Shishukunj

A story in two parts by Tanya Gupta, Class IX B

[Part 2]

The next morning we all got up and got ready. Amanda called me aside.

‘Amanda, what is the matter? Is everything alright?’

‘No Emily, yesterday when I went to the matron, I saw Mrs. Rivers in that room which got burned. She had a candle in her hand and was laughing quietly. I think it has a connection with this incident.’

‘But what can we do?’

‘I think we should keep an eye on Mrs. Rivers and see whether she is the one who was behind all this.’

I agreed and went to my class. All this seemed really astonishing. I pondered and pondered. The whole day I did not pay attention towards my lessons and unfortunately Miss. Bronte caught me. At the end of the class she asked me to report to her in her study. I walked after her and went inside. She lectured me about how I need to pay attention in class, but I was least bothered. Suddenly, I caught sight of something unusual. On a small desk near the table, I could see a white gown, a wig and a candle kept beside it. The white gown was similar to the one which Mrs. Rivers often wore at night. Was Miss. Bronte the one who had plotted all this? But why would she do this? I asked myself. I apologized for my behaviour in the class and rushed out to find Amanda.

She was standing outside the class. I narrated everything to her and we decided to inform the police and leave further investigation on them. We told them everything and they instructed us not to tell this to anyone until the real culprit was found. The next day Miss. Bronte did not come to the class. I became more and more anxious to know what was going on. Then suddenly Mrs .Rivers called for me and Amanda. We went to her room and stood solemnly. She told us that it was Miss. Bronte who had plotted the fire. She wanted to become the head mistress and thought that by imitating Mrs. Rivers she would burn that room so that people blame her as an irresponsible headmistress.Mrs. Rivers appreciated us and commanded us not to tell this to anyone as Miss. Bronte had done various things for our school and revealing her name would spoil her reputation. We agreed.

Mrs. Rivers was proud of us and blessed us that one day we would surely lead St. Josephs to great heights.

Within a year, people had almost forgotten about this tragic incident. Amanda and I participated in several competitions and succeeded as well. St. Josephs is now counted amongst the top five schools in England.

Mrs. Rivers was right, we did bring St. Josephs to a great height.

[The end]

A story in two parts by Tanya Gupta, Class IX B

Part 1

The wind was blowing violently. The trees were shaking vigorously. The night became colder as if it would freeze anything that came under it. I was going to my new school St. Josephs near Thornfield, a town in England. As I walked, I came across a tall building. It seemed as if it was very old with dull walls and crooked windows. I took up my luggage and went inside. A plump lady with silver rimmed spectacles was standing at the door.

“Hello Miss Emily Lockwood,” she said, “I am your head mistress Mrs. Michelle Rivers.”

I smiled at her and went inside. We passed through a narrow passage and ascended some stairs. Then finally we came to a corridor. She guided me towards a small door and knocked. The door opened and a short woman with curly hair and pale white skin appeared.

“Miss. Bronte, she is a new student and she will be in your dormitory. I hope that she adjusts well here in St. Josephs.”

Then she smiled and walked away. Miss. Bronte commanded me to get inside and closed the door. The room was quite large with a row of beds and cupboards in front of them.

I unpacked my luggage and went to sleep. The next morning I was woken up by a group of girls who stood around my bed.

“Good morning Sleeping Beauty! It is already late,” said a tall girl. I felt sheepish and apologized for getting up late and introduced myself. The girls hardly bothered and went away. Suddenly, I saw a girl standing at a distance and staring me. She had blue eyes and thick golden hair. I went to her and asked, “Are you new too?”

“No, this is my second year,” came the reply.

I introduced myself and got ready. Then we went downstairs and had our breakfast. She detailed me about the timetable of the school and told me that the girl who had spoken badly to me was the leader of our dormitory and her name was Amanda. Then we proceeded towards our class. The class was a small room with ten small desks and a big table for the teacher. There was a huge window from where one could watch the beauty of the playground during boring lessons. I sat on the front bench.

A bell rang and Miss. Bronte came in. She was our science teacher. She introduced me to the class and started teaching.

I could understand all the lessons and I did well in my exams. That horrid Amanda and her group became polite and soon became my friends. We played, studied, ate and also went to the town at weekends. Everything was going on well but one night something strange happened.

That night we heard yells and screams. We could feel smoke coming out from somewhere. Everyone woke up in amazement. Miss. Bronte went out and ordered us to stay inside. We all sat anxiously. After a minute the door opened and Amanda came in. She had gone to the matron as she was not feeling well. She told us that there was a fire near Mrs. Rivers room and the whole room was in flames. There were important papers in that room related to St. Josephs and it seemed as if someone had purposely plotted to burn those papers. Police officers had arrived and they were questioning Mrs. Rivers. Just then Miss. Bronte arrived and told us to stay away from this matter and she switched off the lights so that we could sleep. That night none of us could sleep. We all had the same question in our mind,

Who could have set that room on fire?

[Click here to read part 2]