1:The Free Hours That Made Us
V: There's a special kind of happiness that only college students understand…
That one magical sentence from the class representative:
"Free hour! The teacher is absent! Do whatever you want!"
The moment we heard that, we used to scream like prisoners finally getting parole.
Pure heaven.
Well… except for the two bookworms sitting beside me.
The moment the teacher left,
Storm and God would immediately open their notes, assignments, and question papers
Basically, everything that ruins a perfect free hour.
Thank God I existed.
I used to snatch their books, close their notes, hide their pens,
and force them to play games like normal humans.
Our childhood games were elite:
chits game
SOS
box game
dots & squares
dumb charades
We played all of them like Olympians.
And as the years passed, our level upgraded.
From paper games to PUBG.
Storm and I became PUBG warriors.
While God… well… she used to sit beside us and get jealous because she felt left out.
(Which was adorable, by the way.)
But God had a superpower that neither of us had:
She was a walking Netflix.
A mini television with unlimited movies stored in her brain.
Hollywood, K-drama, C-drama, and animation.
She watched EVERYTHING.
So, whenever we got a free period,
we made her narrate the entire story of whatever show she had watched
Our two benches literally transformed into a theatre. And she was the commentator.
And honestly?
Most of us started watching K-dramas only because of her.
She started the K-Drama Era in our class.
A whole generation influenced by one tiny God.
As for animation…
I never connected with it.
No offence, anime lovers, it's just me.
Please ignore my existence.
2: The Narrator Nobody Realised They Needed
S- god:V calls me a walking Netflix…
And honestly?
I'll accept that title proudly.
Because yes, they turned towards me for stories every free hour,
But it's not like they forced me.
I loved it just as much as they did.
Maybe even more.
The moment we heard "Free hour!"
The first bench would rotate dramatically.
everyone would settle like a proper audience,
and before they even asked,
I'd already be preparing the opening line in my head.
Because telling stories was our thing.
Their excitement fed my excitement.
Their reactions made me narrate even better.
It wasn't an order,
It was our routine.
Our comfort activity.
Our little world.
And trust me,
These people were the funniest audience ever.
Half of them hadn't seen Hollywood movies.
K-dramas confused them.
C-dramas sounded like medical reports.
And anime looked like cartoons "for kids".
So whenever I introduced a new show or movie,
They listened like I was teaching them rocket science.
I still remember narrating that horror movie scene
where the character eats their own skin,
and these dramatic humans almost started vomiting.
Not joking.
Their faces turned into full horror emojis.
Meanwhile, I was standing there thinking,
"Relax, it's just a story… Why are YOU all suffering more than the actual characters?"
V pretends she rescued us from boredom with games.
But she never skipped a single story session.
Not even once.
And Storm,
Oh, her reactions were the best.
She wouldn't say a word.
But her eyebrows would express everything.
Shock, disgust, excitement, judgment,
all communicated silently.
Peak entertainment.
We played every OG game too.
chits, dumb charades, etc.
with Olympic-level seriousness.
And when PUBG arrived,
Storm and V became soldiers.
while I sat beside them like the coach giving emotional support.
Those free hours were supposed to be breaks.
But for us, they turned into
a mini theatre,
a gaming arena,
and a comedy show…
all on two benches.
And the best part?
It wasn't just fun.
It was ours.
Our tiny tradition.
Our shared madness.
Our favorite escape.
They loved listening.
I loved narrating.
And together,
We created moments that felt better than any actual movie.
Honestly?
Those silly stories and stupid games are still some of my favourite memories.
3: The Quiet One Who Enjoyed It All
S – Storm: Let me be clear about one thing first.
I was happy too when the words "Free hour, teacher absent" were announced.
Just as happy as everyone else.
I felt that same excitement, that same relief,
that same joy of knowing we could finally breathe for a while.
But my happiness had a small condition.
While everyone celebrated freedom,
My brain immediately whispered, "Let's finish whatever work is pending right now."
Because if I could complete notes or assignments during that free hour,
It meant one less headache at home.
one less late night,
One less reason to stress later.
V - (The devil's statement): Hey Strom, if you try to complete all the pending work in free time as you mentioned, when the hell are you going to enjoy free time, and you say it's not boring!
That was my logic. Not boring, just strategic.
But that didn't mean I missed out on the fun.
Because whenever V started her games,
I played.
Actively.
Competitively.
With full seriousness, like my reputation depended on it.
And whenever God started narrating her stories,
I listened.
Fully.
Attentively.
Like every word mattered.
Those paper games,
chits, SOS, dots & squares, dumb charades
and God's endless storytelling sessions
weren't just time-pass.
They were college memories in the making.
I got introduced to a whole new world because of her
K-dramas, C-dramas, movies I would've never watched otherwise.
Some stories stayed with me longer than actual lectures ever did.
And PUBG.
V and I were definitely not professional players.
No chicken dinners, no legendary skills.
But we played like warriors anyway.
Not to win, but to enjoy.
Laughing at our mistakes,
celebrating tiny victories,
and pretending we were undefeatable.
Those free hours weren't about choosing between fun and responsibility.
They were about balancing both.
Finishing work.
Playing games.
Listening to stories.
Laughing quietly.
Living fully.
Looking back now,
those moments were simple…
but unforgettable.
Because somewhere between finishing assignments early,
playing childish games, and listening to God narrate entire worlds
I was happy.
Quietly.
Completely.
And those free hours?
They didn't just free us from class.
They gave us memories we still carry.