The Backbenchers: The Extra Class

by Sidharth Oberoi

  `Clearly, you hate this place...' Yuvraj said.

  `It's making me change myself,' she said.

  `Change?' he looked at her.

  `Yes, the girls here wear skirts so short, I felt like an oddity. So I...' she blushed and looked away.

  `You what?' he prodded.

  `I went over to a tailor's two days back. And got a few inches chopped off my skirt.'

  `Ahh...That's what I thought! There was something different!' he said and naughtily looked at her.

  `Hey! Don't do that,' she said and moved away. `And anyway, it's not like it changed anything.'

  `Why?'

  `When I got the length of my skirt reduced, I was a little nervous that it was too short. This morning, I kept checking and rechecking in the mirror. And then I came to school today and realized that I was still in the minority! My skirt's still longer than everyone else's.'

  `Never mind. They're all clones.'

  She smiled at him. She liked him. He was the only person who was being nice to her in this school.

  `Umm...Ananya?' Yuvraj said, a little unsure of himself, `I need to talk to you,'

  `Yeah?'

  Yuvraj thought twice about telling her everything, but he couldn't have kept this inside him. He had to tell her. He started hesitantly, `Uh, actually...1 talked to Natasha about letting you in the Debating Club...'

  `Oh...' she'd known this was coming. She'd seen it in Natasha's eyes that day. She'd just not expected Yuvraj to accept what Natasha wanted this easily.

  `I'm sorry, Ananya. We can't have you in the club.'

  Any reason?' she asked, maintaining a neutral expression on her face.

  `I...see, I really liked your performance. And we'd really love to have you in the team, but we...umm...don't have a vacancy at the moment...'

  She just looked at him, unable to believe that he was making excuses to throw her out.

  `I'm sure you can try next time.'

  `Yuvraj?' she said.

  `Yes?'

  'At least don't lie.'

  `I'm not-,' he started, but paused at the look on her face. His own expression changed and he said softly, `She doesn't want you in.'

  `Natasha?'

  He nodded.

  `Can I know why?'

  Did Natasha really hate her so much that she didn't let her in, even after she proved herself in the audition? Why? She had to know.

  `She thinks it's bad for the Club's image.'

  `What??

  `Umm...she doesn't like the way you dress. ..and carry yourself. She wants someone who looks better.'

  Tears filled Ananya's eyes. So this was the reason she was being thrown out? First people were not interested in being friends with her because she looked odd, now she was being thrown out of the Debating Club too? This place was unbelievable.

  `Please... it's not your fault,' Yuvraj said, noticing the tears in her eyes.

  `Fine, I will not be a part of this club, 'she wiped the tears off the corner of her eyes and said. There was a pause. Nobody said anything. Ananya's mind had blanked out. She had never felt bad about herself back at her old school. She was always seen as the pretty one...but this was new. She felt humiliated. And ugly.

  `See, this is not what I told you this for.'

  'Then? You just wanted me to feel bad about myself?'

  `No! I know I asked you to leave the club, but I don't think you should do that anymore. Maybe you could-"

  `What? What do you want me to do? Wear make-up? Style my hair? Chop off another few inches off my skirt?'

  `Listen to me, Ananya-'

  `No! I am not Natasha and I will not try to be!' she said and walked away.

  Yuvraj called her name from behind, but she was in no mood to listen to him. They both went and stood outside the class, waiting for the class to end. The ten minutes they spent there were spent in silence.

  When the class ended, Ananya went and sat where she always did. The last bench. Yuvraj looked at her and felt sorry for what he had just done. But it wasn't his fault. Or maybe it was. He couldn't stand up to Natasha. His only consolation was that he'd at least tried to.

  As he looked at Ananya, he felt like a wimp. She was standing next to the window, silently staring out of it with tears in her eyes, with no one around her.

  ishab was the school stud.

  He was insanely rich and very resourceful even by The Presidency Convent standards, which was why he preferred The Bishop Boys to his present school. He had been in The Bishop Boys, before he was thrown out from there on grounds of indiscipline. Now, anyone who could go against the school authorities automatically went up the sexiness meter! And Rishab was right up in that meter in The Presidency Convent.

