#2
||Uninformed
The door of the library slamming behind her mirrored the hammering of her own heart inside her rib cage. Sniffling through her almost blocked nose, she swung her bag to her shoulder, failing to see where she was going.
Stumbling backwards, she looked up when someone cursed out. Dishank stared back at her with a frown, before confusion morphed onto his face.
"Sorry," she mumbled, before stepping aside and rushing out of the blasted corridor.
Hiding her face wasn't easy, since everyone of her school was around. Even the girls from her dorm had to sit around like hippies. Bowing her head further down, she pulled her bag to her side to avoid anymore confrontations.
If anybody called out to her, she would ignore it.
"You are nothing but a petty person--"
It bubbled from her throat. That stupid sob. She cursed mentally, before looking to her left and searching for the 'Girls' Washroom' sign. Relieved at the familiar nameplate drilled into the wall beside the door, she pushed the heavy piece of wood and banged it close, making sure to lock it.
Throwing her bag off of her shoulder, not bothering where it slid to, she took the support of the granite counter. And just as they had planned, the sobs escaped her throat, bouncing off the walls of the washroom.
Oh, Dad.. I need you so much, right now.. Her father's moustached face appeared in her thoughts.
Her flushed cheeks burned further, when she thought if someone was inside the stalls, so she willed her feet to move. Satisfied at the absence of any human inside, she looked at herself in the mirror.
Mascara ran down her cheeks. Grimacing at the black trail on her skin, she wiped them with the back of her hand, only to see them spread more on her face.
Twitching her lips, she splashed some water, before looking up.
"--just too caught up in the world of exacting revenge, vanity and dishonesty--"
She blinked. Vanity.
She looked away, before willing herself to get her bag that lay hopelessly by the dirty wall of the washroom. A grimace slipped onto her lips for a moment, before wondering if she should've cried more. Staring at the yellow wall, then at the door, and then at the bag in her hands, just made it worse.
She didn't know. Should she have cried more?
Sighing heavily, she settled on the seat behind her. She needed a tissue, so she dug into her bag and found a pack of unopened tissues. Her mind drifted to Utkarsh's paper cut, as she wiped at her face. What if-- He would need something to clean it up. She thought morosely, failing to notice that she was currently wiping at her lips.
Collecting the used tissues, she dumped them, before glancing at the mirror. No lipstick. She bit on her lower lip. She didn't need it.
~*~*~*~*~*~
She had wasted too much time in the washroom. Finding an empty classroom in this huge school was a task. Finally settling on a computer lab, which was occupied by a few of her peers, but she didn't mind for they were too less to even bother with, she set her bum down on a cold plastic chair in front of a booting up computer.
Pulling out her books, she frowned when there was another fat book inside her bag. Strange, she hadn't added any books other than her Math one. Pulling it out, she glanced up at the screen to see it presenting her with the start screen of Windows 7, before she found herself staring at a roughed up cover page of a Biology textbook that looked just like her untouched one. A big piece of tape was joining a small tear at an edge.
CONCISE Biology [Revised 2014]
I.C.S.E.
For Class - X
Closing her hand around the opening edge of the textbook, she realised that there was something like a pen or pencil lodged in between the pages.
The last time she had touched this book must've been only while taking it out of her trunk, only to leave it out on her desk, underneath all her brushes, accessories, and notebooks. Her mind drifted to the time she had had to read, no, study the whole book for her Boards. ICSE syllabus was one female dog like pain in the bum.
The sudden clatter of the plastic pen on the kota floor broke into her grudging thoughts. Sheepishly, she reached down and picked the pen up, making sure not to look around, or she'd just embarrass herself further from their looks. Abandoning her own stationary along with the pen, she straightened, while fingering through the gap and pushing the pages open.
The page of IMMUNE SYSTEM stared right back at her.
Frowning, she looked further down. There was a definition of the word 'Immunity'.
"Immunity is the resistance to the onset of a disease after infection by harmful germs," she mumbled to herself.
Kinds of Immunity. Innate. Acquired.
She flipped the cover back and was reminded of catching an unnecessary glimpse of the same cover page in Utkarsh's hand as he placed it on the bench beside him.
