Schoolmates (9 page)

It was then that I noticed how everyone from my school, even the teachers were looking at me and then Kabir with a renewed sense of understanding. It was then that I began feeling uncomfortable. For the first time I did not wish to win. How could this be? Right in front of the entire school?

As my name was announced for the first price that day and I walked up to receive my trophy from the Zone Education Officer, I heard Kabir and Dev shouting my name and raising the school flag high. It all appeared very patriotic and thrilling, yet all I saw was how the coming days would be filled with fresh gossip about me and Kabir. I then saw Anjali’s face, which was beaming as I raised the cup along with Meenakshi. She too joined us on stage as she had bagged the prise in Extempore and recitation.

And then I saw Kabir . . . the happiness I saw on his face that day shook me entirely! There was pride, joy, jubilation . . . and then . . . there was fondness, care and admiration. A very deadly combination for a tenth grader!

CHAPTER-16

W
hat is the best thing you recall about your school? I can list many things starting with games and friends to fame and popularity. But these are distributed; who gets them is a matter of chance. So . . . what else is there which is a fun filled memory for each one?

The school picnic! Of course, the joi-de-vievre of our mundane uniformed life.

The school picnic was declared to be conducted in December vacations. There was great fanfare related to its onset and extensive plans for shopping and baggage were being drawn by everyone. I recalled last year’s picnic where everyone was dressed for the ball it seemed! Anjali was irritated with the numerous fragrances one could whiff in the bus.

“Gee, doesn’t anyone bathe now or what? This perfume . . . whose is it? It smells like diesel!” she had retorted en-route to the train station last year.

“Shut up Anjali . . . It’s a very popular brand.” Aditi had reprimanded. She was one of the pretty ones, the eye candy, slim,sweet moon faced, yet mediocre when it came to stuff inside the body, especially the cranium. Her dad was a rich businessman and she was the darling sister of three elder brothers.

“It’s Versace!! Heard of it?” Aditi had forgotten who she was dealing with. I was just awaiting Anjali’s reply.

“Yeah. I have. But can you even spell it Aditi? Or will your mom do it for you?” Anjali spoke.

And that was it, I still recall how our teachers had to step in and physically separate them both, before any clothes were torn or scratches begun to decorate those neat powdered faces.

So this year was going to be wonderful as well. We were to visit Bharatpur Bird sanctuary and then stop en-route in a tiny hamlet for a night. The entire trip was short, since we were in tenth, but three days without parents, amid friends was heavenly!

We were sitting on ‘our spot’ that day and I was trying to sit a few seats away from Kabir. I was trying, in vain to maintain a decent distance between us but he would slip closer each time he leaned in to look in my registers or hand over pens or books. Finally he spoke, “You want to fall off the edge? Now slip here.” And with that he pulled my arm and sat down right next to me. Our shoulders were brushing lightly and after a few minutes I slipped aside again.

“Now, explain this equation to me. I really can’t figure out how you can manage to recall the products! And what is all this about balancing the equation? You know on some days I really wish I could meet Mr Einstein! God.” He handed over the Chemistry file to me. I had to slip closer to him now. Unavoidable, yet blissful.

“Einstein was a physicist!” I could not repress my smile. Kabir flashed his smile too and I knew this time his error was intentional. And yes, I had to admit today; up close he was breathtakingly handsome. I began noticing how light his hair were and how they fluttered in air. I noticed how child—like his features looked when he concentrated on his work. I also saw how attractive his face was, he had a clear skin which was tanned and there were clear markings of a sports routine on his face with all those tiny scratches. His hands were strong and his legs were already long. He looked very appealing in his blazer which hung loosely on his broad shoulders.

I noticed all these details about him. But I missed a lot on my account. For example I failed to notice how my heart beat raced now that we were sitting so close. I failed to notice that I was speaking softer, almost like a whisper. I failed to notice that I had not written one line ever since he had pulled my arm. I failed to notice how eager I was for him to do it again. I failed to notice how school finished each day for me, on our spot.

I failed.

Tejas Ahluwalia did not. Tejas was watching us from afar. He was sulking ever since the map incident as it was a known fact that I had saved Kabir’s skin and this had irked him more than discovering who my resource was. Rivalry and revenge blocks the sane judgement, I realised that year.

