"Where do you think you are going?" Mayank put a hand on my shoulder and stopped me.
"To class? That's what our parents pay fees for."
He ignored my taunt. Everyone wasn't Dean's offspring. We had to attend every class if we didn't want to fail.
"Follow me," he said and motioned with his hand as he started walking forward. I just stood there and stared at his back. When he didn't hear me following him, he turned around and sighed.
"Will you just come? You are embarrassing me. You have to follow when I say follow me. You are ruining my image," he complained and looked at the students who were looking at us.
"I am not a dog. You have to first mention the subject and why should I follow you?" I asked.
He grabbed my arm and started walking. I kept asking him where he was taking me but he didn't reply.
"Why is she here?" Rajeev asked as Mayank and I reached their classroom.
"He kidnapped me," I accused.
Rajeev frowned and looked at Mayank who was busy taking out some books and papers from his bag. He gave me a bundle of papers and told me to go through it. Question papers?
"What do I do with this?" I asked as I waved the papers in air. Mayank gave me the books and made me take a seat. He took out a stopwatch and handed me a pen.
"Why are you making me solve a question paper right now?" I asked him and looked at Rajeev. He also had no idea. I started to get up but Mayank pushed me back.
"Solve this paper and if you get stuck, then you can refer to the books beside you. You have about one hour to solve it but it will be greatly appreciated if you finished it before time. OK, let's not waste more time and begin." He clapped his hands and started the stopwatch. I blinked.
What?! I wasn't told about a surprise test. And why only me?! Most importantly, why was Mayank conducting it?
"The time has already started you know. The clock is ticking," Mayank informed and my hands moved on their own. Muscle memory I guess.
I grabbed the question paper and started reading. I began solving the questions. They were quite easy. I could hear Rajeev ask Mayank about what he was planning but he just told him to keep quiet.
Why was I here in 2nd year class, solving a paper given by Mayank who was not willing to tell me why the hell I was doing this?
"Mayank bhaiyya, are you coming to my house tod-" Mayank cut off Ved who had came in just now. Mayank motioned him to keep quiet. I would have escaped from here if he wasn't standing guard at the door.
Ping!
I checked my phone. Surbhi had messaged me asking me where I was. I started typing but Mayank snatched my phone away. I scowled at him but he motioned towards the stopwatch. I got back to work.
"What is she doing here?" Ved asked irritatingly.
"I don't know and this idiot here isn't telling either," Rajeev replied.
"I came here to ask you if you are coming to my house this weekend," Ved said.
"Sure. We will be there," Mayank replied.
"Kid, you wanna tag along?" I heard Rajeev address me. I looked up blankly. They were disturbing me and why would I go to Ved's house? I was not his friend. I didn't want to. Never. Never ever. Rajeev asked me again and I glanced at Ved.
He was staring at me, daring me to say yes. I shook my head and his lips curled into a lopsided smile.
"Why not?" Rajeev prodded. I told him I had other plans. He looked disappointed but let it go. They continued chatting in low whispers while I continued solving problems.
"I am done!" I announced and cracked my fingers. Damn. That was a lot of work. I finished before time.
Mayank took the answer sheets and skimmed through them. He kept nodding his head and smiled at me.
"So want to tell me why exactly you made me take a test?" I asked as I picked up my bag.
"For inter college science competition," he replied.
Oh okay. Wait, what?!
"You made me bunk my class for that?!" I yelled.
"My ears! Lower your voice, will ya? Dean gave me the task to build a team for the competition that will represent our college. Since I had gone through your records, I decided to take a recruitment test," he explained and put the papers back in his bag happily.
"You went through my records?!" I yelled again.
"You can surely shout. Relax kid. It isn't that surprising," Rajeev said. He gave me a bottle of juice. I accepted it as a peace offering.
"You made me bunk my class," I mumbled.
"You are smart. You will cover up." Mayank patted my head and left for his father's office.
Ved was observing us quietly. Didn't he have any lecture?
"Ved! I have been searching you for so long. Coach sent me to fetch you," Nikhil said as he entered the classroom. He was in his basketball team's uniform.
"Oh you are here too," he said as he noticed me.
"Hi!" I replied and he greeted back. If Ved's eyes weren't narrowed enough earlier, they now turned into slits. I was dancing in my mind.
What you gonna do? Huh? What you gonna do Ved?
"Let's go," he said sharply and left the room. Nikhil glanced at him and then at me. I shrugged and told him to go. After saying goodbye to Rajeev, I also left for my next lecture.
