I woke up on a bleary grey day. It's now 2025 and Rabendar Singh, our new dictator has imposed many difficult rules upon us. He collects huge taxes and most of it goes into funding his lavish lifestyle. He has shut down free schools and decided that knowledge is not to be shared. Strange rules like certain food must be eaten on certain days, rules that only certain music can be played, dance is banned totally (and I loooooove to dance), women cannot have short hair and men should have long beards (We doubled up with laughter as we saw Mr Rinji the Naga restaurant owner struggle with a straggly wisp of a beard, clearly uncomfortable with his new
getup) and yes no one can wear yellow clothes ever. (I mean what a totally irrational rule). The only shops open are government owned ration shops which have all our information and long queues to get even a kilo of sugar. VIP customers(Rabender Singh’s Followers) get everything at discount prices and premium quality products while for the rest of us everything is expensive and difficult to get. There are more rules of course but most of which we cannot understand but have the elders shaking their heads and talking worriedly in hushed tones in corners. Life is just so terrible with all these new rules intruding into every aspect of our lives.
Annabella, my inventor geeky friend has a time machine but we cannot even undo the terrible day Rabendar Singh stormed the parliament and took over the control of our country as her time machine spun out of control and we ended up in the Dark ages when we tried. Annabella still cannot fix it. She says it is unfixable!
First let me tell you about my gang- There’s Sam, the life of our gang. She bought us all together. Annabella, our geeky scientist who came all the way from US with her diplomat parents to Delhi. Abeer is our very own personal master chef but the problem is most of his masterpieces are eat by himself and we get the crumbs. Ronnie, our fast as lightning human monkey who’s only aim in life is to run and jump around. I mean he doesn’t even remember which class he is in most of the time. And finally me, the coolest and very best, Sanya.I don’t have any special ability but I am the peace maker-the United Nations of our gang.
“Hey Sanya” my friend Sam says as I, bleary eyed, join her in the bus-stop. Annabella arrives a little later. Annabella with a twinkle of mischief in her eyes asks “Hacked any web-sites lately?” I groan. Annabella was the latest addition to our gang and she was tickled pink about the fact that her friends were the ones who spray painted in angry red letters on walls screaming for JUSTICE and RETURN OF DEMOCRACY. I mean really people are powerless now that India was under a DICTATORSHIP. I mean some-one needs to do SOMETHING.
You can see it’s really grating Rabendar Singh though. He has wanted posters for “miscreants who paint on walls”. He doesn't have a clue it’s us- innocent and cute tween school kids. Annabella tossed her golden hair and asked me in a low voice “Are we doing anything tonight?” I whispered back. A smile slowly spread through her face and she giggled violently. Sam looked up at the sky as if to say “I’m done.” I smiled at Annabella’s enthusiasm though. Ronnie and Abeer waved to us from their bus-stop. They go to an all boy’s school and get bullied silly by the senior boys.
Sam sings a cheesy song about a song that never ends until the bus reaches. I just sit tight and watch the bus driver driving at the wheel. At school we start with an hour long speech on how great the changes Rabendar Singh has made Huh, I was hearing a strange screeching noise. I looked around. People just looked at me like “Bro, you're gonna get in trouble for not paying attention”. Sam ignored me as who-ever was disobedient was embarrassed in front of the whole school. Smacked on the bottom with a bamboo switch. The classes went by but I am not able to enjoy the classes as most of it are dedicated to skills a girl should know for getting married. In knitting class I end up tangling by ball of wool with five others’. In cooking I set up a small fire instead of boiling an egg. In sewing class I poke myself with the needle. Oh! Heck! I will rather become yeti than get married if it requires me to do all this. I rush home eagerly after school, I get my spray paints ready. As per the new rule we eat dinner at 7 pm- mom and dad with worried morose expressions and it was blackout time at 7.30 pm – another crazy rule to save electricity and money for the country. At 8 pm I put on a black face mask, darken my face with some brown paint and slip out of my house . The entire gang is waiting in at the corner in a wacky assortment of clothes. I nearly laugh out loud at Aditya’s hot pink bunny mask ( we are supposed to be incognito). We stealthily make our way to the ration shop. It’s closed but we pick the lock. I walk into the back and open up the computer there . I hack in and put an USB to take all the data. Meanwhile Aditya and Ronnie start painting on the wall outside. Annabella and Sam paint a message on the main VIP store rooms walls. Suddenly
the night patrol vans rumbling can be heard. All of us rush to hide. Not all of us! Oh! no I realize. Ronnie and Aditya are outside ! The van rumbles louder and louder but I see and hear no sign of Ronnie and Aditya stopping their painting. I could hear the soft hiss of the spray. Suddenly the vans rumbling stops and there is a lot of shouting and struggling going on. I hear silence suddenly. Sam assumes it's safe and walks out. I almost call out to her but then she is captured
by two dark figures. I stay in my hiding place, petrified. Me and Annabella finally escape at 12 pm when the figures rumble away in the patrol van. The next day everyone in school is gossiping about Sam. I am extra grumpy that day and I get loads of detentions. I am in reality thinking how to get Sam, Aditya and Ronnie out of juvie. Annabella is also mentally affected and glum. The day is rotten.
I finally come up with a plan the next morning. I deliberately miss the school bus and I walk to school so that I have more peace and time to think. While I walk to school Annabella texts me that Rabendar Singh himself had come to school ! I am sure that an assassination attempt would take place. I feel a cold feeling creep up my spine. I do not want Rabendar Singh to die, even if he does restrict a lot of rules on us. We should overthrow dictators through negotiation, if possible. Not violence ! I picked up speed and rushed headfirst into the assembly. Yes, I see dark figures up on the roof with a package. I do some quick thinking and grab a fire extinguisher and throw myself against Rabendar Singh. Our combined body weight is more than his. He flies away far from the bomb as it drops.
And me ? I black out as the explosion happens. I wake up in a hospital bed drowsily. My sister tells me “You broke an arm, a leg and your spine. I mean, how did you even survive ?”. Even though she sounds nonchalant, I can see that she had been crying a lot. Days roll out into weeks and finally now I am wheeling myself out in my smart new wheelchair. At the gate a sheepish Rabendar Singh and Narendra Modiji himself are standing waiting for me. OMG!!! Dad tells me that a repentant Rabendar Singh has humbly resigned his post and now Narendra Modiji is the Prime Minister again! I come home to a hero's welcome. And then I realize , “I just saved the entire country” and post a selfie with the hashtag #JustSavingTheDayLOL! .
Sam,Ronnie and Aditya were released from prison. Rabendar Singh has realized that he was indeed doing a lot of wrong stuff and has decided to try out for the next elections to become a leader legally. For some reason I have a sneaking suspicion that Rabendar Singh was being mind controlled. I mean if a time traveling machine is possible… Once I get well enough and out of my wheelchair. Me and my gang will be up and ready for whatever the future throws at us after completing our boards of course!