the gladiator

one evening, naveed, cow and i are in the living/dining room doing our own individual thing. i’m on my laptop chatting online with some friends. naveed is sitting on the living room couch doing her work and cow is sitting at the dining table doing her work. i happen to open the balcony door and a big fly sneaks in. ‘whatever, no big deal,’ i think to myself as i return to my laptop to continue chatting with my buddies. cow didn’t seem to mind either. but naveed...miss drama queen was extremely disgusted. ‘ewww! they’re so dirty!!!’ she cries as she runs out the dining room. she goes into the kitchen and brings out the insect killer spray. she places the spray on the dining table and begins to shut the french doors locking me and cow in the room with the gigantic fly. i’m still engrossed with msn and have no idea what’s happening. all of a sudden i hear naveed yelling. i look up and see her standing on the other side of the french doors (they have windows) screaming, ‘you guys have to kill the fly!’ cow decides to take matters into her own hands. i carry on with my business. i can see from my peripheral vision cow jumping in the air and shouting like a cheerleader trying to spray the fly. but then silence. i don’t look up...still on my laptop. 10 seconds later, the silence is broken with screams coming from behind the french doors. ‘SARWATH!!’ i look up and see that cow has abandoned her duty and joined naveed on the other side. now they want me to kill the fly. ‘okay. no big deal...you chickens,’ i remark. i grab the spray in one hand and my chapal (house slipper) in the other hand...my sword and shield as i prepare to confront the bull in this arena that i have been confined to. the fly lands on the china cabinet door. i creep up to the fly, swing my chapal back and use all my strength. ‘BAM!’ on the cabinet door. oops...i missed. the fly starts going crazy, buzzing past me left and right confusing me. my heart starts pounding. i begin to fear it. cow and naveed are screaming from behind the door trying to point out the location of the fly. i see it. it’s by the entrance. i spray the insect killer on the fly with such force, i was sure it would be dead. but alas! it still flies off. it’s a fighter. i continue spraying in the air. this time, it slows down. it lands on the floor and i attack it once more with the spray. it tries to fly but there’s too much weight on its wings. instead, it starts bouncing up and down like a popcorn...4 feet high...imagine that!. and it’s coming straight towards me! by this time, i’m scared out of my wits. it hasn’t died yet. i start running towards the french door banging on the glass windows pleading naveed and cow to let me out but they have no sympathy for me. they continue to keep the doors locked. i won’t be set free till the mission is completed. i turn around...the fly is getting closer. i lean my back against the french doors, legs shaking, biting my nails, beads of sweat dripping from my forehead. ‘oh my God! this will be the death of me...a bouncing fly.’ i think to myself. i close my eyes and begin to recite a prayer as i shield my face with my chapal and spray waiting to be attacked. but then...the fly starts to bounce backwards. after a few moments, it stops. i can see it struggling on the floor. this time, i quickly take my chapal and give it a hard smack. SPLAT!! i hear cheers as naveed and cow burst open the french doors and applaud at my victory against the fly. the gladiator has won!