Mayank was really insane. He could have directly told me about the competition. I would have to ask Surbhi for notes now. I hope she remembered to do that instead of playing Temple Run.
At lunch, I told her where I vanished and she laughed. Divya and Rashi asked me if there were other competitions too. I told them to meet Mayank as I didn't know much.
"Oops. Sorry."
I felt a cool liquid flow down my back. I turned around and saw a boy looking at me in horror. I was about to snap at him but I melted at his babyface.
He was wearing specs over his turquoise eyes which reminded me of someone I knew. His face was round with two thick eyebrows, a straight nose and apple lips. His brown hair were messy and few strands fell over his forehead.
"I am extremely sorry. I wasn't paying attention," he apologized again, his cheeks turning from white to red. He shifted on his feet while balancing the food tray in his hands.
I could hear Ved and his friends laughing from the other table. My girl gang was snickering too.
"It's okay. Don't worry about that," I said and motioned for him to continue on his way. I just couldn't make myself to shout at him. It was a mistake after all.
Moreover, he looked so adorable in a blue polo shirt and black cargos. I couldn't help but just smile at him.
After getting my reply, he adjusted his glasses, nodded and left. I got up and glared at Ved as I passed his table. I went to the washroom and looked at my back.
"I had to wear white today, didn't I?" I grumbled and saw Surbhi enter with a box of tissues. We started to dry my shirt as much as we could. My shirt was stained orange now. It was one of my favourite shirts.
"I thought you would go berserk on that guy," Surbhi commented.
"It was an accident and FYI, I can control my anger," I replied.
"Oh sure you can. I am so proud of you," she said mockingly and gave me her scarf to cover up the stains as much as I could. I wish I had a jacket with me right now.
"Nice shirt Sandhya," Ved commented and began laughing when we entered the cafeteria. I rolled my eyes. Nikhil looked at me and I gave him a small smile.
Throughout the lunch I could hear Ved's indirect comments and I fisted my hands. Surbhi looked at me curiously. I glanced at Tanya and she was busy observing Ved. I pursed my lips. No. Not today. I would kill him later.
"Sandhya, can I talk to you for a minute?" Surbhi asked as the lunch break ended. Why was she talking so formally? I nodded and we went to our usual hanging spot. We sat down and observed the other students.
"Are you hiding something from me?" she asked.
I furrowed my eyebrows. What was she talking about? She gave me her 'don't think you will get out of this so easily' look.
"Is there something going on between you and Ved?" she asked. My eyes widened.
"I knew it. So when were you planning to tell me? I have observed your interactions and how you try to avoid him every time. What's the problem? Spill the beans already or I am going to go and ask him directly," she threatened.
Shit. I was cornered. I couldn't escape now, could I? She wouldn't leave me until I told her. I inhaled a deep breath and began with the story session. I told her everything. By the end, she was red with rage. I just besmirched Ved's image in her eyes. Should I be happy or sad? I will go with happy.
She said she would beat him to pulp but I grabbed her hands. I told her he hadn't tried to bully me yet. I didn't tell her about the basketball incident in class. She calmed down after few minutes.
"That's so immature of him," she commented. I nodded my head.
"Don't worry. It is all in the past. I don't think he has enough time to irritate me now since we are in college. Moreover, I don't want to ruin your friendship with him," I said. She looked at me in confusion.
"Look, you are my best friend and I don't want you to kill someone and go to jail. What would I tell Aryan? If your behaviour suddenly changed towards Ved, he will get suspicious. So you can relax and I will just ignore him. We will have to. Since Tanya has a crush on him," I said and we giggled.
"I can't imagine Ved as a bully. Make sure to tell me if he troubles you. I will have a serious talk with him," she said and cracked her knuckles. I patted her back and we continued laughing.
Ã~Ã
"Here Surbhi. Thanks for the notes."
Ved returned Surbhi's notebook and she gave him a smile. It wasn't so sweet now. She glanced at me and read my eyes. She sighed and smiled sincerely. Good.
The last thing I wanted was to alter my friend's thoughts because of my past. He was nice to her afterall. I will deal with him myself. He left after giving me a glance cum glare.
"Don't worry. I will protect you," Surbhi said and crossed her arms. She only needed a pair of goggles and the look would be complete. I laughed at her as she did a punching action.
"I am honoured to have you as my bodyguard."
I bowed my head and she curtsied. We looked back and saw Ved looking at us weirdly. Surbhi and I exchanged looks and laughed more.
Rest of the day went by smoothly and luckily, I didn't have to see Ved's face.
