CHAPTER 1
Huff…huff…huff
She sprinted through the hallway like there was no tomorrow. Her shoulder-length dark unruly brown hair was bizarrely dishevelled, the books in her grasp furrowed from a rigid clutch. The seventeen-year-old girl cursed under her gasping breath for less than a perceivable moment, wishing that these corridors were built a little bit shorter.
Yet, she was fully aware of the fact that this structure was made to be as grandiose as it could be. Besides, this school, the Sanjeevani Academy, was the primmest of all educational establishments in Delhi, India. The learning institution boasted of its population consisting of more than ten thousand exceptional students, mostly those coming from renowned families.
Muskaan Chada's destination finally came to view – Class 12-3, the room located next to the staircase down the hall. She passed by the corridors, where she witnessed a scenario no different from that downstairs. Students were huddled into groups of peers, each with anxious expressions on their faces as they talked about no other than the massive news that swept every corner of the school. As the senior girl plopped down on her seat, she heaved a sigh and thumped her head onto her desk.
"This is insane…" she mumbled. "Are they even sure it's her?"
"Muskaan, are you okay?"
A pigtailed girl pushed back her thick-rimmed eyeglasses and patiently waited for her best friend's reply. Fixing the crease of her maroon school coat, she exhaled heavily as she sat down on the empty seat next to Muskaan.
"We are doomed, Shizu…" Muskaan finally replied with her face still buried on her desk. "Hasn't this school gotten enough bullies, strutting around like they're some king?!"
"But it is the middle of the school year, Muskaan!" Shazeeda Khan (urf Shizu) exclaimed. "At first, I thought that it was nothing but a rumour, but when I saw her name on the student list, I couldn't believe it either…"
"No, Shizu!" Makiko suddenly stood up from her chair, raising a wilful fist on the air. "We should not lose hope! Those bullies… one day, they'll be swallowed by their own pompousness… I swear they will be!"
"Muskaan, shhhh!" Shizu immediately pulled her friend back onto her seat before she could start another scandal, thanks to her overflowing belief in the virtue of 'parity', which has never been evident since the time she first set foot in this establishment. She remembered several days ago when Muskaan accidentally stepped on one of the female school bully's untied shoelace during gym class. She refused to apologize, and so they ganged up on her, leaving bruises on her arms and cheeks. Despite this, however, Muskaan was not shaken, for she believed that she has done nothing wrong.
If there was something Muskaan despised in Sanjeevani Academy, this was it. She hated this kind of discrimination where a bold line was drawn between the 'kings' and the 'peons', between those enrolled through money from their own pockets and those enrolled at the expense of the government. Muskaan was enrolled through a 'charity petition' made by her mother, and so she pays only half of the tuition fee. Shizu, on the other hand, was under the scholarship program for academically-gifted students.
Unfortunately, Shizu's saving act came a little too late. She was caught off-guard when a bulky bag zoomed straight to her face. She heard a solitary crack, and before she could search where it came from, the item crumbled right before her very eyes. Her eyeglasses was wrecked by the impact, add up to it her reddened face both from the hit and the embarrassment that tagged along with it.
"My glasses!" she shrieked.
"My bag!" a male's voice echoed from the other side of the room.
Shortly, a lady's voice bellowed pompously from the entrance of the room, grabbing the attention of the dumbfounded students. "Swallowed by our own pompousness?! Of course, 'freeloaders' like you have no business blurting out their useless opinions. You ought to know that, especially when I am around."
"Uh-oh," Shizu swallowed hard.
"Freeloaders?! Watch your mouth, you little witch!" Muskaan clenched her fist, her face flushing in anger.
"Muskaan! Stop!"
Seven senior girls scowled at Shizu and Muskaan. The one in the middle, who looked fairly alluring with wavy brown hair streaked with dark blue highlights flowing midway to her waist, had the vilest grin of all. The mere fact that she started to advance condescendingly towards the startled Shizu scared off the prying students, clearing the path as she came nearer much to the girl's fright. She heedlessly kicked away things found on her trail, including chairs and scattered books, with such intimidating display of dominance.
