by Sidharth
`Yes, but ... this is so difficult. We do not even have a specified syllabus. All we know is that it is a science quiz ...'
`Hold on. Does that ... does that mean there will be questions from biology too?' Natasha asked suddenly.
`Shit. I never thought of that. What if there is?' Shreya looked at Natasha in horror.
`I have no idea! I guess we just have to hope that it won't be so.'
`There's no other way ... we do not have enough time ... I have this book of biology at home ... maybe I could just browse through a few topics once ...'
Natasha smiled. She could see the whole thought process going on in Shreya's head. She knew that even though she was saying browse through, Shreya would not leave any topic untouched. She was like that. The perfectionist. Natasha, herself, was one too. She suspected that she had got that trait from Shreya. After all, they used to spend a lot of their time together.
`Never mind. We do not have much chance in this quiz anyway,' Natasha chuckled. The worried look on Shreya's face was almost humorous.
`What? No! We can't give up. Not yet. It's not like the other people in class know any more than us. We have a definite chance,' Shreya said.
`Whatever you say.'
`Listen-I will go through biology today. You just keep the next two days free. We need to study.'
`As if I have a social life,' Natasha muttered. `I'll be available, don't worry.'
`Good. I think we might be able to do it.'
`I hope so,' Natasha said.
`Can I ask you something Natasha?'
`Sure.'
`I saw you talking to Yuvraj today. What were you talking about?' Shreya asked.
`Nothing.'
`I just don't want you to go back into the past. There is no use in holding grudges. Let's move past them and concentrate on the quiz, Natasha.'
`I will keep that in mind, thank you.'
They went back to get their bags from the classroom. A lot of people stared at them. Everyone knew about their once-very-strong friendship. People had always been interested in Natasha's personal matters. The guys always loved her and the girls always hated her. Nothing had changed. Except perhaps, now, the guys loved and hated her.
hreya's enthusiasm was contagious. Grudgingly, Natasha had to admit that she was excited about the quiz too. It was the only time when she could forget everything and channelize all her thoughts and energy in one direction. For the next two days, they were in the library. They mugged up everything they thought could be asked in the quiz. They were taking it seriously, and it showed. Although they didn't talk about it, they knew they had a decent chance. No one was working as hard as they were.
When the bell rang for lunch, Shreya said, `You go ahead. I think I'll skip it and complete this topic in the meantime.'
`That's sad. I was wondering if we could ...' Natasha trailed away.
`We could ... ? What were you saying?'
`Nothing important. I was just thinking that ... maybe we could have lunch together today?'
`Yeah. Why not? Let's go,' Shreya said. It was a reflex statement from Shreys. Like she didn't even have to give it a second thought. Natasha liked that. She liked the feeling of going to lunch with somebody.
Once they settled down with their food, things fell silent. Even though they had been spending a lot of time together, they had not been talking. All they ever talked about was related to the quiz. That was the only topic they ever touched. So when they sat facing each other in the canteen, there was an uneasy silence. Then, as if by un-said mutual consent, they both concentrated on their respective plates. That expunged any need for conversation.
When they got back to the library, they ran straight into Mr Sharma. He was the Maths teacher and a real hard task master. In a school filled with rich brats with power, he was as strict as anyone could be. Another scene with him was the last thing Natasha wanted.
`Why weren't you two in class this morning?' he asked when he spotted them.
They were surprised. He never remembered much about his students, so this was new.
`Actually, sir, we were in the library ...' Shreya started.
`Why? Did you not know that classes were going on?' he asked.
`We did, sir. But we needed to study for the quiz, so . .
`So? So you just decided to bunk classes without permission? Does the school system work according to you?'
`No sir. But we really needed to prepare,' Natasha said.
`Oh? All this for some quiz? Do you think your stupid science quiz is more important than Maths?' he said.
Natasha and Shreya exchanged a look.
`No, sir.'
`Sorry, sir.'
