps. The format of a Notice was scribbled on the black board with the date of 2nd May 2010 which was actually the last time we had been in the school.

I was still a little upset just because Barcelona had defeated United in the Champions League final by a convincing margin of 3 goals to one. Only Wazza (Rooney) had managed to beat Victor Valdes whereas Pedro, Messi and Villa had beaten VDS (Van der Sar). And that was the very last game he ever played for us and I couldn't see him retire as I considered him to be the best goalkeeper even at the age of 40. Minutes dragged on, leaving me caught in unnatural trances and by that time kids had started streaming in slowly, almost everyone stopped to remind me of that Barca loss just because everyone knew how big a United fan I was but this thing was almost embarrassing for me. I saw a boy resembling a rabbit making his way into the class, I realized it was Kunal. His two molar teeth stuck out of his mouth reminding me of a bunny inch perfectly . But the irony was that he didn't tease me about the final, unlike the non-soccer fans.

He strolled past me silently and dumped his bag behind my seat. "Have you completed the project?"He asked in an interrogative tone as if I was in a police custody for a crime I had not committed. "Well..."I realized I had completely forgotten about the project." Only...some of it is left to be done but I'm sure I will complete it today in school" I managed to utter. His expression distorted a little and he gave me an-"I'M GONNA EAT YOU UP” look."Why the hell did you forget it?"He asked again." It flew out of my brain just like Usain Bolt does past his opponents" I said , using a decent piece of imagery. “Be sure to complete it today or we're gonna get an ostrich egg for our efforts" he spoke his face wheeling towards the window. Raghav and Srijan were also spotted entering the classroom, together ,surprisingly because they weren't into good relations. "Well, it was inevitable..."Srijan said sounding certain. "Yeah, it was ...never easy to beat 'em" Raghav added on. I fell utterly silent and was clearly not in any mood to argue regarding soccer related issues. I pulled out the project file from my bag along with some pages of the information which was "ought" to be written and completed today. I also pulled out a trimax pen of course to jot things down. And set them on the desk, readying myself to finish the project, at last. Ignoring all three of them, who were busy discussing something I was not cared about, and they stared at me as if I was a martian.

I opened the project file, searching for page I had stopped writing from the last time which was almost a month ago. I only tried to pretend that I had written or attempted to complete it some 2 or 3 days ago. I pulled open my pen and found the page. I glanced at the information page-"Found in Trinidad , New Zealand and some parts of the Caribbean" I read out what I had to write. And began scribbling it down on the sheet .I looked at what I had written, but there was nothing at all written on the page."Looks like the ink refill has emptied" I said turning towards Kunal. I demanded some kind of empathy from him, which didn't offer "Then go to the book shop and purchase a new one" he ordered. I was ready to go to the bookshop downstairs under overcast conditions only if somebody accompanied me downstairs to the long walk towards the ground floor. "Will anybody come with me downstairs?" I asked expecting someone to keep me company. “Heading for the jugular? Are you ...I am coming" Srijan said, getting up from his seat beside me. There was nothing new in this ,we used to take a stroll down the bookshop almost every day with new people.

“I’ve got the money, “he said taking out a Rs.50 note from his chest pocket.”Let's go-" he said. And that was how a refill changed everything...

Chapter 2

Chapter 2

.

The sensation was absurd,almost ominious. The sound around was drowning , drowning into a deafening sound which was coercing him to slice his ears off.He felt himself falling into emptiness and the feeling was already giving him a cold feeling of sickness. The darkness and emptiness surrounding him seemed to be taking over his senses as he was falling into zeroness, gravity was pulling him downwards but he wondered when he'd hear the sound of his feet touching level ground . It was almost as if a black hole was pulling him towards itself and not letting him go. The whizzing sound never seemed to come to a halt. He was floating randomly into the empty space in this never ending vaccum. Every thing he had gone through flashed in his mind , his faded memories of his rough past. All of the torture he had faced, he was glad had ended, very glad infact. He had faced his destiny audaciously, he wasn't afraid to perish for it was written in his own fate, in his own destiny. As he fell through this never-ending void, he felt relieved deep inside himself and in the back of his head. In the back of a head which had served its master very faithfully.

And he was very happy and relieved indeed...

Chapter 1

The very first chapter of the story of four friends,once together,but later seperated,owing to their destined fate

Chapter 1

After a lot of speculation,the referee decided to award a penalty-much to the delight of the away fans who cheered fanatically ,reflecting clear chauvinism . The opposition who were keen to pull out an upset,hung their heads in sheer disappointment.The spectators waited for the conclusion and sat excitedly because this spot kick could've done it for them and their team. And the feeling was still sinking in...

The balding man, calmly placed the ball on the spot and breathed loudly, concentrating on where to place the spot kick. Between the sticks stood his friend who was today standing there to deny him .The balding man stepped back two or three steps determined to achieve what he ,the fellow teammates, the support staff and the fans had desired for.He could hear the crowd chanting his name loudly in expectation and going absolutely mental. His friend there ,front of him went through the routine his job was all about-attempting to send the balding 25 year old the other way .Placing his hands on his hips the balding man readied himself .And very confidently began his run up .With expectations rising and his confidence on a high -he struck the ball sweetly...sweet enough to send compatriot Paul Robinson the wrong way.The ball very comfortably hit the bottom of the net. Seeing that his teammates stormed towards  him, he- none other than Wayne Rooney sprinted towards the Manchester United fans as his teammates mobbed him. The United crowd who were suppressed to only some part of the stadium went mad, pumping their fists into the air and jumping wildly and waving the "KNOCKED YOU OFF THE PERCH- LIVERPOOL" flag. Ryan Giggs,Paul Scholes, Michael Carrick, Edwin van der Sar, Antonio Valencia, Javier Hernandez,Rio Ferdinand and all the other United team stormed onto the pitch to rejoice. The score line now read

                                             Manchester United 1-1 Blackburn Rovers

                                               Wayne Rooney(pen)         Emerton

                                                                   _______________

While elsewhere, four pairs of eyes where glued to the television. Only one pair of eyes registered joy and utter happiness while the other three pairs registered jealousy, hatred and embarrassment.

