SwaRon SS: Summer School - Page 7

This chapter had a sketchy start on my part but only gradually did I start enjoy writing it like yesterday. I have written Swayum's POV extensively this time and the chapter is longer than the chapters I usually write for my fictions. I hope you'll like this one. The comments you've left behind are way too flattering, thanks heaps. 🤗

A certain coffee addict praises me with the Austen-connection. I could not be happier and this also evidently seems to be surprising my acerbic friends. 😳

And a special thank you to all my new readers, I highly appreciate your presence here. =)

On with the chapter now -

Chapter Three

The ritual was the same for Sharon even two years from the incident. Sharon had only one ulterior motive. By taunting Kria every opportunity she got she fulfilled it. Sharon's biting remarks were not exclusive to Kria. However, her fierce indignation was. That Wednesday was particularly ritualistic because English class was cancelled.

"What exactly do we do now?" Vicky put forth a question that hadn't occurred to anyone at all.

Sharon dimly smiled at him. He had been sitting with Sharon telling her he missed arm wrestling her. She who was not ninety kilos anymore so could not admit she missed it too. For, she could do no more than verbal consolations by means of that. The students who were already present began filing out and the ones yet to come must have been informed about the cancellation.

"I think Swayum is temporarily dead. Where the hell is he?" Vicky restlessly added a minute later.

"I think we should go. You look for him. I will go back home." Sharon suggested, getting up and gathering her books.

"Who do you want me to look for?" Vicky asked, wide-eyed and bewildered, looking up at Sharon's retreating figure.

"The one you think is temporarily dead." Sharon clumsily answered, dazed by Vicky's way with daftness.

"Who, who ' dun they have a name?" Vicky scratched his head, annoyed at Sharon's riddling.

"God, idiot ' go look for Swayum!" Sharon almost bellowed at him.

Sharon never said or thought it out loud. She had a codeword for it for times when surrendering was absolutely essential. Its symptoms were coloration of cheeks and clumsy hand movements. Swayum Shikhawat unintentionally rejoiced in inflicting throes on her ego. He so smilingly crushed them beneath his converse to the ground.

"No, no. I am here. No need to look for me." Swayum pointed cheerily.

His eyes were shifting their view from Sharon to Vicky very amusedly. He did not notice that Sharon was heavily coloring and scratching her forehead with her forefinger. She curled her forefinger and scratched her forehead vigorously until no one cared why she had shouted Swayum's name.

"I'd take your leave boys." Sharon mumbled, interrupting the boys' Spiderman discussion. Vicky insisted her to wait and when she pressed on leaving, he clutched her arm and marched next to Swayum with her.

They walked past several boys who waved at the boys and girls who giggled eyeing them. Sharon wondered why they were not oozing with drool just yet. Vicky's grip on Sharon's arm loosened on realizing he had been manhandling her. Sharon grinned at his sorry face.

* * *

He could not play basketball, hadn't brought any textbooks with him apart from English. Basically, he had jack squat in the name of a concrete activity to do that day. And Swayum did not mind it at all. He checked the time in his bright orange watch speaking of which, everyone who criticized the colour of his watch was straight and barking mental.

He realized Kria's dance class would end in five more minutes. An idea had stricken him.

"Guys, do you want to visit the dance room?" He brightly asked Vicky and Sharon.

"You can have a ball with Kria and the dance room, boys. Count me out."

"When did I mentioned, er ' mention Kria?" Swayum politely asked, turning around to look at Sharon.

"I added the needful to your dismal sentence, smarty pants. Just like I always did." Sharon sneered.

"Come on. Everyone knows you helped me on, no at . . . no with . . . that assignment in tenth. You got nine, I got ten. That is the teacher's doing." Swayum clarified, choking on his laughter and making Vicky laugh too by making faces.

"Getting innovative with prepositions, are we?" Sharon muttered. Swayum continued laughing and pretended that he did not hear.

