Chapter Three.

Mayra submitted the documents and made her way back to Room 201, her classroom. She had dreaded this over the course of a week when she had returned from her boarding school. Crowded places filled with unknown faces made her anxious. 

She attempted to conceal her uneasiness but the manner in which her legs moved defied her. With sweaty palms, she entered the classroom. Everyone was busy in their own world. Thank the Lord. 

She didn't think a lot and deposited herself on the first vacant seat her eyes could locate, the second bench. But not before taking one glance at her arch-nemesis. He was surrounded by the group she'd encountered before. His ruthless, angry countenance had changed to a cheerful, happy one. 

How could he sit there looking delighted after receiving a month of detention? She hated the prospect. She shook her head in disbelief at the amount of loathing he'd instilled in her with just one act. 

One day, just one day and she had already started regretting not continuing in her former school with her friends. 

No. She wasn't going to get distracted from her aim because of a stupid prank. She had no time to waste on loathing anyone. 

With a hopeful grin, she took out a notebook from her bag, preparing for the lesson. Chemistry. With a flick of her wrist, she opened the textbook to 'The Structure of an Atom' and began reading it again for the umpteenth time. 

Tania had waited for Samarth outside Mrs Dixit's office. When he had finally departed, without a single word from her, he had spilt his guts. Beginning from the slap and ending at the month worth's detention. 

She had comprehended his furiosity and madness at Mayra but there was no remorse in his for his actions. But then it was just a prank, right? But somehow, the idea of a girl slapping her best friend on the cheek so hard as to leave an imprint seemed pretty humorous to her. She had tried to resist laughing at his face but eventually succumbed to the urge. 

They had chased each other playfully in the corridor when Samarth collided harshly into Mr Murthy. But before he could adjust his thick glasses that had collapsed to the floor as a result, they had escaped. 

Sitting next to him in the class, watching him go back to his normal self, all Tania could think of was what Mayra was thinking. 

She was sitting quietly on the second bench. Alone. Busy scribbling something on her notepad. 

With the fun that came with being Samarth Singhania's best friend, further arose the responsibility of cleaning up his messes. 

She cracked her knuckles, debating with her inner-self. Should she go ahead and talk to her? Yes? No? 

With a sigh, she raised herself from her seat. But she couldn't move. Someone had gripped her arm tightly. 

"Where are you going?" Samarth asked, the ghost of a smile evident on his face. 

"Nowhere." She shrugged him off and walked down to the second bench. 

Ignoring his burning gaze on her back, she lightly tapped Mayra's shoulder. She jerked back and met her black eyes. 

"Am I disturbing you?" She asked tentatively. 

Mayra glanced at her textbook for a millisecond and closed it along with her notepad and gently placed her pencil aside. 

"No. Of course not." Mayra gave her a warm smile. 

Clearing her throat, she signalled at her bench. Mayra shifted aside, giving her enough space to sit. 

She sighed, relieved. Carefully, she studied her face. Nothing about it gave away any kind of anger or frustration.

Had she recovered so quickly? 

She parted her lips to speak but was cut by Mayra's dismissive tone, "If this is about the prank, then it's okay. I'm not mad about it anymore."

"Oh. You aren't?" Her voice reflected her shock. 

"I don't have time to hold grudges. I will lose enough time in detention for a whole month anyway." 

Tania got up from her seat about to leave, "Okay. I'll..."

But then she shook her head and sat again. A smile spread across her face as she asked, "You got time to make some new friends?"

______________

Two minutes. Two whole minutes. That was how long Tania could speak before drawing in another breath. 

Mayra assured herself that she had heard Tania speak more in twenty minutes than she had heard herself speak in seventeen years. 

But it wasn't annoying. In fact, she had enjoyed the way Tania narrated her stories. There were suspenseful pauses and hilarious giggles and nasty snorts. There was something amusing about the way her eyes almost closed every time she laughed hysterically. 

When Tania had first approached her, Mayra had feared it would be one of those small-talks again. She hated it more than not being able to solve integration problems. 

She was amused at how easily Tania trusted her with some crucial details of her life. She had informed her of all the other pranks they had played till date on Mr Murthy and he had somehow managed to stay oblivious about them. 

Apparently, she hated her whole family for their conservative nature and over-possessiveness. Her younger brother, however, according to her description was the most adorable fellow on the planet. 

She had gone so far (ignoring Mayra's disinterest) to explain her relationship with Samarth. He was the family she had chosen. He was like an elder brother, partner-in-crime and best person anyone could ever meet. 

Mayra had straightforward disagreed on the last part. 

"The lecture is cancelled, I guess," Mayra stated with an exasperated sigh. 

"Oh, no way. I'm sure Smitha is busy gossiping with the other teachers so intently that she forgot about the class." Tania answered excitedly. 

Mayra's lips had started forming a frown but it vanished when she spotted an exhausted-looking Mrs Dixit entering the class. 

She was dragging behind her a student. Mayra examined his face carefully and realised it was the same guy who had taken her video. 

He was standing with a half-amused, half-ashamed expression on his face. It made Mayra laugh. 

"Another failed attempt at bunking. He hates Chemistry." Tania pointed in between her hilarious giggles. 

"He had recorded a video, right? Of the prank?" 

"What? Oh, yeah." She patted her cheeks which hurt from the outburst of laughter. "He may have already posted it on our Instagram page." She admitted with a guilty tone. 

Mayra felt as though all the air from her lungs was sucked out, "What?!"