`Go back to class. Right now. I have another class today. And I want to see both of you there,' he said.
`Yes, sir,' they echoed.
Once out of his earshot, Natasha let out, `Shit. Shit. What did he mean by "is your stupid science quiz more important than Maths?" Does that mean ... ?'
`Yes. It's a science quiz. There will be no Maths in it,' Shreya said, dejected. `I spent all of my time in it. I started with the other subjects just now. Why didn't they tell us?'
`Relax. I hope we still have a chance.'
`Maybe.'
`But what other option do we have? Let's make most of whatever little time we have. Sharma is such a Hitler, by the way,' Natasha said.
`I know. If only we had time to study together ...'
They had been walking, and had almost reached their classroom by then. Natasha turned to Shreya. `Unless we...
`Unless we?'
`We can study together. After school?'
`Yeah. I will skip my tuitions and we can meet up somewhere ... ?' Shreya asked.
`Yes. My place?' Natasha suggested.
Shreya paused for a while. The last time she had been to Natasha's place was a long time back. She had gone there for a sleepover. She had forgotten her bag there. And it had come back to her place the next day ... with dirty magazines in it. And Shreya's life had turned around. She hesitated a little as her thoughts went back to that night and what followed after.
`Sure,' she said at last.
Natasha smiled at her.
Natasha paced around her room, like she had been doing since a long time. She was actually nervous about Shreya coming over. She grudgingly admitted to herself that she had started to like her company. Shreya had started to matter to her and she hoped the feeling was mutual. She could never be sure with Shreya because she was always well behaved. She was sweet even to those who were mean to her. So Natasha did not understand what to think about how Shreya had been acting with her lately.
She rearranged the photo frames in her room a zillion times. Her pictures with Shreya of when they were kids were still there in her room. Every time her room was rearranged, only the position of the photos changed. But the pictures stayed. She tried to rearrange the pictures and put her pictures with Shreya in the most prominent places. But then, she thought against it. That would come across as desperate. She put them back in the corner. She was just about to shift them again when she heard a car stop outside. She's here, Natasha panicked.
There was a soft knock on her door. It was the maid, to inform her of Shreya's arrival. Natasha didn't want the maid to get the door. That would be snobbish. She ran down the stairs. She was nervous. It had been years since she had a female friend over.
`Hi,' she smiled at Shreya. She was breathing a little heavy from the run, and her eyes had a twinkle in them. Natasha was excited.
`Hey!' Shreya greeted back warmly.
`What's up?' Natasha said, and cursed herself for the poor conversation starter.
`Pretty much the same as it was a few hours ago,' Shreya said, confused.
Natasha recovered quickly. `Let's get started then?' she said.
`Sure. I have to get back home by seven.'
`Seven? How will we do it all in just four hours?'
`I don't know. We'll just have to rush through e
verything, I guess,' Shreya said.
`Like we have been doing since always.'
`Right. But at least we're trying our best.'
Natasha looked at her. `You still won't give up, would you?'
`Never. And neither should you. This has to be the sole ambition of our lives. We have to do this, you get it? Have to!' she said with faked enthusiasm.
`Yeah, yeah. I get it!'
They laughed. And from there on, it was a smooth ride. There were no awkward moments between them. It was almost like the good old times. They talked, they laughed, and they studied. They studied non-stop for hours, till it was time for Shreya to go back. When the clock struck seven, they let out a moan together. They didn't want it to end.
`I need to go now. Mom will freak out. You know how she is,' Shreya said.
`Shit. Just a couple of hours and it would have been done,' Natasha said.
`Yeah. But I ...'
`Can't you stay? For the night? We can complete the whole syllabus?'
Shreya's expression changed, Natasha chewed her lips. She wondered what was going through Shreya's head. Was she thinking about what had happened the last time she slept over? Natasha really wanted Shreya to stay. She craved for human company. And Shreya had been nice to her. There were only two people in the world who didn't think she was a bitch-her dad and Shreya.
