Chapter Thirteen

That week had lasted longer than any Mayra had lived before. The weekend had finally dawned and she couldn't wait to go home and have a good long nap while cuddling with her teddy bear. A yawn escaped her lips. 

Most of the lights were turned off, filling the long-stretched room with an unending darkness. She doubted for a second whether Samarth was still in there but she hadn't seen him leave and her eyes were on the door all the time. 

"Samarth?" She called out and her voiced echoed back from the walls. 

The darkness crawled on her skin, making her feel uncomfortable. She wished Shrey had done this instead. 

She called out his name again but received no response whatsoever. Her feet took her back along the path she came, convinced that he had left without her notice. Suddenly, she halted when her eyes caught the faint outline of a figure. Walking closer, she realised it was indeed Samarth. 

He was sitting on the floor, his back leaned against the shelf for support. His eyes were closed and a book in his arms was firmly pressed to his chest. 

She bent herself down, getting to his level and realised quickly he was sleeping. 

How could one fall asleep in such a place? 

His chest rose and fell as he breathed gently. Mayra wanted to smack him and wake him up abruptly but he looked so calm and quiet. If only he looked this way all the time. 

She shook her head and decided to do it the nicer way. She wasn't as bad as him after all. 

Her palm held his shoulder and shook it gently. But that didn't break his slumber. She sighed. 

Her fingers moved down his torso and she tightened her grip on the open book and tried pulling it away. But he had a firm grip on it too. 

Was he actually sleeping or just pretending? 

She looked up and glanced at his face. Some strands of his curly hair fell on his forehead. God had blessed him with lashes longer than hers and she envied that part of him totally. His jaw was covered with a little stubble and he looked genuinely tired. 

Her fingers worked on their own accord and reached up to push aside the curls away from his forehead. Her mind wandered back to when she stood in front of the class alongside him. She felt a tingly sensation settle on her cheeks. 

"Samarth? Wake up." She had not intended to keep her voice to barely a whisper. 

"Samarth?"

"Hmm?" His voice sounded sleepy? Or so she believed and knew he wasn't pretending.

"Time to go. You were reading again instead of helping. I actually believed you had a change of heart." 

Samarth eyes fluttered open to look at her face. "I was helping but then I got tired." He said with a low voice, defending himself. 

She gave a shrug and lifted herself up and started walking away. Then heard him call her and stopped herself. 

"Help me get up?" He asked. 

Mayra's eyebrows furrowed in confusion as she walked back to him, "You didn't want my help to get up that day when I offered you." She pointed out. 

A smile formed on his face, "I do, now." 

A small sigh left her lips and she extended her hand forward. He took it and raised himself. His eyes never left her face. She blushed and looked away as though looking at him longer would burn her. 

"Thank you, sweetcheeks."

Ah, there was that word again. 

She ignored him with much difficulty and picked up the copy of Wuthering Heights that he seemed to be reading earlier and passed it to him. But when he surged his hand forward to take it, she pulled it away and asked with a stern expression, "What are you trying to do?" 

She herself had no idea what that question meant but for some reason it had appeared. She had failed to put it through her mind-to-mouth filter. She didn't have the courage to look into his eyes. Instead, she looked at the book in her hand. The cover was almost giving away. The pages were tattered, threatening to fall apart from the binding. 

"I have no idea what you mean, Mayra." 

She didn't need to look at him to know he was smirking. He grabbed the book from her hands and started walking out of the room, leaving a frowning Mayra behind. 

_________________

Monday had arrived sooner than Mayra liked. Atleast she had spent her weekend with her sister. They had binged watched Gossip Girl and chatted away about all nonsense. She was finally living her dream life; no longer away from her family and her best friend was here too. She had gotten into St. Theresa solely because of her hardwork and good grades. Life was good. 

Then she was summoned by Mrs. Dixit and knew life wasn't all good.

The news of what happened in the canteen had found it's way to her ears and she only let her go this time with a warning. 

'Misbehavior isn't tolerated here!' The way she had said that sentence suddenly made Mayra wonder about Mrs. Dixit's teenage days. The glint in her eyes everytime she heard of a prank being played on Mr. Murthy was an evidence of how much she enjoyed these things but wasn't allowed to. She was clearly no worshipper of discipline but only talked about it because she was expected to. 

Finally, Mayra was told to inform the class about an assignment and later collect their submissions for grading. Her first job and she hated being the CR already. 

