Chapter - 5 - First night in the dormitory....
All the trainees came out in 2-3 minutes. Because he was minding his own business too much,he didn't take a good look at the lobby.
There was an altar at the other side of the lobby, a statue of Buddha was enshrined on it. Two flower pots are standing tall on each side of the statue with a bunch of plastic flowers.
Under the altar, a middle aged man around forty and a man around thirty sat side by side. The middle aged man has a pot belly and a smiley face. The man in his thirties was as thin as a pole.
"Dorm head… Teacher Pyae Phyo…"
The seniors greeted in unison while the juniors knew nothing…
"Okay… 14/08 is good. 15/09…I'm Teacher Aung Than, the head of Dhanya dorm. Oh… 15/09 refers to the freshmen. The meaning is you are the 15 batch of the trainees, admitted in the year 2009. From now on you all will be called 15/09…Clear?"
"Yes, dorm head…"
The reply was loud. The voice from another dorm could also be heard from here. The dorms are closed…
"Okay.. okay..sit down.."
Wine looked left and right. The floor was not carpeted, how to sit ? However, the seniors are very skilled. They took off one of the sandals and flip-flop skillfully and sat on it. He also had to follow the crowd.
His heart ached, his sandal was made with velvet.
"The door of the gate will be locked at 6:30 p.m. All the trainees have to worship the Buddha at 7:00 p.m.,starting from tomorrow. Of course, other religions are exceptions."
The news made the freshmen tremble… Female trainees are fine however, want to make the male trainees worship the Buddha? The teachers are not devils, right?
"Memorise the Pali verses tonight from your seniors.. Set an alarm at 5:00 a.m. for tomorrow. P.E class starts at 5:30 a.m… The timetables for 14/08 are pasted on the blackboard in front of the Assembly hall. 15/ 09 has to be seen on the first floor of the teaching building. It will be pasted side by side with the class distribution notices."
Wine pulled the corner of Anawar's shirt. When he leaned over, he whispered into his ear…
"Hey, are you Buddhist?"
Anawar nodded at his question.
"Then, can you chant the Parli verses?"
"Just a little…"
They whispered in each other's ears…
"But I can't…Do you think I can move my lips and act like I memorized it?"
Anawar rubbed his ear…
The breath that blew into his ear was warm, he felt itchy…
"Okay, go do your things. The light will be off at 9:00 p.m."
"Yes, dorm head…"
The trainees sent off the dorm head, patted their butts stained with sand from the floor, put their feet back on the sandals and flip flops and returned to the respective halls.
Wine set the alarm and continued to make the bed. The mosquito net is a must have for trainees. Or else, you will wake up with an extra layer of red and swollen skin.
"Hmm…there is no nail for two nets. Brother Anawar, the nails are just enough for one net."
"Youngest, this place was used by graduate trainees last semester. They are pros in thrift who use all the resources available from the environment."
The night was so quiet that his confusion was heard and answered by a senior.
"Then?"
"If the roommate has a mosquito net, they don't need to have it."
He scratched his head. Where should he go to find the nails in the night? The dorm was already closed.
"Don't bother. Let's find some tomorrow. Use my net tonight."
Anawar said with a headache. He didn't have the habit of sleeping with anyone but looking at the tender skin of Wine, he let it go. He didn't want to sleep without a net either.
The beds have a gap of 1-2 inches in between. They pulled the beds together until the beds no longer had gaps.
"Thank you, brother. Don't worry I don't have bad sleeping habits."
Wine replied. Then he remembered his habit. He hugged the small lamp ..
"Can I use this small lamp? I am afraid of the dark in new places. I am still not used to it."
"Youngest, if you want to attract the ghosts, light it up."
It was Kyaw Swar's voice, senior with a crew cut.
"Ghost? This place have ghosts?"
Not just Wine, the juniors except Anawar were frightened.
"Hey, do you want to know?"
Myo Ko : "You are bluffing, right?"
Kyaw Myo Myat : "Don't lie."
This time the seniors are not laughing.
"Why should we lie to you? We are told by seniors too. The male dorms are not that bad but the female dorms are very scary."
"You don't know…This college is not built by our country. This place was a building built by the English while our country was colonized by them. This college was a century old building…."
"Imagine how many dead souls are there?"
The voices are lowered…like afraid of being heard by ghosts.
"Only unlucky ones met with ghosts in male dorms. Some didn't even know they had met with ghosts because they were dead drunk. But on the female side….huh.."
"Drunk? Didn't the rules say we can't drink?"
"Don't stray from the topic. You will see later."
"Oh. Then go on, senior.."
Htin Lin lifts his glasses. All the eyes are on him..
"Last semester, we met with 3/08 graduated trainees. The graduated brother in our dorm was scared by a ghost."
Zaw Min : "I remembered. That guy was swearing the whole day. Damn.. The whole dorm was scared but his swearing diluted the atmosphere…"
"How?"
"He was drunk that night. However, we can't be absent in P.E class. He didn't fill his bucket with water last night.
So, he woke up and washed his face beside the well in the dark, relying on the light from the dorm without taking the flashlight. …Guess what?"
No juniors replied to him but all the eyes were staring at him.
"His cup was pulled down. Every time he scooped the water from the bucket, the cup was pulled down. He thought his friends pranked him but there was nothing in the bucket and no one around the well. He was sobered up instantly. Then he started swearing nonstop….tsk tsk.."
"Senior, please. Stop scaring the children, okay?"
"You think we are scaring you? No… When you get to know the girls, you will know the female dorms are scarier."
Zaw Min : "We are just like you when we started the College. We don't believe the seniors too.."
"The girls from the Main dorm didn't even dare to open the door after the lights were off. I tell you, my girlfriend is from the Main dorm. She told me the whole dorm heard footsteps in the corridor every midnight."
Woo….so scary. After the scary talk, all the trainees crawl into the beds and cover themselves with blankets.