Chapter 2

 The turning point…

Imagine a boy of 16 who look so thin with oily hair which are scattered all over his forehead, wearing a properly tucked in shirt and carrying a heavy school bag, along a big and heavy weighed black spectacles which is sneaking constantly towards the end of his nose tip and he is busy placing it back and shifting it to its resting position near the eyes.  A red stripped tie which is tied across his neck so tightly that could probably choke him to death. Not only this. He is quite shy and doesn’t talk to girls. He possesses no mass and may give a tough competition to any skeleton.

Of course! It was me only and no one else. Throughout the year when I was in eleventh grade, I looked like this. I didn’t participate in any competition during annual week.

Well it was so called bezzati of myself. But whatever, no girl was interested in me already and neither I was. Creepy girls. Oh gosh!

As the year went off and we got promoted, at last I met someone who could be my friend for longer. I was nominated for the captain of green house. ‘Abhishek’ got nominated for the prefect. He earned it as he had played more than a dozens of basketball and cricket matches at district level. We were tangled together in the same house and we both became good friends in no time.

After all sincerity matters, talent matters, and that’s why I was nominated for that post.

But. Just a second. Sincerity was fine but talent? What did I get? What made my house teachers to nominate me for that? It had been confusing a bit, but that was totally okay as long as I was allowed to bunk my boring classes making excuses for the coming cultural events and I was damn happy.

He had been in a habit of competition every time. He wanted to compete with me so he challenged me fatuously.

‘What competition?’ I smirked back.

‘Who wins more trophies this year’ he challenged me.

I knew he was the best athlete of the school and betting to him was like losing the bet for sure. Still I agreed. I said, ‘I am pretty sure that you will win the competition though’.

‘Really! how?’

‘Cause you’re a best sports person’.

‘Thanks but you are anticipating too much, don’t criticize yourself as you too are a tough competitor, you’re already good in extra curriculums’. He smiled and we both moved towards our biology lab.

I had occupied the first bench in the lab, without book. My class representative came and joined me on my desk, looked fuddled.

‘Did not you bring your textbook?’ he asks me the silly question even after seeing me with no stuff.

‘No, I forgot that on my study table’ I answered in a weird voice to elude myself. This excuse was so famous among school guys that gave no body a chill.

‘Never mind. I got my book. It can work for both of us’ he smiles.

I gave him a fake smile but say nothing. Till then, I had never talked to him. But I remember that he hardly messed to be friends with anyone. For next two days we sat together and then we became good friends. He was about 5 feet 4 inches. He looked kinda handsome and wore a green spectacle.

Not literal hansome, but yes, a lot more than me.

He used to call me bro. We got stick to each other after that like our butts might have glued together. Wherever I used go, he accompanied me whether it was canteen, library, tuition, or even the restroom, even he used to get absent when I did not show up during classes.  As the days were falling behind so quickly, we had many more friends including Sapna, Shivani, Preeti, Tanya, Ankita, Aman and Rishabh.

5^th September, 2014

The day of teacher’s-“Teacher’s Day”. The school had organized a teaching competition for the final year students. I along with many more students had taken part in the competition. I didn’t want to take part but the very previous day I was called by Dr. Barthwal. He ordered me to take part in the competition as a physics professor.

‘What rubbish!’ I freaked out in terror and my voice sounded a mixture of anger, terror and confused tone. ‘How can I, sir?’ I whispered.

‘Of course, you can and it’s my order.’ He shouted on me.

I nod my head and say ‘Yes sir, sure I will.’ I went back buzzing to myself something like I had totally lost it.

I had prepared me as a physics professor. I tried to copy Dr. Barthwal to look like him. I was dressed up quite nicely. But it was bothering me too. I wanted to inhume as I didn’t want to go inside the class for teaching. I was wearing a blue lined shirt in combination with a black narrow trouser along with black shoes. My hair was meant like lecturer, oily, sticky and parted from left side. I was totally confused for a moment if I was a student or something. I was looking like a xeroxed copy of Dr. Barthwal outside the Physics lab. I was feeling strongly timid when suddenly he came out of nowhere and asked me ‘What brings you here?’

‘Sir I need a help.’ I looked scared as a snake might have swept over me.

‘Yes, say.’

‘Sir I need your Physics book.’

‘Sure’ he lends his books to me and says, ‘I know you are ingenious as well as neoteric. So don’t feel nervous. Okay!’

‘Yes sir.’ It gave me an infusion.

I took my steps ahead and thanked him, walked away to reach my first lecture room in 12^th science ‘A’. I entered the class and all the students stood up to sing “Gooooood Morninggg Sir.”

It had been so annoying for me to sing that piece of shit in every half an hour constantly from Monday to Saturday when our teachers used to enter our class and it seemed like an earful to me. Why don’t students just make it a bit cool by only wishing “Good Morning”, instead of singing “Gooooooood Morninggggggg sirrrrrr”? Like if you add the background music with pianos and guitars to it, it will give you a feeling of singing opera. I did not intentionally want to humiliate people who like opera but it has never been a pleasure for me to listen to it or you can just say even hear it.

‘Good morning class, please settle down.’ I smile. A fake one, of course! What else anyone could expect to react to that shitty song.

The class was looking like a simurg. The class students knew me very well and were making some silly smiles. I began to initiate myself. I looked like a simperer.

‘My name is Aaditya and I have been appointed as your physics teacher for this day.’ The words escaped my lips.

I dug inside the chalk box to pick out a chalk and tried to write the topic on the board. I found the chalk silty and a cranky noise got produced by the friction with the board as someone might have rubbed the tin plates with blunt iron nails.