`I mean ... only if you want to ... there's no pressure ...' she mumbled, a little hot in the face.
`It's not that. Of course I want to.' Shreya said quickly and Natasha released the breath she realized she had been holding.
`Oh. Then? You'd have to ask Mom?'
`Yeah. I don't know if she would let me. . .'
'At least ask?' Natasha suggested.
`Yeah. Just a second,' she said as she took out her phone to call her mom.
Natasha heard snippets of things Shreya said. It seemed like her mom was surprised that Shreya wanted to sleepover at Natasha's place. She knew they had not been friends since a long time.
`I know, mom. But it's for the quiz! We really need to study,' Shreya reasoned.
After a lot of cajoling, Shreya was allowed to stay back at Natasha's place. Natasha was beaming when she heard that. Almost immediately, they reopened their books. Suddenly, their effectiveness dipped. They started to talk about things other than the books and the quiz.
Shreya started to pour her heart out about how the past few years had gone. Her parents were strict with her. She wasn't allowed to go out. Every friend of hers was questioned. Every move was seen in suspicion. Natasha's heart rotted in guilt. Once finished, she thanked Natasha for listening to her. She even hugged Natasha. Natasha felt like a bitch.
Natasha suggested they should start studying again. But after an hour, they were exhausted. They had had a rough couple of days. They finally gave up. Shreya, though, still looked like she could study the whole night. Natasha let out a yawn and lay down on her bed. Shreya looked at her, a little surprised. `What happened?' she asked.
`This is it. I'm not reading another word. There's no way I'm reading another word,' Natasha said.
`But we still have-'
`I am done.'
Shreya thought about it for a minute, and then closed the books shut. She relaxed against the head rest. `I think you're right. We've basically completed the entire syllabus ... more or less.'
'And we don't even know if the freaking questions will be framed from it!'
`Yeah. But at least we are already prepared for the halfyearly exams.'
`Half yearly ... ? Oh shit. I forgot all about them,' Natasha made a face.
It was going to be a hectic month. Even more so, if they cleared the first round and got into the next. Between the quiz and the half-yearly exams, they would barely get any breathing time. Just then, the maid informed them that dinner was ready. When they got down to the dining room, they saw Natasha's mom waiting for her at the table. She looked beautiful and looked at Natasha lovingly.
Her dad was there too. Her face fell. This couldn't be happening.
`Shreya?' her mom and dad said in unison.
Shreya smiled. `Hello, Uncle. Hello, Aunty. How are you?'
`It's so nice to see you! How have you been?' her mother let out. Natasha rolled her eyes. She kept shut as her mom and Shreya talked.
`I'm good, Aunty. It's nice to see you too,' Shreya smiled warmly at her.
`I didn't know you were over!'
`It was not planned. I came here to study and decided to stay over ...
`You have informed your parents, right?' Natasha's mom asked.
`Yes, I called Mom,' Shreya smiled.
It went on like that throughout the dinner, making Natasha feel left out. She remembered the feeling. It was so even when they were kids. Her mother had always been extremely fond of Shreya. She had once even asked Natasha to be more like Shreya.
So much so that Natasha had always felt insecure seeing them together. She brushed away the feeling. She hated her mom. Didn't she? Soon, the conversation got a little easier. Her dad asked them about their preparation for the quiz. They made small talk and made it through the dinner with no causalities.
When they got back to her room, Natasha was completely drained. They decided to call it a night and to wake up a little early to go through the remaining portion. They both knew they were going to do no such thing. The last chapter of a book is always the hardest to complete. They had neither the energy, nor the drive to do it.
`I am exhausted,' Natasha said.
`So am I,' Shreya said, already under the blanket and drowsing.
`I am so glad we could do this. Thank you for staying over.
`It was my pleasure. It's good to see you smile,' Shreya said.
Natasha smiled. `Do you want to hear something cool?'
What?'
