||CHAPTER 3||
《¤》

Last hour of the school, and what better way than to be spending it in the principal's office?

Mrs Dongra leant back against her chair, observing me like a with a chilling scrutiny. "First day blues already, Ms. Deewan?"

"You can call it that," I said, standing in front of her desk.

"You're an eleventh grader, Ms. Deewan. These petty fights aren't expected from you."

"And this is a school, Mam. I don't expect the students gossiping about me in my presence!"

"Would you rather have them talk behind your back, then?"

I would, but they were doing a measly job of that too. When word spread about my acquaintance with the English teacher, they surely didn't bother about manners.

"With all due respect, ma'am, I'd rather have them minding their own business. I'm sure spreading rumors about why I'm back in Delhi doesn't account for the eleventh standard syllabus."

I know I should be apologizing, but for what exactly? Harsh criticisms about me didn't affect me so much, but they were talking about my mother.

Mrs. Dongra softened a little. "Arvika, I understand that this is a hard time for you and adjusting here is going to take time. But this is a school. I understand that what you must be going through isn't other people's business, but I'm pretty sure you too have a reputation to keep up. You're from the Deewan family, and you are expected to deal with such things in a different manner. Newspapers and media will keep churning out rumors, it's their job. Your's is to not pay heed to them."

"They were talking about my mother."

"Tomorrow they will be talking about someone else. You need to control your temper."

I hadn't even laid a finger on the girl who had ended me up here. All I had done was accidentally spill orange juice over her fresh white uniform. It was the taunt that followed that turned my accident into intention, though.

The telephone on Mrs. Dongra's desk rang and she picked it up. "Yeah, send them in." Turning to me, "Since this is your first time, I'm letting you off with a warning. But the next time won't be so pleasant."

And so, just like little kids are taught, I stared at the glossy gray floor and mumbled an apology. "I'm sorry."

The temperature difference between the Cabin and the Reception hit me before Ishita's presence did. "I'm assuming you're off the hook?"

"And I'm assuming that you are bunking Maths," I replied as we started to jog up the steps to the third floor.

"The Math faculty is really dangerous here," She breathed out. "You know, you and Arnav are so different."

"Maybe because we aren't the same person?" I rolled my eyes, rounding a corner and walking by a corridor.

"That's not what I meant, duffer," she shook her head. "If Arnav was in your place, he'd have just ignored her."

I knew she didn't mean to compare, but that eerie feeling crept up my spine, flushing my cheeks. "Well, one of us had to be a coward."

We reached our classroom before she could reply. The Math teacher eyed us warily before letting us in.

"Psst," someone whispered from my left, "What took you so long?"

It was Karan and Ritwik who were more interested in my meetings with the principal than the pi-conversions of trigonometry.

"I was playing cards and building a house of corncobs with Mrs. Dongra," I whispered back before turning back to the board.

"Wait, really?" Ishita's eyes popped out. I rolled my eyes, and fished out a new notebook.

"So, if theta is in the third quadrant, Ms. Gupta, can you please tell us what ratios are going to be positive?"

She visibly gulped before standing up. "Uh..."

"Well?" The sir looked between her and the board. Her eyes had zoomed in on the fourth quadrant that the teacher had drawn.

"Sir, sine-"

I kicked her foot before she could complete it. "-ahhpon cos, sir."

"Safe answer," he said, eyeing us curiously before turning back to the board.

Dad slid his phone inside his pocket before sitting at the dining table.

"I got a call from your school today," he began. "Do you have anything to say about it, Arvika?"

Arnav shook his head from where he sat across from me. I knew if I spoke up, it would create a huge mess, what with the undealt matters between our parents being the root cause of the conversation.

"It was a normal argument. I accidentally spilt orange juice on a girl. She didn't take too kindly to it."

"Is that so, Vika?"

Daadi sighed, putting her head on her hands.

"Not really, but it's not my fault that she couldn't mind her own business."

I might or might not have told her to start writing for the Poppin'Up, seeing she was so into becoming a paparazzi. She could have taken that as a compliment if she wished too, but she didn't want to look at the bright side.

"It was your first day! You could have at least kept quiet if making a good first impression is too hard for you."

"Gobhi ki sabzi kise pasand hai?" Daadi interrupted, quite enthusiastically. 

Three heads turned towards her. "Daadi, kisiko nahi pasand yeh," Arnav said.

"But it's healthy, my grandson." That was so scripted.

She tore a bit of the parattha before feeding me. "Thoda khaya kar. Hamesha pizza-vizza se pet nahi bharta." 

Dad sighed quite loudly. "Mujhe kaam hai, goodnight." 

He scraped out his chair and that was the last noise that night.

"The JJ Thomson's Atomic Model, was, well, really delicious," Mr. Joshi, the Chemistry teacher, introduced the polka dots inside the huge circle he had drawn on the board. "After all, it was the watermelon of summer and plum-pudding of winter!"