I wrote the topic ‘Electrostatics’, put the derivations on the board and start similizing them. I chuck out a question from my book and order to solve.

For a couple of seconds I remain busy in extraneous scenario. The outsider girls were engaging me. My eyes were wandering here and there seeking out for some fun. Suddenly some heavenly words ran out of my lips, ‘Oh my god, gorgeous!’ Sapna and Tanya were coming out from their classes. They too had taken part in the competition. Their beauty was emitting out from their Silesia like the moon itself had came down on the earth. I was lost in my fantasy. It was making me ferment to shake hands with them but I couldn’t leave the class. I was about to drool already fantasizing undressing them in person while an inimical voice was heard “Sir, I have done.” A student shouted out and that startled me back to my senses.

‘Yes dear, what is the required answer?’ I asked gently.

He came near me to show his answer and I checked it out.

‘Well done!’ I smiled.

Again a fake one. Don’t expect any cool looks from me. I am not your cup of tea.

He thanked me and ran to his seat. I remained busy in extolling him for a few seconds.

I hear the echo of ringing bell and the lecture gets over, what a relief. I stepped out of the class by saying thank you class. I left the corridors and my feet approached to my next lecture in 11^th science. Till then I didn’t know that that class would be that much noisy. When I entered the class I found the students running here and there like hogs do. I catch someone, gave a face expression and shouted “What the hell is going on?”

He pretends to say “sorry sir.”

‘What sorry? It doesn’t suit you to howl like a wolf.’ I enraged. They made me choler. My nerves used to be very weak so I started simmering. I was about to shout out but I kept myself calm. I again initiated myself and started teaching but in vain! No answer by them at all. When I call anyone to answer my question, I find them simulator.

I knew a girl of that class “Harshita”.  She was Harshit’s sister. But I had never seen her before so I called her name. A girl of 15 stands up. She was looking damn hot as well as intelligent with her style. She was wearing a blue spectacle. Her long black silky hair was making her more engaging. She was wearing a little watch in one of her wrists and another hand was engaged with a pen. She looked very awesome and her hair was locked away with a little blue clip from a side. That was in trend, I guess. She was busy in moving her hair around her beautiful ear. Her figure looked very attractive. She looked disturbed by me.

I never knew that a moron like Harshit could posses such a sexy sibling. Okay, now gather yourself Mr. ugly. She will never look at you that way anyway.

‘What is the velocity of light in vacuum?’ I asked gathering myself.

‘3*10⁸ m/sec, sir.’ She answers and smiles.

I was impressed by her and said ‘nice girl.’ This time my smile was real, not fake one.

I found her super hot with her crazy waist. I constantly looked at her bloomy lips. And I got stuck on her. My day went good and I hoped to stand a position for some prize. I was going back to my home. I walked out to reach the exit of the school. I stopped and look for a taxi. All taxis were busy with passengers and were going through with no stoppage. I felt thirsty and a bit tired. Suddenly a bike appeared and stopped in front of me. I look at the driver and found him Abhishek. I look at his marvelous bike. It was red with chubby tires. ‘Shall I drive you home?’ he asked.

‘No, I will take a taxi.’ I refused.

‘I will drop you carefully, don’t feel scared. I am a good rider.’ he smiled.

‘Okay’, I joined him on his bike and thanked him.

I was feeling very tired so he was like a mascot for me.

‘You are very meager. Why don’t you join a gym?’ he asked.

Silence. No answer from me. I was probably occupied in my own thoughts.

‘You there? Why aren’t you talking?’ he spoke to catch my attention.

‘Yeah sure, but I will join it after my boards’ I answered.

He was asking too many questions so I felt to be hanged in a noose. He dropped me outside my house. I thanked him.

‘Bye buddy, see ya tomorrow in the school.’

‘Sure, we will, bye! Take care’ I smiled. I got back inside my house and fell down on my bed for rest.

v   

I woke up early in the morning the next day and quickly got ready for the school. I went to chemistry tuition firstly with Harshit and from there we went to school. I was looking way better as that day we were going to know the results for the previous competition. We reach the school and I find myself fervent. I was so excited to know the names of the winners. The bell rang up for the Morning prayers and we assembled in the playground. What always caught my attention during the prayer session were the songs we used to chatter with the beats of drum and the music of piano, I really loved that and that had an another pleasure.

After the prayer Dr. Kaushik steps up the stairs of stage. She looks pretty smart. She was wearing a green saree and her hair was curly, red colored. The moment she started announcing the results, my heart starts pumping hard as fuck. I could feel my palpitations. My respiratory rate increased gradually. I constantly looked at her lip movements for the names of the winners to be announced. Her long and boring speech caught me a headache. She repeated the same old annoying dialogue ‘for us everyone is a winner’. But the students who got the winning positions are…’ she holds the breath and along with her suspension my heart accelerates pumping more swiftly.

‘And the third position goes to…..Aaditya, from XII science A.’

‘Fuck!’ I murmur. I was not satisfied by the third position. It gave me an acrid taste like someone might have thrown a dozen of bitter tablets in my mouth and that taste was still on my tongue as if I had not swallow them with enough water. Aman won the second position and Abhishek got the first one. I was a bit angry but happy at the same time because all the winners were from my class only.

I came back to my class. I looked a bit withered. Harshit wished me, ‘congrates yar! You did it.’

‘Take your wish in your ass. I wanted the first prize.’ I shouldn’t have shouted on him but I did unknowingly. My all friends tried to abet me but I felt blank. They all start to acclaim for me and finally I came down cool.

I am an attention seeker, I am a bitch.