So that day when Kabir left my bags on my bus and was returning to pick his school bag and sports kit, Tejas stood next to him and said, “So, now you are her coolie as well! Is this how low you have succumbed to replaying your debts or is this your latest strategy to get her?” “Shut-up Tejas. Don’t speak like that about her!!” Kabir dropped his things and stood inches away from Tejas. Apparently he too had not forgotten the map incident.

“Oh I see! You really have a thing for this chick! I bet she is good! As good as her studies . . .” Tejas gave a mischievous smile and that was all that was needed.

“You bastard!!” Kabir punched Tejas right on his jaw and both of them ended up bashing each one rather poorly. It was only after a neat ten minutes of intense physical fight that the coaches and other students pulled them apart.

Needless to say, the entire school knew about it the next day. I saw Kabir’s face and was horrified at how colourful the different blood clots can look! And it was the first time the colour purple made me evince pain!

“Does it hurt terribly Kabby?” I had asked him in our library period that day. Ours was a huge library and there were way too many corners where the librarian’s watchful eyes did not reach.

“No. Not at all!” Kabir had come when I had beckoned him.

“What had happened?” I enquired. I was doubtful he will reveal anything, yet, I was curious.

“Nothing much. He said some nasty stuff and I did not like it...and well . . . I kind of got very angry and . . .” He was trying to put decent words in his statements. I had noticed he never used foul language in my presence or even Anjali’s. I also noticed his ears turning their scarlet red.

“Are you lying to me Kabby?” I asked honestly.

He looked up sharply at me. Not a word came out of his swollen mouth. His lips were a mulched combination of red, brown and purple. His cheekbones were definitely an ugly painful purple. Something extreme would have induced this intensity of quarrel. I had seen Kabir’s handy work as well. Tejas was in a poor state too.

“No. I’m not lying Riya, stop interrogating me!”

“Hmm. Sorry if it bothers you this much. It’s just that, Tejas has many friends you know. I’m not saying you don’t, but taking revenge is . . . well risky thing!” I was indicting he should not indulge in fights but I suppose Kabby mistook my statement.

“What, you think I’m scared of that slime ball?” Kabir placed his hand on the book shelf. The small stretch of muscles shot a pain in his chest and he immediately dropped it down.

“I can break his teeth any time! I’m not scared if that’s what you think!” He spoke up. I noticed how powerful his agitated stance was. I could now predict how well he executed all those basketball manoeuvres and took charge of an entire team. No wonder the coaches saved him as well from another detention for indulging in physical fight inside the school premises.

I discovered from the grapevine how and why of the quarrel. As always Anjali was furious at me for being the butt of jokes.

“Riya tell me finally, are you two dating now?” she asked as we were grazing through Sanskrit period and our teacher Ms. Veerati

Singh was dictating a long paragraph in her mellifluous voice. Ms. Veerati was a classical singer and was rather good too.

“ANJALI!! You too? Even you would say such illogical things? It’s just that stuff keeps happening when we are around together, it’s nothing!” I replied irked that my very best friend also doubted me and a bit irritated at myself too. The reason was because I knew I was lying! I had begun liking Kabir and this was why I was getting irritated at being pointed out so point blankly. In tenth grade, having feelings like these for a boy was a huge secret and then knowing that he likes you too . . . well that was the talk of the town. I did not know how to handle them myself.

“Look Riya, his flightless bird, EVERYONE can see what you refute so vehemently! He sticks to you like Velcro!! You have begun defending his stupid foolish bouts! You prefer spending time with him now; even I have taken a back seat in your life . . .” Anjali spoke angered and hurt all together.

“No Anjali. Nothing can replace you in my life and it is nothing, and I don’t know why this issue has caught every ones fancy!” I replied.

Anjali went silent then. I knew I was treading on thin ice. Sharp tongued as she was, Anjali was a perceptive and clever girl. If she perceived something, it turned out to be accurate in most cases.

As Riya switched off the lights in Raibir’s room and headed for her own, she recollected how confused she had been that day. Their picnic had settled the doubt however.

