"I like a clean story", the janitor said.

Today my class teacher asked me to show him a sample of my writing before we left for the farm. Just to make sure that I was up to it. 

"Write why plants are important," he said. "Write about oxygen and photosynthesis, but go deeper," he said and winked. In academic circles, 'Going deeper' is a code-word for 'Going to Internet'

"Sure! I will go deeper," I said and nodded. 

But I never planned to go to Internet. Internet has just information. But I was after knowledge, no! wisdom. I needed to go to the library and talk to the janitor.

The library janitor is my role model. He had left a high paying corporate career of security guard at an office to be a janitor because he wanted to be surrounded and inspired by books.

"This is just a temporary job," He had told me the day he joined the job. "I am going to write the world's greatest book." That was four years ago.

We had become good friends in the four years because I also wanted to write the world's greatest book. He was the one who introduced me to J.K, Rowling and told me to 'write like her'.

"The first chapter of my first book should not sound like a Wikipedia article! It should move people, make them laugh, cry and celebrate life," I told the janitor.

"And it should be about photosynthesis," the janitor reminded me.

"Yeah," I nodded wearily. I was sure there was nothing interesting about photosynthesis. Otherwise, photosynthesis wouldn't have been in school books.

"So tell me, what is photosynthesis?" the janitor asked.

"It is just some process by which plants use carbon di oxide, water to prepare food," I said. "It also uses energy from sunlight. But don't ask me anything beyond that. It is a bunch of chemical equations that I don't understand."

"Hmm! So...." The janitor said scratching his beard thoughtfully, "photosynthesis is a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside a chemical equation."

"Huh!" My jaw dropped. I had got the opening line of my book. I quickly jotted it down in my journal.

"Can you tell me more about this energy from sunlight at least?" Janitor asked. "What is energy really? Can we see it?"

"You can't see energy!" I said. "Haven't you heard people complaining they have no energy to do work?" I hear it all the time when I ask my mom to wash my T.shirt or make me cold coffee.

"I heard an eighty year old say that once," the janitor said. "He was fired the next day."

Maybe, I should see whether there is any chance of firing my mom, I thought.

"Okay! But what is work?" The janitor persisted. "I know it is sweeping floors, washing windows, But is that all?"

"No, writing homework, carrying books is also work," I said.

"Okay, let us say we don't do any of this. We don't move at all. We just lie in a place. So we are not doing any work. Then we don't need any energy? we don't need to eat food?" The janitor asked.

It didn't sound right. The more I lie doing nothing, the more I felt like eating something. But if energy is the ability to do work, then we shouldn't need any energy if we don't do any work, right?

"It is easy to ask questions, you know" I said resigned.

"Why don't you dig deeper," the janitor suggested. "Go to Internet."

But what we saw on Internet confused us even more.

Energy is the ability to do work.

                                                                    -Aristotle

 Work transfers energy from one system to another.

                                                                    -Wikipedia

Basically Internet was saying that if you have energy, you can transfer energy! My grandmother used to say there is God because God said so. But the scientists had not done anything better with work and energy.

"Maybe, we shouldn't dig deeper, we should think deeper," Janitor said.

Well, he sure can come up with good one liners, I thought as I noted it down in my journal.

"But we should think deeper tomorrow," the janitor said. "I am wiped out. My brain hasn't worked this hard since I read Salman Rushdie."

I thanked him for his help and asked him whether we can leave separately because I did not want anybody to see me walking with janitor. I am not cool enough as it is.

I think the best horror story writer is the one who sleeps with the lights ON
....and during the daytime.

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