#12: Change
I don't remember, if or how, I or anyone else slept that night. It was July, but it hadn't rained.
I could see the boys coming out of their rooms—sometimes one by one, sometimes in groups, and gathering in the corridor. I was sitting in my room, looking outside the window next to my bed. The power had gone off for the entire building. After a while, when I joined them, almost everyone was out. From a distance one could not tell that the building had no lights; all the phones were out with the flashlights on.
I had met a few people, but I didn't have any friends. I observed everyone around me; some were just chatting away; some were laughing out loud; some were off to somewhere. When the commotion almost grew into anarchy, the wardens came to the floor and drove us all back to our rooms.
I don't remember, if or how, I or anyone else slept that night. It was July, but it hadn't rained.
I woke up with sore eyes. In each wing, there were six rooms in a circle, and a small corridor that connected to the bathrooms and toilets, and the main corridor. I picked up my toothbrush and toothpaste and headed to the washroom. Every toilet had shit floating in it, and every sink had the frothy toothpaste spit. The water-pump could not function, due to the power cut, so the toilets and washrooms were out of water. One of my acquaintances though, found a wing on the opposite end of ours which was semi-functioning. I got the bucket and mug from my room and went there. By the end of the shower, I was baptized.
From the parking, I untethered my bike, and set off for class; with blank, crisp notebooks in my bags, sleep in my eyes and undigested food in my guts.
After reaching the classroom complex, I figured out where I was supposed to sit. Entering the class, I saw a sea of unknown faces; no one I met was present. I found an empty bench at the back and claimed my seat. Every lecture, I sincerely opened a new notebook and tried to pay attention. Hour after hour, it wasn't what I thought it would be. I whiled the time away, playing online chess.
I never forget that day. Thursday, July the 27th. My division had a half day. Everyone I knew, from other divisions, had labs to attend after lunch. My roommate included. So, at the end of it, I began heading back to the hostel.
Everything was new, and I had time in abundance. So, I took a different route than in the morning. I wanted to go back to my room, but not too soon.
I reached back, eventually, and locked my bike at the same spot. I took the stairs to the second floor, where my room was. I opened the door and saw the room closely, as if it was the first time. There was one closet on the left—for the two of us; two desks with chairs tucked in, on either side; two beds on either side, windows overlooking them; some space in the middle where a third bed could barely fit; and another window right in front. I kept the bag on my desk, pulled out my chair, and placed it in the middle of the room, under the fan. Sitting on the chair, leaning back, staring at the fan above, tears began rolling down my face. Yesterday, everything seemed okay, but today, everything had changed.