NYC & DC - It's About Time!

So New York City met IBM for the 2^nd time and it turned out to be more nostalgic than anything else. Saw some of the great old places that I’d been to before – Broadway, Grand Central, Statue of Liberty, so bustling with life and energy.. and Times Square which really has a special something to it – with the lights and the glamour and the sexy people. Looks like everyone is there, yet you can get lost in your own thoughts and pretend to be a super model, all sassy and in high heels. Sigh, what a vivid imagination I have, and what an amazing place NYC is!

The highlight was the Broadway play I saw – ‘Anything Goes’, mind blowing, crazy awesome and what talent! Being insanely in love with musicals has always been a thing, but these shows are definitely in a spectacular league altogether! It’s a magical feeling with the stage so close, you feel a real connection! I kept imagining being on the stage, or even behind the curtains. How the boy meets the girl secretly at night, and how the gangster helps them and how the comedy is just right. You’re praying for the girl to come to her senses, you feel like warning them when the mother arrives and tell them to hide behind that other door instead. It’s like you’re right there, like you’re an intruder in someone’s personal story, like you just can’t help but want to know everything about every character!

New York is very similar to Bombay (and I’m serious here) just replace the blonde heads with black, and the USD with INR and you have Mumbai No 2 right there on the east coast. The same tall buildings, the same narrow roads, the same Malabar Hill / Marine Drive-esque places mixed with the Malads and the Khars, the same energy, the same, the same! So its really easy to move around, that know-all attitude just flows and I was completely at home. I really felt a kinship to the city, I could identify with everyone, right from the suits to the crazies to the hotties and everyone in between. It’s really all so familiar and yet so new and exciting! But what a city, I think my love for Bombay overflows into NYC and makes me grin like an idiot everytime!

NYC has come to mean a lot to me, and hence it did demand we spend a whole lotta time together, but I wanted to see someplace new as well this time, and I zeroed in on Washington DC. Multiple reasons – close to where I was staying making a day trip possible, easy to reach, was dying to see the American capital and the only other option was Boston (= boring)

Did a proper touristy “tour” of DC complete with a bus full of tourists ooohing and aahing at everything the guide was saying. DC turned out to be a small complex of all the famous buildings you see in movies… everything is within walking distance from each other which made it easier for the lazy me, for sure! But what a fabulous feeling to actually see the White House, the Lincoln memorial or the Capitol Hill building, not to miss the ‘National Treasure’ Library of Congress and even the infamous J Edgar Hoover building (office of the FBI – gave me the jitters like they were watching me and I may have done something wrong) There is definitely a sense of majesty in these buildings (more like monuments than anything else), and they got us invoked of some awe.

They’re very fond of their wars and proud of their soldiers, these Americans. They have gorgeous memorials for almost every war they’ve been in - Vietnam war, the Korea war and even the Civil war & WWII. And even though I felt it was kind of excessive and boastful, they did a pretty good job commemorating and recognizing the sacrifices that were made. I read somewhere – ‘Freedom is not Free’, and that really struck a chord with me. It makes me wonder how they can say such beautiful / meaningful things but then turn around and just start another war.

Best part of the day though – the visit to Madame Tussauds! Pictures with Obama in his office, or with Shakespeare & Elton John, sitting for a romantic dinner with George Clooney, staring at Yoko Ono, Bob Dylan, and meeting Babe Ruth, Oprah and hugging Capt'n Jack Sparrow like there’s no tomorrow!

And the Smithsonian Air & Space Museum! From the original air craft flown by the Wright brothers & their entire story, to Amelia Earhart’s plane, right down to the real Apollo 11 & a walk through model of exactly how astronauts live in space and how they pilot their space-crafts! Sigh, a little boys dream come true - well, mine too.

You know, the lasting impressions I took with me as I left the place were the way things are run there. Not the glitz of NYC or the majesty of DC (which of course will always be there) but the discipline on the roads, or the sincerity of the people I met, or even the cleanliness I saw everywhere. Not that they are perfect, but they definitely have it right – the old Economics theory we learnt - the one about how the common good is more important than the individual makes a whole lot of sense and I wish I could somehow carry it forward here. Coming back here and fighting the traffuck jams of Bangalore is so not something anyone would look forward to.

