3- Locha-e-ulfat

The second day of school came real quick, so was our assembly. A senior came as he called Agastya.

They'd have done this much themselves.

"He's such a pookie" I'd hear the girls standing in front of me whispering in each other's ears.
"Yea"
"He's giving speech today"

Pookie? That word should be illegal in school premises.

I rolled my eyes and looked at him anyway. Just for research purposes. Like an academic observation.

He was holding the mic now, reading over his speech with this weird, almost-too-soft smile on his face. His cheeks were red—not in a shy, blushy way, but that calm nervousness you get when you care too much about doing something right. His specs kept slipping a little, and he'd fix them without thinking. Focused. Calm. Warm.

Veiny hands, messy hairs, specs, handsome to hai yeh chikna.

But not my type, of course.

Obviously, my type are those silent, nerd, cold hearted nerds who'd rather sit quietly not giving a single damn to me.

As the assembly ended, we were supposed to walk in lines, but nobody did, few of the students went to washroom, while others to drink water.

And then I heard footsteps. The quick ones.
Agastya.

I didn't had to turn behind and look when he stood up next to me.

"You knew I was there?" He asked.

"No, I was just standing because I was waiting for my twin"
I tried not to look obvious that I stopped for him, when I felt a tug on my back.

"Naukrani"

(Maid)

Sid? This jerk was apparently standing beside me and he took the nickname he uses at home? I'll kill him for sure.

My cheeks were all red due to embarrassment as my stomach churned.
This idiot.

"Kya hai?" I asked him.

(What is your problem?)

"Kuch hona zaruri hai? Bhai hu tera" he said, when I glared at him. "Dekho iss bhootni ko, kaise aankhe dikhati hai kuch bol na do bas"

He mocked, when I pouted at him. This bitch.... I'll hit him bad.

"Sid, tereko late nahi ho raha? Engineer bhi to bana hai tujhe abhi to dafa hoja" I asked him. I have been taunting him since the day he decided to take this stream which was out of my reach.

(Sid, you want to be an engineer, so get lost.)

"Ban jaunga, vaise bhi konsa kal hi degree mil jaegi, vaise bhi abhi to pehle 12th dunga, fir JEE mein 99 percentile launga, fir kahi banunga engineer"

(I'll, and anyways I won't get the degree tomorrow, I'll complete my 12th, then gain 99 percentile in JEE, then will be an engineer)

He said, he grinned widely, when I glared at him.

"Haan, aur fir chai ka thela kholega, 'IIT CHAIWALA' ke naam se, aur fir main bhi aungi vaha pe chai pene, aur athani bhi nahi dungi" I mocked him, narrowing my eyes, "aur aise bolungi, oyee chotu, zara ek cup chai laiyo"

("Yeah, and then you'll open a tea stall named 'IIT Chaiwala', and I'll also come there to drink tea—won't even pay a single coin," I mocked him, narrowing my eyes.
"And I'll be like, 'Oye chotu, get me a cup of tea, will ya?'")

"Yeah, and then I'll serve you tea with a spoon of poison in it.... Actually no, a complete bottle of poison, and then your nonchalant behaviour will die... and so will you" he told me, when I smirked.

"Huh, angrez, ek word nahi sikh liya nonchalant, aaya bada mere se baat karne vala, ek thappad padega na...." I said, when Aaradhya came.

(Huh, Englishman—learned one fancy word nonchalant and now thinks he can talk to me? One slap and you'll come back to Earth...)

"Aren't you guys getting late? Siddharthhhh!" She said, when I hit Sid's arm with my elbow.

"Bhakk, chomu"

Siddharth went away, with a mock offended look when , when I heard a chuckle, it was Agastya.

OH MY GOD
HOLY SHIT
FUCK

DID THIS GUY JUST HEARD EVERYTHING I SAID?

Was he standing like a the main lead of some manwha? He just heard me speaking? Was I talking loudly, was I being over? Is he going to judge me? No, he won't just judge, he'll laugh with other classmates, am I no longer that mysterious girl? Can I just kill him?

I was thinking all this, and then I quickly ran away from him, trying not to act awkward, I ran.

Oh damn- only to get my leg twisted?

What in the universe?

The least thing I expect happens every time I want to act mysterious, because if I didn't act mysterious, then they'll definitely know my weird, crazy side.... No I don't want to traumatise people by that.

I tried standing up, my ankle was on fire, the pain was shit but I stood up as if nothing happened .

I was expecting that no one witnessed what just happened but is it possible to universe be on my side?

