THE send-up exams were over and the hostellers were either packing or rushing in and out of the hostel for some last-minute shopping. Saida and I would be leaving Dacca for home the next day. We didn't have to take all our stuff, but what we left behind had to be neatly packed in trunks and stowed under our iron cots. Of course, we could not leave anything precious behind. The winter holidays were short and we would be back the first week of January, so there was no point in taking everything. Still, I liked to pack properly, not just throw things inside my trunk. So, after lunch I went up to pack, but Saida said she'd pack later.
She didn't understand what all the fuss about packing was. After all, we were just going home where we didn't have to bother about washing or ironing our clothes ourselves. And, anyway, she had better things to do, so she had gone off immediately the exam finished. She was going to spend the afternoon at Farida's place, she said.