by Iram Dana
Sierra caught the owner of the pert derriere watching him, checking him out. He combed a hand through his hair and waited. She looked him up and down; then shook her head regretfully. Sierra’s brows snapped together in disbelief and he lurched off the wall.
He flexed his muscles in different angles, posing hilariously like some kind of bodybuilder. She threw her head back and laughed, then took a notebook out of her bag and scribbled something on it. Handing the note to Sierra, she left with two other girls. Sierra opened the note to look at its contents and grinned. He had just received a full ten.
He suddenly remembered Diego and spotted him a long way off already heading up the stairs.
“Hey! Wait up, D!” he said, sprinting after him.
They reached their room and found the door slightly ajar. Sierra pushed the door open and walked right in, scowling to himself. The door crashed on the wall behind, coming off one of the hinges.
“Darn!” cursed Sierra turning to assess the damage done.
“Is okay, I can fix that.” said a nasal voice from behind him.
Sierra turned around to look at whoever addressed him but could see nobody.
“Down here.” said the small voice.
Sierra looked down then and saw a round face with the most enormous glasses perched on a wide flat nose. The boy looked no more than twelve. He had small eyes pinched at the corners and he was smiling widely at Sierra, exposing teeth that looked too big for his face.
“I’m Ashitaka. Pleased to meet you. I can fix that.” he said helpfully, extending a plump hand.
“Provided you can reach that far.” said Sierra, taking the hand and shaking it. “I’m Sierra.”
“Sierra, very nice.” said Ashitaka. “You are friends?” he inquired, looking at Diego.
Diego, who had walked in ahead, was assessing their room. It was narrow, with twin bunk beds lined against each wall. There was only one study table and desk provided and one armoire with a mirror. Save for these two items of furnishing, there was nothing else in their room. Diego eyed the top bunk on his left, with his hands resting on his hips. Two bags were placed on it, indicating it was taken. Calmly, he dumped the bags on the bunk below and proceeded to place his things on the bed instead.
“I guess I’ll take the lower bunk then.” Ashitaka said, forlornly eyeing the bunk where Diego had just dumped his bags.
“That’s my brother, Diego.” Sierra introduced with a sigh.
Ashitaka turned to Diego. “Pleased to meet you, too.”
Diego turned to look at the small hand extended towards him. He ignored the greeting and the extended hand. Ashitaka put his hand down dejectedly.
“Have the two of you heard about what the other students, I mean sequestors, are referring to as Master Shengdu’s ‘Chamber of Secrets’?” inquired Ashitaka.
“Not really, what are you talking about?” asked Sierra, intrigued. Diego turned to look, too. Ashitaka’s round face beamed at having gotten their attention.
“From what I heard, it’s the coolest place here. Filled to the brim with super secret stuff. Stuff that Master Shengdu has collected over the years here. Apparently, there’s gadgets, weapons, even magical stuff …” he breathed the last word with wonder. “Nobody knows its location, though. That’s why everyone jokingly calls it ‘Master Shengdu’s Chamber of Secrets.’ You know, from Harry Potter?”
Sierra looked at his brother with a raised eyebrow. “Sounds like something to watch out for, huh?”
Diego gave him a small shrug and then turned to climb up onto his bunk.
“I can fix the problem in your bed.” said Ashitaka, managing a quivering smile at Diego’s broad back.
Diego paused. “What’s wrong with my bed?” he asked.
“It’s not mine anymore.” replied Ashitaka, and then burst out laughing at what he obviously thought was a good joke. Diego gave an angry snort; Sierra rolled his eyes and turned to place his things on the top bunk opposite Diego’s.
Ashitaka looked at the back’s of both of his new roommates, and turned towards Sierra.
“Our fourth roommate will be late in joining us.” he said, trying to draw them into a conversation once more.
Both Sierra and Diego ignored him.
“He is down at the doctor’s chambers.” he continued hopefully.
