First Blood

We almost had our first casualty after the reoccupation of our repaired building. “You know what happened?” one of our senior professors said while I was trying to finish the paperwork. “What?” I asked. “One of the twin tube-lights almost fell on my head while I was working in the office upstairs.” “How?” I asked. “These tube-lights are suspended from the ceiling by two rods. One of the rods gave way. The tube-light was hanging down from the other rod, its end an inch above my head. I never knew such a thing had happened. Another professor was passing by, when she noticed it and warned me. I moved away quickly.” “Thank God you were not hit by it” I said. “Call the contractor and get it repaired.” “It is done already. I came over just to tell you what happened.” “One of the ceiling fans fell almost on the head of one of the department heads before the repair and renovation work” I said. “It was a moving fan. Even if he was not hit directly, he could have lost a limb or even his life by the moving blades. Now we must watch the tube-lights too.” She went away. I looked up at the ceiling and noticed with dread that they have fitted eight tube-lights on my tiny ceiling in place of the two I had before the repair and renovation. ‘Are they out to get us?’ I thought.