Chapter Eight

Aadhya's mood was fairly good. She had stumbled upon Reanna's file which contained a request form for a leave. She was going away for two weeks and that delighted Aadhya. She gathered all her notes along with the books she had issued from the library and made her way back to Room 201 for the last class, Mathematics. 

She loved Maths with a passion. Repeatedly she would find herself digging through books, solving any and every question in almost no time. Practice for years and she was close to perfection. Life had been kind to her and on one day even Samarth had asked her to teach him one the concepts he couldn't wrap his head around. 

She remembered the day vaguely and a grin formed on her fair face. It was one of the best days of her life. 

She was so lost in her memories that she didn't realise she was walking straight ahead and bumped against a student. The books and notes from her hands scattered in all directions and collapsed to the floor. 

Both of them landed harshly on the floor, hitting their butts. Aadhya recovered quickly and began gathering her books, not giving a single glance at the other guy. 

"Let me help you gather this." The student said and Aadhya's shoulders tensed. She'd never fail to recognise that voice. 

"Samarth?" She whispered. 

He looked ahead and gazed into the Aadhya's eyes, "Aadhya. Of course." He picked up a fat reference book and tucked it under his arm. 

His voice sounded unusually dull and she knew at once something was wrong. She decided to keep the question away for the moment, "I'm sorry. I wasn't paying attention." Her cheeks heated up in embarassment. Luckily, the corridor was almost empty. She collected all the notes and held them in her hands. 

Both of them stood up simultaneously and she stared at him. His eyes looked at her but his mind was clearly elsewhere. "Not attending class? Don't tell me you dropped it too. Like Tania."

He shook his head, "No, I'm just... Let's go to class." He sighed. 

They walked back to the class together. Aadhya's heart had never pumped as fast as it did in that moment. 

Samarth deposited himself on his usual seat but Aadhya walked towards the end of the class and sat besides a sulking Raina. 

"What's the matter with you?" She asked with a nudge. 

"Lost my new perfume somewhere, that's all." Raina said but Aadhya wasn't convinced. 

"Are you sure it has nothing to do with Adi? Or the fact that I just saw him snogging Niharika?"

Aadhya asked with a raised eyebrow. 

"That's her name?!" Raina said but gulped after realising what she'd done, "I don't know what you mean. It's Aditya. Your twin. He's my best friend. He can do whatever the hell he wants to do. Snog whoever he pleases."

Aadhya sighed and began writing on her notepad a new study timetable, "Keep telling yourself that. But it's pretty transparent. You literally look at him with heart eyes." 

Raina stared at her with a gaping mouth, "Aadhya?" 

"Look, you don't have to deny it. I've known it long enough and I won't tell him, don't worry. But you have to. Someday." 

Raina pulled her hair behind and tied it up into a messy ponytail, "We're not having this conversation." She crossed her arms. 

"Fine. Tell me what's up with Samarth?" 

Raina turned his eyes to the guy sitting in front of her. He was doodling away in his Math book. Earphones plugged into his ear and the volume was so loud, it could faintly be heard by the pair too. 

Raina guessed, "Samarth's got detention. A month. With Mrs. Barbie Doll."

"What?" Aadhya couldn't believe her words. Samarth and detention in one sentence? Of course, he was mischievous and pulled out tiny pranks but she didn't know he was capable of getting a month-long detention. "Who told you?"

"Tania, of course." She added further, "According to sources, the new girl is responsible for that."

"Mayra Ahuja?" 

Raina nodded. It seemed like she was going to say something but her eyes darted to Aditya who had just entered the class and instead scoffed. 

He walked towards them, waved a hand and sat beside Samarth. "How's the gang doing?" He asked with a wide smile. His lips looked swollen and his cheek blushed pink. 

"We're good, playboy." Raina snapped at him. 

He looked at her with widened eyes. "Is everything okay with you?" 