Shizu attempted to shield herself from the girl's hands that reached for her collars. However, it was one of those moments where resistance was futile. Shizu's knees scrapped through the shattered glass on the floor, the shards piercing through her flesh. She cried in pain for less than a perceivable moment before it finally came… the grip she feared the most.
"Let go of her! She didn't do anything wrong! Deal with me!" Muskaan said threateningly.
To her dismay, the girl did not even bother to look at her direction. Instead, she continued to glare at the poor Shizu, whose face turned white in an instant.
"With these pathetic lives you freeloaders have, you ought to keep in mind THREE important things," the girl scowled at Shizu with menacing eyes. "Number ONE - this school belongs to Armaan Malik's gang. Number TWO - if Armaan and his gang are not around, I, Anjali Sharma, take over."
As she said this, the girls behind Anjali grinned simultaneously.
"And do you know what Number THREE is?" Anjali asked, raising one eyebrow.
"W…W…What?" Shizu stuttered.
Without warning, Anjali pushed Shizu back so hard that she lost her balance, slumping to the floor. Muskaan immediately rushed to her side, placed a comforting hand over her shoulder, and then glared at Anjali.
"Listen up," Anjali walked back towards her 'girl gang' and announced in a compelling voice. "Each and every one of you has no reason to assume that the famous Riddhima Gupta has the slightest chance of taking over this school. As soon as she arrives here, I'll be there to show her hell. Before you know it, she'll be kissing my feet. She'll eat dust."
The room fell into a deafening silence. Not a single student gathered up enough guts to stand up against Sanjeevani's self-proclaimed queen – Anjali Sharma, daughter of a wealthy businessman.
The silence persisted until such time when a student came running towards the room, ready with his announcement.
"Armaan Malik's coming!"
The name 'Armaan' alarmed each and every student, including Anjali and her clique.
The corridors cleared off almost instantly. The students peeped through the sliding windows of the classrooms, gazing at a group of five young men emerging from the staircase. Their coats were partly unbuttoned, their ties fairly pulled down in a sleek fashion, and their hair styled into the latest trend as that of magazine models.
The one on the left had trendy headphones over his ears. He listened to his collection of rock music as he strolled, his head nodding along each drumbeat. His black hair was fixed into stylish spikes while the looped rings on his lip and nose perfected his rock-star stance – band vocalist Atul Joshi.
The red-haired young man next to Atul held a bulky sports bag with his left hand while carrying a basketball with his right. Rahul Grewal was the son of a well-off entrepreneur, founder of India's biggest chain of coffee shops… the Concorde. He was the captain of Sanjeevani's soccer team, basketball team, tennis team, and all the other sport teams that existed. To simply put it, he was the 'Sanjeevani's Sports Prodigy', unbeatable and proud.
The third was holding a laptop with all the latest games and software. He pushed back his titanium eyeglasses and strutted with a scholarly yet modish look. Abaas Ahmed did not only 'appear' intelligent, for in fact, he was Sanjeevani's Academy's ace student. With an IQ of a genius; father as a renowned physician, who also owned India's biggest hospital, he was a force to be reckoned with.
The next one has a flower on his mouth. Yes, a flower, which stem, for some reason, he was fond of 'gnawing', if that was the best way to describe it. It was a very unusual hobby indeed, but for some reason, girls seemed to find his 'flower stem gnawing' rather attractive. For Azeez Khanna, the purpose of his existence was to please women. He would be more than willing to eat a whole bunch of flowers like a frisky herbivore if he had to… if that's what it would take to attract more people to join his 'Khanna Fans Club'.
