Satheesh Vellinezhi
| Photo Credit: Satheesh Vellinezhi
Neha and her friends had heard stories about the strange things that happened in the Std VI A classroom at night. They decided it was time to for the Five Case Busters to investigate.
Neha, the leader, said, “We will meet outside my house at 11.00 p.m. tonight and then we will get into the school…”
The five girls were neighbours and lived close to the school.
“How will we get in?” asked Sujatha, apprehensively.
“We can sneak in through the orchard,” said Minu.
“Good idea. The watchman will be sitting by the front gate, so he won’t know,” said Alka. “But we must be careful about the animals.”
Plan in place
If you hadn’t guessed by now, the girls were studying in a convent school in Coonoor in the Nilgiris. It was a small town and almost everything shut down by 8.00 p.m. So it would be easy for the girls to sneak into the school without anyone knowing.
That night, they dressed in dark clothes and, wearing black caps, sneaked out of their houses. Their parents were fast asleep so there was no fear of them being caught. They ran down the path that led to the orchard. Alka carried a torch but it wasn’t necessary, as the moon was bright in the clear sky. They crept up to their classroom and tried the door. But it was locked. “Oh no, we forgot about that!” exclaimed Sujatha.
“No worries,” said Neha, “follow me.” The classroom had two big windows. Neha tried one and it opened. She smiled at the girls, “This window cannot be shut. The lock is broken. I sit next to the window, so I know.”
“Do you want to get in?” said Alka, who was frightened.
“No, we’ll stand here. I don’t want us to get trapped inside, in case there is something really happening,” said Neha.
They stood around the window, wondering how long they would have to wait. A cold breeze blew and they shivered. The quiet of the night was broken by the ringing of the church bell. It was midnight. They held their breath and waited. Something was sure to happen.
They jumped when a door banged. Minu almost screamed. A girl dressed in school uniform appeared. She carried some books and, approaching the teacher’s desk, flung them down. Then she began to laugh loudly. It sounded hollow and eerie, as it bounced off the classroom walls. Then she ran around the classroom, opening and banging shut the desk drawers. She screamed and her face was white and her hair stood on end.
“We should go,” whispered Alka. “If she spots us, we are done for.”
The girls were shivering with fear and cold. They moved and the ghostly girl’s head turned 180 degrees and her glassy eyes found them. Neha screamed. That broke the spell that held them. In one quick move, they turned around and fled.
