by Sidharth
`Call Mitra. Ask him to be down there right now.'
I am sure that would be enough.'
Natasha whispered, `Go!' but he did not pay heed. He argued with whoever it was on the other end and ultimately, did not go back to work. There was obviously a crisis there, but he chose to stay with his daughter.
`Why didn't to go?' Natasha asked when he hung up.
`I am just a little tired to work now,' he shrugged nonchalantly.
It was a little odd. Her dad was the kind of person for whom work was what mattered the most. She had never seen him cancel an appointment. She had seen him rush to work halfway between birthday parties and anniversary celebrations all her life. This was a first. She wondered what was up. By the time they got back home, she had a grin on his face. When she got to her room, the bottle of sleeping pills was not on the table. Nor could she find the glass on the carpet.
He knew.
She realized that she was why he had not rushed to work in the crisis. He chose to stay home. He must have figured what she was planning to do, and had instructed the servants to take away her suicide weapons. Her dad must have taken care of that. The note she had written to him was still there. She crumpled it and threw it into the bin. Suddenly, she was not as happy as she had been a little while ago. She wondered why her dad never mentioned anything. It would have killed him just to think that she was going to do something that drastic.
Her eyes fell on her cell phone, still lying on the bed. She picked it up. 1 Missed Call. Without giving too much thought, she dialled Shreya's number.
`Hello?' Shreya said.
`Uh, hi ...'
`Natasha?'
Natasha thought for a while and said dryly, `Yes, Shreya. This is me. You called earlier today?'
`Yes, I did. Actually ... I was wondering if you were okay. After the . . . thing in school today, I was a little concerned . . .' Shreya said. Natasha smiled thinking that at least someone was concerned about her.
`I am okay . . . I was a little disturbed, but now it's fine.'
`Good. So ... will you be coming to school tomorrow?'
`I ... I don't think so.'
`Why? You can't run away from them forever. You have to face them, sooner or later. You know that, right?'
Natasha kept silent.
`Natasha ... ? Are you listening?'
`Hmm.'
`Come to school,' Shreya said and paused. `We have just three days left for the first round of the quiz.'
`Oh, right. I totally forgot,' Natasha replied. She had been preparing for the quiz just that morning. But when Shreya mentioned it, it felt like something from ages ago. `Who are we competing against?'
`In the first round? Our classmates.'
`In our section or ... ? Actually, I really do not know much about the quiz. I didn't listen in class. Do you mind giving me an overview?'
`Of course not. See-in the first round, we have to compete within our section. The team that wins will be selected. Amit Sir will decide which four teams go to the second round. The team that wins the second round goes to the third,' Shreya explained.
`The third round is going to be held at IIT, right? Only one team will go there?'
`Yes. Just one team from The Presidency. We will then compete against three other schools.'
`Which schools?' Natasha asked.
The Bishop Boys, DPS R K Puram and Modern.'
`Oh, okay.'
So Rana might be there, too. The thought suddenly came to her head and she felt unimaginable anger towards him. How quickly emotions change, she thought to herself.
`Yeah. So we'd better start preparing. And oh, the first round is written. We'll be given a set of thirty objective questions to solve in thirty minutes,' Shreya continued.
`Written? But I thought . . . Why would a quiz be written?'
`It's just the first round. The organisers asked for one team from our school. So the first two rounds are just in order to select the best team.'
`Alright,' Natasha said. There was silence. They had nothing to talk about. Obviously. They shared nothing else other than a tainted history and a quiz team. Suddenly, she remembered what she had seen in that pizza place that day. `Hey? Do you know Rishab?'
`Rishab?' Shreya struggled to remember. She wasn't the gossiping type. `Oh yes, the guy from Bishop who was in our school for a few months.'
`Yes, that guy. I saw him with Ananya today. On a date.'
`But Ananya is dating Yuvraj, right?'
`She is, but Rishab always had feelings for Ananya, plus they used to be really close when he was in our school,' Natasha said. `Do you think I should tell Yuvraj? Or maybe blackmail Ananya a little?' Natasha snickered.
`Why would you do that?'
`For obvious reasons,' Natasha said, `They screwed with me, now I want to do that with them.'
`C'mon Natasha. You're better than that,' Shreya said. `Let it be. If they are not honest with each other, it's their problem. Revenge never solved anything.'
`It doesn't? You mean to say that what Rana did to me should go unpunished too?'
`Karma. God is watching, Natasha,' she said.
`I don't believe in God,' Natasha said and shrugged it off.
`But I believe in you, and I know you are a better person than that,' she said. There were voices behind Shreya. It was her mom. She had to go. `See you tomorrow, then?' she asked.
`I guess,' Natasha said meekly after thinking for a while.
`Cool. See you then.'
'Bye.'
She thought about what Shreya had said. It made no sense. The people who had wronged her should be wronged in return. Her phone beeped and broke her train of thought.
It said:
You're a nice person. You will come through. Don't worry. I am with you.