“Why is that?” asked Sierra, curious despite himself.
“He’s the one who fainted today during Master Shengdu’s welcome speech.”
Sierra’s eyes bulged. He exchanged a look with Diego.
This could not be happening. Three years in the same room with Ashitaka and that pansy who fainted? Great. Just great.
He walked out of his room needing to get some fresh air, unwittingly flinging the door open once more. It crashed into the wall and the second pair of hinges came off.
“Aw, crap!” he muttered.
Sierra broke into a run. He could hear Ashitaka yelling a promise to fix it even as he turned the corner towards the stairs.
*****
CHAPTER 8
There was a quiet knock on the doors of all dorm rooms at five a.m. the next morning which of course, nobody responded to. This was followed five minutes later with a few more thuds of greater intensity, to which some sequestors groggily responded to by complaining. Five minutes later came the pounding of a gong so loud that the sequestors scrambled out of their beds and ran for the bathrooms. By five forty five, all ninety eight sequestors were assembled in the gathering hall and darting nervous glances around to make sure the gong had woken no dead. Master Shengdu walked in shortly, dressed in plain white robes with a blue border.
“Good morning, sequestors.” he greeted in his calm manner, almost putting them all back to sleep again. “Sleepy? I understand. It is not quite the hour you are all used to waking up to.”
“Not quite the hour?” grumbled Sierra who had only just tumbled out of bed and come straight to the gathering hall. “It’s the middle of the night for Pete’s sake!”
Master Shengdu flashed a sympathetic smile in his direction and Sierra frowned. The old guy couldn’t possibly have heard him, could he? That too, when he was standing here, right at the back of the crowd. Master Shengdu’s smile turned into a grin and Sierra’s frown deepened. Could the guy read minds too? What next? He’d lower his fangs and reveal he was a vampire?
Sierra received a sharp whack to the back of his head and turned to scowl at his attacker. Diego was glaring back at him.
“What?” hissed Sierra, rubbing the back of his head.
“Just how bloody sleepy are you?” Diego hissed back.
“Whaddaya mean?”
“You idiot! You’ve been muttering out loud every single thought that’s crossed your empty brain this past minute! You even called Master a vampire!”
All sleep fled from Sierra’s eyes and his ears turned red with embarrassment. He made a sulky face and turned away from Diego. All eyes in the hall were on him. Great. Sierra felt the urge to lift and wiggle his pinky finger and make a hasty exit, but the idea felt too childish to actually carry out so he just stood his ground, resolutely ignoring all eyes and shifting uncomfortably from foot to foot.
Master Shengdu relieved him from further torture by beginning to speak again, thereby drawing all the attention back to himself.
“Your training will start from today itself. You have been called early today because some matters need to be discussed and explained. From tomorrow, you will be given the wake-up call much later…”
Sighs of relief could be heard which abruptly stopped when Master Shengdu went on to add, “At five thirty a.m. Please be here at six sharp. No excuses or tardiness will be tolerated.”
There was a scream at one corner and then a dull thud indicating someone had fainted. Sierra and Diego exchanged telling looks while Master Shengdu coughed and cleared his throat as two tall, bald men rushed towards the site of the offending noise.
“What an interesting batch.” muttered Master She
ngdu before continuing, “Moving on, sequestors, first thing in the morning, you will all have a forty-five minute session of yoga to relieve you of stress and to balance the energies of the body.” Here master Shengdu paused, giving the gathered sequestors a chance to scream and faint, should anyone feel the need to do so. When no such incident happened, he carried on;
“After your morning yoga session, you will all be given time to freshen up and have breakfast after which, you will come to the training grounds outside for your first lesson.
When you leave this hall, you will all find your time-tables along with your beginner kits waiting for you on your respective beds. Please take a few minutes to label your belongings in order to avoid confusion and disputes later on. Am I clear so far?”
