INTO THE NIGHT (THE CONCLUSION)

"Hey, how you doing?"

I hope everything’s great. If not, don’t worry — you’re getting there. Enjoy the process.

Now, getting back in the game, let’s roll the dice. (Dice rattling)

What have we got this time? ‘SCHOOL IN THE TIME OF CHICKEN POX’ — a fantastic anecdote awaits your reading. But for a change (and of course, my selfish wish), let’s roll it one more time.

Okay, back to square one. (Dice rattling)

We got ‘THE 5G SCAM’ — an absolutely nail-biting anecdote. But you know what they say: omne trium perfectum. Let’s go for it one last time. (Dice rattling)

And behold! I present to you — ‘INTO THE NIGHT (THE CONCLUSION)’.

Yay! That’s what I wanted (I mean, what you all wanted, right?).

So here we are, stuck in this blog, to end what we began.

As I mentioned earlier, our daring act of jailbreak had motivated many. The first among them were my roommates — Jayachandra (Nickname: Bandra (Monkey)) and Prabhaditya (Nickname: Kappa (Frog)). They planned it out impeccably and executed it without any mishap. We only found out after they returned to the room. If they hadn’t told us, we’d have remained in the dark about their jailbreak for generations to come.

As mementos of their adventure, they brought canned cool drinks — Monster for Jayachandra and Coca-Cola for Prabhaditya. We were exhilarated, sharing the drinks and savoring the sips of freedom and mischief.

"Aati kya Khandala?"

Come on, guys, focus! We’ve got the topic of ROOMS to delve into.

The house was divided into three rooms, each with a capacity of up to nine members. That’s just a rough idea about the rooms — they were more than just walls of bricks... but let’s save that for a blog on another fine day.

Everything was alright, but something was itching inside me. The adrenaline of the previous jailbreak didn’t feel enough. I was aching for more.

Then, on a day when Ravi Sir (our Hindi teacher) was the duty master — (I don’t want to info-dump, but just so you know, a duty master is the person in charge of the day’s activities) — Abhilash (Nickname: Gradda (Eagle)) and I dressed in dark outfits for stealth.

We arrived at the same spot as my previous jailbreak, safely. The distant whistles of the security guards warned us of danger, but we proceeded. We jumped over the wall that stood between us and freedom.

Abhilash had brought his phone and used its torch to guide us. We navigated the rough terrain with ease and soon reached the center of Kalikiri.

To our surprise, it was Shab-e-Barat — an auspicious night when Muslims pray throughout.

Seizing the opportunity, we wore handkerchiefs on our heads, like caps, to blend in with the crowd. It was foolproof — we played our part and were hard to spot, even if any faculty happened to be out in Kalikiri.

We went to a fancy store and bought some mementos to commemorate our adventure. I remember buying small rubber balls, tiny plastic cars (I think), and lockets (we just bought it — don’t ask why).

Then we visited a fast-food center, ordered some fish fry, and packed it to go. I don’t remember exactly how much, but we bought enough for our entire room.

To go with it, we grabbed three two-litre bottles of cool drinks.

We clicked photos at various spots on our journey — smiling like dumb fools, proud and giddy.

By the final phase of our journey, we’d established contact with our friends inside. That’s when we learned about the trouble brewing on campus.

Apparently, an admin staff member had complained to the duty master about misconduct by cadets.

Carrying our loot, we rushed back.

We reached the laundry room and waited for the clearance command from our peers to commence Operation Accomplishment.

Once the coast was clear, Jayachandra and Prabhaditya (our experienced escapees) came to escort us safely back inside.

Back in the dormitory, we gave one cool drink bottle each to the two other rooms in our house.

I felt like Robin Hood — rebelling by accessing food from outside and outsmarting the authorities.

But then, the duty master began his rounds. The situation got tense.

Ambuj (Nickname: Janoti — the one who shows off) imagined the worst and returned his share of the spoils to distance himself from our “crime.”

(It was that room’s loss — what could we do?)

To be safe, we had to hide or destroy the evidence of our actions.

Unanimously, our room decided to eat up the delicacies quickly and erase any trace of the operation.

We had taken many photos, but now, they seem to be lost somewhere.

No worries — we’ve got them well-framed in our memories.

It was one hell of a night.

Later, there were many more attempts — some successful, some not — but we gradually became aware of the consequences, which, frankly, weren’t all that severe.

This time, though, I wasn’t merely satisfied. I hit the bull’s-eye — the sweet spot of guts and gamble.

Final advice:

Some moments are meant to be seized. They don’t come knocking.

Let’s meet next time with another awesome blog.

Till then, peace.