The young man in the middle was the one in the limelight. He strode proudly in their parade, oozing with conceit as he piloted the group of striking youngsters – the so-called 'kings' of Sanjeevani Academy. Armaan Malik crushed his cigarette with his foot after one last puff. Then, he coolly reached for his pocket, grabbed another stick, placed it between his thin lips, and clicked for a light. He fixed his ebony hair with a quick stroke before piloting the group past the silenced hallway.
The students' mouths dropped involuntarily in awe as they witnessed this grand spectacle unfold before their very eyes. Armaan Malik was someone they feared, for he was a tough fighter eager to take down anyone who has wronged him. To him, pride was his utmost possession. His reputation as the only son of India's most respected judge did not come as a pressure but rather something that all the more boosted his ego. Despite his superiority complex, he was still someone they nevertheless marvelled at. No doubt, Armaan Malik was the most handsome student of Sanjeevai. His popularity was unsurpassed even outside school walls.
This was the case every single day whenever their group would pass by the corridors.
The most bizarre reaction came from Anjali, whose face instantaneously morphed from discriminating to a rather comical look upon the sight of Armaan Malik. Her usual piercing eyes suddenly transformed to that of heart shapes, a very obvious blush spread across her cheeks.
"Armaan!" she exclaimed as she cleared the way towards the entrance of the classroom, bumping and struggling into the crowd of awe-stricken students.
Anjali Sharma's shrilling voice echoed through the halls. Its grating high pitch vexed even the ear-phoned Atul. He removed his headphones temporarily and scratched his ear repetitiously.
"Aw…"
"Shrieking girls, tsk…" Rahul frowned, heaving a sigh.
Abaas, the ace student, merely snickered.
The five young men passed by Class 12-3. And as they did, Azeez took the flower he kept between his teeth and dropped it purposely on the floor, saying his motto – "Flower power…"
The students stared at the flower on the floor. When a quarter of a moment passed, however, the female students wasted no time. Each of them literally dived towards the flower. They wrestled their way towards the aimed 'treasure' from one of the most popular guys in school.
Azeez's's flower!
THAT'S MINE!
That flower is mine!
MINE!
Gimme that! *****, ouch!
Plop!
Azeez turned his nose up the obsessive crowd and laughed wickedly, "How amusingly cute they are… hehe…"
"Having fun with your ridiculous flower charm again, Azeez?" Abaas commented.
"He's having too much fun watching girls go gaga over him," Atul snickered, putting back his headphones on his ears.
"No," Rahul shook his head. "He's having too much fun seeing girls go gaga over his 'saliva-infested flower'."
"YUCK, hehe…" Abaas chuckled.
"Shut up, you two," Abaas replied defensively. "You're just jealous that girls like me more, tsk…"
"But girls like Malik much more, don't they?" Atul said.
Armaan pretended as if he did not hear their conversation. His fierce eyes did not even bother to fall upon at a single person from the horde of almost-fanatical students. Instead, he puffed his cigarette smugly and strutted with such arrogance that has never left his face right from the beginning.
While the other girls were busy struggling for Abaas's flower, Muskaan and Shizu merely stood at one corner.
"Those dirty b*******!" Muskaan frowned, clenching her fists in dismay.
"Shhh, Muskaan!" Shizu whispered. "Anjali might hear you!"
"Well, I don't think she'll even bother. She's too busy, look!" Muskaan exclaimed, gesturing towards Anjali. Apparently, Anjali was busy hounding the girl who successfully seized Abaas's flower.
"And with the coming of Riddhima Gupta to Sanjeevani," Shizu sighed.
"We better prepare for the worst."
Accidentally, an enthralling gaze sent Shizu into a momentary daze. As the five young men passed by them, Abaas Ahmed's eyes aimed at her. The fleeting eye-to-eye contact sent Shizu into a hypothetical slow-motion.
Abaas…
Shizu could not be mistaken. As Abaas and the others advanced, those alluring eyes seemed to have lagged back as if watching her intently. Soon, the scholarly lad's eyes finally rolled back to his path. Before Shizu snapped back to reality, the five have already turned on the end of the hall, disappearing in sight. "Abaas…" Shizu whispered as a faint blush spread across her cheeks.