No Place Like Home

A very recent, very short trip to my home town, finally gave me reason to write something here. Though I've realised no matter how I much I wax eloquent about home, it just wouldn't be enough...
Anyway, this is why I wanted to write here, reasons why I love Allahabad:

1. It's home!
2. It has these wide empty roads that allow me to speed up like crazy.
3. I was born there :)
4. I can talk in Bhaiyya language and everybody else does the same: D

"Kaisan ho babua?"
"Sab theek haiyye ki naahi?"
"Oo kidhar gayel?"
"Humka nahi maloom" : D

5. I have a HUGE house there: takes an hour to walk from one end to the other :P
6. It's home.
7. It is quiet.
8. I know that city. I mean really know it.
9. And the city knows me. People there know me, you know. I walk into a store and people recognise me... I meet people on the street and greet everyone around :) (And no, Allahabad is not a small town. It's a big city... with a heart)
10. It is a big city with a heart ( Just to reiterate :P)
11. It's the only city where I have a secret place.
12. It's home.
13. My dad and his dad, and his dad, all belong to this city.
14. There is a road named after my great grand-dad.
15. It gives me this warm feeling inside, as soon as I even step into the outskirts.
16. There are places called Keedganj, Phaphamau, and Fatehpur Bichhua.
17. There are places called Tagore Town, Colonel Ganj and Allen Ganj.
18. It is MY city.
19. It is where I can recharge my essence.
20. Nothing bad can ever happen to me there.
21. I feel like I own that city :)
22. I feel comfort and security. I feel happy.
23. It's home.

And guess what I'm listening to right now? "Sweet Home Alabama" :D :D

If I were..

If I were a beginning,I would be: the first
If I were a month, I would be: April
If I were a day of the week, I would be: Sunday
If I were a time of day,I would be: midnight
If I were a planet, I would be: Pluto (It's still a planet for me)
If I were a season, I would be: winter
If I were a sea animal, I would be: a shark
If I were a direction, I would be: North.. straight up
If I were a piece of furniture, I would be: a cupboard
If I were a sin, I would be: wrath
If I were a liquid, I would be: water
If I were a fraud/scare, I would be: causing hysteria
If I were a gem, I would be: a diamond
If I were a tree, I would be: evergreen
If I were a tool, I would be: a hammer
If I were a flower/plant, I would be: Tulsi

If I were a kind of weather, I would be: cold
If I were a musical instrument, I would be: a guitar
If I were an animal, I would be: lazy
If I were an emotion, I would be: happiness
If I were a vegetable, I would be: paneer! Does it count? :)
If I were a sound, I would be: laughter
If I were an element, I would be: fire
If I were a car, I would be: a Dodge Viper
If I were a song, I would be: to dance to
If I were a food, I would be: something exotic
If I were a place, I would be: India
If I were a material, I would be: soft
If I were a taste, I would be: salty
If I were a scent, I would be: musk
If I were a religion, I would be: guilty
If I were a sentence, I would be: long
If I were a body part, I would be: the head
If I were a facial expression, I would be: a grin

If I were a subject in college, I would be: English
If I were a shape, I would be: round
If I were a quantity, I would be: a lightyear
If I were a color, I would be: blue
If I were a thing, I would be: a book
If I were a landmass, I would be: a lonely island
If I were a book, I would be: a companion
If I were a monument, I would be: a storyteller
If I were an artist, I would be: a ventriloquist
If I were a collection of poems, I would be: boring
If I were a landscape, I would be: a rocky beach
If I were a watch, I would be: Titan! :P

If I were God, I would be: omnipotent
If I were a vowel, I would be: I
If I were a consonant, I would be: B
If I were a formula, I would be: irritating
If I were a Science, I would be: biology
If I were a theory, I would be: Game Theory
If I were a famous person, I would be: Shakespeare
If I were an electronic equipment, I would be: a calculator
If I were sport, I would be: basketball
If I were a movie, I would be: Constantine
If I were a cartoon, I would be: loved by millions
If I were an explorer, I would be: having the time of my life

If I were a scientist, I would be: inventing something
If I were a relation, I would be: a daughter
If I were a river, I would be: meandering
If I were intoxication, I would be: irresistible
If I were alone, I would be: quiet
If I were a question, then I would be: why?
If I were a hobby, I would be: singing
If I were a habit, I would be: difficult to let go
If I were in an atom, I would be: indivisible
If I were an end, I would be: terrible
If I were you, I would be: ecstatic?