I saw Agastya, damn this guy, why can't I breathe alone?

"You okay?" He asked, his voice soft, when I could feel a lump forming in my throat.

First thing, why is he so soft, and secondly why're we not able to reach till the class?

"Yeah, of course I'm. I love twisting my ankle randomly for attention," I said, and instantly wanted to jump off a cliff.

WHAT THE FUCK?

God, he is going to consider me as a pick- me theatre kid who sprains their leg for attention.

"Umm... so what are we supposed to do? Should I pretend like nothing happened?" He asked, his tone soft.... Why the fuck can someone will be super soft?

"You could" I said.... "If my leg didn't limped, I guess?"

He looked at me, when I was standing with the support of my body on wall.

Yeah, he raised his furrow and chuckled at me. Exactly, this is the reason why I don't talk like everyone else because now he'll judge me, then will talk in his boys group... after that everyone will judge me... then everyone will consider me mad.

Zara, drown in hell, die, or kill this guy.... Best is to die....

He bent his shoulder towards me, and what should I do now? Was I supposed to brush off the dust from his shoulder?

I mean—yeah! Duh. Obviously. He must've leaned in because there's dust. That's what normal people do when they care. He gave me this opportunity. A gesture. A sign. A test.

So, like the absolute idiot I am, I gently brushed his shoulder. Once. Twice. A nice little swipe-swipe. With a smile so proud, it could qualify for a Bharat Ratna.

He stared at me. Blank.

I stared back. Glowing like I just saved a kitten from a burning building.

"...What... was that?" he finally asked, blinking.

"You had... um, dust," I said, still smiling like a lunatic.

"There was no dust."

His voice was steady, but the way the corners of his mouth twitched?
That was a smirk. A smirk I wanted to grab and launch into space.

I froze. My hand still kind of floating mid-air. My smile faltering.

Oh.

OH.

OH MY FREAKING GOD HE MEANT LEAN ON HIM, NOT CLEAN HIM.

Now, my cheeks were on fire more than my ankle.

I should just jump from the building, yeah this is the best option.

"Do I look dirty to you?" He asked me, when I bit my lips.

Zaraaaaaaaaaa.

I internally spiralled.

Okay. Cool. Normal people recover from this. This is fine. People make stupid mistakes every day. People brush off clean boys' shoulders and then stand there like idiots, apparently. Happens all the time.

"No! I mean—no no, you're not dirty, I just thought... maybe a bird feather fell on you? Or like... environmental debris??"

Environmental debris.
Kill me.

Agastya blinked. Once. Twice.

I was about to fake a phone call and pretend I had an urgent kidney transplant but wait a second neither am I in a hospital nor our indian schools let phones. So am I supposed to look at his face, for two years? So am I supposed to talk with him afterwards this incident that too for two years?

I was already spiralling when—he laughed. He actually laughed. Not a chuckle. A full-on, soft, stupidly perfect laugh that made me feel like I just did something right and wrong at the same time.

"Hahaha" I joined his laughter, when a teacher came.

"Kids, is this a garden?"

The woman who stood before us had that look. You know the one. The middle-aged Hindi teacher who's seen generations of backbenchers rot and isn't afraid to end your career with one sentence kind of look.

Her hair was tied in a tight ponytail that could slice glass, her saree creased with discipline, her judgment sharper than JEE cutoff, and her SPECS.
You know the ones that dangle at the tip of the nose like a loaded gun.

I gulped.

"Mam, she sprained her ankle," Agastya started to say, his voice all sincere and gentle.

And me? I was trying to hide behind him as if he is my only saviour.... What as if he actually is my fucking saviour of this moment....

But ma'am narrowed her eyes at me like I was personally responsible for global warming, increase of crime rates and what not.

"You are laughing with a boy in the corridor during class time?" she said, her voice dramatic enough to be background music in a Bhansali movie- no, Ekta Kapoor is going to relate more here.
The sounds of tragic television scenes rang in my head, and now, the teacher was no longer her, but Kokila bhen, standing in the kitchen and scolding Gopi Bahu and Rashi for "Rasode mei kon tha!"

Fuck, what did I remembered? Rasode mei kon thaa? Now the entire vocals will ring in my head and there is a fucking possibly of mine to dance here.

"TELL?"
The teacher was probably asking something when I blurted out.

"No ma'am, I was laughing at him," I tried, thinking I was saving myself.

WORST. MOVE. EVER.

