Sameera rushed into the assembly hall just as the morning prayer was about to begin. Throwing her bag down, she threw an apologetic look at her PE teacher before rushing to the end of the line and folding her hands. Her voice merged with the 300 or so monotonous voices praying to god. 2 minutes later, the principal took up his mic (to the internal groaning of most of the students) and Sameera let her thoughts wander.
She was proud of herself for reaching a point where Raghav, her classmate, finally talked to her daily. He had even initiated a conversation the other day, even though it was for asking a doubt in Physics. Plus, he had turned to her only because no one was stupid enough to waste their time explaining the concept to him. No. It was fine. She was making progress. It was hard enough making friends when everyone you knew is in different schools, now that the 10th board exams were done. It was even harder getting boyfriends now...
The roaring singsong boom of a "THANK YOU SIR!" was heard and Sameera immediately headed towards the boys' lines.
"RAGHAV!! Did you get your Chem assignment done?" She led.
"Nah, not really. What's the worst she'll do though, throw me out of the window?"
"Dude, she might cut marks from internals," quipped Nur, their classmate, who had just run to the boys' line herself.
"So? Big deal. You are such a spoilsport Nur, always acting as if we have to be perfect students. Stop doing that, no guy likes it!"
Nur rolled her eyes and walked away. Raghav tried to escape with her but was abruptly stopped by Sameera.
"I'll give you whatever I'm done, for Chem, and you won't have to get scolded," Sam said, in an attempt to stop him from leaving.
"Yeah sure, I'd love that. Look, I need to get my bag, I'll see you in class Sameera," he replied hurriedly.
"Okay... See you in class Raghav. Oh by the way, what do we have for the first period?"
"English. Okay, I need to go now. Bye."
Sameera headed for class, head slightly down. Marching into class, she bumped into another girl. 'Indu... Well, truly a wonderful way to start my day'. The shorter, fatter girl had her hair in two neat braids that reached her waist. She had a cute round face, but no one in the class had ever seen it break out into a genuine smile of joy. Her eyes were secured on her bench in the middle of the window row, and on the books, she had in the book tray. She rushed to it, sat down, grabbed one, and started reading. It wasn't something she enjoyed, but it kept away the few classmates who still wished to awkwardly converse with her. It was far too slow of a conversation, and some of these people thought talking to a person even once makes them your friends! She flipped a page and waited for the teacher to arrive so this day could finally begin, and thus, inch closer to ending.
Raghav sat in the row beside her, glancing at her every two seconds. Behind him sat Sameera, with her most disapproving face. "Which one of those girls are you looking at Raghav? Dude, literally all of them are such cliche, stupid girls. I know you have better taste than that" Nur snapped at her "Sameera yaar, ma'am is here, please keep quiet"
The English teacher walked into the class to a scattered "Good morning ma'am!" from the front-benchers and began teaching. As the lesson went on, Raghav kept looking at his watch, counting the seconds to the bell. It finally rang, and the sound made the teacher stop and exit the classroom. At the door, she turned around and called out, "Sameera! Indu! could you meet me after all your classes today?" Both looked at each other in confusion. Indu shrugged her shoulders and nodded her head. Sameera, still very confused looked at Indu again before saying, "Okay ma'am."
The students rushed out for their short break. Most went to the canteen or the assembly field outside to enjoy the few sunny days they were blessed with in July. Indu remained in her seat and removed her lunch box and opened it. Smiling at her favourite chapati and palya combination that her father had packed for her, she began eating. Outside the class stood Raghav. He hesitantly stepped in and took a seat next to Indu. Indu glanced at him before going back to her food. She wasn't going to let him ruin her favourite breakfast. He cleared his throat very audibly. She looked up at him with inquiring eyes.
"Yes? Do you need something?"
"Nothing, nothing... How are you?"
Indu immediately sat up straight, fighting back her groan. "I'm fine"
"Just wondering, have you- have you ever thought about dating? I mean, I guess you would have..."
Indu raised her eyebrows. Taking a deep breath, she said "Nope, not really."
"So, you- you don't have a boyfriend?"
Indu closed her eyes and rubbed the bridge of her nose. "Nope," She said in a clear tone.
"Aah..." He looked away, contemplating his next set of words. He took a deep breath in and puffed his chest out.
"Umm, I'm confessing."
Indu made no effort to hide her true reaction. Her face scrunched up, and she let out a sharp breath. "And that means?"
"I mean, isn't it obvious?"
'That you suddenly want to make it my problem?' She cursed internally.
"If you're looking for some kind of answer, then it's no."
Raghav was flabbergasted. "What do you mean? Look, give me at least a chance na!"
Indu let the groan out. "Ughh... Look, you've known me for just a couple of months. You don't like me. Now get out of here and let me eat my food."
Raghav looked at her with pleading eyes, "Just - ". Indu scoffed at him, stood up, took her lunch box in hand, and stormed out of the classroom. On the way out, she bumped into someone taller than her. She looked up to see Sameera's face - with tears in her eyes, and a hand over her mouth to stop any noises from coming. One look at Indu and her face contorted with disgust. She glared at Indu with pure poison in her eyes before turning on her heels and heading for the washroom. She didn't want to follow him and eavesdrop, but Raghav was acting too nervous for her to let him be alone that day. Now that she knew why he was that nervous, she wished she didn't.