`Do you know that we have security cameras in every aisle of the library?' Natasha said with a glint in her eyes.
`No, why?'
`They're there and all the videos are archived. So do you know what will happen if there are two students caught making out on one those tapes?'
`They will get expelled?' Shreya said, not knowing where Natasha was going with this.
`Exactly,' Natasha said and smiled at her.
`I don't know what you're up to, just don't get into trouble,' Shreya said and buried her face in the pillow.
Natasha waited till Shreya fell asleep.
atasha's father, Amitabh Malhotra, tried desperately to keep his voice down. He was fighting with Natasha's mom, who was in tears. She blamed him for what Natasha had tried to do to herself. He was guilty too. He could see Natasha had been disturbed for the last few days and he could do nothing to make it better. He had been too busy with Natasha's mother who wanted to be back in their lives.
Three years before, Natasha's mother had left her father because there was a woman involved. He had cheated on Natasha's mom. Since her mother knew Natasha loved her father more than she loved her, she had left. She didn't say a word about why she was leaving. She was hurting. Before she left, she asked Natasha's dad not to tell Natasha anything about what happened.
Since then, Natasha had hated her mom. There were times when Amitabh wanted to tell Natasha the truth about her mom and his wife, but the promise kept him from doing so. Ever since she left, Amitabh had been begging her to come back. It took him three years to get her back.
`But why not today?' Amitabh asked her. He wanted to tell Natasha that he and her mother wanted to be together again.
`Because she has Shreya over ... It would not be the best of times,' her mother reasoned.
`Why? It's a good thing. With Shreya here, it would be easier to manage her. Shreya would be a help,' he reasoned with his wife.
`I don't know . . . they haven't exactly been close all these years, have they?'
`But Shreya is here tonight. She is staying over. So that only means that they are friends now.'
`There is still something wrong between them ...'
`Maybe. But I'm happy that Shreya is here. I was getting worried about Natasha.'
`Worried? Why? Things at school have not improved yet?' her mother asked.
`Doesn't seem so. And I think ... I think there is a boy involved.'
`What? Why do you think so?'
`I don't know ... something is definitely up.. .'Amitabh wondered aloud. `She needs you. Now more than ever. I think we should tell her everything. I am sure she will understand. It's very hard for me to hide it. She doesn't ask anymore, but I still need to tell her.'
`Something is wrong. I can tell. What are you hiding? What is going on?'
Her dad paused for a minute before saying, `She tried to kill herself.'
`What?' her mother let out at the same time as Natasha burst into the room, shouting, Dada'
They all stared at each other for a short moment and started to speak at the same time. Amitabh wondered what all Natasha had heard.
`Natasha? What are you doing here? Were you eavesdropping?' Amitabh asked, furious and nervous at the same time.
`Is it true? Why? Are you crazy? What did you do? Why were you trying to end your life?' her mom shrieked. Her eyes were glazed over with tears.
`Why did you tell her?' Natasha shrieked. She ignored whatever they said and kept speaking. `You know I hate her.'
`Beta, please-' her mother started, but Natasha cut her off.
`Stay out of this. This is none of your business!' she shouted.
`But I'm just trying to-' her mother started again.
`Shut up before I hurt you.'
`Natasha! She is your mother,' Amitabh said, feeling guilty. He barely kept himself from telling Natasha that it wasn't her mother's fault, but his.
`No, she is not. She stopped being my mother the day she left us.'
`But she came back. She cares about you. And she had a right to know. It wasn't her fault that she left us.'
`It was her fault. She does not care about me.' Natasha cried. Amitabh's heart shrank.
`She does. And I do too. We worry about you ...'
`There is no need to. I'm okay, I'm fine. You don't need to be concerned about me.'
`Then why did you go missing? What was my bottle of sedatives doing on your table? Why were your eyes red? Why were you shocked to see me? What was that all about?' Amitabh asked as his wife looked at him with horror in his eyes.