The 7 Signs

Chapter 4

Day 7 21st April (Wednesday)

We knew that today we would get one sign from the culprit. When I entered the class room and sat with Charboda, He was doing his home work.Before I could ask him 'what we should do?' he took a copy from his bag and handed it to me:

1. The seven signs meaning (pencils).

2. Noise from bathroom on 12th (heard by the sweeper).

3. The culprit writes signs after break except 12th (After school) and 13th (The day we saw it.)

4. The warning note which was hand typed.

"You have made a list? Of clues!" I asked.

"Yes it is convenient to make a list than hover it inside my grey cells!" Charboda answered.

The bell rang and our Class teacher entered.

"Now I will take the attendance! There should be pin drop silence in the class!" He shouted.

He was counting the roll no's and we were saying 'present sir!' or....'yes sir!'.

After our attendance Charboda whispered to me "We need that list!".

"What do we need? I mean!" I asked.

"We still need the names of the bunkers of classes on 12th." He whispered.

The class teacher had and completed his attendance and started teaching, his subject was History/Civics/Geography. I and Charboda were sitting on the second bench of the 4th Row (last Row). I asked the front bench boy named Abhay. "How many people had bunked the classes on 12th April" I asked him.

"I don't know all about it! but I remember that Rakesh and his friends with two or more always bunk after school." He answered.

"Thanks Abhay for this info!" I said.

Then I looked at Charboda. "What should we do, He just gave us an improper information!" I asked.

"I don't know!" Charboda replied.

After a few minutes the bell rang and Class teacher went away. Then math teacher came, "Should we ask Rakesh?" I asked.

"No, he is our suspect if by chance he is our culprit then he can do something to stop us!" Charboda suggested.

"How we will be able to find the culprit among them?" I asked. 

"We have ample of time! 7 days except Saturday and Sunday." He added.

Some periods passed after our tragic conversation, Now let me tell our readers about my class room. Our class contained 40 students, 18 girls and 22 boys. Charboda's crush Ritika sat with her best friend Shruti. Well, I have no crush till now but god knows which girl I would get. Suspect Rakesh now sat with suspect Pukul. Behind them two more Punnit and Akshay. There are more couples except just Charboda such as Akarsh and Preeti and Tanmaya and Sonali. Otherwise other people are normal but some like Rakesh are indiscipline creators. Well, as like four days back Ritika Chatterjee again came to Charboda with a doubt in the break period.

"Can you please solve It! Charboda. The Teacher never tries to solve my doub't?" She said the word 'Charboda so softly that it gave him a Goosebumps. 

"Why, you always come to me to ask doubts Rits?" Charboda Said Romantically.

I couldn't believe neither  in my ears nor on my eyes! That the Person who was so scared of replying to girls few days back....was now calling her with a nickname! I looked at Charboda and he looked at me. Then I looked at Ritika...

Ritika was shocked too, she turned back and looked at her best friend with a frowned expression, Charboda was solving the her doubt. She then took the copy and slowly moved away. I saw her talking with her friend and heard her friend laughing about it.

I now understood the whole situation; Ritika always came to Charboda to mock him because she knew that he was scared of girls. But today the plan totally befell on her.

"You have an Imprint on her!" I Mocked.

"That's what I wanted! To see her shocked expression!" He said and smiled.

Soon the break period ended and I went to the bathroom to look for the signs. I found the signs but...

"All seven at one.....that's great." I wondered.

The signs were now painted with a faint red paint to mix up with the orange wall.The culprit was clever in doing this but wasn't in leaving his things. My eyes turned down below the puzzle on the floor and caught the red band covered with the same paint. I took it and looked at it curiously and returned to Charboda. When he saw the band with color his eyes shone.

"This could be our final clue!" He said.

"We haven't found the culprit yet!" I said.

He saw the Signs and told me. "All we have to do is to wait for the computer period!"

..........