Episode 4: Chapter 2 (1)

Recap: Sangbad was admitted to the local school Silver Star. There he befriended  Priyotosh, Saibal, and Anushka on the first day. 

~~2002~~

It was an April morning.

The small iron gate of Bhattacharjee brothers’ three-store building flung open as Sangbad jumped on the road. He’s now a thirteenth years old boy. In last two years, he had lost his weight and had gained height. From 5 foot 2 inch he’s now 5 foot 5 inch.

He looked around. He was searching Cork, his pet stray dog—he was a white dog with black spots spreads over his body.

The clinking of the gate with the aloud metallic noise had brought his pet running form Pradip Kaka’s tea shop—wagging his tail and jumping in excitement. He was followed by Buri—an aged female dog followed by three of her puppies.  All surrounds him in excitement; the puppies jumped on his polished shoe. He was going to stoop down to pat them when he was stopped.

“Don’t pat him now…” Aparajita screamed as she came out with his water bottle.

“No…I’m not…” He snatched the bottle from his mother’s hand.

The two elderly dogs looked at her with disturbance in their eyes; the puppies understanding they had to leave the way moved towards their mother.

“So what’s the plan for the birthday boy…” Bikash Kaka asked while opening his stall.

He owned the cycle repairing stall adjacent to his house. He was a man in early forties.

“Nothing…Didi might arrange a surprise…I think…” he replied as the puppies seeing him to stand started gathering around him—one also stand up supporting on his leg.

“How is your Didi…” Bikash Kaka enquired while opening one of the six locks of his stall.

“She’s fine…still recovering…” He replied.

The conversation got interrupted as Samir Kaka called him. It was his duty for last two years to drop him at school in the morning. At evening he returns home alone. He bid Bikash Kaka and pat the little pup who was standing supporting on his leg—this action made his Ma screamed again—and ran to Samir Kaka to board on his cycle carrier.

In these two years Silver Star had extended itself.

 It had started having its class at second floor also. The stair from first floor the to second floor led to two balconies-one straight from the stair and another taking a left turn. The balcony, straight from stair, had two rooms. One used to serve a as library and another one used to remain closed. The balcony also had a small roof which was kept close for safety by a grill iron gate. From the balcony the Rathtala bus stand can be seen vividly.

The left of the stair had a spacious balcony with four rooms and a toilet. The odd one out of this floor was the store room. It was a tiny square one; sitting towards the end of the second floor spacious balcony abruptly. It had two rooms on either sides of it while the girls’ toilet was located the on left of it at a distance of approx thirty hands while the balcony lays on its right side.

The room that it had in adjacent, with gap of twenty hands between it and the room was the largest one. It was the only room to had two exit doors. One towards the store room and another towards the part of the balcony which was actually a narrow alley facing the courtyard of the school. From there a bit of the busy Kasba Street can be seen.

On another side the room was the smallest one of the floor. The peculiarity of the room was a big window at corner towards a closed wall and a pair of winds overlooking the field downstairs. Another peculiarity of the room was the space near these windows was a depressed planned platform with a flight of concrete stair.

The fourth room on the floor was another largest one. I’ll talk of it later because the description is not needed at this moment.

Cont’d…