I remember a particularly embarrassing incident from my Class XII days. Ours being a convent school, we were not allowed to eat inside the building. We had to go to the playground to have lunch. Once, three of us decided to have our lunch inside. We chose an unused washroom adjacent to our classroom, closed the door and sat down to eat.

Our plan was to emerge from our hideout five minutes before the tiffin break got over. But, as luck would have it, a teacher came and sat down in the classroom. There was no escape. We were in a fix!

Even as we waited for the teacher to leave, the afternoon classes started. After waiting for nearly 10 minutes, we were almost on the verge of tears. Then, one of our friends, who had been asked to look for us, pushed open the door. The teacher and the entire class burst out laughing as we emerged.

GARGI CHOWDHURY
Loreto College, Calcutta