Royal Institute - Next Series Link on Page 1 - Page 17

Dance is a beautiful word, and the act is gracious. I glanced around the room that was now full of teenage hormones--male and female. For the first time in last five years, I could see girls turn into ladies in Madam Rochette's class. Gen was clearly annoyed while Kush leaned over her. His hands were in his pockets. He said something that ended up earning him a Gen-Glare. Kiya had indulged into an argument with her new partner behind me. Panchi was frowning as if trying to calculate Ranveer's flirting.

"I have always wanted to do this, and saved this day for our special guests!" Madam Rochette clapped once again, the sound echoing in the hollow room.

"Did you hear that? I am special!" Ayush whispered in my ear.

"That's the matter of--" But Madam Rochette seemed to have grown some kind of revengeful hatred for me, for she cut me off.

"Neesha, why don't you and your handsome partner step up now?" She smiled. Handsome my you-know-what! "Welcome to Royal Academy Mr. Kashyap. Now, I must ask you to put your right hand firmly in your partner's hand, and put your left around her waist. Hold her lower back firm against you hold."

And before I knew, we were swaying with the music.

There are a few Pros and Cons to be dancing with a Ashvamedh boy at Royal Institute. For example,

You get the privilege to learn proper dance. -PRO

That proper dance involves a boy who once got the best of you. -CON

Dancing means losing calories the easy way. (Though no one is above size 0 here.) --PRO

Losing calories means hunger kicking in. And hunger means the ultimate fear of grumbling stomach in front of your dance partner. --CON

You can look at your friends to avoid looking at your partner. --PRO

When your friends do not respond to your stare, you feel creepy and are forced to stop staring. --CON

Your partner is very cute. (And hot) --PRO (Maybe.)

Your partner gets an opportunity to stare into your eyes. --CON

While staring into your eyes, they can't seem to stop smirking. --CON.

You cannot punch that smile off because you're in Culture and Assimilation class. (And it is very hard to punch them when they are holding your hand. Firmly.) --CON

"What's the matter, Princess?" Ayush eyed me. "You're not actually mad about yesterday are you?"

The music was louder. Madam Rochette's voice barely made it above the soft melody of Piano. "Gen! Hold your pose, do not step on Kush."

"My apologies Mr. Garewal." I heard Gen say out loud so our teacher could hear. Gen hadn't stepped Kush's leg, she had stamped on it purposefully, but Kush just grinned at her.

"It was a cover Princess. An op." Ayush voice brought my eyes back to him. He was looking at me with such intensity I could barely breath. "Maybe you're familiar with the concept?"

I didn't reply, because I had no reply.

By the time for lunch, I had thought seven different ways to get rid of Ayush, but tried none. I guided him through the corridors to our Grand Hall, but I don't think he needed guidance anymore. Spies remember their ways. When I reached our table, Gen was already sitting there with Kiya. They had their heads laid on the table.

"Guys, what's wrong?" I asked as soon as I got there. Kiya lifted her head and sat up a bit straighter.

"I hate him!" She grumbled.

"Who?" I asked, but then I realized I already knew the answer. So I shook my head and quickly changed my question. "Why?"

"Why? Because of everything! He just--annoys me!" Kiya said, her eyes widened in frustration.

Royal Institute is a privilege. Royal Girls learn to kick and punch faces. They learn to develop technologies that are still miracles on the other side of school's walls. They learn to crack and make codes like a jigsaw puzzle of a seven-year-old child. They learn exchange information at a drop of hat (Sometimes even actual hats are involved.)

But never have Royal Girls experienced a boy problem.

"How do you know him?" I asked as we went to grab our food from the buffet counter. We have the best chef in the world. He used to work at White House before. Believe it or not, White House had an Indian chef for seventeen years! He was an undercover informant, thus his cover.

"His brother is dating my sister." She said making a face. "Superstar stuff!"

"Is there a specific reason why you hate him?" I asked. I mean, hate is a strong word. He must have done something thirty times worse then Ayush to receive such amount of hatred in his favor.

"He is arrogant." She replied. Panchi was the only one who didn't look much bothered.