A day in the life of...

She wanted to sleep forever, but her mom was a pretty consistent waker. “C’mon Seema, get up, you’ll get late”, she yelled. “Yeah mom, just… just 5 more minutes”. But how could those 5 minutes be fruitful if her mom switched on the radio full blast right next to her ear!

Wincing and cursing Seema got up to face her day.
Soon enough, another tussle for breakfast ensued, “No badams ma. Please.”. However, ma’s look was enough to quell any further protests.

She had to make sure she left her house by 7.50, otherwise she’d get late. And most of her monstrous professors had a habit of not letting late comers in. Running to catch the bus to the train station, Seema looked groggily at the world.
Thought bubble: “Why do I always have to wait for at least 10 minutes before my bus shows up, when everyone else seems to have buses just waiting for them?”
And the traffic… Seema’s worst nightmare! A 10 minute ride always stretched to 20 or more, how she hated every car around her!

The train ride was mostly blissful though. A peaceful 30 minutes wherein she would often listen to her music, catch up on reading, talk to friends or just think. This really was the best part of the day. And the perfect rhythm of a moving train, exactly what she needed to contemplate. And if it were raining, ah, then things would be just about perfect!

Seema reached college, thankfully, with 10 minutes to spare. Her first class is always at 9 in the morning. (Her biggest woe. Being a lover of sleep, getting up early was probably the most heinous crime possible)
Anyway, classes began as they usually do and Seema was busy preparing for her day, the real one, the one that would begin after classes got over. As she sat and counted, she realized that she had to complete around 5 projects and prepare presentations for them, deadlines approaching. *Sigh*
“There is just too much work”, she thought to herself. But she reasoned that she knew this was going to happen, this is what they’d all told her would happen.
A test was announced and Seema panicked. She’d have to go to the library and issue a book before all of them were gone.

Her phone began vibrating. Thanking her lucky stars that she’d remembered to put it on silent mode, she looked at her screen – a message. It was from the society she was working for. Seema remembered that she’d been so proud of herself when she’d gotten though their interview, but now she dreaded that message. It could only mean more work. It read,’ Alumni Cell meeting at 6.00 pm in room no. 8, AJ College’ *Sigh*. There go all dreams of leaving for home early.
The class got over, and they had a 15 minute break. Seema rushed to the Alumni Cell room and got out the list of the institute’s Alumni she had to call. The college believed in touching bases with all its ex-students. Picking up the phone, she breathed deeply and dialed the number. After 5 such calls, it was time to rush back to class for the next lecture. Some quick mental calculation and she realized she’d have to make at least 15 more such trips if she didn’t sit down and do major chunks of the work in one go.

The phone began vibrating again; it was her head editor from the Alumni Editorial Team. “Hey, wassup boss?” “Where are the articles I’d given you?” came the abrupt reply. “I’ve got them all edited, I’ve e-mailed them to you”. There were 10 of them and long and boring, Seema recalled grimacing. The editing had taken away a precious 2 hours from her! Boy!

The next class started and it was her weakest subject: Cost Accounting. Deciding that she couldn’t make head or tail of what the teacher was saying, she took her laptop out and began formatting the Alumni newsletter. The font, the colours, the placement & sequencing of articles, headings and even the margins, everything needed to be done, and soon. The deadline for submitting this was 9 today. She e-mailed a couple of her seniors, asking for photographs for the newsletter.The class was about to get over and Seema had to pay attention, the teacher was taking the attendance after all!

