chapter 16

Part 16: Bunked Bells and Borrowed SmilesIt was a lazy Monday, the kind of day that stretches and yawns before the clock strikes ten. The first two periods dragged by like a snail. The teacher kept talking, the chalk squeaked, the fans kept running – but Riya’s attention was not in the classroom.She was sitting next to Sneha, half listening, half drawing flowers in her notebook. Behind her, Dhirav was busy swinging his pen like a drumstick on the edge of the desk.Their eyes met through the small space between the two heads.Dhirav widened his eyes, saying, “Breakout?”Riya raised an eyebrow, and mouthed, “Now?”She nodded.And just like that, the silent signal passed.In the third period, their teacher was called in for a quick staff meeting. It was a ten-minute break.For Riya, Dheeraj, Pihu, Sneha, Abhi and Kunal – this was a mission.“Let’s go to the storeroom roof,” Pihu whispered. “It’s open!”With careful steps and innocent faces, they stepped out one by one.Up the back stairs, dodging a prefect and a bored peon, the six of them finally reached the roof above the old storeroom.The door opened, sunlight fell on their faces, and laughter burst out like birds set free from a cage.“Freedom!” Kunal whispered dramatically.“I feel alive again,” Sneha said, turning around.Riya stood at the edge of the roof, letting the breeze play with her hair.Dheeraj joined her.“You always get a breeze,” he said.She smiled. “Maybe I’m partly a bird.”She said with a smile. “A white crow.”She elbowed him lightly. “Don’t ruin my poetic moment.”They all sat in a circle, joking, roasting each other, sharing pieces from the tiffin they had secretly brought.Riya took a bite from Sneha’s sandwich. “Hmm. You still make it with too much mayo.”Sneha retorted, “Says the girl who once brought salt instead of sugar in her juice bottle.”Everyone laughed. Dhirav almost choked.Riya turned red. “That was a one-time thing!”Abhi smiled. “You’re lucky Dhirav reminds you what’s edible.”Dhirav looked at her teasingly. “He needs me to survive on basic nutrition.”“Shut up, monkey,” she said, throwing a peanut towards him.“But it’s only me who is called that,” she said, holding him.They sat like that – the sun, the breeze and the friendship weaving a wonderful moment. And in the meantime, Riya realised something:They were more than just a group now.They were their own little world.When a soft bell rang from downstairs, their bubble burst.“Time to go back,” Pihu said, brushing her skirt.They went down like a secret squad, wiping the dust off their uniforms, fixing their hair, pretending that nothing had happened. But their eyes were shining with mischief.Back in the classroom, the teacher was back – no one was the wiser. Everyone behaved well. Even Kunal tried to look serious, which only made Pihu laugh.Later, when the period was over, Riya opened her notebook.Inside it lay a small folded piece of paper.She opened it. “If peace had a scent, it was today.”-MonkeyHe smiled.Tore a piece of paper and wrote back.“If laughter had a sound, it would have been louder today.”And without saying a word, he left her behind.