The aforementioned seniors had given us some homework: to learn our intros by heart. So, on returning to the relative safety of my room, I set about doing this with my usual enthusiasm and gusto. Picked up a brand new book, turned to the last page, wrote "Intro" at the top in big, bold letters, and wrote down the intro (complete sentences) below that and went about the task of memorizing it while my dad looked on in amusement. Mom was too busy fretting about the state of the room to care...
After I had my intro down pat, I decided to head over to the water cooler to refill my bottle. When I announced my intentions, my dad decided to accompany me, probably to save me from "interactions" with more seniors. When we reached the cooler, we heard a man shouting in a nearby room. "How dare you do that?? I will call up your parents, give me your phone!"
My dad and I exchanged confused looks and strained our ears to hear more, but all we could hear were some murmurs. Then the man shouted some more, and presently we saw a merry trio coming around the corner. At the head of the group was a dark man, flanked on either side by a man with a bushy moustache, and an old balding man in khakhi.
My dad politely greeted them, and the man at the front introduced himself as our warden, Mr. Stephen Carlton. I could almost hear trumpets blaring in the background at that moment...
Earlier that day at lunch I had seen a notice put up on the mess notice board. The notice welcomed new students to the campus, laid down a few basic rules and procedures like "if your wing member is sick, kindly inform the warden immediately". Somewhere in the middle of the notice was a statement that read "Students who have brought music systems or computers are required to inform the warden about this."
Hence, I decided that now would be a good moment to get it over with. The warden looked like a reasonable man, surely he would welcome me into the fold.
"Sir, I saw a notice on the mess noticeboard today."
I waited for him to congratulate me for my high powers of observation, but no praise was forthcoming, so I ploughed on.
"It said that students who have brought have to inform the warden about the same, so.."
I trailed off as I saw a look of bitterness spreading across his face. He opened his mouth to shout, and then suddenly seemed to remember that my dad was standing beside me, and changed tactics midsentence. I don't remember exactly what he said, but significant phrases stand out, like "Your son's room will turn into a gaming parlour", "I have seen this happen to many other students", "Everyone from the bhawan will gather in his room to watch movies and play games", and my own personal favourite, "Your son will be kicked out of his own room and will have to study under the light of the streetlights".
My dad and I patiently waited for him to finish his rant. He went off in the same fashion for several minutes while my dad nodded and made polite noises to assure him that he had his undivided attention. At long last he finally seemed to run out of air, and stalked off with some lame cryptic warning.
My dad waited until the chap was out of hearing range, and then turned to me and said in complete seriousness "Make sure that all of that does not happen. Studying under a streetlight will damage your eyesight"
All I could do was grin and nod.
[to be continued]