Next up was Quantitative Analysis, another horrid subject. Ma’am came and began spewing all she knew about Maths. Another 1.5 hours later, Seema was busy on the phone again, calling her mom up to tell her that she’d be late, calling some of her seniors for notes and also the guy in her Alumni calling group about his progress.
She went downstairs to grab a bite. She picked up one of the sandwiches because they were made the fastest and ran up again for a project meeting. As soon as she entered the room, one of her group members said,” Hey Seema, would you please write the proposal for our Eco project?” “Oh… ok, tell me exactly what you want?”
A 30 minute meeting ensued, discussions ranged from what was to be done, to who would search for what, to how was it to be presented.

After the meeting, the next class began, thankfully a good and interesting one, Information Systems. Listening intently, Seema wondered whose register she could borrow for consistent notes.

A quick dash to the admin office after the class to book a locker and Seema was back in the main building for another meeting, this time with her Marketing project group.
Someone told her the date sheet was out and the exams were to begin in a month.
Thought Bubble: “Oh dear, when am I going to get time to study?? This trimester system SUCKS”

As she thought these depressing thoughts, one of her friends approached her, “when do we work on Derivatives?” ‘Derivatives’ was the topic for a paper the two of them were writing, for a competition and the last date was rapidly approaching. Luckily, her partner had completed most of the research so it was only a matter of compilation.
After a little discussion, she went for the Paragana Marketing team meeting. The president began," Paragana is our institute's flagship event guys, and we want to make it the best possible. We will invite 20 B-schools for various events spread over 3 days and it is the marketing team’s job to ensure that everyone who matters gets to know about this."
Thought bubble: “Why did I volunteer for this? Oh yeah, for the marketing! But what marketing will I do running around the entire city for sponsors and advertising? *sigh* Why do I do these things to myself?”

Seema looked at her watch, uh-oh, it was 5.59. Time for the Alumni Society meeting. She excused herself from the meeting, drew some dirty looks and ran to AJ College. Another hour of lectures from the Society seniors about how incompetent the juniors were and more instructions and they were left to go. Her head-ed walked up to her and demanded to see the formatted newsletter. Seema spent another 20 minutes explaining everything she’d done and was not surprised when she was asked to make many changes.
Wearily Seema walked out of the campus, and hailed an auto for the station. The guy refused to go. Irritation crept up her spine.
Thought bubble: “I just studied the Consumer Protection Act for my Law project and its illegal for you to refuse me a ride, you jerk.”

Anyway, reaching the station she began looking forward to her train ride home. Ah, 30 minutes of pure bliss! Cool wind in her hair, and her favourite music blaring in her ear, Seema forgot all her pending work and just relaxed.

An hour later, at home, she had a yummy dinner.
Thought bubble: “My mommy is the best!”

She went online, checked all her mail. What once was only full of funny forwards and whacky e-mails was now stuffed with intimations, messages for meetings, more work and project info. She worked on the dratted Economics proposal, made the required changes in the Alumni newsletter, Google-d some more information and read up articles for a couple of her presentations. When she was finally done, she collapsed on her bed at around 12.30.
With a smile on her face.

No complaints from her… yet. This was after all just an ordinary day in the life of Seema.

To the Tag Mobile!

Yeah yeah, two tag-posts in a row. Didn't plan it this way, but just happened to see this one in some random blog and couldn't resist! It's SO different from all the other tags that we've done!

What to do in this tag? Name some people, give them numbers, answer random questions.
Relax, it'll become clearer in a minute. Here we go..


Name:
A) 2 family members.
B) 3 people on your last dialled list.
C) 5 friends.
D) 2 classmates.

For A- Dad (1), Anant (2),
For B- Ishita (3), Abhinav (4), Harry (5),
For C- Kalika (6), Vidur (7), Jayant (8), Amiya (9), Neha (10),
For D- Ashish (11), Richa (12).


Q: Have you ever kissed number 7? *cough, cough, ahem* yeah, lots of times :P

Q: What's the best memory you have of 9? ALL the time I've spent at her home, velloing and talking! Best ever!

