Chapter Ten

"Today is the day Samarth Singhania takes his last breath!" Mayra scoffed and stomped her feet on the floor as she walked past several students in the corridor. They watched her in awe and laughed as she passed them. It didn't take them a lot of time to realise she was the same girl from the recent Instagram prank video posted by the Junior Class. 

Shrey huffed behind her, trying to keep up with her pace as she stormed out into the campus to look for the person that caused her to fume out in anger.

"I know, Mayra, I did promise I'd accompany you in all your ventures but going to jail wasn't something I was expecting to be in the list."

She took longer strides as her eyes darted from left to right in search of Samarth. The ridiculous glares she earned from the teenagers settled around her only added fuel to the rage inside of her. 

"Maybe, I won't kill him, Shrey! But a few punches will go around today." 

Shrey grabbed her arm and pulled her behind, turning her around so she faced him, "My darling, this can be solved in a much calmer way. Calm down! Deep breaths." 

Instinctively, she obliged but the calm that settled over her didn't last long. 

Rule #1 of how to control an angry person: Never ask them to calm down. 

"Calm down? I can't! Is it even legal to post someone's video without their consent?" 

Shrey shrugged his shoulders, his arms still gripping her firmly, "How would I know? I don't study law! I'm science student, just like you." 

Mayra shook her head in dismay. The several books she'd read so far had done nothing to help her in anger-management. 

Shrey reasoned with her, "Let's try to sort this out in a civilised way, okay? No screaming and no violence. I don't want your detention period to extend. Along with mine." The last part was barely a whisper. 

Mayra huffed and bobbed her head lightly, "Okay."

"He's in the canteen. Try not to-"

Mayra's reply made him flinch, "I got it!"

She wriggled her way out of his grip and with slow but steady steps entered the usually crowded canteen area. Her eyes zeroed in on the hooded figure and the sliver of patience she held gave away. 

One moment, she was at the double door beside Shrey and the next, her hands were gripping Samarth's collars, prompting him to stand up. 

There was no surprise evident in his eyes. He was clearly expecting this. 

She stabbed daggers into him with her gaze as her grip loosened on his jacket, "How dare you?!"

Shrey watched the crowd spectate the scene with widened eyes. The reply came in an unexpectedly calm voice, "What's the matter with you?"

Aadhya who had been taken back due to the shock, recovered shortly and tried stepping between them. 

"Wow, you pull out a ridiculous prank on me on my first day here, causing me to lose my precious time in the girls' washroom instead of attending the lesson and then you post a video of it too and yet, have the audacity to ask me what's the matter with me?"

Shrey pushed aside the drama-loving teenagers that had gathered around and reached to her, "You're making a scene, Darling." 

Aadhya laughed, "You're overreacting."

That brought Mayra back to her senses. She looked around and took in the several strangers looking at her with a gaze she didn't quite appreciate. Their vicious glares caused a sickly feeling to form in her stomach. Her anxiety surfaced as the anger died down. 

She gulped, gently patting her blushing cheeks, "I want you to delete the video." 

Before Samarth could anything, he was interrupted by a sassy Aadhya, "You can't have a video of yourself up on the internet to entertain your peers? It's no big deal." His eyes darted to the girl standing beside her. He had never heard her talk this way. Truthfully, he had rarely heard her talk. She was too busy burying her head into books all the time and now she was here, in the canteen, taking his side for no apparent reason? 

Mayra couldn't hear what Aadhya said, she was too busy trying to centre her emotions, "I can't believe I wanted to apologise for slapping you." Her voice was barely above a whisper but the gasps that followed were loud. 

"Did she really slap Samarth?" A girl standing nearby asked, shocked filled in her tone. 

Samarth tensed as the whispers and gasps hit his ears. No way was he expecting her to reveal this. He tried to supress his discomfort in the moment and stepped forward, gently pushing Aadhya aside. "Aadhya, it is my fault. If she doesn't want her video to be there on the page, I'll delete it. Right here, in fact." 

He pulled out his phone and opened the app. After a few taps on the screen, he raised the screen to Mayra's field of vision. The video could no longer be seen. 

She shifted her confused eyes from the phone screen to his green piercing eyes, unable to say anything for a couple of seconds. 

Was it so easy? 

She hadn't expected that. She had prepared herself for a battle and here the opposition had waved a white flag even before any weapons were drawn out. 

She watched, confounded, as a smirk formed on his face. Even though she opened her mouth to speak, no words escaped. 

Sighing, she grabbed Shrey's arm and left the canteen. Heads turned and watched her as she left. Some admired her and some giggled. Most watched in awe. 

Samarth Singhania was known for his stubborn behavior. He never listened to anyone but himself. 

That was all Mayra had learnt from Tania too. When she had first seen the upload, the ways in which she'd persuade him to take down the video had rushed through the mind. But none of them were needed. He had said nothing but just happily deleted the video. 

Mayra had lost her temper and her sanity for a while because of that stupid video. Her mind was now clouded with worrisome thoughts. Of what the people who watched her thought about her. Of how they must've judged her. But to her utmost surprise, that wasn't her top concern. Instead there was something else. 

How had Samarth given up so easily?