Hostel C Block, sem 3

The bathroom on the third floor

has a broken latch.

Everyone knows this.

Everyone knocks twice

before entering.

I cried in there once

when my 3rd semester results came

and I didn't know

how to tell anyone.

The water was cold.

The tap dripped.

The person in the next stall

was brushing their teeth

with the focused energy

of someone who has not yet

had a bad semester.

I dried my face

and went to dinner

and no one could tell.

That's the thing about hostel bathrooms —

they hold a lot

and tell no one.