An April Fool’s Day hoax - Reshma Majithia
A group of friends were engaged in silly banter when all of a sudden they
heard an ear-piercing clamour from a nearby turret. They were adventurous
and audacious, and decided to enter the turret. It was spooky and was strewn
with shards of glass and other sharp items. The dampness was depressing
but wonders do exist as was visible to the naked eye.
The walls were adorned with some beautiful canvas. They were by original artists
and each of the paintings was sui generis, but cloaked in dust.
The ambience was grim and supernatural. Suddenly, one of the doors
made a creaking sound and a black cat started to purr as if she were dogging the
footsteps of some presence. They followed the cat and saw a grotesque looking woman.
All of them gazed at her with trepidation. She manages to catch one of the girls and tries to clobber her.
The girl turns pallid, about to faint when the rest hear laughter.
They are then encircled by friends who are in splits. Later it turned out to be
an April Fool’s Day hoax.
The meaning of words marked in bold
Hoax (N): |
(hohks)
scheme or plan
intended to deceive or defraud |
Banter (N): |
(ban-ter)
an exchange of light, playful, teasing remarks; good-natured teasing |
Ear-piercing (Adj): |
(eer-peer-sing)
extremely harsh and irritating to the ear
|
Clamour (N): |
(klam-er) a loud uproar,
as from a crowd of
people
|
Turret (N):
|
(tur-it) a small tower,
usually one forming part
of a larger structure.
|
Audacious (Adj): |
(aw-dey-shuhs)
extremely bold or daring
|
Spooky (Adj): |
(spook-ee) Suggestive of ghosts or a ghost, scary
|
Shards (N): |
(shahrd) A fragment of a brittle substance, e.g. glass small pieces or parts
|
Canvas (N): |
(kan-vuhs)
a closely woven, heavy cloth of cotton or linen, used for painting, tents, sails, etc. |
Sui generis (Adj):
|
(soo-i ge-ne-ris)
unique or particular
to itself, only one
of its kind
|
Ambience (N): |
(am-bee-uhns)
the atmosphere of a place |
Creaking (V): |
(kreek) to make a sharp, harsh, grating, or squeaking sound.
|
Dogging (V): |
(dawg) to follow or
track like a dog
|
Presence (N): |
(prez-uhns) a person or
a spirit you cannot see
but that you feel is near |
Grotesque (Adj): |
(groh-tesk) odd or
unnatural in shape, appearance, or character, ugly, frightening
|
Trepidation (N): |
(trep-i-dey-shuhn) tremulous fear, alarm,
or agitation |
Clobber (V): |
(klob-er)
to batter severely;
strike hard whip,
thrash, beat |
Pallid (Adj): |
(pal-id)
pale, wan
|
Encircle (V): |
(en-sur-kuh) to form a circle around; surround. |
To be in splits (idiom): |
to crack up with laughter,
to laugh uncontrollably |
|