All those present nodded in acknowledgement. Satisfied, Master Shengdu went on;
“There are ninety eight of you in all. Though it is not the biggest batch I have had, it is quite substantial. Now, I am sure you will all agree that training, feeding and looking after such a large group in an organized manner is absolutely necessary for the smooth functioning of the monastery. Therefore, you are going to be further divided into three smaller batches. Each group will be assigned duties that they will have to carry out for a month in addition to the training lessons after which, your duties will be changed, a process that I will explain in a few minutes. I will now begin calling out your names according to the groups you are to be placed in. please start collecting together according to your group number.”
Master Shengdu removed a long scroll from the pocket of his robe and began reading out the names of the sequestors and assigning them their respective groups. Both Sierra and Diego were in group one. Moto and Ashitaka, they noted with relief, were in group two and three respectively.
“I am now going to assign you your duties.” said Master Shengdu. “Group one, for the first month, you will have kitchen duty. We have to make sure ninety eight sequestors are well fed in addition to the staff already present here. So someone’s got to peel the potatoes, stir the broth, do the dishes … you get the idea.” This announcement was met by a round of groans from the members of the group in question but Master Shengdu ignored them and went on. “Group two; you will help with the laundry and housekeeping responsibilities. Know that this does not mean someone else will clean and keep your rooms for you. You are all responsible for the maintenance of your own dorm rooms. Every morning before you report here for your morning yoga session, you will make sure your rooms are clean, your beds are made, your clothes are ironed and that you look presentable when you give your attendance. Those of you who are a little … shall we say, slow? … in following the rules, you will be referred to Mrs. Will , who will teach you in a very simple manner how to keep pace with the rest of us here and ensure the smooth sailing of this ship.”
None of the sequestors knew who Mrs. Will was or what Master Shengdu was talking about, but they understood that if they didn’t fall in line with the way things worked here, they would be taken to task in some manner.
“Lastly, group number three; you will help with the grounds-keeping duties. Mowing the grass, keeping the gardens and the general are free of litter and also helping out with the farming and gardening. You should know, Mt. Chimpu is self sustaining and has its own animal farm and fruit garden. We grow all our own organic vegetables. All of these also need care and attention and besides, it will also help you with your training since you will learn basic skills, such as … how to milk a goat.”
This statement was met with jeers and laughter directed at the third group by members of the first two groups.
“Don’t be too happy.” Master Shengdu’s voice cut through the commotion. “Your duties will change after the first month. Group one will take over the duties of group two, group two will take on the duties of group three and so on. Your duties will keep rotating with each passing month.”
Members of group three took this opportunity to make faces back at the members of the first two groups and Master Shengdu sighed. “You’ll grow up here, don’t worry.” He muttered to no one in particular. He called the sequestors to attention. “Let us now begin with our very first session of yoga, which will be taken by me.”
Master Shengdu removed his blue and white robes to reveal a loose t-shirt and track-pants worn underneath. “Please stand in neat rows one behind the other.” instructed Master Shengdu, and the sequestors shuffled about to take their places.
“Shall we begin? Good. Now take a deep breath and exhale slowly. Let’s start with slow rotations of the neck …”
Forty five minutes later, they had wrapped up and were all heading back to their dorm rooms. Sierra and Diego entered their room to find their kits on their respective beds. Sierra leapt up onto his bunk and tore off the clear plastic wrapping. Inside, he found two pristine white garments that looked like karate suits. They had the maroon and gold dragon’s head emblem of Mt. Chimpu embroidered on them, on one side of the collar.
Besides that, there was a large, printed manual, a pair of gloves – one full and one half, and a yoga mat.
Sierra lifted up his karate suit and its slim white belt to examine it better.