"Shizu? Hey…Shizu?" Muskaan said, waving her hands in front of her friend's bedazzled eyes. "Are you alright?"
"Ah! Yes! Yes, I'm… I'm fine," Shizu gulped as she immediately turned around to hide her reddening face. She hustled in picking up the remains of her shattered eyeglasses.
"Those freaks who act as if they own this school!" Muskaan groaned as she crossed her arms on her chest. "And now, look! Look! They're heading to the rooftop again as usual, cutting class for the thousandth time!"
A gentle wind swept through Armaan's hair, carrying along with it his exhaled cigarette smoke. He sat lazily on the edge, his back nearing the 50-ft elevation of the school. The techie Abaas, who sat on the ground, flipped his up-to-the-minute mobile phone to check his messages. Atul sat next to him in a comfortable position, grabbing his mp3 player to create a new playlist. The sporty Rahul threw his bulky bag on the floor and rested his head on top of it as if it were his pillow, staring at the cloudy sky.
Azeez stretched out his arms and yawned. Then, he plopped down next to Armaan with an excited grin on his face, tapping his arm as he attempted to begin a conversation
"Say Malik, what do you think of Riddhima Gupta?"
Rahul suddenly woke up from his quick snooze upon hearing Azeez's inquiry. "Now that you mentioned it… Hey Malik, you have a plan yet?"
Malik blew out smoke before replying with a deadpan face, "Why ask me?"
"You mean you aren't interested?" Atul exclaimed in disbelief, pulling out his headphones from his ears.
"She's coming here the day after tomorrow, right?" Abaas said as he snapped his mobile phone close and placed it back into his pocket before continuing, "She hasn't even arrived yet, but her popularity has flooded Sanjeevani!"
Azeez exclaimed. "Why of course, Abaas! We're talking about the Riddhima Gupta!"
"So Azeez, are you planning to make her dive for your flower too? Hehe…" Rahul joked.
"No, Rahul," Abaas shook his head, an impeding laughter preparing to set in. "You meant – 'saliva-infested flower'."
Abaas, Rahul and Atul burst into laughter. Frowning, Azeez hissed, suddenly reaching for Armaan's cigarette and threw it towards Abaas's face.
"Eh!" Armaan wailed as his cigarette was swiftly seized from his hand, wondering how Azeez managed to do it.
Instead of dodging the incoming 'cigarette missile' launched by the frantic Azeez, Abaas grasped it midair with one quick stroke. Boasting his amazingly swift reflexes, a grin formed on his lips as he said "You have no future in baseball."
"Behold! The Abaas Reflex Syndrome," Atul chuckled. They have always known Abaas to be the agile one in the group. He was quick in almost everything: in thinking, in changing gadgets, in taking the exams, in catching objects… just like this instance.
"Really, Armaan…" Abaas threw the cigarette on the floor and squashed it with his foot. "You should quit polluting your airways with this thing."
"Mind your own business," Armaan frowned.
Abaas merely sighed as he watched Armaan reach for his pocket again. He pulled out a stick, placed the cigarette between his lips, and then clicked for a light. Soon, Armaan was smoking his 12th cigarette for the day.
"So," Rahul volunteered to stir the topic. "Where were we about Riddhima?"
"AH! Riddhima Gupta!" Azeez's eyes brightened. "I heard that she's transferring from Seita Academy."
"Seita Academy? That school exclusively for wealthy and intelligent female students?" Abaas exclaimed.
"Yeah, exactly!" Azeez nodded. "And you know something else that's interesting? I found out that she's transferring school for the 8th time since junior high school!"
"Why?" Atul asked in a curious tone. "Was she constantly kicked out?"
"Nah," Azeez shook his head. "Possibly looking for 'potential victims'."
"Whoah!" Atul exclaimed.
"Then things will really get interesting," Abaas said, a grin forming on his lips.