Natasha did not reply to it. She did not understand why Shreya was being so sweet to her. It was a weird situation and she had no idea how to handle it. But when she slept that night, she had a slight smile on her face. At least someone cared for her. She needed someone and she had found that someone. She had never thought it would be the girl she had betrayed.
he next day, the day started on a bad note. Outside her class, there were a group of guys waiting to ambush her. She tried to hurry past them but they had their jibe ready.
`I love you. I really do,' A guy mocked Natasha, in a girl-ish tone, imitating her. There was a whole bunch of guys with him, all laughing madly at her. `Would you please take me back? Please, please. Believe me-I love you for real. Take me back?'
`Not even if you magically grew a dick,' she replied evenly and walked away.
Everyone laughed and she walked away from them. She was surprised that people still cared. They had nothing more interesting to do than gossip about her. Losers. After the first lecture, she saw Shreya wave at her. She waved back. Shreya motioned her to meet outside.
`Hey! Everything alright?' she asked.
`Yes, fine,' Natasha returned her smile.
`Good. Listen, I was thinking-shall we bunk some of the classes? We seriously need to prepare for the quiz, you know?'
`Yeah, we do. But-not with Vicky. I'm not studying with him.'
`I thought so. I haven't asked him to come with us,' Shreya grinned.
`Thank God! So, how much are you done with?'
`I've completed Maths. We had decided to cover one subject properly. But then, we also need to know about the other two subjects, right? To cross-check answers in case of confusion.'
`Yeah. Makes sense,' Natasha replied shortly. She prayed Shreya would not ask the question she was obviously going to ask. Which she did.
`How much have you done?'
`Most of it. Just a few topics remaining.'
`Nice. So that means we have Maths and Chemistry almost covered. I just hope Vicky is doing a good job with Physics,' Shreya said.
`He must be, considering he was so keen on taking it up.'
`Yeah. But that was just to piss you off, not for his real inte
rest in the subject.'
`I know. So, I think that's what we should study now. Physics. Since the other two subjects are already more or less done?' Natasha suggested.
`Really? I thought I could help you with Maths and you can help me with Chemistry. That would have taken lesser time ...'
`I know, but what's the rush? We still have three more days. Let's concentrate on Physics today and we can do what you're suggesting after that.'
`Okay. Whatever you say. Let's go to the library?'
`Sure.'
They went to the library and took out books for Physics. Seeing Shreya pick up the thickest of them, Natasha got a little nervous. The truth was that she had not completed even a single chapter of Chemistry. God only knew why she suggested that they should study Physics first. She had not completed her subject, and was wasting her time on others'. But then, had she gone by Shreya's plan, she would have been caught in no time. How could she teach something she herself did not know anything about? She had no way of getting out the sticky situation.
`Wait-let me get my book,' she said and got up from her seat. She remembered that she had opened wave optics a few days ago. She was hoping that she remembered something from it.
She searched for the book she had referred to when she had first started to prepare for the quiz, but could not find it anywhere. She made her way to the back of the library, where she knew they stacked the slightly defected copies of books to be sent for mending later. She had almost reached the back when she heard a strange whimpering sound from nearby. She looked around but saw nothing. A moment later, just when she bent to pick up a book, she heard someone moan again, a little away from her. She left the book and went deeper inside the library.
And then she saw them-Ananya and Yuvraj, holding each other, kissing. She paused for a while, and came in clear view of them. As soon as Ananya noticed her standing there, she hastily broke the kiss and stared at her. Yuvraj turned and his eyes met Natasha's.
She smiled a twisted half smile.
Before any of them could say anything, she turned on her heel and started to walk away. She was furious, her eyebrows made a small hill and blood flushed her face. As she walked further away, the lines that had deepened her forehead slowly vanished and her face returned to its normal colour. A smile replaced the frown. It was the first time she had smiled that wide in a long time. Since Ananya took it away, to be precise.
`Natasha!' a voice called from behind her.
Ananya's voice registered in Natasha's mind, but she didn't look back. She kept walking, with a smile on her face and plan in her devious head.
`The book?' Shreya asked.
`Huh?' Natasha looked at her uncertainly.
`You said you were getting some book?'
`Oh, that. I couldn't find it. Someone must've issued it already,' Natasha said. She had been so lost in what she had just seen that she forgot all about the quiz and the book she was trying to find.
`Never mind. What shall we start with?' Shreya asked, after they chose a seat in a corner, so that no teacher caught them bunking class.
`I don't know. Anything you like. Is there a syllabus?'
`No. You just have to know everything, I guess! The more weird the facts, the more important they are.'
`How are we supposed to do that?' Natasha asked.
`We will just study a little of everything. That might work?'
`I guess,' Natasha said. `That's what I did in Chemistry,' she added as an afterthought.
`So ... let's start with Magnetism?' Shreya suggested.
They started studying together and Natasha was surprised by how easy it was to be with Shreya. There was no pretending, no ego clashes, no cold wars. She liked the feeling. For years, she had only pretended. She was living up to what people perceived her as-a rich, brat of a girl who was every guy's dream. She didn't hate the feeling, but she liked what she and Shreya had.
Shreya got up. `Do you want to attend the rest of the classes? After lunch?'
`Not really,' Natasha shrugged.
`I'm not attending either. If we win this ...'
