Benefits Of Sleep

When Aditya returned to his desk, Bhadra who noted down the logic puzzle, closed his book, turned to look at Aditya without talking.

Aditya had already noted him but pretended not to know. Aditya took Bhadra's notes and started copying the portion which he had missed. He had started avoiding his friends since his 'sleep sickness' started.

He could feel that his path-of-life had started to deviate towards an unknown path. He wanted answers desperately. He thought his friends could not help him with this problem. So he had resolved himself that until he knew what was happening to him, he would concentrate on his issues first.

Aditya was the kind of boy who wanted many people on his side. He could not bear being lonely since childhood. Aditya was not the type to burden his friends with his problems, but he would share his friend's burden.

This characteristic of Aditya was also the reason that Aditya had grown up to be a likeable person. People, who came in contact with Aditya would realise that he would not only perceive their problems but also try to solve them to his best of abilities.

But on the other hand, Aditya also learned to keep his issues deep within his heart as he did not want his close ones to feel burdened. But if a time came when he thought he could not handle the issue himself, then Aditya would turn towards his closest ones whom he trusted. So Aditya had decided that when he figured out his condition, he would talk to Bhadra about it, but until then he would act as if everything was normal.

Bhadra also knew this unusual mentality of Aditya. That's why, although he wanted to ask about Aditya's issues for the past few days, he stopped himself from doing so. But today he had decided that even if he had to create a big scene, he would get answers.

As Aditya wrote down the notes, he could feel the seriousness in Bhadra's look. He knew he was in trouble today. He had stretched his silence to a breaking point. Just like Bhadra knew of Aditya's temperament, Aditya also knew Bhadra's. Aditya knew that if he prolonged any longer, he would be violating the Bro code between him and his brothers.

Also, Aditya was currently at an impasse where he did not know when he would be sure of his condition. So, he might as well confide in Bhadra and take it from there slowly.

Jatin, who was also silently observing Aditya and Bhadra kept quiet. He knew Aditya would spill the beans today. Unlike Aditya who befriended Bhadra when he joined the Stone Mountain international school, Jatin was friends from childhood with Bhadra, so he knew him better than anyone.

Also, although Aditya had only been friends with Bhadra for a year, Jatin knew that these fellows stuck together like two opposite poles of a magnet. Even Kavya, who was the girlfriend of Bhadra pretended anger as she complained of this in a lighthearted manner.

Kapil sir went on to write his next question, which was pretty small when compared to the previous one - "Calculate the volume of human blood on earth." he smiled and said, "let us check how you people are practising your 'Vedic mathematics' (high-speed calculations)."

"Assume the volume of an average human as 3.78541 litres, world human population as 753.04 crores (7.5304 billion)"

Kapil sir turned towards the students. Some of them had already started calculating, and some had begun discussing. Anupama also showed a faint smile as her fingers danced as she figured the answer.

Bhadra seemed the least bothered about this as he fixed his eyes on Aditya who had finished writing all the notes. He knew that if he did not build enough pressure on him, this idiot would escape before you get another chance.

Aditya also noticed that he could not make a getaway. So, he raised his head and exposed a bright smiling face to Bhadra as he said, "Bhadra, why are you not solving the problem? Kapil sir will get angry if he finds out that you are not paying attention in his class. Also look at the question, how interesting it is, how much human blood do you think is there on earth?"

"…." Bhadra acted like he had not heard as he continued looking at Aditya, which even made Aditya embarrassed. He thought that if Bhadra continued his staring act, by the end of the class, he and Bhadra would be legitimately recognised as a gay couple. And, even diving into Ganges river will not absolve him of this status.

So Aditya took up a solemn face as he said, "Bhadra, I will explain everything to you after class. What do you say?"

"…." Bhadra had still not given up. He knew too well what would happen if he gave up now.

Aditya saw that even this did not work, he took a deep breath and looked at Bhadra with a bitter smile on his face as he said," 28,505,651,464."

Bhadra was stunned when he heard Aditya slowly uttering a number. He did not understand why Aditya was saying a number instead of explaining his situation. He was furious. This fellow took this too far. If he could not rely on his friends to share his burden, then how could the sanctity of the Bro code be preserved. When he prepared to cut his ties with Aditya, he heard a pleasantly sounding female voice. Anupama stood up and said, "Sir, the answer is around 2, 850 crore litres or 28.5 billion litres."

As Bhadra heard the answer, he stopped his actions as he remembered Aditya's words. 'isn't it similar to what he said?' he thought. Bhadra turned his head to see Jatin staring at Aditya like he saw a monster. Jatin's mouth was open wide enough to push an egg inside. His pen had already slipped from his fingers and rolled, god-knows-where.

Jatin had been watching both Aditya's and Bhadra's actions all along. He was also puzzled when he saw Aditya recite numbers. But, after he heard Anupama's answer, Jatin understood that Aditya had arrived at a response earlier than Anupama, which was a never before seen event. Not only had Aditya solved before Anupama, but Aditya had also given a more accurate answer than her. Jatin knew Aditya had not calculated using any instrument, and he didn't even use his pen.

Bhadra also understood what had transpired just now. He knew that though Aditya managed to be in the top 5 of the class and was pretty smart himself, he could not have done such a feat before.

"Maybe its an accident." Bhadra leaned towards Jatin and muttered.

"I wish." Aditya bitterly smiled as he thought when he saw his friend's reactions. Aditya was just as shocked when he found out that he developed high calculating skills and also memory skills, which he still didn't tell Bhadra.

