14. A Tour

Time: 7 pm, Venue: NILS

Ground Floor

The Library is closed for outsiders. A solitary lamp illuminates the table where the librarian is talking to two people sitting opposite him.

The Office is firmly closed.

First Floor

Social Media class is going on in Room 1, the first room to the left of the stairs. The students have just finished an activity where each one had written a mock Facebook status update and given likes to any two other updates written by fellow students. Now they are comparing with each other to see which type of posts garners the maximum number of likes.

The Teachers’ Room is locked.

In the Party Politics class in Room 2, the teacher is explaining the buying and selling of MPs. Market value, expiry dates and shelf lives are some of the points he has scribbled on the board.

The snack bar is open.

Second Floor

The Family Management class in Room 3 is very quiet. The students are reading an article about the early symptoms and first aid treatments of egotism.

In Room 5 at the far end of the corridor, a student insists that gossip is always built upon speculations and that there can never be proven facts in a gossip. The teacher shakes her head. The psychology of denial often changes facts into speculations, she tells him.

In the Time Management class in Room 7 the batch is discussing different priorities of different social classes. From the writings on the board, money seems to be the priority for both the lower and upper classes while the middle class is content with social recognition. But some students are vehemently opposing this view and they seem to be presenting some valid arguments.

A girl is sitting on the top step of the stairs, talking on her mobile.