Here's part three, hope you like it!!
PART THREE
The huge 'F' accompanied by a 'See me after the class,' was not something Heer was prepared for. Yes, she was not a genius, but she managed to scrape decent grades here and there. Her parents were not going to be pleased, especially since she was the daughter of Balraj and Teji Maan- Biology and Physics professors at the University of Mumbai. Plus being the younger sister of Nihaal Maan, a straight 'A' student on his way to earning his optometrist degree, meant that she should follow in his footsteps and make their father and mother proud. The big fat 'F' that stared back her was not a letter her family was accustomed too, and neither would they ever want to be accustomed to such a letter.
Shifali's voice cut into her thoughts. 'Heer...Heer!!' she said, tapping her gently on the arm.
'Huh?' responded Heer.
'Mr Patel has put us in pairs' said Shifali.
'What- but why? Who am I with?' asked Heer.
'We don't know- he wrote it on the backs of our papers- what name does it say on the back of your paper?' Asma asked.
Heer flipped her paper around and frowned at the name. Prem Juneja. She didn't know or notice anyone of that name in their class- maybe it was someone new, she thought.
'Prem Juneja- Now who in the world is that?' she asked.
Asma and Shifali looked at Heer and then at each other. Shifali tried to suppress her laugh, but failed miserably. Asma followed suit, both girls exploding in a fit of giggles.
'GIRLS' said Mr Patel, in his disciplinary tone, indicating for Asma and Shifali to calm down. They both put their hands to their mouths.
Heer leaned over to them 'Why are you two laughing at me?!! What's so funny guys??!!' she whispered, anger beginning to rise in her.
Shifali pointed to the geeky looking boy, hunched over his book who was noting every word that was coming out of Mr. Patel's mouth. His ruffled hair and ancient looking clothes indicated his lack of interest in style and fashion.
'Oh my goodness!! No!! You CAN'T be serious?!!!' she said, her jaw dropping open. 'I mean- look at him!! Who do you have to be with?'
'I have to be with Meera over there' answered Shifali, pointing to Meera who was cheekily texting Gaurav underneath the desk.
'Can we swap?' asked Heer desperately.
'Ummm...No' Shifali laughed.
'I have to be with Dev,' said Asma sulking. 'He's like the silliest boy in class- always pulling stupid little pranks.'
'Oh I know him- Isn't he the one who pretended to get an emergency phone call during class shouting 'don't worry I'll be there soon' and ripped his shirt off...' started Shifali.
'...and he was wearing a superman costume underneath!!' continued Asma, and they erupted into another fit of laughter. 'Then...he...ran out of the class with one arm extended in the air!' she said whilst giggling.
'That was hilarious- I can't believe that guy is still in our college and hasn't been suspended yet' said Shifali.
'I don't understand why I have to get stuck with him?!' moaned Asma.
'Maybe he isn't into that kind of stuff anymore' added Heer.
'I hope so' said Asma simply.
'Okay everyone, get into your pairs,' exclaimed Mr. Patel, causing the class to become alive with movement as students shifted around the class to sit with their assigned partner. Heer mouthed a 'HELP' to Asma and Shifali, pouting, before turning around to go to her partner.
Heer's shoulders sagged as she made her way to join Prem. Awkwardly she swapped places with Meera and dropped down on the seat next to him, letting out a big sigh. This was going to be a long hour.
Prem felt his palms begin to sweat as she sat next to him. What was happening to him- why did he suddenly feel restless? Why was a girl making him feel this way? Concentrating on the book was becoming difficult- she was so close, yet so far from him.
'You are Prem, right?' she asked, trying to plaster a smile on her face.
He nodded gently. 'I'm Heer' she added.
'I know' he stated simply.
'Nice voice' she thought casually. It was deep and husky. His appearance did not compliment it in the slightest. She mentally kicked herself- 'nice voice, puhleez' she thought, shaking her head.
'How come I've never noticed you in class before?' she asked.
'Because you were too busy with yourself?' he answered matter-of-factly. Ouch, that hurt. Her nostrils flared and she crossed her arms. Who was he to say that to her? Why did she care anyway? She glanced down at Prem's common grey t-shirt and olive green cargo pants. 'Eewww' she thought to herself, her eyes screwed up in aversion.
Mr. Patel handed them each a piece of paper instructing them on what they needed to do. Heer scanned the sheet and frowned- she was baffled by the equations, unable to comprehend them.
She leaned over to Prem, 'Excuse me? What are we meant to be doing exactly?' she tentatively asked, intimidated by the way he wildly scribbled formulas onto the sheet.
He slowly lifted his head to look at her through his thick-rimmed glasses. He blinked a couple of times in nervousness before answering, 'We have to create a diagram by looking at the data we have been given by Mr. Patel. The patterns in the data will then be used to draw inferences about the process or population being studied. So we will have to focus on correlation, standard deviation and percentile equivalents. This will help us produce the graph, through which we will be able to analyze the data' he said.
Heer stared at him as if he had spoken in a completely different language. She huffed, 'I hate statistics!!' she said, and began playing with her nails. He frowned. Her comment about statistics felt as if she had thrown an insult at him- he loved statistics, it was the one thing he looked forward to. She was clearly not someone he would get on well with.
I hope you guys liked the update!! So Prem and Heer have met, and they don't like each other, hehe!! Well you know what they say -opposites attract' 😆 Let's see how these opposites attract!! Can't wait to read your comments!!
Love Zahra xx
Edited by Pyari_Zahra - 16 years ago
Ganesh Kartikeya
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