One thing she was glad about, two weeks and she no longer would have to keep up with it. 

Shrey had told her to be present sharp at 10 AM on the football ground where the team would be practising. She knew there were better things to do but her best friend needed her support. She made a quick stop at the library to pick up a book she'd read while they would practise. Unlike most things in the world, football didn't spark any interest within her. 

The place was crowded. In situations like these, she realised why they called India 'over-populated'. With some efforts, she found an isolated bench to sit on and spend the next one hour. 

The ground wasn't fully occupied by the football team. On one side was the girls' cheerleading group and the guys all in jerseys were warming up on the other side. 

Shrey spotted her instantly and gave her a wave. He turned to Samarth, who stood not far away from him and said something. Samarth gave him a nod as his eyes landed on Mayra. She shifted in her seat and opened the book in her hands. A while later Shrey emerged from the crowd to her. 

"You made it!" He exclaimed. 

"I had to." She high-fived him. "How's it going so far?" 

"Only warming up for now but soon there'll be goals scored all by one person of course: me." He grinned and Mayra rolled her eyes. 

"I expect nothing less from you, Mr. Sharma." She went back to reading. 

Shrey didn't retreat, instead said with a tentative voice, "This is only the practice session but if I perform well, I'll get promoted from class-level player to a spot in the school team and it only goes higher from there." 

Mayra smiled, closing the book. "Not buts and ifs. I know you will certainly score. Besides, now I'm here to support you, right? Now even God can't stop you from scoring those goals." 

He ruffled her hair and received a disapproving glance. "There's a better spot to sit and watch on the ground. You won't get tanned and I promise you won't get hit by the ball." He said, pointing at the cheerleading group. There were chairs and trees to provide shade. Just saying, but she didn't care if her skin got tanned. 

She agreed it was a good spot but denied anyway. "Do you think I'm scared? That I won't be able to dodge a ball if it comes my way?"

Shrey considered her question and put the truth in front of her, "Yes."

She was not having it, "Let me prove you wrong." She said with a determined tone and raised herself, slinging the bag on her back.

"Taina is there, too. Seems like there's something going on between her and Mr. Grey eyes." Shrey remarked while wiggling his eyebrows. 

Mayra corrected him abruptly, "No, there isn't. He's dating Reanna, the Aphrodite of St. Theresa." 

"I can't keep up with your Greek Mythology references. Spare me!" He raised his hands in surrender. 

She laughed and continued, "Even if she did, would it bother you?" 

"Why would it bother me? In fact, I'll be relieved. My way to Reanna is clear then." She didn't fail to notice the blush in his pale cheeks. 

She laughed, "After him, there still a long queue of guys for her. And you've just joined it." 

"You underestimate your best friend." He shook his head, "Maybe I should just settle for the cheerleading captain. She's hot, right?" He asked pointing out at a girl with an hour glass figure. Mayra took in her features. The other girls looked like voodoo dolls in front of her. She seemed like a fair competition to Reanna. 

"Raina is the name, I guess." Shrey informed. 

Mayra nodded, "She's hot, I agree. But she's also way out of your league." 

"You're so clueless." He stated and took off to the other side to join the guys. Mayra frowned and walked forward, stopping beside Tania. 

"Good girl, you're here. I thought I'd find you in the library at this hour. Trying for the cheerleading team?" Something about the way Tania talked made her snigger. 

"No, I'm not into the dance moves and all that," She said, scrunching her nose. Tania imitated her and they both laughed. "You?"

"I'm here because of my grumpy boy." She patted her cheeks, "The only feminine thing about me is my long hair, that too exists because my mom wouldn't let me cut it. Besides if I dance, the earth would begin to tremble." She laughed but Mayra only smiled. She was convinced it was the same case for her too. 

"I did stop at the library to pick something up." She tapped the cover of the book. 

"What's that? 'The Night Sky'?" Tania asked. 

"It's a book about constellations and galaxies and moons. Basically, astronomy." Mayra explained with a smile. 

Tania nodded her head slowly, "Interesting," She said, pretending to look interested. Mayra understood and she was okay with it. 

Just because you like certain concepts, doesn't mean everyone around you has to as well. 

Over the week, she had bonded well with Tania, better than with anyone else. They sat together for most classes and she didn't bother to ever keep her mouth shut. She had all the interesting stories to tell and Mayra listened to them with an interested ear. She had grown quite fond of her. 

They took a chair each as the coach whistled and the guys gathered. It was time to see some kicks and goals.