CHAPTER-17

I
t was raining again. The month was December and the Christmas holidays were to begin in two days. The weather had taken a sudden turn, perhaps the days were changing. The cool wind and cloudy weather had not dampened anyone’s spirits; in fact the excitement in air was infectious.

We were to go on our much awaited picnic in two days!

“And, with that I finally told my dad, let me have the digital camera or I’m selling my cell phone to fund it myself!” Kabir spoke proudly.

“Cool Man! So did the old man give in?” Dev asked, impressed as always.

“Ofcource Dev! I’m smart; he wouldn’t have stood a chance!” Kabby patted his back.

“Oh shut up please!” Anjali rolled her eyes as she hurdled her suitcase into the boot of the bus. “Can’t you guys stop showing off! And for goodness sakes Dev . . . what an awful mess it is on your head?”

“It’s gel!! You like it?” Dev took a step closer to Anjali.

“It makes you look electrocuted . . . as if you’ve touched a Van-De-Graff generator!” she replied pulling up the collars of her warm blazer. She wore blue jeans and a smart red winter blazer that reached her hips. It had a double breasted look with golden shiny buttons. Her hands were in mittens as she felt the chill most among us. Her hair was tied in a bun high over her head unlike mine that were swaying in the wind. All said, she looked very appealing today and I think I saw a few boys look at this surprise package with admiration.

“Who’s a Wendy generator?” Dev looked quizzically at us both.

“Not Wendy . . . silly! It’s a Van-De-Graff generator!” Anjali walked off saying, “Read chapter 3, Physics, class eleventh!”

“But we’re in tenth now!” Dev spoke innocently after she had left.

I smiled politely, and pulled Dev aside to distract him. Anjali did beat us all in wits and the girl was just as studious as anyone I had known.

“Why was Anjali so bugged? What did I say? How can you stand her Riya?” Kabir asked me one question after the other.

“I mean, here we are, about to travel hundreds of kilometres, why is she sulking? I mean sure she is looking cute and all, but then, I never said anything to upset her in particular!” Kabir kept speaking as he effortlessly picked up my luggage and placed it in the boot as well.

“Kabby, you should have guessed by now. She gets irritated by . . YOU!”

“Me?” Kabir stopped still.

“Yes Sir. She feels I’m spending more time with you than I should. And if you really want to stop her saying stuff then please stop yourself from sounding dumb in front of her! She is a born speaker and a great one at that!” I said.

“Dumb thing? What dumb thing did I say?”

“Really . . . don’t you know a cell phone can’t equate to a digital camera’s cost? Or don’t you know how the positive charges get accumulated on the dome of a Van-De-Graff generator?” I asked casually, tying my muffler into a smart knot.

I wasn’t looking at them both but when I looked at their faces after a while, they looked clueless to what I had said.

“Oh!!” I mumbled and left to find Anjali.

Once we both boarded our bus and waved our parents goodbyes, me and Anjali settled down in front rows reading our books and Kabby, Dev, Ayesha, Jaya, Kenneth, Madhuri, Joy, Gloria and a bunch of others from different sections of tenth grade settled at the back. Tejas and his gang preferred the other bus, much to our teacher’s relief as well. Yet there was a loud hullabaloo from Kabir and his group the entire bus trip.

It wasn’t long before our food containers were open and all were busy munching something or the other. I had been reading a book for a while and Anjali had been doing the same. Yet when the aroma of food filled the bus, our stomachs grumbled as well and Anjali pulled out the bag from the racks nears the roof of the bus, and that was when the trouble began.

“Sandwiches! Hey that’s great!” Kabir was peeping over my shoulder. Anjali had the window seat and she looked up from her book dusting away a few stray crumbs.

“So?” she replied, obviously knowing what would come next.

“Nothing. Just thought you would like to taste this . . .” Kabir extended his arm and I caught his perfume. It was a new one and I had to say, quite the effective one, as I was sure the girls in the back seat would confirm.

Kabir had a box containing sandwiches and that was when Anjali realised what had happened!

“Anjali, din’t you see whose box it was? I mean even after eating it, did you not know it wasn’t yours?” I spoke after a minute of uneasy silence. Kabir just stood there with his masculine arms neatly folded, swaying with the bus.