With my parents employed in Shanghai and no family members back at the roots, I have been on my own for years. Most of my time is spent locked up within the walls of the boarding school, YYHS. Therefore, my phone has been my lifeline in a sense. I depended on it to reach the outside world as well as to stay in touch with my folks.

The janitor of my dorm is sympathetic. With a tacit agreement between us, she never failed to give me a tip-off before the dorms were checked by the school admins for digital devices. This time, unfortunately, they came in for a surprise attack.

After the raid, I was victimised. The inspectors opened my locker and found my phone in it. They confiscated it on the spot, following the school rules on digital devices. Hearing the news, I felt a chill running down my spine.

The device mattered a great deal to me. To be honest, I did not waste my time on it. Instead, it was my sole connection to the outside world. A lot of my digital accounts, my bank account included, were activated and accessed through the phone. With my QQ account offline, there are no other ways to connect with my family and friends faraway.

My phone was a lifeline largely because of an ocean of streamed music in it that fed my soul. The boring school life made it very relaxing and refreshing to be immersed in the reservoir of music from time to time, when I was tired out or when I was depressed or stressed. I found, in dark times, greater solace and a quicker getaway in songs and tunes on my smartphone than in anything else in the material world. With the source of consolation gone, it feels as if I were hollowed out.

I was told that I shall not get my phone back until I have sat the final exams and have got graduated from high school in early summer. That means I will have to go through a dark 3-month phoneless period.

Will I be able to survive it?