Swayum could not explain how Sharon's extra robust figure had become over the course of their summer break one year ago so compact she could be fit inside his back pack. He did not care much to be perfectly honest. Then suddenly Sharon had stopped talking to her best friend, Kria. Kria was a friend and Sharon, an acquaintance but Swayum was still unbothered. But this conversation tugged at the unaddressed doors to Swayum's insides. He was curious and taken aback.

"Sharon, please come with us. We only just had the reunion." Vicky interjected hopefully.

"Yes, the reunion! Good old times!" Swayum supported Vicky just for fun and latent curiosity.

Sharon did not say anything. Both boys took it as a yes and jollily marched ahead. Swayum resumed giving his two cents to Vicky on the latest Spiderman movie he'd watched only last night with his elder brother.

When they finally reached the dance room the class had ended. The dance teacher looked oppressed as she escaped perhaps in hopes of some peace. Swayum liked the mood about the room. The dancers were all cheery; most of them were swarming around Kria like bees and lauding her. Maybe she had done a solo or something.

"Hey, fellas," Kria waved in the distinguished trio's direction and came almost running. Swayum gave Kria a high five. He had seen her dancing one too many times. Therefore he needed no more witnessing to believe that she'd been brilliant. The corner of Swayum's right eye could see Sharon, though. She looked furious about something. The corner of his left eye could see Vicky. He looked ecstatic about everything.

"What are you guys doing here?" Kria excitedly asked, she seemed pleased with herself and flattered having been joined by her friends. But mostly she'd shot this question very hopefully at Sharon. Swayum could see that. Albeit it was not his business and Swayum Shikhawat never butted in before. Therefore he wasn't butting in now. He was all for some harmless fun with two dear friends and an acquaintance mostly out of his league of understanding. The latter had only just begun to leave the traces of her complexity in his memory. At first it itched but it was nothing Swayum could not shake off.

"These boys are here for some fun. And I am just a victim of circumstances." Sharon scoffed smilingly at Kria.

Swayum didn't know how she managed saying those things to her former best friend. He looked concernedly at Kria, hurt visible on her face. Vicky tensed up too. He was after all more friends with Sharon's antiques than Swayum ever could be. He took his stand beside Sharon, ready to hold her back if Kria wished to play along. As for Swayum, he knew Kria would no such thing.

"All of us are, aren't we?" Kria simply replied, wistful now.

"Not quite. You see, some of us don't have a sugar-coated tongue. Mere mortals can only dream about being like you, Kria. An absolute goddess, you are!" Sharon caustically spoke and clapped her hands together in mock appreciation.

There weren't many things that saturated Swayum's temper. He always had a way with words so his anger never showed even if it was there. And being the gentleman that he was believed to be (by people and himself) his mental reflexes brewed up a tactic to end an emerging quarrel.

The stereo was still playing. Swayum did not wait a second before he grabbed Sharon's arm and pulled her into a casual dance. She looked like she just saw a mouse eating a giraffe's heart. But that did not stop Swayum. For, he knew extensively about the asset called effortless charm that he possessed.

There cannot have been a more suitable and grace-saving song than 'we Found Love in a Hopeless Place' customized for that moment. Rihanna had sung that song in a Swayum-friendly tone so he never did have to consult the song's online lyrics. He just sung along and started to indulge Sharon in spontaneous twirls.

Vicky was grinning mentally at them whilst Kria looked particularly immersed in thought. She was positively still not absent-minded and gave occasional glances to Sharon. Who by the way was still looking like the mouse was enjoying that giraffe heart.

"You don't have to be so bitter, all the time." Swayum whispered as he pulled her close like he did it every day. He emphasised on the last three words of his short speech and hoped they made sense to Sharon.

An interesting footnote, Swayum had not the slightest idea of when and how he began enjoying the dance which he'd initiated only so he could prevent further hurt for Kria.

* * *