I had never thought that chemistry first period would be bearable. But I guess, with droopy eyes and delicious hallucinations, we could call it a day.

"I'm really hungry now," Karan whispered. He sat in front of me and Ishita today, with Ritwik, while Arnav and Vansh claimed the seat behind us.

"I can hear you, young man," Mr. Joshi said. "But the lunch break isn't until eleven. So for your own good, be cool with the mol-e-cools."

The intended pun did make the class laugh.

"I can't believe he just made another chemistry joke," Vansh commented.

"Well, the mystery in chemistry is quite plausible," Arnav replied. Ishita and I turned around to look at him like he had grown two heads.

"Arnav?" Vansh said lowly, "Next time, please don't make me your trial guy for experimental puns. They really aren't funny. I might just die, and that won't be because of benzene overdose."

"Oh, you mean, punny," Ishita pointed out. Quite loudly, might I add.

"Ms. Gupta and Ms. Newbie," Mr. Joshi caught us. "Is this class Bohring you?"

"Ahh, there we go again," Vansh scowled.

"Not at all sir," Ishita said at once.

"Then what were you talking about punny whatever?"

"Paani sir," I quickly replied.

"Yes sir! Our throats needed a bit of H-2-O." Ishita adds.

Seemingly impressed with our excuse, he continued with his electrons and protons and the plum-pudding model.

"Punny indeed," Ritwik remarked before noting down the lecture.

My pen scrawled over the smooth page as I started the fifth homework sum of Physics. The sun was setting outside, and orange hues were lighting up my room. The bell rang, disturbing the silent serenity I was quietly enjoying. Since both Ratan Kaka and Daadi were home, I didn't bother greeting the unexpected..

"Ishita..." I could hear Daadi's voice, muffled due to my closed door. "Arnav ghar pe nahi hai." 

"Kya daadi, mai har baar Arnav ko pareshaan karne thode aati hun!" 

Uh-oh. This girl had a serious issue of stalking me now.

"Toh kya mere saath bhajan-keertan karne ayi ho?" 

Before she could reply, I presented myself before them. "What are you doing here Ishita?"

"Trying to be the good friend and drag you to the park?"

Daadi looked between us two. "Am I allowed to join too?"

"Well, if you get chemistry jokes, then sure," Ishita smiled at her.

"Both of you," Daadi looked horrified, "get out of my house."

I rolled my eyes at my Daadi's overacting stance before joining Ishita in the lift.

"I didn't know you were coming," I knelt down to tie my shoe lace.

"I wanted to check up on you. Akshata was bitching about you in the girls washroom today. Sucks that there was no orange juice this time to spill, warna I'd have gladly done that."

Even though she meant that as a joke, her eyes told a different story. "You okay?"

"Yeah," I nodded, meaning it.

"Hey, I know how it feels, okay? People talk hurtful shit about my sister all the time just because she is a Bollywood actress. They say her movie choices are cringe and all but they don't know that beginners really have to fight their way up."

I considered that for a moment. Arohi Gupta, her sister, went by the name Sanaya when she was launched in a mediocre-budget movie. Rumors of all sorts aired every now and then about this businessman's daughter, even if they were far from reality. May be that was why Ishita stuck with me for the first week of school. She understood, and she could relate.

As we got out of the elevator, I said, "Back-bitchers only bitch because they stay in the back."

She nodded, smiling. "I'd make that a mantra if it wasn't a tongue twister."

I came home to find Dad and Arnav debating over a live football match. Dad had always been an ardent fan, something he passed onto Arnav. They didn't notice me entering, so I slid into my grandmother's room, with a packet of crisps from the kitchen.

Her attention on the TV screen inside her room was so rapt that she didn't notice me until I laid my head on her lap.

"Akele akele hi khayegi?" She snatched some crisps that I had brought before stuffing it inside her mouth. "Binoy ko mat bolna. Marne se pehele hi maar dega." 

"Bakwas mat karo," I replied.

"Tujhe nahi dekhna unke saath woh videshi laundo ka match?" She changed the topic. (You're not gonna watch the footy match?)

"They don't even know I am home, Daadi," I said, turning over, fixing my gaze on the show she was so enthralled about. "Not that it would matter to them anyway."

I felt her fingers run through my hair, and it was the calmest I ever felt ever since I was back in Delhi. "Binoy cares about you too, beta. You're his daughter after all."

"Exactly Daadi. I'm his daughter, I am not his Golden Child. His prized possession isn't ever going to be replaced."

Silence followed my statement before she spoke up again. "Well, all I know is that you are Platinum, and Daadi's aren't supposed to have favourites, but trust me, the Golden Child would never have anything over the Platinum Girl."

I laughed through my flooded eyes at her statement. "Now stop your emotional drama. I already have my television soaps for that."

_____

Namoshtaii!

I was supposed to update two days later, but here we go ;))
Read, vote, comment and promote!

~chaashnee