My eyes light up the moment I see him. My heart skips a beat and squeals with delight as I rush into his arms. Ah…the feeling of being in his arms, that warmth, that comfort, that amazing sense of security. A certain powerful force of attraction draws me towards him each and every time we meet; his enticing charm never fails to grab my attention.

What I am most proud about is that ours wasn’t the clichéd ‘love at first sight’ situation. We have been together since as long as I can remember. We started off as childhood buddies with occasional fights and separations, but as and when time passed by, our love for each other grew stronger, and now I can’t go a day without him.

We aren’t so popular with my parents though. They scowl and clench their fists furiously every time they see me with him (which is, unfortunately for them, quite often).

“I hope you’re not with him” come concerned shouts from downstairs.

“Of course not!” I lie conveniently, as I playfully rest in his arms.

What they don’t realise is the immense strength of our bonding, nothing can ever break us apart; we are one of those rare couples who are meant for each other. No trust issues, no misunderstandings, no problems that couples usually have, the two of us are simply perfect together. My parents are the ones who introduced him to me and I thank them so dearly for that.

I think it’s high time that I announce our relationship to the entire world officially, everyone must know about my love. So if there are any authors out there looking for a perfect love story, feel free to write about us, it’ll be a bestseller I can assure you that.

So here goes. I love you with all my heart; I always have and always will. You complete me, you have made me who I am today, you are the one who gives me strength to face each new day, and you are the one who makes me feel extremely special. I love how I end each day with you; it makes the whole day’s work worthwhile. My brain and my heart are at war each morning when the time comes to break our embrace and go our own separate ways for the day. And in the end, my heart reluctantly lets go of you, but your memories keep me fascinated throughout the day and the slightest mention of your name makes me blush a deep red. I shudder to think of life without you, the mere thought brings tears to my eyes, and without you life would feel just so wrong. In a year we will have to separate and it will be on rare occasions that we will get to meet. How will I survive without you my dear bed?

“Let the suffering commence” the supervisor announced. “You have two hours, and two hours only, you won’t get a single minute extra”.

“Oh believe me sir; we won’t require any additional time. Two hours are more than enough to execute us” one said.

“You forgot to ask us for our last wishes” muttered someone from behind, as we all started off with our work and the clock ticked away faster than usual.

It was just the beginning and so everyone was focused, their minds resolute about taking this work very seriously and giving their best. No one intended on cheating as we all very well knew that it was of no use. The supervisor took advantage of our honest and sincere nature and dropped down onto his chair. Staring at his nails intently, he began biting them to perfection; occasional soft snarls accompanied his grooming process. We half expected him to start yanking on his tie that went around his neck like a leash. After he was done working on his nails, he began humming a melancholic tune.

“Yes, well funerals do require some background music don’t they?” noted someone solemnly as everyone chuckled to themselves.

All of a sudden, an outburst of loud cackling laughter pierced the void atmosphere, startling us all. We looked back to find one of our fellow classmates lying in a pile of torn papers, his hair stood straight pointing up towards the ceiling, his eyes glared with a certain psychopathic determination and a haunting expression masked his face. His maniacal smile confirmed our deepest fears.

“He’s finally lost it” I said, and everyone nodded in agreement.

“Someone please take him to the medical room” the supervisor said referring to our troubled friend.

“It’s no use sir. Now there is nothing that can cure him, no one who can help him, it’s a gone case” whispered my classmate with a certain dramatic grief in his voice.

Snickering at his remark, everyone returned to their work. Once in a while someone would dare to take a peek at the clock and state the time left for this draining episode of our lives to end. It was as if we had all been hanged, but our necks didn’t split and finish us off for good. We had just been left hanging, completely helpless, struggling and fighting against the choking sensation that filled us.

Turning my head slightly, I looked back to find one person blissfully lost in his sweet little dream world of prancing unicorns and rainbows in the sky, one snoring and drooling all over his work, one staring into space with his mouth wide open, head resting on his hand and eyes popping out, and one person gnawing at the end of his pencil. I grinned with satisfaction that I wasn’t the only one who seemed to have had enough of this inhuman treatment.

“So, how was the paper?” a clear voice cut through our daydreams, and we all looked around to find the source of that unsettling question. Spotting our English teacher at the door, we all stared at her with dead eyes, our faces evidently spelling distress. Taking one quick look around the class, she walked away smiling to herself, clearly pleased with her victory in managing to wipe out the life that surprisingly remained in us.

The class lies unusually still as everyone silently goes about doing their daily work, the incessant noise of pen nibs scratching the dry surface of the notebooks hangs in the air. Studious discussions develop as students engage in informative talks and in a while, menace in the form of three completely defected pieces walks in.

“May God bless these earnest kids as they prepare themselves for a life full of hard work” says one of the three, shaking his head with pity, as they get seated in their regular spot.

The sincere students comprising of five out of a total of eight, occupy the front seats, and in two desks in the far corner near the windows sits The Notorious Trio. Their eyes sparkle with an intense determination to make something happen, the unnatural tranquillity in class greatly bothers them. Their restless souls are desperate to get into trouble; their hands long to create havoc and their throats run dry with the words they curb within themselves. The class teacher walks in, and seating himself on the teacher’s chair, he begins doing his work. The slightest disturbance catches his attention and he attempts giving a stern look. The entire class succumbs under his watchful sight, but not SAM. Nah! They’re way too involved in their mischievous plans to even realise that a teacher is present. The ringing of the bell resounds throughout the school indicating the commencement of the first period.

“It’s time. De Todos. Para Todos.” the Trio whispers.

It’s just a matter of a few seconds and their ingenious plot begins to unfold, the beauty of which everyone apart from SAM fails to notice. Impatience flows in their blood and their unpredictable nature adds on to the intensity of nuisance caused by them. Their impulsive conduct sets off a series of hysterical moments, as their laughter echoes in the earlier hushed class. Each comment passed by them triggers another one, and this chaotic chain of events continues. The teacher looks up at the Trio, opens his mouth to scold them, but then upon realising that there’s no stopping them, he returns to his work, trying desperately hard to ignore the three hyperactive characters which seemed to rule over that corner of the class. Their shameless acts gain popularity day by day and the Trio diligently maintains its reputation amongst all teachers.

Finally the bell rings and the period ends. The class teacher gets up at once to leave the class, with an agonised look on his face, he scowls at the Trio. “Learn to appreciate silence” he says and marches out, visibly annoyed at the immensely satisfied look that spreads across SAM’s face.