Sumeet's sulk tastes the midnight SNACK!

Then he stomped around, loudly banging doors and muttering to himself. Still no one reacted. They were too busy. Mama was cooking and Papa was perched high up on a ladder, trying to take out the folding cots stored up in the luggage loft.

They had both given him time till the evening to pack up his things. Not because they were off on a long holiday, but since they were expecting visitors. To begin with, Sumeet would have to share his room with Thatha and Paati, who were arriving tonight. He didn't mind that so much, because he slept in between the two of them. He rather liked the smell of Paati right beside him. And loved to place his hand on Thatha's tummy when the old man snored. He believed that this is what a volcano probably felt like, before it erupted.

What he didn't like was clearing out the contents of his whole cupboard into a suitcase, so that Paati and Thatha could put their things into his wardrobe. That didn't seem fair. And he didn't like sharing his bathroom either. Thatha took so long in there, that Sumeet usually moved his toothbrush and towel to his parents' bathroom.

Next week, when Pradeep Maama and family arrived, Sumeet would even lose his cosy spot on his own bed. His youngest cousin, 5-year-old Raakhee, would sleep there. Neha would sleep on a mattress on the floor, while Sumeet would have to sleep on the sofa that opened out into a double bed in the sitting room, with Varun Anna.

Mama just brushed aside his grumbling, "You always start out this way, and then have a great time when they all arrive," she laughed.

And just as Mama predicted, two weeks later when the house was full, Sumeet had forgotten all about 'my bed', 'my computer, my cupboard AND his most precious 'my bathroom'! His room had become 'Paati-Thatha's room'. His clothes were being worn by all his cousins, including the two girls. While he lived in all Varun Anna's cool T-shirts.

A few nights before the holidays were almost over, Sumeet woke up with a start. Something was moving close to him. He grabbed Varun Anna shoulder and whispered, 'There's a robber or an animal in the room…" Thank God he wasn't alone in his own bed. Varun Anna was awake in a flash and shone his torch around. The light caught a tip-toeing Paati, heading to the kitchen!

They switched on the lights with great relief, while Paati confessed, "I always feel a little hungry just past midnight." The two boys immediately felt hungry too. So the three of them tip toed into the kitchen and raided the snack dabbas.

To Sumeet, everything tasted so much better at midnight. And when Paati whispered, "Don't make a noise…we mustn't wake up the young ones!" Sumeet felt like he was in heaven. So Paati thought of him as one of the 'big boys'? Cooooool! Imagine, if he'd been asleep alone in his room; he'd have missed out on this grown-up midnight session.

No, Sumeet thought to himself. "I'd rather exchange my bed, my room and my cupboard for a full house, lots of fun…and a midnight feast now and then."