Kapil sir smiled as he was satisfied with Anupama's answer as it was pretty close to the correct answer. He did not expect his students to give an accurate answer to the last unit.

He said, if I were to ask to you fill an Olympic sized swimming pool with this blood, how many pools do you think we would require until all blood is consumed?"

"Who knows the volume of a swimming pool used in the Olympics?"

Nobody answered, Bhadra involuntarily looked at Aditya who shook his head. He had gained excellent memory skills, but he can't know the answer to everything.

Bhadra and Jatin looked at each other as suspicions arouse in them, "is this idiot playing a new game to escape?"

Then Kapil said, "the volume of the swimming pool is 88,263 cubic feet. Does anyone know the conversion of cubic feet to litres?"

"28.3 litres, sir." came a rapid answer, did not need to guess it was Anupama.

By now Bhadra and Jatin were looking at Aditya in disdain while Aditya shrugged and said in a low voice so that only Bhadra and Jatin could hear, "11413 pools."

Bhadra and Jatin who were busy in despising Aditya for his actions were once again in shock. But their doubts didn't clear immediately as Anupama had not answered yet.

After a few minutes, Anupama raised her head and said, " Sir, the answer is 11410 pools."

Bhadra had noted down Aditya's answer, so when he saw Anupama's reply, he found that Aditya answer was away from 3 pools to correct solution.

Though it seemed his friend had become a human form calculator, it looks like it is a little defective. Bhadra and Jatin looked at each other and breathed a sigh of relief, as it would be more frightening if he got the answer right.

Just as they were revelling at his friend's human nature of committing an error, Kapil sir shook his head. Kapil Sir smiled as he explained, "the answer you have calculated is correct when you take the rough figure of the volume of blood as 28.5 billion litres. If we calculate the exact volume of blood to the last unit and then calculate the number of pools, then we will get 11,413 pools, a total difference of three pools. But still, I am quite satisfied with your answer."

Anupama nodded her head in understanding as she corrected her answer.

"So this concludes our session, I want all students to revise all the terminology of calculus we had discussed. Those people who are participating in Mathematics Olympiad final in the capital (New Delhi), meet me in the evening to discuss the boarding and travelling issues." Finishing his words, Kapil sir exited from the classroom. The smartboard saved all of Kapil sir's notes and displayed a refreshed plain board for the next teacher.

Bhadra and Jatin were now looking at Aditya as if he were a monster. Aditya turned and looked at their faces and said, "Now do you know why I have been strange these days."

Bhadra and Jatin nodded their heads, then shook their heads, they didn't know how to reply and thus maintained silence.

"Isn't it a good thing?" Jatin asked after some time.

"How do you know its a good thing, first of all, it's not normal. I remember seeing some Hollywood picture. In that film, the hero gets some super mental powers only to find out that it was due to a brain tumour," Aditya said.

Aditya also had another strange suspicion about his condition. He remembered some people saying that when people die, they will see their whole life flash before their eyes. Wasn't it precisely what was happening to him right now?

Aditya had thought that he was also going to die. But, then, he saw the 'other' him in the dream world diverge from reality. His parents weren't missing, and the 'other' Aditya (dream) was currently in Geneva continuing his studies. At that time, Aditya had removed the possibility of him dying.

Also, he had got himself a body checkup previously, which showed him healthy. He was helpless if his problems were physical and hid well enough to escape the detection of various diagnostic tests.

There was another reason that he did not think that he was dying. It was not just his mental capabilities that have increased in the past few days but also his physical abilities. Though he had not checked his exact fitness levels, he was sure that he was stronger now.

The little loose flab he had near his abdomen had already disappeared replaced by a thin visible muscular abdominal layer. He believed he could run a 10K run with no pressure at all. He did not want to tell all these changes to his friends unless he figured out the reason.

"What do you think caused these changes in you?" After sometime Bhadra and Jatin asked, they had naturally brushed of theories of brain tumours based on Hollywood movies. They wanted to see if this process could be replicated. Who wouldn't want to have their calculative skills increased exponentially?

"These changes appeared since I had contracted that sleeping problem." Aditya thought back a little and said. He felt that there was a connection between the sleeping problem and his changes. But he could not wholly figure them out.

"So you are saying these are the benefits of sleeping for 14 hrs a day," Bhadra asked as he gulped while exchanging glances at Jatin.

Aditya could already figure out what these idiots were thinking. He shook his head with a smile as he left the classroom for the cafeteria. Bhadra and Jatin followed him hastily as they bombarded him with 'essential' questions.

"Do you sleep facing east?"

"Which material is your mattress made of?"

"Do you eat anything before sleeping, or do you sleep on an empty stomach?"

"Do you do 'that' before sleeping?"

"…..."

As the three friends made their way to the cafeteria, they did not notice that a figure was watching them silently from a distance.

It was Anupama. She stood there on the other end of the corridor, her bangs floating along with the wind as her eyes were a little dazed. Though she had a different temperament from other girls of her age, in the end, she was also a teenage girl.

Anupama had already known that Aditya liked her, but he never proposed to her so she could not be for sure. But from the past few days, she felt that he was becoming more and more distant to her. She could not understand his thoughts anymore.

She knew that she was in no position to love, but that didn't mean she didn't enjoy Aditya's favour. Anupama gripped her books more firmly than necessary as she felt a little uncomfortable thinking about all these.

"Anupama I have already submitted our project work to Divya mam, let's go for lunch, am starving." Kavya, who was the best friend of Anupama, was also the girlfriend of Bhadra. She pulled Anupama by the hand towards the school cafeteria.