Fire ! Fire !!

It was 11:15 this morning, I was in the middle of a presentation, which was about to end at 11:30. Suddenly, the building was alarmed by a shrill--------which was low at the beginning, but gradually went on increasing. My professor, a little bewildered, popped out of the room. After a few moments, he shrugged, and telling me that we would be continuing next time, left the room quietly. During that time, I figured out that this harsh noise is the sound of a fire alarm! So, gathering my belongings, I came out of the room.

11:15 is the peak time in any university, so I saw that a lot of students coming out of the classrooms and heading towards the stairs. Nobody opted for the elevator, probably because of the fear that it might get stuck in the midway. The entire building was evacuated within 3-4 minutes. I came down to the parking lot, and lighting a cigarette, noticed the different groups of people standing there.

Two students were writing an exam, and they were having a tough time. Leaning against the wall, they continued writing , the faces bored the expressions of anger, frustration, surprise------a threesome mixture of feelings. Some of the students were very happy though, chatting with each other, and enjoying the unexpected break. The faculty members , in small groups of 3-4, were chatting in a serious manner. The alarm, however, was continuing, only it got shriller and we were gradually adopting with it.

After 10 minutes or so, the alarm stopped as suddenly as it had started. A good portion of the crowd clapped their hands, some of them uttered, " Thank God, we are safe!" . Happily, the people started retreating towards the entrance.

Coming upstairs, I gathered that the fire alarm just "went-off" . For a number of days, it(the alarm) did not utter a single noise. So this fine morning, it "went off" ! Today is 3rd April, so the behaviour of the alarm can be considered as a "belated April Fool" event . I had to admit that inert objects have their own sense of humor, which comes out under the most unexpected circumstances.