  Although, a lot of people here thought that he was a snob since he was a Bishop Boy, he was a rage amongst girls. Every morning, girls used to walk around the tennis court to see him take off his shirt and put on the school tennis jersey. They were that crazy about him. It was said that he had dreams of being a model someday. If the rumours were true, he was well on his path.

  Rishab took a lot of care to choose the people he used to talk to. Only prettygirls. He was buying his energy drink from the canteen when she noticed a face he hadn't noticed before. She was decently tall and looked amazing. Her hair was let loose, styled incredibly and she had dressed up sharply. Rishab always thought that The Presidency girls just snipped their skirts short even when it didn't suit them, just because everyone was doing it. But on this girl, it looked awesome.

  `Hi? New here?' he asked, approaching her.

  `Yes,' the girl looked up and said shyly.

  `I'm Rishab,' he said and thrust out his hand.

  `Ananya,' the girl said.

  She smiled at him. Rishab smiled back.

  Yuvraj was not in the best of his moods that day. His exam at his coaching center had sucked and for the first time in one year, he had struggled in his IIT preparation. He had told his mom so and she was incredibly angry about it. She had scolded him for being too careless and asked him to stop involving himself in extracurricular activities. She meant Natasha.

  `Dude!' Naman called out his name as soon as he entered the class.

  `I am in no mood to talk about the test, man. I screwed it up real bad. I couldn't even get the integration sitter questions right. And they were so damn easy! I don't know where my head was!'

  He knew he was being eaten up from the inside with the guilt of Ananya opting out of the Debating Club. He blamed himself for it. This was bothering him more than the below awesome scores.

  `I wasn't about to talk about that!' Naman said, in his usual over-excited tone.

  `Then what?'

  `Did you look at Ananya?' he said, his eyes wide open and his mouth salivating. He looked disgusting whenever he talked about any girl in an overtly sexual manner.

  `No? Why?' Yuvraj asked, a little puzzled.

  `Man! It's like she has been through a make-over or something! A small hot package she has become...' Naman said. `The skirt's shorter, the shirt's tighter, the hair's loose! I even suspect some make-up!'

  Yuvraj just sat there listening to what Naman had to say. He was shocked and disappointed. It was almost like he had brought it down on her.

  `This is not what I wanted,' he said to himself.

  The last thing he wanted was another Natasha in his life. Over the weekend, as he kept thinking about Ananya, he realized he had developed a soft spot for her smile and her charm in his heart. She was different. She was intelligent and smart! And she knew so much...But now, she'd decided to change. To fit in. And he knew that he played a role in making this happen. He felt guilty.

  The class was about to start and Ananya was nowhere in sight. Yuvraj sat on one of the last few benches, so that he could sit closer to her. He waited as Ms. Juneja entered the class and the class wished her. There was still no sign of Ananya. Moments later, as Ms. Juneja was halfway through the attendance, the silence in the class was broken by a few giggles outside
it. And then the door opened.

  `May I come in?' Ananya said as she stood on the doorway. Almost immediately, there were whispers amongst the students. Everyone's eye popped out as they saw Ananya. She had changed. Yuvraj stood up a little and caught a glimpse of her.

  `Yes, sure,' Ms. Juneja said.

  As she walked back to where she usually sat, Ms. Juneja asked her, `How has it been up till now?'

  `Good!' she said and smiled back at her.

  Yuvraj was sitting right in front of her. He turned back and said, `Where the hell were you? I must've dropped at least twenty messages!'

  `I was busy,' she said and looked away. Although she looked confident in her voice, her eyes were a little sad.

  Yuvraj didn't know what to say and turned towards the front. He had no idea what to do next.

  It was break time and Natasha had been waiting for Yuvraj in the canteen. He didn't want to see her today after the mess she had created with Debating Club. Only this morning, a club member who was there when Ananya had given the audition had asked him as to why Ananya wasn't in the team. Yes, Ananya was that good! And the word was spreading.