Q: When is the next time you're gonna see 4? Probably sometime soon, when I decide to ask him for another treat in Barista. *evil, evil grin*

Q: Is number 8 pretty? Yes, Jayant is pretty, with or without makeup. Although red lipstick doesn't suit him too well.

Q: What was your first impression of number 10? That she could surely help me scurry away from all our evil seniors.

Q: How did you meet 3? At Mayo, my desk-partner for 2 long, fun years.

Q: Is 11 your best friend? He is one of them!

Q: Have you seen 5 in the last month? Too many times to remember. I'm in her room all the time. She's always giving me advice as to what to study!

Q: Do you think 12 has a crush on you? I don't know, Richa does hide her emotions.. but I can't say I would be surprised if she did.

Q: When was the last time you saw 2? On the 18th. :)

Q: Have you ever been to 1's house? Ok, here's the deal: he's the dad and I'm the kid. In Indian society it so happens that the kid lives with the dad. So, I guess that's a yes.

Q: When is the next time you'll see 10? On the 24th, exam day

Q: Are you really close to 7? Now how do I explain this? Closer than 2 peas in a pod. That answer the question?

Q: Have you ever been to the movies with 4? Don't think so.. Oh yeah wait, I did. Troy and MI3!

Q: Have you ever gotten in trouble along with 2? Come on, we went to the same school.. I'm sure something must have gone wrong sometime. I'm thinking Sundays, bro-sis meet?

Q: Would you ever go out with number 9? Now I'm not saying Amiya is not date-able, but it would raise a lot of questions about my orientation.

Q: What do you and number 3 talk about the most? School and the good old days! We both go gung-ho about Mayo.

Q: Do you even know 5? Trust people to come up with something silly like this. DUH, she's on my dialled list! Therefore, I do know her.. :)

Q: Would you give number 3 a hug? Oh yeah, anytime I meet her!

Q: Are you in love with number 1? YEAH, absolutely crazily! He's my God!

Q: Do you know a secret about 8? Yes, I do. But why would I spill his secrets in here? But oh yeah, deep down inside.. Jayant wants to be the Pink Power Ranger :P

Q: Describe the relationship between number 10 and number 5: 'Best friends' would probably do the job! :)

Q: What is the best thing about your friendship with number 4? I dunno, maybe the fact that he's my brother helps me chill and play joker to my heart's content!

Q: What is the worst thing about number 1? Nothing.

Q: Have you ever danced with number 7? *cough* Well yeah! How come all the imtimate questions are with Vidur?

Q: How long have you known number 12? 3 years!! :)

Q: Have you ever been on a flight with number 8? He he! I don't think he's EVER flown! Have you, Jay?

Q: Have you ever been a co-worker with number 6? Depends how you define coworker. Did a coupla school projects with her, if those count..

Q: Have you ever wanted to punch number 2 in the face? I don't know, think it was more of a kick ;)

Q: Has number 1 ever met your mother? Urmmm, he's married to her. You'd think he would've.

Q: How did you meet number 6? Met her in SMC. Best friends since 8th grade!

Q: Did you ever accidentally, physically hurt number 11? Nope!! Why would I?

Q: What is the best memory you have with number 8? Oh, all the time spent in random conversation, about everything and nothing at all. He being all big brotherly, and me free to do and say whatever I please!

Q: Do you live close to 7? Opposite ends of the city :(

Q: What is number 2's favourite food? Ummm, anything from Subway :)

Q: Out of your top 12, which one would you say is the funniest? I'm thinking, Amiya... although Vidur, Jayant and Ashish do have their delicious moments!!

Q: If you could change one thing about number 5, what would it be? Harry, could you please laugh louder?

Q: Say something nice about number 11: Silly jokes and immense brain power come to mind.

Q: Which one lives the farthest away? Currently, dad. Though in about half a month, it'll be everyone in Delhi :(

Q: Which one do you hang out with the most? Can't answer that, waaaaay too close to call!

Q: Who is the loudest? That'll be me. Oh but in the above-mentioned 12, think it will be... ummm, damn. Nope. Just me!

Q: The quietest? Probably Vidur... Although Harry scores well too.