"Come to think of it… Things have been pretty boring lately," Rahul answered nodding. "All we get everyday are screams from lunatic girls and brawls with weak neighbouring school gangs."
"A female gang leader," Atul pondered for a moment before continuing. "Except for Anjali Sharma, who's a potentially fearsome gang leader herself… well… except when Malik is around…"
A comical appearance of Anjali with heart-shaped eyes and tomato-colour face popped up in Atul's imagination.
As Atul pushed the nauseating thought away, he continued "I've never met a real female gangster. Now I can't help but wonder what she would be like."
"She must look like one of those female wrestlers on TV," Rahul commented. "Brawny women with muscles popping out from the wrong places!"
"Yeah, with the wrinkly face and hideous warts… big nose…" Abaas said as he drew a picture in his imagination. "Gruesome!"
"Or better yet, wonder how Malik will take her down," Azeez cheered. "I cannot wait to watch the show."
Rahul nodded. "There's no way Maliks' is going to 'fold in' just because she's a girl, you know. He's going to take her down for sure and make her sorry that she even came here!"
"YEAH!" they all said in chorus.
Atul smirked, "Consider her as one of those wannabes who've attempted to grab our reign; losers who have dared to challenge us into a fight they had no chance of winning. See where they are now! On the dumps! In the cheapest high schools in India!"
"Talk about wasting their pathetic existence," Abaas frowned.
"But I heard," Azeez suddenly cut in, his mood suddenly turning serious, "that this Gupta girl took down Sumit's gang in the 7th district."
Upon hearing this, all heads turned towards Azeez, including Armaan
"Sumit? You mean Sumit Roshan, the king of I to High?" Abaas exclaimed.
"That Sumit? No way!" Rahul's eyes widened in surprise.
"Huh?" Armaan gasped silently. He pulled out his cigarette from his mouth as listened as Azeez continued his narration.
"Well I don't know if it is true but…" Azeez shrugged. "There were rumours'… actually, lots of rumours' about her. Apparently, there were witnesses to their gang fights. This one, they said, happened in I to High. There were about thirty of them against this girl and bam, bam bammmm! She took them all down!"
"Thirty against one?!" Rahul said. "That's impossible!"
"Don't believe him. He's just making it all up," Armaan surprisingly commented after being silent all those times. "He always gets that hyper whenever it comes to women anyway."
"I'm not making it all up!" Azeez defended.
"Then maybe, it's nothing but an exaggerated rumour," Atul shrugged. "Come to think of it… same gossips spread about Armaan before, right? Remember that one about Armaan fighting thirty thugs from Hayton High? Hey, Malik wasn't alone there in the first place! All five of us finished those blockheads together."
"Yeah, you have a point, Atul," Azeez shrugged.
Sighing, Azeez reached for his bag and opened his lunch pack.
"Oh, you brought food?" Abaas asked.
"Yeah, Roast beef…", Azeez nodded. "I could no longer bear to ingest cafeteria grub."
"Roast beef!" Rahul's eyes widened, "And all the while, I thought you were herbivorous, Khanna ." Rahul laughed hysterically, giving Abaas and Atul a high-five.
"Psh…" Azeez grimaced.
There was another chorus of laughter. However, it was broken when Armaan suddenly stood up, a faint smile forming on his lips.
"But if it is true that she took down Sumit," Armaan blew out smoke before continuing, "she must be smart…" Then, Armaan pointed to his skull and tapped it with his finger, "Sumit's a tough fighter, but he lacks this."
"Hey, I thought you didn't believe a word I said?" Azeez blinked in confusion, his mouth half-full with roast beef.
"This is just about the entertainment I needed," Armaan grinned. "At last, a new interesting rival to play with. Let's calculate how long she can survive here in Sanjeevani."
"Malik?" Atul asked. "What's your plan?"
"Well," Armaan placed his cigar on his mouth and gave another puff before continuing.
"You'll see when she arrives."
Real Estate
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