"You have to ask me that?! I'm done with you." She said and stood up. Stomping her feet, she walked away and sat in another corner of the class, as far away from him as she could. 

"Aadhya, do you know what's going on?" He asked. 

She lifted her gaze from her work and gave him a sad smile, "She doesn't approve of your new girlfriend, I guess."

He scratched the back of his head in deep thought, "Why, Sissy? She's beautiful, right? Niharika is."

"That's exactly the problem." Aadhya whispered to herself inaudibly. 

"Did you say something?" 

"No." She shook her head, nonchalantly. 

"I'm really happy today. I think I finally found the one for me!" He said and turned his gaze to the guy on his right. He patted his shoulders playfully. But Samarth didn't respond. He was too busy doodling and listening to the Chainsmokers. 

Aadhya wished to scream into his ears, 'You are looking in the wrong place. You've known your the one all your life!' But she kept silent. She wasn't going to be one to reveal that fact to Aditya. 

________________

Mayra stood in Mrs. Dixit's office as the clock on the wall showed the time. 2:30PM sharp. She had barely survived Math class. She wasn't able to get through most of the questions. She tried to solve them but got lost halfway. It was her only weakness and she hated that part of herself. 

Samarth entered inside shortly, earphones still plugged in. Without giving her a single glance, he walked ahead and stood beside her. 

She stared at him from the corner of her eyes. Something seemed off about him. The aura surrounding him gave off depressing vibes. 

Mrs. Dixit talked of always being punctual. But she was a living example of hypocrisy. She had told them to be present in her office sharp at 2:30 and Mayra had obediently obliged but she was nowhere there and the clock already showed the time as 2:45 PM. 

She stood awkwardly in an unending silence, remembered the previous day. The way she felt. She had almost considered Samarth to be her arch-nemesis. Now, he was standing beside her and she couldn't care any less. 

Exaggerating all situations was one of her bad habits. 

The door flew open suddenly and Shrey hurried inside, "Am I late?" He looked at Mayra and Samarth. 

"What are you doing here?" Mayra asked him, perplexed. 

"I knew any of high school experiences would suck in my absence. So I misbehaved a little and..."

Before he could complete his sentence, Mrs. Dixit barged into her office and silence reigned over them. Samarth lazily pulled out his earphones and tucked them in his jeans pocket.

At least, he had acknowledged her presence, Mayra thought. 

"Three students in detention! I cannot believe it! Junior year, the first month!" She rubbed her temples, trying to calm her nerves. 

All three of them stared at her in silence. 

"Let me get this straight. I don't want any more complaints from any teachers again or I'll expel you all!" She scoffed. 

She walked to her table and opened one of the drawers. When she retrieve her hand back, Mayra could see a file clutched in it. 

"The Book Club, hope you've heard of it, is starting off next month. Now, I don't know for what reason, but the Principal think the books in the three-storey library aren't enough so he decided to clear up the last floor too."

She paused and a grin appeared on her face. Mayra knew she was going to enjoy whatever was coming up next, "I gave a brilliant idea to help them save a few thousands. The three of you will have the privilege to clean up the whole floor and arrange the books in the shelves in an order. The shelves have to be cleaned too." She tapped the list on her table, "This is the order. There are hundreds of books but you've got a month in hand. Two hours each day will be more than enough. Although, the faster you finish it, the better for you. This may infact turn out to be a reward for you too. Some extra credits for helping the school." 

Mayra looked at Shrey who was incidentally staring back at her with a partially opened mouth. She was happy that she would get to be around books but the cleaning part didn't impress her much. Her room was a living evidence of how much she was into cleanliness. 

Samarth's mouth did give out some words, "You want us to work like servants, then?"

She shook her head and gave an even wider smile, "Don't look at it like that, Samarth. You do love St. Theresa, don't you?" Her expression turned sour in a second and she continued, "This is a punishment for your misbehavior." She shooed them off, "Get to work. Quick!"