"Sir, may i come in?" Asked bondita.

The principal furrowed his brows as he saw Anirudh and Bondita standing at the door of his chamber even before the school started. But he wanted to know the matter so he kept mum.

"Come, dear. What brings you here early in the morning? Your class hasn't even started."

"Sir , i am here to ask for justice."

"Justice?" The principal amused." What are you talking about? Young lady, please be clear with whatever is your concern."

"Sir, I'm being mentally harassed in this school. So i wish to ask for a discipline committe to put my matter in front of the concerned authorities."

The principal was startled to hear this. He cleared his throat and maintained his composure and said, " Dear, I'm afraid i can't take your complaint. You need to bring an elder with you for the same matter."

" If that is so, then feel free to adress me as the elder, Principal sir. I Zamindarni Shubhra Roy Chowdhury asks for a proper discussion and interpretation from discipline committee regarding the matter of my ward's psychological health." Shubhra entered the chamber with a proud demeanor, her head held high, the powerful aura oozing from her composure and sat on the chair in front of the principal.

The principal was taken aback as he saw the queen like lady and her dominant voice almost felt like a whiplash.

"Ye-yes ma'am."

The rectangular table in the middle of conference room was surrounded by a group of trustee and teachers.
Shubhra also sat in one of the seats and waited for the discussion to start.

The principal started speaking in a mechanical voice, " The respectable Discipline committee of the Oak Leaf High school , i would like to bring your attention today towards a matter of mental harassment of a student of class fifth Mrs Bondita Anirudh Roy Chowdhury against her senior Mr Tapas chattopadhyay. "

A sturdy looking british man pointed his pen towards Bondita and said, " I wish to listen the matter from the girl herself."

"Good morning sir, Sir as i must present my worries to you, i would say that my senior Tapas chattopadhyay bad mouthed about me in front of my husband in my absence. This infuriated my husband and he lost his temper at my insult , thus landing into a spar with Mr tapas which led to his expulsion from the school. When this matter reached me, it has created a ripple in my mind and I'm unable to concentrate on my studies. All this could have been prevented had Mr Tapas remained in his limits."

"So, what are you trying to insinuate here , young lady? Shouldn't we take any action if such a brawl happens in the school premises among students?"

"Sir, what I want to insinuate is that why the punishment was given to only Mr Anirudh Roy Chowdhury. Mr Tapas chattopadhyay was equally responsible or rather i would say sprouted the fight. If we go even further, I am the main root of the fight, so I should have been expelled too. If what you did is deemed as justice, then it's half justice because only one culprit was punished, the other two were left unharmed.
I would want to be as liberal as to speak that this half punishment is encouraging the wrong doers and bad mouths to speak against those who wants to bring a change in the society. Mr Anirudh was not even given a chance to prove his innocence. I feel all the more uncertain about my welfare in this school now. Today I am being bad mouthed about for being the only female student in school ,that too in the presence of my husband, tomorrow I might be bullied for the same. I'm afraid, I feel insecure and the environment of the school has become unfriendly more so in the absence of my husband who is no less than a guardian to me. If the school administration doesn't want to change the decision of the matter in hand, I decide to resign from the school in pretext of a victim of unjust treatment in school premises."

"Sir, this girl is lying . Her husband beat my son all red and blue . He had to be admitted in the hospital. My Tapas is innocent sir. He can't even think of hurting anyone. After the untimely demise of his wife, he has already become vulnerable. So these roy choudhurys are targetting him" said Tapas' father who was called to attend the discussion.

"How do we believe the matter of their fight was you and nothing else trivial?" Said an Indian teacher.

"Sir, two more students who were present here are ready to tell you the truth."said bondita.

"And who are they?"

"Sir, one is my classmate Mr sharman chatterjee and the other is a senior Mr Gopaldas Mukherjee."

"The concerned witnesses, do make your truthful statements." Said the principal.

"Yes sir, this is true. Tapas dada said bad things about my classmate Bondita. Anirudh dada tried to stop him verbally but the matter went out of hand when he started making indecent remarks on her, which I presume are too scandalous to be said in the polite company of a female elder and a female student." Said Sharman.

"What is your stand on this Mr gopal? " Asked the british official.

"Yes sir, whatever sharman said is the truth."said Gopal.

"We shall give the final decision after discussing the case in detail with the committee members." Said the principal.

In the conference hall

"Sir, i think we should expel both Anirudh Roy Chowdhury and Tapas chattopadhyay."said the teacher.

" What? Are you insane? We will lose our first female student also. Which family will allow their daughter in law to study in all boys school in absence of her husband. Mrs Bondita Roy Chowdhury is an asset to the school. Her presence has already ranked our school among the top list in Bengal . If she resigns along with expulsion of two very intelligent students, it will over-all create a bad impression on the reputation of school." Said British official.

Outside the hall

Bondita had played a risky gamble by putting her admission at stake too. But at that moment she couldn't think of herself, for the sight tears of tears in Anirudhs eyes were still squashing her heart.

"Bondita! Are you a fool? What did you say inside? I thought you will just ask him to resolve the matter by asking for a lesser punishment. You sacrificed your admission too. Is this all a joke to you?" Bellowed Anirudh.

"Pati babu! Don't shout . I'm very nervous right now. Maa, I'm very worried . What will they decide? What if they expel both of us? I'm worried how will kakasasurji and baba react. Dugga maa, help us." Said bondita pacing to and fro wringing her hands in anxiety.

"Mrs bondita roy Chowdhury case attendants have been called to the conference room." A peon came and announced.

They all rushed to the conference hall and braced their palpitating hearts to hear the decision.

"Mrs bondita roy Chowdhury, after listening to your point of view and the concerned witnesses, it has been decided that Tapas chattopaadhyaay was at fault in the matter. Any kind of insolent and indecent remarks will not be accepted in this school. So he is expelled from the school on the grounds of misbehaviour and indecency. But at the same time the violent behavior of Mr Aniruddha cannot be neglected at any cost, so he is suspended for a week from the school, and also disqualified from the student of the school award competition. This is the final decision of the committee members." Said the Principal.

Roy Chowdhurys were overjoyed to hear the decision. Anirudh felt a sheer sense of pride in his heart when Bondita fought for him, not that he's going to admit it before her. But he will have to do something for her , as a sign of gratitude. That is a point to think over.
They returned to their classes. Batuk was told everything later on by Sharman and Bondita, he was about to go and thrash Tapas, but Bondita stopped him for she couldn't do the repeat telecast of the morning again.

Shubhra went to home and told everything to Binoy and Trilochan. They were initially annoyed that the women and children of the house took the matter in their hands , but when Shubhra explained them the gravity of situation and any hurried step would have endangered their children's future, they let the matter slip.

Anirudh had made it a mission to make Bondita feel special. He churned his brain and heart to think of a unique gift. What should he give was the only thing in his mind when he drifted to sleep.

Bondita was so tired with the adrenaline rush, that she was just content with the thought that his Pati Babu's dreams are safe, and immediately slept as soon as her head touched the pillow.

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Please , please , my silent readers , do voice your views on this ff, so that i know I'm going in the right direction. Any suggestions are welcome, as that will help in brushing the story.

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