Where’s Riana?

Suhani Roy
AIS Noida, IX K

Ashley had just joined the boarding school. Away from home, she found it  extremely hard to settle into her new environs and befriend anyone, until Raina came along. The two girls hit it off like a house on fire from the very start. They shared common interests and soon became inseparable, just like peanut butter and jelly.
One fine morning, Ashley woke up startled. She had a dream where she saw Riana sitting upright in her bed. Riana whispered ‘sorry’ in a weepy voice and faded away like dust into thin air. Ashley narrated the dream to Riana, who laughed it off saying, “Dreams are just dreams, they have nothing to do in real life.” Ashley continued to have the same dream night after night. So scared she was of this nightmare that she decided not to sleep.
Alas, she felt asleep. And this time, as Riana began to fade away in the dream, Ashley gathered up the courage and called her out. However, Riana did not respond and sobbing softly, vanished. Ashley woke up, gasping for breath. She gulped down some water and looked out of the window. It was barely dawn. But as she turned to look towards Riana this time, she encountered an empty bed with the sheets neatly folded in place.
A startled Ashley ran to the other rooms in the hostel corridor, looking for Riana. “Riana, where are you?” she screamed through every corridor looking for her best friend. Hearing her voice, the other girls came rushing out of their rooms. “What’s wrong Ashley?” asked one of the girls. “Riana…she’s gone missing.” “Riana…who?”
“She’s my roommate! Are you out of your mind?” Ashley shrieked and stomped away from the scene. She walked right back into her room, only to realise that all of Riana’s stuff was missing. The room on Riana’s side was completely empty.
The next morning, she went to her class and saw another girl sitting at the back seat, where Riana used to sit. What was happening? Ashley was confused. Not being able to concentrate in the class, she ran to her class teacher Mrs Smith and told her about the entire incident, asking for help to find her best friend Riana. Frowning, Mrs Smith replied, “But Ashley dear, we don’t have any student by the name of Riana in school.”

Pen holder

Prakshi Jain, AIS Vas 6, VIII

Material required

• Large plastic cup/bottle - 1
  
• White sheet (A4) - 1
  
• Glue/tape
  
• Glossy tapes (for decoration)
  
• Sketch pens

Procedure

• Take an empty plastic cup/bottle and cut it through the middle in two equal parts. If you can find a straight circular bottle, like the one I have used, it would work the best. If not, any normal bottle would also work.
  
• Now, take the bottom half of the bottle and cover it entirely with a white sheet.
  
• Use glue or tape to paste the white sheet on the bottle and make sure no transparent part of the plastic bottle is visible.
  
• Put glossy tapes all around the white sheet in vertical or horizontal pattern to decorate it.You can also draw border like patterns, using sketch pens on the visible white sheet spaces.
  
• Your simple yet pretty pen holder is now ready! You can put your pencils/markers/pens in it and keep it on your study table.

Harbingers of winter solstice

Ashish Magoo, 
AIS Saket, Alumnus
(EIC - Batch 2008)

‘Tis not winter habiliments
Nor the frozen ligaments
That herald the northern run
Of our scintillating sun

‘Tis not the palatable potpourri
Of oranges and strawberries
That serves as a culinary prelude
Betwixt fall and spring’s interlude

‘Tis not the hallowed hymns
Nor the wistful Christmassy whims 
That signal the seasonal sonnet
Oh, so delicious and dulcet 

‘Tis not the dearth of mirth
Nor the bouquet of pansies
That usher the ultimate Uttarayan
Fostering fecundity and fun

Oh, it’s the farmer’s sickle 
Reaping trickle by trickle
Harvesting his tenacious toil
From life stimulating soil

That heralds the hibernal solstice
And Mother Earth’s blissful bounty
It’s the seeker’s spiritual longing
To savour the sense of belonging 

Climaxing in a cocooning crescendo 
With playful gravitas and gusto 
That beckons the spring cornucopia
Its ethereal and dainty utopia
 
Both rejoicing the fruit of labour
Of the farmers’ moiling saber
Come, celebrate with festive fervour 
Their effortless endeavour

Harbingers of winter solstice

Aditi Jha, AIS Saket, XI F

The azure and untamed Ganga flows
Down Himalayas, singing songs it knows

Tales of land with wounds overlooked
Still garnered with courage she stood

Commanded sons and daughters to create
World of love, not violence and hate

Of justice, social, economic and political
Provide citizen’s with justice that’s ethical

Of liberty to think and express opinion
Have faith and follow whichever religion

Of equality for all, not what bigots say
Grasp opportunities that come our way

Of fraternity to maintain sense of unity
Celebrate others, treat each with dignity

My nation has cried for way too long
But now we aim to see a new dawn.