Chapter 3
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Finally, the English class was over. Arnav breathed a sigh of relief when their teacher left. How did he manage to teach such kids anyway?
Arnav looked around himself. There were guys of all types. Some tall, some short. Some fat, some skinny. Almost all of them had acne. Except a few.
And around those few, the girls of the class hovered. Not very obviously. Just.. looking at them, giggling. And blushing.
God, if one more girl blushed and simpered at him, he would go and pull off the ribbons from her braids!
What was with all these people? First they looked at him like he was an alien life from whenever he had correctly answered all questions that were asked of him in the social studies class, then gawked at him when he solved a Maths problem the teacher found difficult. And now. The giggling. 2 weeks and he still found it irritating.
He looked around for Akash, spotting him near an equally tall and thin boy. Could be brothers, he thought. Wait, the other guy doesn't wear specs.
He walked up to them, avoiding the short girl who had stumbled across his path, on purpose.
"Hey Akash! Hey Shravan! How are you? What's the next class?"
"Hi bhai! Next is Hindi, and then we have Physical Education, or as we call it, the games class. Nothing special. Boys usually play cricket. Or football. Girls play catch or something."
Arnav managed a smile at that.
"Oh the prince smiles! Quick, Akash! Someone shake him before he morphs into a person we don't know!" Shravan Joshi, the 'other' guy, teased.
Since joining the new school, Arnav had come in contact with Akash's friends. Shravan was his closest pal. If he was worried how Shravan would accept the new entrant, his fears were allayed the minute he had been back-slapped with a, "Aur kya, Arnav? Kya haal chaal hain yaar?"
That was day no. 1. This was day no. 16. No, 14. Not counting Sundays. But wait, they met even on Sundays. Did they count?
Shravan was a cool fellow. Coming from an upper middle class family, it was surprising to see him studying at a government-financed school when he could have a better education. That's what Arnav thought. Shravan's father, however, was of the opinion that studying at a public school can teach you a lot about life- something you may never learn in a pricey school.
At least Shravan had said so.
"Arre Shravan kumar! Where is your tarazu (balance) and your small potli?" Arnav joked back, referring to his namesake, the Shravan from mythology*, before their next class started.
So this is what life had come to for Arnav. He had started laughing and joking, at least a bit. And he was definitely paying attention in class more than ever.
"So, Malik.. These are your books from now on. They are slightly worn around the edges, but don't worry. I haven't marked them. You can use whatever else you need from my stationery. You know I have the finest Reynold's pen! Its really smooth.." Akash was interrupted by Arnav.
"Akash, can you do me a favor? I know you're already doing a lot. But just this one more thing?"
Akash was surprised. Arnav called him by his first name?
"Please call me bhai, like you used to when we were kids. Before I had stopped you. Please?"
To say Akash's mouth had dropped to the floor, would be an understatement. He only nodded before turning around to rush into the living room. And as suddenly as he had turned around to leave, Arnav saw him turning back and running up to him to hug him and say, "It will be okay, bhai. We are there with you."
With that, he skipped outside happily while Arnav stood dumbfounded.
'Games' had been a bit more fun than usual. At least this time the boys agreed to playing footbally instead of the drab and usual- cricket. There were no tennis courts. Nothing. How Arnav missed his favorite sport!!! Well, football was better than cricket. They sweat around for some time on the field before someone turned the hose-pipe on. The real game began and soon everyone was drenched from head to toe. And the giggles erupted around them. Most were directed at him, Arnav knew. But he chose to ignore that while he rolled around laughing fully as Shravan tackled him to the ground. Akash looked around for his specs.
Arnav was starting to get used to this comfort. He knew it was going to end soon, though. When his Di would marry Shantanu bhai, the man she was engaged to, they would go and live in a separate house. Yes, his jijaji lived in Delhi too, but the locality was more upscale and their house was bigger. And hadn't jiju promised to take care of them? He had said that at their parents' prayer-gathering.
He would miss Akash and mami and nani. Mama was a different matter, they hadn't talked much. But yes, he would miss their company. What he looked forward to was the better life he would have.
As the school bell tolled to signal the end of the day, numerous boys and girls in blue and white uniforms rushed out. Freedom!
Every day, at the same time, they screamed with joy. How innocent!
Akash and Shravan packed their own bags as Arnav waited with a tapping foot wanting to get home soon. His jijaji and the rest of the family were coming and he couldn't wait to see him!
Looking back, he would have wished for the second time in his life that he would have been 5 minutes late.
"How can you say this, Shantanu? You know how much I love you!" Anjali kept sobbing, and pleading. Shantanu, the man she was to get married to, looked at her down his nose.
"Anjali, listen. This is as much my parents' decision as it is mine. And you know I can't go against what they want. I cared for you too. But staying away from you for so long has made me realise that we weren't meant to be."
Anjali could only sob some more.
"And anyway, how can you expect anyone of a sane mind to marry you? Do you know what they are saying about your family? They are saying that the mother killed herself because the father had an affair, leaving behind a girl who is handicapped and a boy who hasn't even sprouted the fist hair on his moustache!"
He didn't bother lowering his voice. Knowing fully well that his parents seated in the next room already knew what he was supposed to say. Knowing that they were saying the same thing to her nani and mama-mami.
"That's not all, you know? They are saying things about me too! That I must have some fault, or my family is hiding something. Why else would a guy like me want to marry you? Earlier, we had decided to look over your handicap. But this, we cannot accept," He said harshly, referring to her post-polio limp.
Anjali looked on in horror, as his voice got louder with each word. Had he always thought so? Then what about the sweet promises of love? Of trust? Of a beautiful life together?
What about his promise to take care of them after her parents had died?
She asked him all that. And more. And his reply was only this: "My parents told me how much I stand to lose by this marriage. I can get a far better prospect than you. Why should I waste my youth trying to pick up the pieces of your life?"
"What about Arnav? He adores you. He looks up to you as he would his own brother! And you had said you would take care of him!"
"Oh you foolish woman! That was back when he had the principle property to his name. You are worse than beggars right now. You are just a huge liability."
As these words left his mouth, he noticed a fist coming in his direction from the side. The fist connected to his jaw bone as he turned to look, and before he knew, he was being pummeled by Arnav Malik.
It took the combined efforts of mama and Akash to get him to back off, but by then his former-jijai was bleeding from his nose. And he was starting to turn blue around the cheeks and jaw.
"You filthy son of a bitch! Get lost! How dare you say that about my sister? Beggars? Us? You just wait. She deserves someone better than you, and I will make sure she never ever marries a person like you! Get out of this house, and get out of our lives!!"
Shantanu's parents rushed to help their son up, and as a parting shot, said, "And just who will marry your sister? We will make sure everyone in the society knows about your misfortunes. Can you handle that, Arnav Malik?"
Kailash stepped up to the occasion and said, "Its Raizada. Arnav Raizada. Remember that! Now get lost and don't you dare show your faces around here again!"
*Shravana Kumar was a mythological figure in the Ramayana, touted to be an ideal son. He carried his parents in a balance made specifically for that purpose and took them to the different religious places in India. You can read more about him on Wiki or elsewhere.. Here's the link!
That's it for today! I guess many are disappointed by the fact that this story won't have Khushi in it, and honestly, I would be disappointed too. But as long as there is even one reader who wants to read this (apart from me, of course 😆) I will write it!
Please try and be with me!!
Now if you look down there, just an inch or two below this statement, there are a series of buttons. And there's a 'like' button right at the end. Press it. Trust me, it does wonders!! 😉
-Chibi
Next: Chapter 3: The Summer
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