`Do you think we have a chance? I mean, what are the chances? Everyone's participating.'
`True. But I think we do have a decent chance. At least in the first round,' Shreya said.
`Why? Because it is written?'
`Yes. I get a little anxious on stage.'
`Come on, I will be there with you,' Natasha said and held her hand.
`I am such a coward,' Shreya laughed.
`That you are!' Natasha smiled back.
`So, see you here after lunch?'
`Yeah.'
Their confidence was high and it was evident in their smiles. After lunch, they charted out exactly what they had to study in the coming days. They wondered if anyone else was working as hard as they were. They spent the next few periods sitting in the library talking about everything else, but the quiz. Natasha was happy that Shreya could hold a conversation which didn't include bitching about somebody.
Natasha was happy.
uvraj sat on the corner table in the library, his head sunk deep in his books. There were just a few months to go before the board exams and the IIT entrance examinations and he was expected to perform well. In addition, there was the quiz too. His girl, Ananya, was studying day and night for this while he was yet to touch any topic.
He sat there thinking about Ananya's sweet face and warm touch. He wondered if they would go to the same college after school ended. He wondered if they would be in the same city. It had been just a little while since they had started seeing each other, but she meant the world to him. She was there when he caught Natasha cheating on him. She was there to hold his hand and tell him that everything would be alright. It was not a relationship on the rebound. What he had with Ananya made him understand what real relationships were like.
He was in a reverie, thinking of the time Ananya and he had spent together, when he heard a voice over his shoulder.
Alone?' she looked at him and asked.
`What?' Yuvraj asked. It was Natasha. He was shocked because they had never talked after the day he had caught Natasha kissing Rana. The images were still fresh in his head.
`Where is your lovely girlfriend? Ananya?'
He didn't like Natasha's tone. He closed his books and got up.
`Oh, come on! You should reply when people talk to you. Didn't anyone teach you?' she laughed.
`Leave me alone,' Yuvraj said. He had not seen Natasha not sulk or look defeated in a long time. The smile on Natasha's face never meant any good for anyone. It meant she was up to something. He had dated her and he knew.
`Why? I'm bad company?'
`I did not say that. I just don't think we have anything to talk about anymore,' he said and walked away.
She followed him, `Really? Because we broke up?'
`Amongst other things.'
`Hmm. But I think there are a few things we could discuss ...'
With every sentence, Yuvraj was freaking out. Natasha had always been intimidating for him. A certain part of him was also scared of her. He had seen the dominating nature of hers, the mean side of hers, and he knew it was not pretty.
`You're not in mood to talk, are you? Is everything okay? Or is it because I accidentally walked into your little makeout session? You know? In the back of the library ... ?'
`It's none of your business,' Yuvraj said angrily.
`I am making it my business. By the way-where is she? Bored of you already?'
Yuvraj kept walking away. Natasha stopped.
`Of course. She must be done with you for today ... must be Rishab's turn now, right?' Natasha suggested fakeinnocently.
`What?' Yuvraj stopped in his tracks and turned around.
`I just thought-maybe she is busy with Rishab now? She must be tired after everything. Must have got home late last night, after her date with Rishab-'
`Shut up, Natasha! You have no idea what you are talking about.'
`Oh? I don't? But I thought it was you who is getting double-crossed. There must be something wrong with you. All your girlfriends tend to turn away and look for other options...' she trailed away.
`What do you mean?' Yuvraj said and walked up to her.
'Ask Ananya what she was doing with Rishab in her intimate dinner. You don't know that these two met, right?' she snickered.
`Umm ... I know.'
`No, you don't. It's written all over you face, exboyfriend.'
`I am not concerned. I love her and I trust her.'
`Look at you,' Natasha mocked. `You don't trust her. Your hands are shaking, your face is red, and you're burning.'
`I am not. I said I don't care.'
`You should. But what you should care more about is that back-alley kiss you shared with Ananya. What if a teacher gets to know about it?' she said, smiled her evil smile and walked away from him.
Yuvraj was numb. He stood there, shaken. He knew he was concerned. He wanted to know what Ananya hadn't told him. He wasn't too concerned about the kiss becoming the knowledge of a teacher because no one would believe Natasha. But, Rishab? How could Ananya meet him alone? Still, that's not what bothered him. What did bother him was why Ananya hadn't told him?
Natasha knew that the harm was done. She had planted a seed of doubt in Yuvraj's mind, which would not be quenched easily. The look on Yuvraj's face told her that she would at least cause a fight. It was not much, but at least a start. She smiled.
She got back to the library and looked around. Shreya was not there yet. So she decided to fetch the books till the time she got there. By the time she had arranged the books on the table, Shreya was back. They spent the rest of their day in school, studying together. Natasha had to agree, she preferred it to studying alone like she always did. Shreya was good company. And Natasha had almost forgotten how having someone nice around felt.
`How much more is left?' Natasha asked, as they put the books back on their shelves, when the school ended.
'Almost half of it. Why are we studying at such a slow pace? Are we studying too much in detail ... ?' Shreya wondered aloud.
Are you kidding me? We are barely skimming the topics. We can't go any faster.'