`How was it?' she asked softly as she could hardly make eye contact.
'Ananya?' Yuvraj asked, `Afghanistan? Food for fuel? What do you know about this?'
`Umm ...I did a debate about this in Baroda. I still have it with me,' she said, wondering what this was all about. Where does Afghanistan fit into the whole picture?
`Fine, mail me the content. Maybe we can consider you for the debate competition at The Bishop Boys...'
`Okay. I will do that ...Does this mean...?' She asked, unsure of herself.
`Yes! Welcome to the club,' he said and smiled. He shook her hand and left.
Really? She couldn't believe she was not only in the Debating Club now, she was even being considered for the team that goes to The Bishop Boys. She couldn't have been happier.
The other girls in the room looked at her and smiled. Even though those girls were not the happiest since their place in the competition was now endangered, they were happy to see an underdog perform! Human nature! Everybody supports an underdog. Ananya went back to her classroom, blushing and smiling for whatever had just happened. The class door was shut. She knocked the door and opened it.
`May I come in sir?' she asked as Mr. Sharma, the mathematics teacher looked at her as if she was an alien.
`Yes? This class?'
`Yes, sir,' she said.
'Aren't you late?' he pointed towards the watch. Yes, she was. About five minutes late. She looked around and could see Yuvraj sitting in the first seat. She wondered how could she be five minutes late! And when she thought about it, she realized she was walking too slow, going over what happened in that room over and over again.
`Sorry sir,' she said and hung her head low.
`Ohh, it's okay!' he said, `You can just stand outside the class. It's just forty more minutes! And yes, close the door behind you.'
Mr. Sharma smiled sinisterly. He was a hard task master. He was known to hit students too in his previous school. But obviously, he couldn't do that in this school. There were just too many rich kids with powerful fathers in this one. But he had other ways to unleash his terror on students. He talked like he owned them, set traumatizing exams papers, confidence breaking lectures that often made the students cry...
Just like Ananya was crying now ...The day had started so well for her, but just the second day at school and she was made to stand out. Other students walked past by, smiling at her and she felt ashamed. Thirteen years at St. Mary's and no teacher had ever done anything but love her dearly. But this was different. She found it humiliating. But what she didn't know was that the other students were smiling because everyone wanted to be in that position! Out of the class when Mr. Sharma was teaching!
She stood there waiting for the forty minutes to pass by. Unlike other students, who would whip out their cell phones and spend time on Facebook or BlackBerry messenger if thrown out of the class, she preferred sitting in class and studying. It had still been just thirty minutes since she had been standing there that Natasha passed her by.
`Hey, look who we have here!' she said, `Mr. Sharma inside, right?'
`Yes, I got just five minutes late from that audition ...'
'Audition? Ohh yeah! Don't be sad; this isn't Raipur ...it's difficult to cut it here,' she said and turned away from her.
`I got in,' Ananya said.
`Got in? Natasha turned around and looked at her, shocked.
`Yes...' she said softly, trying to read Natasha's reaction. From the way Natasha had treated her when she'd shown interest in getting into the Debating Club, Ananya had expected her to be shocked that she was good enough to get in. But apart from the obvious shock, her face expressed a handful of other expressions. Anger. Envy. Why?
`How?' Natasha asked, looking at her suspiciously.
`They liked my audition, so they put me in.'
`Just like that?'
`Yeah. And Yuvraj said he'd consider me for the debate competition at The Bishop Boys next month.'
`Oh, really?' she raised an impeccably threaded eyebrow to make a sinister arch.
Ananya was intimidated. `Uh, yes,' she whispered.
`Let's see how that goes ...' Natasha said and walked away.
Ananya didn't ask her what she meant by that. She knew. Even though she had been in contention for The Bishop Boys debate till now, she wasn't anymore. The raised eyebrow and the look in her eye said it all. She looked at Natsha walk away angrily. There was not a single moment that Ananya didn't hate in that school. Except the ones when Yuvraj had smiled at her.
She was thinking about him when she saw Yuvraj approach her with a huge smile on his face.
`What's so funny? Are you laughing at me?' she asked as he reached her.
`No! You should be happy. You didn't have to attend Sharma's class,' Yuvraj said,
`But he kicked me out of it! It was so humiliating.'
`Humiliating? I bet every single person in this school would be willing to trade places with you in a heartbeat.'
`Really?'
`Really. Sharma's such a Hitler!'
`Still, my second day ...and I already missed the attendance call,' Ananya said, dejected.
`You did not.'
`What?'
`I asked a girl to call proxy for you!'
`You did?' she asked, surprised. She liked Yuvraj and she had a feeling that he liked her a little too, but she hadn't expected him to do this for her. She was touched.
`Yes!'
'And Mr. Sharma didn't notice?'
`Naah! The only thing he's interested in is torturing his students. All of them, no exceptions. So he doesn't see the need to remember their names, I guess!'
`He remembers no one's name?'
`Well, he's been my math teacher for the last four years, and never once had he referred to me with my name. And that's when I top every single test he puts us through,' he said smugly.
`You found it absolutely necessary to mention that last part, didn't you?,
`Just stating the facts.'