  `Hi,' he said.

  `You are such a darling,' Natasha said and hugged him.

  `Hmmm...'

  `I knew you would understand. We couldn't have kept such a sad girl in our club, no matter how good she is!'

  `Right.'

  'Anyway, did you go through my debate? I mailed it to you last night?'

  `No,' he said, `I was busy.'

  He had read it and he thought it sucked. He compared it with what Ananya had sent and it didn't match up. In fact, it was leagues behind Ananya's.

  `Have you seen Ananya?' he asked.

  `No. Why do you ask?'

  `There she is,' Yuvraj said and pointed out to the corner table, where Ananya was sitting with Rishab, giggling and laughing. Yuvraj felt a little uncomfortable seeing that.

  Natasha turned her head around, smiling. But for the next ten seconds she couldn't speak anything...she just kept on staring. Rishab, the most eligible guy in school was sitting with an amazing looking girl with pretty legs, a charming smile and beautiful hair - Ananya.

  'She ...is...not...' Natasha said, as she found it hard to say anything.

  `She is.'

  `What did she do? Get a plastic surgery?'

  Yuvraj frowned at her. Her envy was etched across her face. They didn't exchange anything for the next few minutes as she took out time to keep staring at Ananya every once in a while.

  Finally, she said, `We need her in our team.'

  `What? Yuvraj said, and this time he really wanted to slap her across her face. No matter how much he loved being with her, he had recently started to notice that he liked Natasha best when she kept shut.

  `Yes Yuvraj,' she said. It must have taken a lot of effort on her part to overcome the jealousy she felt towards Ananya and decide to let her in the team.

  `Only five days back, she was ugly to you! Remember?'

  `Well, now she is not! So get her on the team.'

  Yuvraj barely stopped himself from punching her in the face. He was beginning to hate this girl for whatever she was doing! She was turning out to be a total bitch! He finished his lunch and was walking up to his class when he spotted Ananya walking in front of him.

  `Hey,' he called out.

  She looked back and stopped.

  `I need to talk to you,' he said.

  `Yes, say?'

  `Do you still want to get into the Debating Club?'

  She raised her eyebrows.

  `Uh, we would like to have you in our team,' he said, looking down. She was making him uncomfortable with her piercing stare.

  `Oh? So now I am team worthy?'

  `Let me explain everything,' he said.

  `Let it be, Yuvraj. I know why you wanted me out then and I know why you want me in now.'

  `It's not like that, Ananya...'

  `Really? So, what is it like?'

  `Please let me explain,' he said and sat with her in the class.

  `So?' she asked, as the lecture started.

  'Ananya, I didn't want you to do this.'

  `Do what?' she asked.

  `You know...be like everyone else! The skirt, the shirt...you don't think everyone has noticed? Why do you think Rishab is with you since the morning?'

  `I know why. But he has been really sweet.'

  `But where was he yesterday?' he asked.

  `I know the kind of reputation he has around here. And I know how he is, but he is cute too. He has been really sweet to me. Why do you treat me like I am a kid, Yuvraj?' she almost said it out too loud.

  `Because you are...look at you, now you are like every other girl in class! When you are so much better than them,' he said.

  `Yuvraj,' she said, `Back home, I was loved. Here, I am like an outcast. You think I wanted to do this? Yes, I wouldn't say that Rishab has not hit on me, but he has been real sweet. And I am not used to sitting in the corner and get ignored all the time. I am not used to people looking at me like I am some sort of a freak. At least people looked at me today and acknowledged that I was one of them. It's no fun being different. No matter how good I am at Mathematics or debating, I would still be ignored, and I am not ready to bear that.'

  `You have started to sound like Natasha.'

  `I didn't want to...And I will never be like her.'

  `But you are slowly creeping towards her...And Rishab? What's that about?'

  `C'mon, he is nice! Yes, he is a little slow, but anyway,' she said and smiled. She realized she couldn't be angry with Yuvraj for long. His dimpled smile just took her heart away.