"He is okay, I guess." She replied with a smile when I asked her. Then her eyes went wide and she added, "But he flirts a LOT!"

The hall was buzzing with chatters. The white shirts and black blazers of Ashvamedh boys mingled with white shirts and blue blazers of Royal girls. There was a lot of hair flipping and fluttering of eyelashes. As Kiya placed her plate on the table, I wondered if she realized that every boy's eyes were fixed on her despite the fact that she was the only girl in the hall wearing no makeup.

If we ignore the bunch of male hormone in the room, it was a normal, peaceful lunch. It was like any other day with no one talking around our table.

"Mind if we join you ladies?" Our heads snapped up as in unison. Kush smiled down at us with a plate in his hand. Besides him were KD, Ranveer and...Ayush.

So much for a normal lunch.

They didn't wait for our answer; they simply stepped over the benches and took their places. We don't have separate tables at Royal Institute. We have a long table connected to benches, divided by class groups. Seventh graders sit with eighth graders; ninth graders with tenth graders and eleventh graders with twelfth graders. We were in the middle, since we were old enough to be the center of attraction and still manage to look invisible.

I don't think we are invisible anymore.

"I don't think we were introduced yet." Surprisingly, Kush turned to look at me. He was sitting beside Ayush, who sat across me. "So, you are much known Ms. Rai." He smiled. "I am Kush Garewal!"

"Call me Neesha." I smiled at him.

"Neesha it is. As beautiful as a night can be." He said his smile radiating more cuteness then necessary.

"That is very sweet of you Kush, but I don't think you can say that while sitting right across the most beautiful lady in the room." I said, looking at Kiya.

Kush just laughed and turned his head to Kiya. He dropped his spoon on his plate and held out his hand. "Kush."

"Kiya, you already know." Kiya replied, giving a brief handshake.

"Panchi right?" He turned to Panchi beside me. Panchi looked surprised, and nodded.

"The master of Royal intelligence." Ayush said, smiling at her.

"Look what we have here!" Ranveer spoke for the first time. He was sitting beside Kiya. "Bunch of great future spies."

"You guys seem like stalker." Gen said. "No offense."

"None taken." Ranveer smiled.

"So, what are your specialties?" She asked them.

"That is for you to find out!" Kush leaned over to look at her beside Ayush. Ayush was eating his watermelon piece as if he wasn't sitting like a wall.

"We are very wisely trained at stalking, might wanna watch your step." Kiya said.

"We have learned to stay invisible under spotlight." It was the first time I heard KD talk then. He didn't even look up from his plate. That confirms. Ashvamedh have no Madam Rochette.

"Enjoying your day?" The voice came from behind me. I turned my head around at an awkward angle to see Mr. Saxena behind me.

"Yeah." The boys murmured. That was surprising, because no one talks to Mr. Saxena in such a manner.

"Would you mind if I borrow your time?" He asked. The boys stopped eating and looked up at our teacher. "Eastern door, in five."

The boys looked at each other. They quickly finished the remaining in their plate and walked away. I looked at my friends, but I don't think any of them had a clue as to what was going on.

-----

Life as a future spy is never boring, but the next two weeks were some of the busiest days in my life. It was all I could do to-

1. Avoid Ayush

2. Keep up with classwork.

That Saturday night, my eyes opened at 4:17am. My friends were sleeping soundly. Panchi was curled up in a ball, Kiya slept just like she was last night, and Gen was sprawled across her bed. Her hand was hanging loose by the side. I tried, but the sleep never came again.

So I decided to roam around the castle. Royal Institute was beautiful. It was one of the largest buildings I have ever seen. But my favorite parts of it were the secret passageways and tunnels. I have discovered a lot of them. Some simply went from one class to another, one room to another or one building to another. The clock ticked in my head as I went down one of my favorite passageways. I only went there when I was sad or missing my dad, and stopped by the half wall that separated it from the other side. But today I kept on walking. I didn't feel like stopping.