"Knocked you off the perch-Liver-fool" I said, my words ,I bet would be echoing in Srijan the Liverpool fan's head. I could very clearly see jealousy lurking in his eyes. "We will bounce back next season" he managed to speak

A Hypothetical situation                                                                                                                              

I thought and rightly so,Liverpool didn’t win the League the next season

"Hey, you Chelsea and Arsenal dumbsters-"I squaked. And as I spoke those unnerving words Raghav and Kunal's heads turned towards me. "You look exactly how van Persie and Drogba would look" I said again. "Will you switch off the damned television?" Raghav commanded in his hoarse voice ,sounding rather raged. I turned towards the television again and watched the game continue.United ,now were just keeping the ball well enough, just not doing anything with it. They, it seemed were settling for a draw because Blackburn also needed a point to be pulled out of the dreaded relegation zone. I reconsidered what Raghav had said ,"I know that feeling"I said quietly. Chelsea had won the title last season and only I knew how many creeps the title was giving me from the past year.

Horrible

"Will you switch off the damned television?"Kunal said, nearly breaking into a shout. Well, considering the fact that we were friends then some sympathy was expected. So, I switched off the "damned" television. All of a sudden we were engulfed into total silence. Although, I was the happiest person present there but I had to hide it deep inside me. But inside me I was frantic to celebrate. We four were gathered at my house, not to watch the game but to "complete" our project. Actually, we were no way near to completing it . We were alone in the house, My parents and my impish brother weren't at home. We were normal students of standard 8th and huge soccer fans. And studying in Apeejay School we were taught that- "SOARING HIGH IS OUR NATURE" which was our school's motto we had to soar high not low.

"Lets get back to work" I heard Kunal say, his two molar teeth sticking out making him look like a Bunny. Sure. "Raghav,you cut out the pictures of the dinosaurs and those other extinct creatures." He commanded. Some kind of glint of jealousy was still in his eyes,considering the fact that Chelsea had succumbed in the title race. " Srijan, you come and help me in sorting out the material" he told Srijan who joined him on the sofa glaring hard at the information as if glaring at Wayne Rooney or Paul Robinson.  I saw Kunal shifting his gaze towards me, "Hey- United f-f-fan, you take the printouts....big printouts of pictures" he spoke, in a somewhat irritated tone and flipping the page to its other side nearly tearing it apart. His glare almost ripped apart the sheets into pieces. I made my way into the room in which my computer was set up and was serving me for the past 10 years, attached to the HP Deskjet F2230 Printer. I, still hiding my rejoicing emotions deep inside me opened the drawer and pulled out blank sheets and quietly put them inside the printer. Right now, we four were loving it the rivals way and in turn happy with our lives. And being the best of mates we were quite fond of each other. But nobody actually knew what was inevitable.

The day 1 and 1 made 3

It was a day I would remember

I think it was somewhere in December

I got up, struggling to my feet

But I felt wanted something to eat

I saw toasts kept in front of me

I counted them very carefully

But I shuddered when I finished the count

1 + 1 = 3 was what i had to count

I could'nt make out how was that done

But this was not a matter of fun

I pondered hard all day 

Whatever come come may

I counted my own eyes

And my own ears

But what I got was full of fear

1 + 1 = 3 was what it turned out to be 

And that took out the lights off me

I almost fainted that day

I decided to ask the teacher that day

But she said that 1 + 1 = 2

But every time I got the result as 1 + 1 = 3

I had three hands, three feet

And moreover three toasts to eat

And then in the night

It dawned upon me 

Now I need not fight 

Because now, I had realized that 1 + 1 = 2 

It was nothing but my horrendous mistake

A big,enormous and huge utterly mistake

The biggest in my life

It seemed like I had slipped on ice

I still laugh when I remember the day

When 1 and 1 made 3..

The Signpost

There hangs the creaky old signpost

It's there for almost twenty years or so

But it seems to look like a transparent ghost

People just pass by it,come and later go...

With sticks in their hands,

Held close to their mouth

clutching their hair strands

and talking to someone from the south

There hangs the creaky old signpost

Its there for almost twenty years or so

But it seems to look like an invisible ghost

People pay no heed to it come and later go...

But deep inside,they're annihilating themselves

Just like a brook makes the sea bigger

They're causing peril to their own self

And pursuing the grave-digger

There hangs the selfless old signpost

Its there for almost twenty years or so

But it looks like an unheard ghost

People hardly bother to see it,come and later go...

Later,the devil will rise to its throne

Their will power won't suffice

They'll struggle,until it'll be grown

Soon,they'll be awaiting their own demise

There hangs long lost old signpost

Its there for almost twenty years or so

But it seems to look like a not-so scary ghost

People just enter,come and later go...

Inside the building where its hung,

Lies the epitome,he's been there for twenty years

Paying for the smoking stick he'd flung

But he-the owner warns his dears

He doesn't want others to face the same fate

And pass through the hell's gate

There hangs the dead old signpost

It will be there for twenty years or so

It will still look like a faded ghost

People will ignore it,come and forever go...