Q: Which bike does number 12 own? She doesn't! :)

Q: Have you traveled anywhere with number 8? Yeah, to Goa!!! :) Awesome fun for 8 beautiful days, with him running around half-naked too!

Q: If you gave number 5 a $100 tonight, what would they spend it on? She'll die of happiness, I'm sure! What'll she buy: clothes and a recharge card for her cell-phone . Then she'll just go crazy partying!



V, Ami, Jay, Richa: I tag thee. Follow the Tag Mobile :)
PS: Vidur, you might as well do all the tag-posts that we've done. You're tagged, tagged, tagged!

PPS: This Batman title is just a sequel to the Super-man one before this! :P

Tag, tag and away!

HAVE YOU EVER..


Smoked a cigarette? : Urmm, does one drag count? It was in school, just to see what it's like. Thankfully didn't like it! :)

Crashed a friend's car? : No! I'm a great driver.

Stolen a car? : Don't need to. Not driving-starved like some people I know! And even if I had, why would I confess here?

Been in love? : Yeah! Deep in it right now!

Been dumped? : Not yet. :P

Shoplifted? : Yup. Tons of times. Just today, picked up a spoon from Barista!

Been in a fist fight? :Yeah, all the time!! Have very violent acquaintances!

Snuck out of your parent's house? : No, never wanted to or needed to.

Had feelings for someone who didn't have them back? : Ummmm no. Lucky lucky!

Been arrested? : NO WAY.

Gone on a blind date? : No.. Thank God!

Skipped school? : Oh lost count!! Boarding school makes you a pro at all that!

Been on a plane? : Yes.. Lets count, oh yeah, about 945678 times.

Seen someone die? : No.

Been to Canada? : Nope. But why Canada? Why not Greece or Egypt or Turkey?

Purposely set a part of yourself on fire? : I'm not instable. My life has always been happy!

Been jet-skiing? : Yeah, in Goa!! Awesome!

Met someone in person from the Internet? : Nope. Have an unwritten rule about that.

Taken pain killers? : Yup... But I try to hold on till the last minute.

Flown a kite? : My mom's the pro and she's embarrased with my kite-flying skills.

Built a sand castle? : Oh yeah. One of my schools had a sand-bed. And of course, all the beach going helps!

Gone puddle jumping? : Yeah. But the getting-clothes-dirty part is something I don't like!

Cheated while playing a game? : Yeah! All the time! Helps me win :)

Been lonely? : Very rarely. More like bored. Actually, just once! Made myself really busy then.

Fallen asleep at work or school/college? : Almost, but never completely. Oh wait, maybe I did sleep in one of Joga's classes..

Used a fake ID? : No, never went to a place that needed an ID.

Felt an earthquake? : No :( Is that a good thing or bad?

Touched a snake? : Yeah, once! So gross :) Loved the freakiness of it!

Slept beneath the stars? : Yes, in Benaras!! Every time there wasn't any electricity at night, we used to sleep on the terrace.

Been robbed? : Yeah, boarding school does that to you! I've lost count of all the things that have been stolen from me. My blazer for one :(

Been misunderstood? : Quite some times! People think I'm being rude when I don't even realise I was that.

Won a contest? : Yeah, got a Harry Potter cap with the Hogwarts symbol on it. (Though the emblem looked like a squished gerbil..)

Run a red light/stop sign? : Yeah. Learnt driving in Allahabad where there are NO traffic rules. You can do whatever you want with the car! :)

Been suspended from school? : Nope. I was a meritorious, all-rounder, (forgive me V) brilliant child who never stooped to doing crap.

Been in a car accident? : Yes. Once.
PS: I wasn't driving!

Eaten a whole pint of ice cream in one night? : No, don't like ice-cream enough to do that.

Walked the streets drunk? : No. Told ya, good sweet girl! Never been drunk either, if that question is in here somewhere.

Had déjàvu? : Every few days.

Danced in the moonlight? : Only with myself! Oh so amazing! *just imagine a pair of strong arms holding you tight! The romantic in me jagos*

Witnessed a crime? : Urmmm, nope.