“We got a Gi and Obi.” He lifted and opened a small note tucked inside the suit and read out loud, “Wear these for your morning training sessions as they are more conducive to free movement. Well … okay.” shrugged Sierra. He moved on to the thick manual and opened it. “What’s this? Oh … our time-table and the exact nature of our different lessons. First, there’s the yoga, followed by an hour’s break for breakfast. Then, our first training session … where we’re gonna start with ‘a history of weapons’ and then ‘introduction to martial arts,’ oh yeah, baby! Four hours gone into that, then we break for lunch. Then there’s time for a nap. Afternoons are slotted for ‘practical skills’ and our first class is …”
Sierra looked up at Diego with disgust. “You won’t believe this, D … we’re going to learn stitching. How silly is that?” he didn’t wait for a response but continued, “Then, we break for our respective group duties, then dinner and after that … Games and Life skills? Wonder what’s that? Oh, games that require logic and strategy. It says here we can also use this time to study, pursue personal interests and hobbies, whatever they may be …” Sierra thought about this for a minute. “Do girls count as a hobby?”
Diego, who had been successfully ignoring Sierra until now and had been going through his own kit, now took the time to give some attention to his babbling brother.
“First of all, Si, does it strike your thick head that I have a manual of my own and am perfectly capable of reading? Secondly, we’ve only been given an hour’s break of which, thirty minutes have already gone. We need to shower, dress up and be at the dining hall in fifteen minutes or we’ll miss breakfast.”
“Breakfast!” cried Sierra, clutching his tummy, “If I miss breakfast I’ll die!”
Diego rolled his eyes at Sierra. “Stop being such a drama queen, stinky. Let’s go take a shower first.”
“But it might make me miss breakfast.”
“Come on … you don’t need half an hour to eat your breakfast. You inhale your food, in any case.”
“Just half an hour!” exclaimed Sierra. With a sigh, Diego gave up and walked out of the room with his things. His mission accomplished, Sierra jumped down from his bunk with a big grin splitting his face and followed after Diego with his own towel and clothes bundled in his arms.
*****
The next day, the sequestors were all a mass of aches, pains and bruises. For Diego and Sierra, the first few days at Mt. Chimpu were spent adjusting to the new environment.
Sierra didn’t waste a day in trying out his belt. The first item that he hid in it was a banana that he had nicked from the dinner table. That night in his room he fished around for it in his pocket and found, to his surprise, that it was intact and not smashed. Exhilarated that the belt really worked, he would regularly fleece things off of th
e dinner and lunch tables and stuff it all in his belt. Whenever he got the chance, he’d remove his stash and feast on the accumulated goodies. No matter how much he stuffed into the belt, it never seemed to get any heavier. He decided that next he would try to find out how long perishable goods could be kept. That experiment failed miserably when he found spoilt buns in his belt. After that he decided to eat whatever he managed to pilfer quickly, in order to prevent such a tragedy from re-occurring. The result was that, despite all the strenuous training, Sierra was a happy man.
For his part, Diego managed to hold out on testing the ring for all of two weeks, waiting for its powers grow on him. But by the third week, he could wait no more. After an archery session he lingered behind, waiting for everyone to leave. Once the grounds were empty, he walked over to where the fruit trees were and proceeded to test his strength by punching a tree trunk several times. He left a fist sized impression in the trunk each time without feeling much impact in his body. Encouraged, he searched for something harder. He found a round, flat stone, slightly bigger than his hand and placed it on the ground. This would do. He aimed a carefully measured punch at it.
Nothing happened to the stone.
But nothing happened to his fist either. Diego bent down and hit the stone again, harder. Once. Twice. The third time there was an audible crack as fist met stone. He looked down at the stone, which now lay smashed into smithereens at his feet, and then at his fist, which had only gone slightly red. This was amazing. A broad grin began to stretch across his face. He swiped his fist through the air in a victory motion and then doubled over as searing pain shot from his fingers down the entire length of his right arm, making him cry out in agony.
He ran straight to the in- house hospital, where he found the doctor sitting at his desk with a book in hand, looking thoughtfully out the window.