Agastya looked sideways at me, betrayed but still smiling like he was enjoying this shitshow.
I looked sideways at Agastya like "please die right now so I don't have to."

And the ma'am?

She took a deep breath through her nose, like she was the one responsible for all global crisis and has a compulsion to deal with two teenagers who she never taught. I mean I don't know about this bitch who was standing like he was responsible for everything.

"Sorry mam, she literally fell down bad and she's new, and she has like specs of 5," he said, taking off a pair of broken specs from his pocket. "Due to her poor eye sight, she ended up twisting her ankle and of course breaking her specs, and I was trying to make her laugh"

He legit had a pair of broken specs in his pocket? Is this guy for real?

I blinked, looking at him. Mam blinked looked at me, her eyes filled with sympathy.

"No wonder, why this girl was looking in air" mam said, when I raised my furrow.

No suddenly mam knew that I wasn't looking straight.

I didn't corrected any of them, and let this lie cook.
What the hell is this guy, he'd be a screenwriter.

The teacher left, when my mouth hung half opened.

"Now let's walk or do you want to clean the another side of my dirty shirt too?" He asked, when I rolled my eyes and somehow reached to the class while limping.

I was already thinking another story before entering the class, that I'll have to make to be allowed to breathe but to my surprise the class was all chaotic, and there was no teacher.... Nothing could be better than this.

I silently went and sat next to a girl. The same one who helped me yesterday.

"Hi Zara" she said in a sweet voice, she looked cute, her hairs braided into two tails, she was that Pinterest coded girl who screamed the perfect vibes in everything.

Well, I'd stop myself from comparing from her because she's way too pretty to be compared from me.

I just hope that she isn't trying to be my friend because of that bitch. Agastya, who was sitting in the previous lane, talking with his friend, Anirudh.

Most probably he'd be giggling about all the things which happened today.

Yeah.

But wait? Shreya is talking with me, so why the hell am I not responding? God she'll think me as a mean person and I'll lose my aura.

Why can't I just speak? I've more of my conversations in my head rather than opening up to someone.

I'd feel her getting awkward.

Speak Zara speak.... But what if I mess up? What if she feels that how stupid I'm?

"Um, Shreyaa...." I finally decided to open my mouth, keeping in mind to not completely lose it and say proper words....  "I've no conversation skills, so I apologise already"

I said, when I processed my words 50 times again. It was formal, she can take it rude, and then I again bit my lips.

Zaraaaa. I again scolded myself because the skin of my lips is completely torn off due to my super anxious and alarming behaviour.

"Yeah, I can feel actually I'm the same" she said, smiling at me.

Ahh, relief.

*****

It was lunch break already, and almost everyone was outside. Shreya was called by a teacher, and the class was empty- I sat with my limped leg when I heard footsteps.

It was Sid, coming with Agastya. Not this guy telling my twin the entire thing.

I, very well knew that my twin knows because he had a Moov in his hand and Agastya held heat patch in his hands.

Sid came and bent in front of me, when I simply took my leg out of my table.

"Are you okay?" Sid asked, while taking off my shoe and then sock, applying the medicine on it, when I simply nodded.

He looked up at me, almost glaring. "Why're so quiet then?"

"So what am I supposed to do? Dance on kanta laga? Hadd hai, ek insaan ko chup nahi dekha jata iss chotu se" I said, as I showed him my fist, while he jerked back. "Marungi"

I lied- I wanted to cry so bad, but if I cried here so again everyone will look at me. I was simply waiting to go back so that I can sleep till midnight and then I'll secretly sneak out the terrace when everyone would be asleep.

Yeah, I'll go to gurudwara, then I'll come back, and then I'll sleep then I'll wake in the middle of night, complete if they teach us something and then I'll sleep again.

Yeahh.

But when I glimpsed at Agastya, I raised my furrow, why's he standing so seriously.

What work does he even have here?

Since yesterday, the only person who grabbed my attention is this guy.

I was looking at him, when the bell rang.
Sid was looking at me, when he said. "If you feel even a bit uncomforted, just let me know"

"I'm not dying" I rolled my eyes.

"I didn't had a problem if you were dying, but now that you're alive and my responsibility, so I'll have to take care" he said, as he walked away.
He's the sole reason of whatever happening with me and look at his attitude.

Nothing pisses me off more than my nonchalant brother and now... this FabIndia statue who wants to wherever I want to go.

Well, I don't have any problem of him hanging out with me, but still him catching me in embarrassing moments.

Idk.

***

TBC

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