Board on the wall

There is a board on the wall near my college entrance. It has photographs of all the principals from the past on it. The mug shots go back a century. Only one photo was missing: the current guy’s. The man who ordered my suspension for a week.

My crime? I released the frogs kept for dissection in our zoology lab. My question is, what is wrong with that? I hate violence, especially against those who cannot fight back. I think the word that I am searching for is a pacifist. Not only that, but I wanted to discuss my side of the story with him, but he refused to listen. In other countries, students bunk classes and protest climate change. And guess what? They get nominated for the Nobel Prize. Here, I get suspended. The system is unjust.

“One-week suspension, starting from Monday,” he said; it was Friday.
Under normal circumstances, I would have welcomed the chance to spend a week at home, doing nothing. But the situation at home was different. There was a problem. And that came in the form of my father.

After my mother passed away, my father took up both parenting roles. His mothering skills were on the harsh side. Not only that, his life was all about rules and discipline. If he found out that I was not attending class and that too because I was suspended, things could take a turn for the worse. I needed to come up with a plan.

By Monday morning, my plan was ready. It was pretty simple. I decided that my father was to be kept in the dark. He already had enough difficulties in his world. I was not planning on adding to them. I would leave the house at the usual time, and instead of going to college, I would head straight to the museum. With plenty of shady trees and vast lawns, it was a favorite haunt of lovers and drug addicts. It was the perfect place to spend time.

Two days into the week, I was on first-name terms with the gardeners at the museum. My plan was working perfectly. I was gaining confidence. While I was taking a nap on the perfectly mowed lawns of the museum, I had another brilliant idea. It was the sheer audacity of this one that stood out. In one sweep, I could be a college hero and get revenge on my crummy principal.

The only hitch in the plan was its execution. It required that I enter the college premises under the cover of darkness. But Lady Luck was by my side. My father was traveling on a business trip that weekend. He would return early on Monday. In his absence, the house would be under my control. On Sunday, I reached the college around ten at night. The watchman was fast asleep. That guy amazed me. He would sleep during the day, and now that I noticed it, even at night. I wondered what qualifications were required to be a watchman. But I did not have much time to think. I had a task in hand.

I was quick and efficient. My agility and speed at climbing walls and jumping fences astonished me. Within a few minutes, I had completed my mission and was out of the college and on my way home.
Monday morning I started bright and early. Father would come in around 10 AM, but I would not be there to receive him. I, the dutiful son, would be in college.

As I expected, there was a massive crowd of students at the college entrance. I pushed my way through and reached the center of the group. They were all looking at the photos on the wall and laughing. A new frame was added to the series. A painting of a monkey in a suit.
“Who did this?” one of the lecturers asked.
“It was here when we came, Sir.” someone replied.
“It seems to be a perfect likeness.” said someone from the crowd, and more laughter broke out.
“Who said that?” the lecturer asked. Of course, no one volunteered to answer.

I continued on my way through the group. It was time for classes to start. I was here to get an education.