Finally I came to a stop before a concrete wall. I look around in confusion. There has to be a way out. I felt the walls and low ceiling above me in the darkness. There it was, a wooden section into the ceiling. I pushed it a little and the door opened smoothly, with out a voice. It didn't fell back; in fact its hinges supported the door midair. I hooked my hand to the side and pushed myself upwards. It wasn't dark here. Candles burned in a two corner, illuminating the whole room with a faint glow. I stepped onto the wooden floor, looking around. I hadn't taken two step when something touched my ankle and I fell over.

A cry of pain left me as something sharp pricked on my forehead. I lifted my head up and realized they were pieces of broken glass. I hissed.

"Neesha?" I heard the familiar voice and pushed my hands against the wooden floor to look up. Mr. Saxena stood in a doorway that probably leads to another room of this mysterious place. His eyes were shining through the candle's glow. Even at such an hour, he looked completely shaved and ready for a covert lecture. Did I end up in Mr. Saxena's room? But before I could say anything, he was by my side, lifting me up. My head felt heavy and the pieces of glass felt like thousand needles. Which would still be an understatement.

He pulled me towards the other room and made me sit on an old wooden chair next to a table. The room was lighted with a little lamp. Mr. Saxena walked over towards an old green board that I hadn't realized was there. There were numbers, letters and some symbols scribbled over it. On my left was only a little window in the wall, closed with wooden doors. A pain shot through my head as he switched on the light. A hiss left my mouth before I could stop it.

"You shouldn't be here." He said, taking out a first aid box from the drawer of the table. "But knowing you, I am not surprised."

I didn't say anything. I had lots of questions. Where am I? Why are you here? Because this certainly doesn't look like a Royal Institute suite. What do you mean by you're not surprised? Why should I be not here?

But I kept quiet and stared at the pendant that lay against his white shirt while he removed the glass pieces from my forehead.

"Does it mean anything?" I asked. His hand paused and he looked at me. A little frown that I had never seen on him before now adorned his face. "The pendant."

He looked down at the "Om" pendant and tucked it behind shirt.

"No." He said sternly.

"Dad never took it off." I whispered. He didn't reply for a while.

"You miss him a lot, don't you?" He asked after a moment of silence. He put away the forceps and picked up ball cotton with a scissor, rubbing it against my bleeding forehead. Maybe it was training of years, or Mr. Saxena's expertize, but I didn't feel any level of pain as the soft ball rubbed against my skin.

"Jay I can't crack..." The voice trailed off. I looked up to see Ayush who stopped midway in a hallway that I didn't even notice. It looked like old tunnels that lead to yet another mysterious place. "What are you doing here?" Ayush's eyes blazed with surprise.

"Neeshu has a very bad habit of exploring at odd hours." Mr. Saxena said, his eyes on my forehead. My head moved back on its accord as I heard what he said. Ayush was out of my mind at that moment. Everything was out of my mind then. My friends sometimes call me Neesh. My mother sometimes calls me Nia when she is in a playful mood (Which comes ones every other year.) But my eyes snapped at Mr. Saxena as I heard the word after five years. The name I had formerly heard only from my dad.

"How did you..." I never completed my question.

"Viraj always talked about you." He stretched his hand a little to go back to my forehead, now applying an ointment. "He always mentioned you with that name and I caught on by mistake." His hand never paused. His eyes never met mine. "I am sorry."

I didn't say anything eyes. Not even when someone turned on light and a florescent lamp blinked and lit up in the room (I figured it was Ayush. Doesn't take a Panchi-Slash-Einstein there). Not even when from the corner of my eyes I saw Ayush walked over to the board and slid down on the floor under it. He had a laptop in his hand, and he typed away something. The only noise that was alive in the room.

"There." Mr. Saxena said after he was done sticking on white bandage on my wound. "That would last for a week, if you decide to stay off-breaches." He got up and move towards Ayush. "Are they going to wake up? Or should I send an alarm there?"

I didn't know who they were, but I had a pretty good guess. Ayush just shrugged, and right then I heard footsteps walk down from where Ayush had entered. Three boys I was well acquainted with entered the room with lazy steps. They looked around, their eyes stopping on me.

"This wasn't planned, was it?" Kush was the first one to break the silence.

"No shit Sherlock!" Ranveer whispered.