What was Utkarsh doing reading this? Her frown deepened the next instant.
~*~*~*~*~*~
She was bored out of her mind. Reading this chapter on Immunity was so boring. But she was reminded of having read it sometime last year. Boards, maybe? she wondered.
She could recognise a few words here and there. Twitching her lips, she sank further into her chair, while she flipped another page, stifling a yawn.
WORLD AIDS DAY..
She blinked and peered closer. Dec. 1 - WORLD AIDS DAY (Awareness for its severity and protection)
Her spine seemed to have been struck hard by energy, because it straightened instantly.
AIDS.. Her eyes ran down the page and caught onto an informative box that read "A CONDITION IN WHICH THE IMMUNE SYSTEM FAILS --AIDS-- (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome)"
She read further..
"This feared disease (with no cure as of yet) is caused by the infection of HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus). It is transmitted through sexual contact, contaminated syringe needles and through blood transfusion. The virus attacks the cells of the immune system and causes a marked reduction in T-cells of the thymus. These are the cells which activate lymphocytes that produce immunity. With the collapse of immunity in full blown AIDS cases, other severe infections develop unchecked to ultimately cause death."
Her throat felt dry. She tried to swallow but it was impossible.
Death.. her eyes stung. She's really going to die.
She didn't understand why she felt like crying. She had never seen anyone die throughout her life.
Maybe that's why.
"Sexual contact, contaminated syringe needles or blood transfusion.."
The computer screen seemed to be creating black spots around her vision. Blinking rapidly, she poised her fingers over the keyboard.
~*~*~*~*~*~
Ashamed.
That's what she felt because out of everything she chose to be, she chose to be Dumb. Not the one who can't speak.
But the one who is an Idiot.
One, who instead of being sent to one of the most prestigious schools for a good education, chose to be ignorant about it all. Why? Because studying was so not cool.
Studying was for Nerds. And Geeks. She wasn't any Nerd or Geek or Bookworm. She was a Star. A Princess. Her Daddy's Princess.
She wondered what her Dad would say if he saw her like this. He would probably just reassure her that he'd do anything for her. And like always, she'd smile and do whatever she wanted, her troubling thoughts forgotten, in an instant.
Her chest constricted. Her skin felt like it was burning. She was familiar with this feeling, what with the way Angela had mocked her in the girls' dorm for her vocabulary. She was still angry about it, though.
But that anger just didn't match the guilt that seemed to clench her insides for invading Angela's privacy and even daring to announce the whole school of her secret.
Utkarsh's right.
~*~*~*~*~*~
She didn't do well with apologies. Something seemed to keep erupting inside her gut, just as she would think of ways to apologise to Angela and.. Utkarsh.
She felt like everyone was watching her. But it was all in her head. She couldn't do anything today in the lab. Not after discovering what a First Class Bitch she was.
Okay, she accepted she could be a bitch, but.. Utkarsh's words kept playing in her mind like a tape-recorder on repeat.
"I thought you had some good in you, no matter how bitchy you can become."
That gave her hope. He had faith in her that she had some good in her. He was the first one to point it out. Ever. In her whole life. It was no secret that she was a pampered princess.
But he said 'he thought'. It meant that she had disappointed him.
The noisy surrounding broke her out of her thoughts. The familiar walls of the mess and the aroma of healthy wafted to her nose, while her stomach grumbled in response.
She hadn't had snacks either. Oh, she was famished!
~*~*~*~*~*~
She couldn't see his head anywhere. Nor his face. Nor his eyes. Or even his hand.
She gave another try and let her eyes sift through the crowd to get at least a glimpse of that smile or even hear his laugh. Glancing back at Parth, her heart sank in disappointment to see the space beside Parth absent.
Where is he? Is he not having dinner?
The clinks and clanks of the steel utensils reverberated in the hall.
Is he with Angela? she frowned deeply.
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Credits to ICSE CONCISE Biology Text book, published by SELINA Publishers.
I, myself, have studied in an ICSE syllabus! 😆 So, I thought why not get some help from my school textbook! I am very sure that this will informative for everyone.
It doesn't have anything explosive like ||Ignorance, but it focuses solely on Krissane here and for a very good reason. I hope you liked it!
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