Been obsessed with post-it notes? : Yeah. But I have my phases.
As in, exam-time equals lots of post-its. Other times equals 'what-are-post-its?'

Squished barefoot through the mud? : Yes. At home, in my garden! Love the gooey feeling!

Been lost? : Nope. Was smart enough to ask for detailed directions before leaving, even if I wasn't smart enough to now all the routes :)

Been on the opposite side of the country? : Yeah, Kanyakumari! How much farther can you get?? :D

Swum in the ocean? : Errr, does wading in it count?

Cried yourself to sleep? : Yes.

Played cops and robbers? : Yeah, about a gazillion times.

Recently coloured with crayons? : Yup!! Was helping my bro make his school projects!

Sung karaoke? : Not the way they show it in the movies, but yeah, in weird ways that can technically be defined as Karaoke.

Paid for a meal with only coins? : No. Wanna. Just to get those famous dirty looks from waiters!

Done something you told yourself you wouldn't? : Sometimes. Will power is a fickle thing.

Made prank phone calls? : Some, not too many. I always felt bad after making them.

Caught a snow flake on your tongue? : Yeah! Yum! :)

Written a letter to Santa Claus? : No. Even though I did believe in him for some time!!

Blown bubbles? : Oh yea! Hasn't everyone?

Bonfire on the beach? : Not on the beach, but at home, yeah! Fun fun fun!

Cheated on a test? : Yeah, EVERY test! :P

Gone skinny-dipping in a pool? : *cough, cough, ahem* Errrrrr, no!





PS: The title has been inspired by the Super-man theme on my phone :D
PPS: Who should I tag? I am the last one to do this! Oh, the new blogger among us, V, you can do it :D

Trapped

The girl leaned panting against the tree. She had been running long and hard. She closed her eyes and concentrated on her breathing. 1-2-3, slowly she regained control of her wobbling knees. Eyes still shut tight, she listened to the woods. She could hear birds chirping and the insects, all the normal woodsy sounds, everyone oblivious to her dilemma. She also heard the dreaded footsteps, seeming closer than before. They were muffled, but she knew them well. It was cold. She shivered, trying not to move much. Movement translated to noise and noise was something to be avoided. Noise would alert.

Trembling, she peeped out from the protection of the tree trunk. Peering into the green, she couldn't make anything out. But she knew she'd have to locate him before being spotted herself. It was a matter of life and death. Her eyes scoured the area, but in vain. Desperation began creeping up her spine. She wiped her moist palms and looked around more carefully. The fear of being found gripped her heart and she couldn't move. She thought of climbing up but that was difficult in her dress, her bright orange dress. Oh why had she fought with her mother to wear it?! "Mother wanted me to wear the green one!", she thought mournfully.

Suddenly, a sound snapped her out of her reverie. There was that sound again.. of feet snapping a twig. He was somewhere near, her senses warned her. She hesitatingly peered again just in time to see a snatch of red amongst the green. "Where are you?" she heard. That sinister voice! It grated against her ears. She was petrified. He was closer, what if he found her, the consequences were too dire to be even thought about..

She realised she had to move away. She began picking her way through the under-bush. She finched as the leaves rustled around her. Oh dear! She knew she'd alerted him. She turned around and two pairs of eyes met. He saw her and grinned wickedly. Eyes widening in fear, she turned and fled, ran as fast as her little feet could carry her.She could hear him running after her, hear him getting closer and closer. Faster and faster she ran, blood pounding in her ears, but he was gaining on her.

Slowly she realised with a sinking sensation that she wouldn't be able to outrun him. She needed a plan... but what? Running and thinking, running and thinking, she felt herself tiring out. What could she do!? She heard him panting behind her, "Maybe he'd get tired too!" She laughed as she realised that that would happen long after she tired out. He was very close now. If he stretched out his hand, he would be able to touch her. And that is exactly what he did, he stretched out his arm, grabbed her shoulder and pulled her violently to a stop. Fearfully she turned around, all fight drained out of her, and her brother said, "Tag, you're it."


PS: Can't think of a title. Help!