Yeah, yeah,' she smiled.
'Oh, I've got to go now,' he waved his cell phone at her and said.
`Sure.'
`See you.'
She looked at his retreating figure and turned to get back in the class. It was the break period, which was also the time she hated the most in this school.
While the classes were being taken, she at least didn't have to make conversation with people who didn't want to be bothered by her existence. And so, during classes, she was spared the humiliation she felt when people chose to ignore her. Break period was hard. It was the time when the fact that she was alone became glaringly evident.
t was strange that Natasha and Yuvraj had not kissed yet. Natasha - with all her unabashed sexiness, long legs, pink lips, unbuttoned shirt and eyes that oozed oomph - had often been a subject of many fantasies of many guys, of this school and beyond. The last guy she was with is still considered a hero because it's said in hushed tones that they did it! Though no one had enough proof to say that with confidence. But you can never stop people from talking, can you?
Many had thought Yuvraj had struck lucky when the news broke out that they were an item. But within a week or two it was clear that Yuvraj wasn't getting anything. Their body language didn't seem like they were doing anything. They hardly even hugged, which was very unlike Natasha. She used to be all over her ex-boyfriend.
Yuvraj, on the other hand, had never dated anybody and he never knew what to say and when ...so initiating a kiss or something more was alien to him. Not that he didn't think or fantasized about it!
That day, he thought, things would change. And he had reason to think so. Natasha had dropped him a message.
See me in the basement!;)
Now, the wink in the message accounted to nothing. But teamed with basement, it gave across an entirely different meaning. It meant something. And it meant something good! Or so he hoped!
There was a time when the school basement used to be absolutely deserted duri
ng the break period. This fact slowly started to attract couples towards it. And soon, it became quite a famous hideout for such couples. It was the place where the couples spent some quality time. But then, as it always happens, the school authorities came to know about it and assigned school prefects to keep an eye. Luckily, all the school prefects reported to Natasha, so it was totally under her.
That day, she had asked everyone to get lost. She clearly had something on her mind.
Yuvraj came down the stairs, his heart beat heavily. It's not that he hadn't kissed before. He had, but it was two years back in tenth grade when he had kissed a girl from his tuition class. But it was a kind of kiss that meant nothing. But now, things were different. He had grown, and a kiss could lead to certain other things - things that made him a little uncomfortable. In a good way though.
As he waited for Natasha to come, a few images of what might follow flashed through his mind. Thankfully, before his thoughts made the situation even more torturous, he saw her step down the stairs and make her way towards him.
`Hi,' he said, and looked at Natasha, whose skirt seemed to have gone a notch shorter. Or maybe, it was just in his mind.
`Hi,' Natasha said, as she looked at him intently.
Natasha had always had an envious figure. She had grown positively womanly over the last year or so. And Yuvraj couldn't take his eyes off her.
`So...' he said as he walked up to her.
She moved away from him and sat down on the stairs. Yuvraj still couldn't shake his stare off her. There was something incredibly charming about Natasha that day.
`I am not happy with you. This morning, I got up ...' She paused and looked away and as Yuvraj came close and sat next to her. Her eyes got a little sad.
`What this morning?' Yuvraj said impatiently as he couldn't wait for something to happen! It had to! And time was running out. There was just twenty minutes for the break to end.
`I thought I loved you.. .Like more than anything.. .and I thought that today, in this basement...'
`What?' he asked impatiently. They were getting somewhere. Finally!
`...I'd do something to prove my love to you...'
`Umm...okay, so?' he asked. He tried to come closer to her.
'Abhi!' she said, `I don't think you even love me!'
`Of course I do! What makes you say otherwise?' Yuvraj said, with one eye on his watch. Fifteen minutes left.
`Do you ever listen to me?' she was clearly getting frustrated.
`I am not getting you,' Yuvraj said, still puzzled at whatever she was saying. They were together in the break in an empty basement. It was obvious that they were supposed to be making out, weren't they? So what was she talking about?
'Ananya? That villager! For The Bishop Boys team? In the Debating Club? Are you out ofyour mind?' she said.
And suddenly, Yuvraj couldn't see anything but horror in her eyes. All the seductiveness in her eyes was probably something he had imagined!
`What? Are you pissed about that? Why? I took her audition and she is good! So I took her in. Believe me!' he said.
`Yuvraj...Please get some brains yaar...look at her! Look at me...I have worked and I've worked very hard to make this team what it is! And I don't want you to ruin it!' she said, her voice echoed in the empty basement.
`I really don't get you Natasha,' he said, he no longer wanted to hug her. He just wanted to run away!
'All I am saying is that you can't let a girl like that enter the club, Yuvraj! People look up to us - me, you! And the other members. We just can't let every Tom, Dick and Harry become a member! She looks sad...it will reflect badly on us!' she said.
`Oh, for God's sake! This is the Debating Club. What do her looks have to do with it?'
`Looks have everything to do with it!'
`How?'
`The first thing people notice when you're up on the stage is how you look. And frankly, she doesn't cut it,' she shrugged.
