Mole?
by Kasvi Methi 10A
The morning after the first term parent-teacher meeting, the class was bustling with activity – loud conversation punctuated by peals of laughter. Mani stormed in, with her face scrunched up in anger. She hit Manish sharply on the back of his head. “How does Miss Sengupta know I call her ‘Sengorilla’? She told Ma and now I’m not allowed to watch the new King Kong movie.”
Manish rubbed the back of his head. “I didn’t even know you called her that!”
Meanwhile, Bholi had broken out into shrill laughter. “Sengorilla – oh, that’s classic!” she said, slapping her thigh.
“What makes you laugh, Bholi?” Miss Sengupta entered the class (without the trio’s knowledge), setting her books down on the table. Bholi opened her mouth to reply, but promptly shut it with one stern look from Mani. Instead, she mumbled a half-hearted apology and made her way back to her seat, right in the very front of the class, from where she could clearly see the teachers and count all the premature white hairs on their heads - a common feature of most people in their profession.
The bell rang, signaling the start of the forty minutes of school-wide chaos that we call lunchtime. Rahul, Mani and Manish sat outside the classroom, near the staircase, dodging falling tiffin boxes and occasionally other students. Bholi usually sat with them, but today she had decided to spend her break in the teachers’ lounge.
“Ma’am knew I hadn’t done any of my own homework this term!” Rahul exclaimed.
“Everyone knows that, dingus. Your driver even wrote his name on your Physics worksheet last week.” Mani said, smirking.
Manish looked down. Miss Sengupta had told his mother to make sure Manish focuses less on his non-existent pre-teen love life and more on his upcoming exams, but he couldn’t mention this to his friends. He didn’t want to be teased.
“Clearly, there’s a mole among us. Any guesses to who it could be?”
“I think it’s Bholi. Remember last year, when she told the hall monitor that Rahul’s nails were long enough to get him the role of Wolverine without special effects? Right now, too, she’s in the teachers’ lounge.” Mani said.
The children decided to avoid Bholi until they knew for sure that she was innocent.
The class after lunch hour was, yet again, Miss Sengupta’s. “Children, I would like to share an opinion of mine with you today, before I begin the new chapter. It is not good to alienate your friends, no matter what perceptions you may have of them.” She said, looking pointedly at Rahul, Mani and Manish. The three friends were puzzled. How did she know? Bholi had been too far away to hear them, and there was no way Miss Sengupta could have eavesdropped, her office being in the other building. For the rest of the day, the group remained disbanded, racking their brains to find a possible explanation for these peculiar happenings.
The next morning, Mani came to school early with an empty, grumbling stomach. She decided to grab a snack from the teachers’ lounge before sitting down in class to endure yet another five-hour day of school. She approached the door, but before opening it, she peered in through a little glass window.
What she saw shocked her. Miss Sengupta held a glowing glass ball, whispering to it. She held it up to her ear and then set it down, smiling smugly. From the shadows next to her, Manish stepped out and whispered something in her ear, making her smile even wider.