UN-FAITHFUL

Chapter 17

There are those moments when i thought, i wouldn't make it.... But i, survived....show me chaos, i will show you calm.

The whole place was chaotic. Every one ran in their own direction. There were men in blue uniforms everywhere. Worse than that, they were carrying batons. And worse,they were allowed to beat up any one causing chaos.

It was one of these situations where your adrenaline called for fight or flight. So, while most of the students decided to run, others decided to fight back.

Mya ran back with Asti and Racheal to assemble some of the girls that had stayed back. She ended up calling every one that had even ran from the site to gather and they fight back.

"Imagine,they beat us up and even call the police on us. The police has been given orders to beat any student they don't find in their bed up. So whether you stay or go with us, you are going to be beaten up. Grab whatever you can and lets fight back."

Before any one could even ask a question, more students came rushing in the dormitory gate, chased by police. Every one scattered. Mya's voice could be heard shouting
"This is familiarity of the highest order. bounce back bitches.. "

And then something hit her hard across the back. Some one had hit her. That's when the craze hit her. She charged like a mad cow, and the rest of the girls followed suit.

It was something so unbelievable. The girls became a mob. They beat up the whole squad. They continued to the staff room and beat up any of the teachers they found. They were heading for the headmistress' when twenty more. Police vans arrived.

Most of the teachers were so far beaten up and those untouched were the ones in hiding. It had turned from a demonstration to a real strike.

Truth be told, most of the students also had a bruise or something. More police uniform. They were too many. Mya's was shouting. "Run! Run for your lives." And the next moment, the place becomes cloudy. The coughing proved it was teargas.

Mya didn't run but splinted. Asti was like her shadow. They had lost Racheal. They ran uphill to some unfinished building the school had been constructing for the prefects' new offices.

They had been running so long that they hadn't realised no one was following them. They ran through and hid behind some piles of sand. They lay on their stomachs and waited, while panting.

Meanwhile, all the girls had been beaten to their dormitories and locked in. The police stayed around for the night. They searched the whole school grounds just in case some of the girls were hiding.

When they reached the unfinished building, Mya and Asti had held their breaths. Asti had been shaking all the time and holding onto Mya tightly that Mya had to cover her mouth to prevent her from crying loud.

It was sheer luck that they hadn't been found due to the fact that it had become dark and there were no security lights that side of the school.

The girls were still rebellious and talked through the windows yelling insults at the policemen. They refused to go for any meals that evening and when given porridge for breakfast the next morning, they poured it.

Mya and Po managed to sneak in when the girls were allowed to go for breakfast. Despite having survived being beaten, they had slept on a sandy ground and suffered a sleepless cold, unprepared for night.

A meeting was called by the district attorney with the school board and was chaired in the assembly hall. Students were asked by show of hands to stand up and say what was troubling them as the board promised to work on it if only they promised that such violence would never even be heard of because it was the first in the school history.

The reasons given by the students were many and some included, being treated fairly, preps on weekends, little time for leisure, discrimination according to family financial status, improvement of diet, being hit on by male teachers, severe punishment in case of a mistake....... The list was long.

It was discussed and the board decided to work on it. They also told the students that their parents had been called to come and take them home for at least two weeks as the damaged parts of school were repaired.

A list of fifteen students was hanged up on the notice board for those who have bad influence on other students, and whom the school would be expelling for ever because they were suspected in leading the strike.

Mya came first on the list and wasn't surprised. She packed all her belongings and looked at the school one more time saying, "i really had a good time here but the school was getting too expensive for me. Thank God I'm leaving in style. No one knows yet our bankruptcy."