`Looks can hold the audience's attention for the first ten seconds. What after that? She debates well-'
`That doesn't mean-'
`Why? Forget the audience. The judges would love her!' he said.
`But what about our image? We cannot have a girl like her representing us!'
`It doesn't matter! We need the win!'
`Not at the price of our image!'
But...
`Listen, Yuvraj. I don't want to fight with you over that girl. Get rid of her and we'll talk.'
She said this and ran up the flight of stairs. He stood there wondering about what Natasha had just said. Ananya didn't look good? That was her excuse for not taking her in to the team? He dragged himself up the stairs and headed for the class as he weighed his options. He had to let Ananya go from the club. He couldn't lose Natasha. Sometimes, Natasha could be really shallow. But at the end of the day, she was his girlfriend. And so, he had to do what she wanted.
And it wasn't like he hadn't put up a fight. He'd tried to reason with her, but it had no effect on her. Like always. But at least he'd tried.
The stakes were too high. A girl like Natasha, smart and immensely sexy was not something you could afford to lose. And Yuvraj knew that had it not been for Natasha, he would have never been elected as the president of the club! Leave that, nobody would have even noticed him! He owed her a lot.
So, there was no option. Ananya had to go. He entered the class and trudged to the last seat of the bench. Unknowingly, he sat next to Ananya, who was more than surprised.
`Hi,' Ananya said.
`Huh?' he looked up. `Ohh... You?'
`Umm...yes,' she said, not knowing what to say.
`I am sorry,' he said.
`Sorry?'
`I didn't mean to sit here,' he said.
`Ohh, never mind, I sit alone anyway. I am yet to find company,' she smiled sheepishly.
`Why? No friends yet?' he said, breaking himself out of his confused state of mind.
`Umm...yes, I just think I am a little misfit here,' she smiled again.
Ananya looked cute. She was the darling of many back at her own school. At 5'4" she was a bundle of energy and she used most of her energy in smiling at people! She had a beautiful smile. Naturally pink lips, pearly white teeth and her eyes lit up every time she smiled. Her eyes were the most prominent feature of her face. And now, when she had smiled, Yuvraj had noticed them.
`Misfit? No! You are such a good debater! One of the best the school has ever seen...' he immediately regretted what he had said. When he had walked up the stairs from the basement, he had planned how to tell Ananya that she was not a part of the club and now, he had done exactly the opposite! Now he couldn't make her leave the club with an excuse that she wasn't good enough for it.
`Delhi is lot different from Raipur...'
`Is it?' Yuvraj asked.
`Yes, the boys, the girls - it doesn't matter how I debate. I don't think I will make friends here. Anyway, it's just one year. I think I will manage,' she said and looked away. Her eyes were glazed with thoughts of her old school, her old friends, and the people who used to pamper her... and thought of her as a princess.
`Different? Not at all! What makes you think so?'
`Umm...the short skirts, the piercings, the never-ending hugs and kisses... everything,' she said.
`That makes us different?' Yuvraj asked.
`Not really...but then, I have always felt people looking at me differently.' Now, her tears were more prominent. She sat there thinking why she was letting this out in front of someone she barely even knew. But he was the only person whom she could have talked to, the only one who had smiled back at her.
She couldn't have talked to her dad. He was too busy with the new office and she didn't want to trouble him with this. After her mom passed away, a couple of years back, Ananya had tried to keep her father out of depression and she didn't want anything to happen to him. He was her only family.
`Differently?' he said, `I think you're cute!'
And he meant
it. Over the last few minutes, he had started noticing her a little more. Her eyes, the long black hair, the big eyes and that perfectly spotless fair face! She was cute as hell. Though, the hair tied up behind and the unflattering clothes were a killjoy, but she was still cute.
`Umm...thank you,' she blushed. And she blushed bad! `But...all these girls, they are so...you know, they look nice, their hair, their skirts... everything.'
`Ohh, not everybody has to look the same,' he said, trying to empathize with her.
Although he wished he could change a few superficial things about Ananya. Not because he thought she needed them, but then he would not have to defend himself in front of Natasha. Because after all Ananya was way prettier than a lot of girls in the school.
t had been a week and Yuvraj had still not told Ananya that she wouldn't be a part of the Debating club. It was their second Math lecture of the day. It was an extra class. And since Yuvraj had concentrated in the first, his brains were in no condition to take it again. And talking to Ananya appealed to him more than Math, anyway. They took the last bench.
For Ananya, Yuvraj was the only person who had shown interest in talking to her. And she didn't want to let any chance pass. They started talking and like last time Mr. Sharma kicked her out of the class. But this time, he kicked out Yuvraj too.
`What? Where are you going?' she said, as Yuvraj walked away from the class as soon as he was kicked out.
`Let's go to the canteen.'
`But what about Mr. Sharma?'
`Don't worry. He won't even bother to check!' he said.
`Really?'
`Trust me,' he winked.
Ananya reluctantly agreed. They went to the canteen and started talking again. It had been very long since Ananya had actually talked to anyone, and she had loads to tell. And she had always been an enrapturing talker. Once she started talking, she hooked the person in front of her who stayed put till she shut her mouth.
The Backbenchers: The Extra Class Page 2