Sameera ran to the juniors' washroom. She knew no kid would be there now, and she could handle a couple of ayahs. She looked at herself in the mirror, assessing herself. She saw a girl of average height who was relatively straight-sized, (though her belly needed to be flatter). She had high cheekbones and a flattering hairstyle that reached her shoulders. Even though they were drawn on with henna, she had those cute freckles that all the girls wanted as well. She was perfect; much more than that girl who wouldn't even talk to anyone, who was willingly a social pariah! Why would Raghav like her?! Why would Raghav like her?! It made no sense.
It finally dawned on her. Indu doesn't talk to anyone when people are around. But who's to say that she wouldn't talk when it was just her and another person? She must have talked to Raghav when they were alone and strung him along. The witch that she was, it would have been exactly what she did. There was no way that Raghav would ask her out if she hadn't given any signs to him. How could she? Especially when she already knew it was obvious that Raghav was hers. I mean, they weren't dating, but Sam knew that it was only a matter of time. It wasn't surprising though. Indu barely respected her own relationships, why would she care about others'?
Sameera was roused out of her reverie by the bell. She ran to her classroom, stuffing a piece of bread in her mouth to sustain her through the next class. She sat at her seat, behind a visibly distressed and irate Raghav. He had his head down and was running his hand through his hair in frustration. Sameera leaned over,
"Hey, are you okay?"
Raghav got up, turned, and reassured her, "Ya know, umm... I'm fine. Don't worry about me". Sameera looked at the floor, desperately wanting to comfort him and let him know that she was there, but knowing that he would be extremely angry at her for eavesdropping.
She somehow got through the classes until it was finally time for the lunch break. Sam waited around for the rest of the class to leave until it was just her and Indu in the class. Indu followed her usual principle of not looking up and minding her own business, but Sameera sat down in the seat in front of her and turned her chair around to face her.
Again? Indu just wanted to have food
"Yes?" She asked, filling the one word with as much exasperation as she could.
"Look, I don't know why you are acting like this, but Raghav is off-limits," hissed Sameera.
Indu's eyebrows perked up in utter confusion. "Umm... what?"
"I said Raghav is off-limits, and you better keep your hands off of him"
"Sameera...? Oh wait, you were the one eavesdropping, weren't you? Bro, you heard me then. I rejected him - just to clear any confusion, though I'm not sure why there would be any..."
Indu's words trailed off as Sameera's frown became more intense with each passing second. "Look, I know Raghav okay? He wouldn't ask you out unless you made him think that he had a chance. So, how did you lead him on? And on top of that, why would you lead him on, when it's extremely clear that he isn't yours, to begin with?!"
"First of all, umm, we've been here for literally two months honey, I don't think anyone knows anyone that well yet. Are you two dating or something?" asked Indu, fighting back a smirk.
"We might as well be. It's not official yet, but everyone knows I like him" said Sameera, arms crossed and chin up. Indu let the smirk out.
Sameera glared, "WHAT?!"
"Nothing, nothing. Just that if you two 'might as well be dating', I wonder why he asked me out. I thought for a second there that he was cheating on you. But I should have known better. After all, it's you we're talking about, Sameera"
Sameera's expression grew dark, "Indu, you thought everything would change in 11th, huh? I haven't told anyone about you because I thought you deserved a second chance. To change, maybe. Get out of that pathetic lifestyle, perhaps. Maybe you don't deserve that after all."
The hairs at the back of Indu's neck stood up straight, as she kept her spoon down.
"If I hear another peep about you and Raghav, everyone will hear about the things you did back in the 9th. Everyone."
Indu froze up. Sameera had never been a threatening person before. She had also not expected to be reminded of that year by her out of all people. Trying desperately to keep her voice stable and strong, she hit back,
"Well, the joke's on you, I didn't come here only to chase people. I came here to get my education, unlike a certain someone I have the displeasure of knowing. Did you ask your Daddy dearest to come here just because you heard rumours about the boys here being hot or something?"
Sameera scoffed and left the class in a huff. Indu got back to her food, trying not to let the resurfaced memories take over her mind.
The long tiring day finally ended. The first, relatively easier months were truly over now. Indu was stuffing all her books in her bag when she remembered that she had to meet her English teacher after school.
With Sameera.
'Oh lord no, not her' she let out a huge sigh. She steeled herself and walked to the staff room and knocked. Peeping inside, she meekly asked a teacher near the door, "Archana ma'am had asked me to meet her..."
"Aah, there you are putta, come inside, come inside. Sameera's already here," Archana ma'am stood ready at her table. Indu glanced at Sameera before turning her head back to her teacher. "Okay girls, I'll need to ask you two a huge favour. The school is participating in an interschool skit competition and I need two students as the leads for the skit."
"Ma'am, do you want us to ask around?" Sameera asked.
"No no no, I've already asked around a bit... I have four options in your grade, including you two that is. I want to see all of your acting skills tomorrow, and I'll decide on the leads then. See you tomorrow then?"
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