Unexpected holiday a.k.a Myth!!!

Since she started class ten, my sister has proved herself, quite an effective alarm clock to me...

I realise that the preceding sentence does not make too much sense at first glance and hence,

Explanation: Having entered class ten, my sister is out of bed by 7 AM. Therefore, if I happen to see her asleep, I assume I still have some more time before I get out of bed.

This morning, she refused to get out of bed. After having assumed the time thrice, I glanced at the clock. It was 7:40 AM. I shook her awake violently, imagining scenes of her being punished for being late for class. I recieved a well aimed punch, a very sour look and the following sentence "I have a holiday today, ---(a whole load of rude words..)!!". The sentence was followed by a lot of grumbling and groaning and curses. Finally, she went back to sleep.

They had a holiday, right in the middle of the week, when every other institution (in particular, my office) seemed fully functional...on account of a bandh. Apparently, her teacher called her in the evening the previous day and broke the good news.

Alright, this might sound frustrated... AAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGHHHHH!!!!

Phew! That felt good.. :D

Gone are the days, when the phrase "unexpected holiday" was valid to me. Back in school, the words sounded like music. The feeling was one of pure bliss, ecstacy. It was like being rewarded for some good deed in a previous birth.. :P

I remember one morning, I had not finished my assignments, I had a feeling I had even forgotten some assignments and I had not slept properly the previous night. I had dragged myself out of bed and through the chores of the morning. While I was walking towards school with visions of being hanged by the toes and being boiled in a couldron, I noticed that the road was not swarming with people as it usually did. By that time, I would have met at least 3 classmates, 7 juniors and a teacher or two. I reached school only to find it deserted. The bulletin board announced with great pride that "Today --- (date) is a holiday on account of a --- (political party) bandh". The emotions that washed over me, are beyond my abilities of description. I wanted to fall to my knees and worship the board, but I abandoned the idea the minute I saw two others happily staring at bringer of good news.

We had discovered that in cases of confusion regarding sudden holidays, extremely rainy days and public transport strikes, the attendance in class was quite poor. A more delightful discovery was that on such days, the teachers seeing no point in teaching a handful of students, left the classes to do as they wished. The ones who turned up that day ended up having the time of their lives. Some of the more sportive teachers even joined us in a few of the less boisterous games.

One morning, I peeped out of my sheets only to see a curtain of rainwater through the window. It was pouring like there would be no tomorrow. I jumped out of bed and got dressed at record speed. My mum thought she was hallucinating; my sister thought she was having a highly animated dream, and went back to bed. By the time I got to school, the rain had soaked my shoes and socks and was persistantly trying to get to my uniform. I was convinced, that I would be one of the very few people in class that day, and the day could be spent having fun and fooling around.

Apparently, every other classmate of mine had thought the same... humph!!

The teachers had a hearty laugh and we had all our classes that day. By the end of the day, half of us were starting a cold, the other half were sounding like frogs, and all of us were wet, tired and grumpy.

Ever since I started working holidays have become a rarity and unexpected holidays, a myth!! And hence the frustrated aaaaaarrrrgghhhhhs are put into use more often these days..

Alright, one last time.... AAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRGGGGHHHHHHh!!!!!!!!! :P