  `I guess that's why he got kicked out of The Bishop Boys.' Yuvraj said and smiled.

  `You are just being mean.'

  After that they just shut up and concentrated on the class. Just as the class was about to end, Yuvraj leant over and whispered in her ear, `You look good.'

  She smiled back.

  Class ended and everybody rushed to their buses or cars. Yuvraj waited for Natasha and they got into their car and left.

  `Talked to Ananya?' Natasha asked as they approached her place.

  `Yes, she is in.'

  'Aww!' she said and pulled him near. She pecked him on the lips, `You are the best!'

  She stepped down from the car and smiled at him. He smiled back. Strangely enough, he felt nothing. A peck wasn't really a kiss, but it was definitely more than anything they'd done with each other yet. Still, he didn't feel a thing. He drove back home, thinking about Ananya. It's not that the old Ananya wasn't great.. .she was pretty cute! But the new Ananya was kick-ass!

  nanya went back home that day thinking about what had happened in school.

  Rishab. Yuvraj. Natasha.

  Suddenly, she was the center of attraction. Did she want to be? Not really. All she wanted was to get a little noticed, make some friends and not feel left out. She looked at herself in the mirror. She looked exactly like the girls that she had seen the first day in school and felt bad about. She had turned into one of them. But then, she told herself she would never be one of them from the inside.

  As she sat down with her books on one side and Facebook on her laptop on the other, her phone rang. It was Yuvraj.

  `Hey,' she said.

  `Hey, I hope I didn't disturb you?' he said.

  `No, I was just checking my FB updates!' she said, `People at your school are such perverts! One day and I have like, sixty three friend requests!'

  `You can't blame them. You looked awesome today.'

  `I feel like such a slut,' she said. And she did. She had changed her appearance to fit in...but now, it seemed like she had gone a little overboard doing it.

  `C'mon, you're being too harsh on yourself.'

  `Hmmm, I guess.'

  `So tell me, how was it at Raipur? You must be pretty pampered there? Weren't you?'

  `Umm,I will tell you something, but don't laugh at me, ok!V

  `I won't.
Why would I?V

  'Promise?'

  'Arne. Yes! I will not laugh.'

  `Okay, back in Raipur, I used to be what Natasha is...not that mean, though! Not mean at all. But you know, loved and popular! And in those days, we used to be...'

  And she narrated her story and told him everything.

  `Really? You did so?' Yuvraj asked.

  `...yes, we often folded our hemlines! But we used to be so screwed if any teacher caught us!'

  `So desperate!'

  `What desperate? It was not for the guys! We used to do it for ourselves.'

  Suddenly there was certain happiness in her voice. She told him about the times that she was caught for her shirt hanging out of her skirt and her socks rolled down. Things were pretty strict back home in Raipur.

  `So, you always wanted to dress up like you did today?'

  `Umm...a little bit! See, it's fun to do with when all your girlfriends do it with you. But that is not to suggest that we wanted to do it because we wanted guys all around us. It was a sign of being a rebel!' she said.

  `I will never get you girls!'

  `Why?'

  `For the last so many hours, I was blaming myself for what I had done to you. Made to change and transform you into something that you aren't! But this is the real you.'

  `See, I am still not as vain as your girlfriend.'

  Whatever.'

  `Huh?'

  `Okay, you're not, Ananya.'

  They ended up talking through the night. Ananya had quite a few things to askYuvraj, about life at The Presidency Convent. She wanted to know if all the stories that she had heard about random make outs, pregnancies and students getting teachers beaten up outside schools were all true! While she was shocked that some of the things that she had heard were totally true, she was also a little disappointed because many things she'd heard were clear exaggerations!

  `Oh damn!' Yuvraj said.

  `What happened?'

  `Did you see the time?'

  `No. What time is it?' Ananya asked.

  `It's five thirty!'

  'Already?'

  `Yeah. Where did the night go?'

  `On phone!' she laughed. All night, they'd been talking on phone, not realizing it was already morning. They were not to blame, though. There was so much to talk about!