Oh the babyface! I spotted the guy from the cafeteria who had spilled his orange juice on me. He was trying to avoid some guys. Were they bullying him? I knew I had seen him before. Where exactly I couldn't remember.
"Return that to me." I heard him.
"You want this little boy? Come and get it then," one of the guys said and held his backpack above his head. When he, let's call him babyface for now, tried to snatch it, the other guy threw it towards his friend who caught it and emptied all the contents on the floor.
"Hey! What the hell are you doing?" Babyface tried to tackle his opponent but their was a huge difference in their built. The bully pushed him and he fell on the floor while others laughed.
I should help him. He was getting bullied in front of everyone and no one was doing anything about it.
I took a step forward but a figure moved past me at lightening speed. Before I could take another step, Ved was on top of the bigger bully, punching the shit out of him. The other one tried to tackle him but Nikhil was already against him. Some more guys came and they took on the other ones.
Ved looked so engrossed in beating his opponent. I had never seen him so outraged before.
"How dare you bully him?" he seethed as he landed another punch. So much blood. It reminded me of my second day when I saw Mayank beating that convict. He stopped when Babyface held his arm and tried to pull him back.
"Ved let him go. He is already unconscious. You will get in trouble if you continued," he said in a trembling voice.
"He is right Ved," Nikhil said and grabbed Ved's other arm. Ved huffed and got up. One of Ved's friends handed babyface his backpack and he thanked him. They were outnumbered but still managed to beat the bullies. I almost clapped. Almost.
I was surprised to see Ved stand up against bullies. Why couldn't he apply that to himself?
He put his hand on babyface's shoulder and looked at him with concern. Babyface gave him a small smile.
"Thanks Ved. You are always helping me. Thank you guys too," he addressed Nikhil and other guys. They just patted his back in assurance and joked how it was so easy to defeat their opponents.
"What happened here?" Mayank asked as he made his way through the crowd. He took in the scene in front of him and called up security.
He told Ved he would handle it and told everyone to go back to whatever they were doing. This time I really thanked him mentally for using his power.
"You too Sandhya. Move along. Go to your class," Mayank told me as he noticed that I didn't move from my spot. I was trying to remember babyface from my memory. Then it clicked.
"Ayush?"
The name slipped off my lips as I finally remembered his name. He turned his head towards me and furrowed his eyebrows.
"You are Ayush. Aren't you? Remember me?" I asked happily. He didn't reply but just stared at me blankly.
"I hardly recognised you but you haven't changed that much," I commented and his face hardened.
"Mind your own business Sandhya," Ved retorted.
"I am talking to him, not you," I said harshly.
"Sandhya?" Ayush asked and looked between me and Ved. Then his expressions morphed from confusion to realisation. He looked at me and gave me a pointed look.
"I remember you now but will you just do as Ved said?" he asked.
What? I looked at him and deduced he wasn't happy to see me. Bummer. I was happy to meet an old friend from school. He wasn't. Why? Because just like Ved, he didn't like me too. Only he didn't bully me. I considered him a friend though. Why did everyone hate me?
I sighed and moved aside. Ved pushed past me and Ayush followed him. Nikhil gave me a sympathetic look while his other friends just gave me a curious glance.
"What a happy reunion," Mayank commented. We were the only ones left on the scene now. I gave him a fake smile. I looked at the passed out guys and smirked. Served them right.
Security soon arrived and took the guys away. They didn't question about the matter. They kept their mouth shut and did as Mayank directed them.
"Let's go." He put his arm over my shoulders and gave them a gentle squeeze. He must have noticed my sad mood but didn't ask anything. We walked in silence and he gave me a pat on the head when I reached my classroom.
"Cheer up now," he said and Ieft. I didn't attend the lecture because I knew I wouldn't be paying any attention. So, I bunked my class. I went to the library and started writing my report for science club. I wrote three pages and got bored. I took out my novel and began reading.
I naturally started swaying to the soft singing. It was back. I loved this voice. My mood lifted up because of it. I should find out whom it belonged to. I got up and followed the sound. I reached at the far end of the library and peaked behind the bookshelf.
Shreyas? He stopped when he sensed my presence. He looked up and shut his diary.
I quickly stepped aside. I knew what he was going to do. Run away. He got up and dusted his jeans.
"You have a nice voice," I commented and turned around.
"You can run now," I added.
He moved past me and looked over his shoulder. Was that a smile I just saw? No. I must be imagining it.
I got back to my seat and wondered how no one discovered him till now. Will he stop coming here since I found out his hiding spot? I enjoyed his singing though. I tried to sing a few lines of a song.
"Silence!" the librarian yelled.