he had not slept the whole night. The entire night. And no, it was not Yuvraj this time. No, it wasn't even Rishab. It was Natasha. A crying Natasha. And what was more irritating was that she wasn't even genuine.
The day before when they went to Rishab's place, there were four guy friends of his. And just one more girl other than Ananya and Natasha. And as expected, all Rishab's friends were extremely smart and all of them stank of money. They weren't just rich, dumb guys. All of them had visions of taking their dad's businesses global. They weren't like just rich kids who talked about their cars and other gadgets. They were smart guys who talked sense. They weren't different. The Bishop Boys had lived up to their image in Ananya's and Natasha's mind.
No wonder girls are ready to kill each other for a place in the debating team that goes to The Bishop Boys School. As the evening progressed and everybody got a little drunk, things went on to a little less serious level. The boys lamented about the fact that they were in boys' school and how hard it was to find smart girls these days.
That's when Rishab said, `Both of them are debaters.'
`Really?' one of Rishab's friends, Rana, turned to Natasha and asked.
`Really,' Natasha said, with a smug expression on her face. Her lips were pouting more than usual. It was clearly evident that she'd been drinking.
`Wow,' Rana said.
`Why? Is that so unbelievable?'
`Well, not unbelievable, but... interesting!'
`How?'
'A girl this hot, debating aggressively on the stage.. .must be quite a scene...' Rana said as he came and sat next to Natasha.
`Oh, yeah? You'll get to see soon.'
`When?' he asked.
`We're both in the debating team from The Presidency. We're coming to your school.'
`Oh, great! Just make sure not to get too aggressive!' Rana winked.
`Why?'
`It'll make you hotter!'
'And that's a bad thing?' Natasha asked and leaned onto him.
`Depends on how you look at it...'
She raised her eyebrows, pouting her lips even more.
He winked again...
The two of them kept flirting like that for a while and since Natasha had always been an attention monger, she was enjoying the interest Rana was showing in her. Soon, everyone got a little drunk. The only person there who wasn't drinking at all was Ananya. She sat there, looking at everyone getting more and more drunk. Their speech was getting slurred with every passing second and they were starting to talk nonsense. Natasha was falling all over Rana. The other couple was busy with each other.
Ananya suddenly wanted to run away.
`I will just be back. I need a smoke,' Rishab said and got up.
`I will come with you,' Ananya said, grabbing the chance to get away from all of this for a while.
They went outside and Rishab lit up a cigarette. She tried to act all cool about it but really she was shocked when she saw those people drinking and smoking. Rishab had noticed that Ananya wasn't comfortable and had decided not to drink, after the first peg.
`Natasha is really something, haan?'
`Something as in?'
`Nothing,' he said as took a long puff.
`Tell me!'
`She was so blatantly hitting on Rana. Isn't she dating that guy...umm...Yuvraj?'
`She is. But I really don't know her that well. But is Rana single? He was hitting right back...'
`He has just come out of a painful break up...'
`Hmmm...' Ananya didn't know what to say. She hadn't seen many relationships back home and she was a little untouched by these things.
`Rishab, where is the washroom?'
Rishab gave her directions and she went back inside the house and looked for it. She reached the room where they were all drinking. The couple was still there, hugging each other.. .the girl had passed out. The other guy was smoking and busy on Facebook. Natasha and Rana were missing.
It was such a huge house, that she forgot the directions that Rishab gave. She wanted to go back and ask Rishab but was too embarrassed to do so. So she decided to find it herself. She headed straight and opened the next door that was in front of her.
She flung the door open and saw her. Natasha, right in front of her.
She was shocked. She froze. She had heard about these things, but had never experienced it or seen it. Rana had his back towards Ananya and was kissing Natasha. His hands were somewhere inside her shirt. Natasha was mumbling something. Ananya stood there, looking at them for a short moment. Blood rushed to her face and she didn't know how to react.
Immediately, she turned back and walked away from the door. She didn't know if Natasha had seen her, but it certainly gave her goose bumps. She was scared! As if she was the one who was caught and not Natasha! She didn't go the washroom, but went straight to Rishab instead.
`We need to leave,' she said.
`Why?'
`Dad called. I need to go. NOW!' she said and threw a tantrum.
`Fine! Fine! I will drop you home. Where is Natasha?'
`Natasha? Umm...I don't know! How would I know? I don't!'
`Fine, I will look for her.'
`Fine. Whatever!'
It had been ten minutes that she had been waiting for the two of them in the parking of Rishab's house when they finally came. Natasha's hair was clearly ruffled. Her shirt hung out from her skirt. Or maybe Ananya was thinking too much. The image was still clear in her head.
Ananya sweated profusely. They all sat in the car and nobody said a word. Ananya wondered whether Rishab had seen what she had seen too. He first dropped Natasha at her place and then took Ananya to her place.
`Bye, Ananya,' he said as she got down.
'Bye.'
`I think Natasha likes my friend,' he said, smiled and drove off.
Ananya stood there thinking what he had meant by that. Maybe he had not seen them? Maybe he had? She just couldn't be sure. She kicked herself for not asking him. It was seven when Rishab had dropped her home and Natasha had started messaging her and calling her almost instantly. It had become clear to Ananya that Natasha knew that Ananya had walked in when she was with Rana.
Ananya...I was drunk! I don't even know what happened!' Natasha cried over the phone.
`Then how do you know that I saw you?'
`Rana told me!'
`But..he had his back towards me...he couldn't have seen me.
`He heard you come and he saw you leave,' Natasha lied.
`And you don't know what happened?'
`I know a little bit. I remember...'
`Listen Natasha, whatever happened is none of my business. So just-' Ananya said as she wanted to keep her life simple and not get into this.
`But I am sorry! I drank so much. I was so messed up.'
`Why did you drink then?'
`I didn't know this would happen! I had never had vodka before.'
`Then why today?' Ananya asked irritably.
`I didn't want to be left out!'
`I wasn't drinking too, Natasha.'
`But you are different, Ananya.'
`Different?' Now, Ananya felt offended. It was strange that Ananya wanted to be the part of the crowd.
`You know what I mean.'
`I don't,' Ananya protested. Although Ananya had started to feel more at ease in the new school, she was still intimidated by Natasha.
`Leave it. It doesn't matter. I'm just saying...'
`What?'
,...that I'm sorry. I shouldn't have drunk so much.'
`It's okay. Just stop crying.' Ananya said. It was three in the night and Ananya just wanted to sleep. Or talk to Yuvraj. Not his cheating girlfriend!
`He was a bastard!' Natasha said.
`Who?'
`Rana!'
`Hmm...'
`Yes, I knew from the moment I first saw him. His eyes ...he looked ...I really didn't know what was going on...And the way he forced me into drinking so much...'
`But you were t
he one who asked everyone to go bottoms' up!'
,...that was after I got drunk, Ananya.'
It had been three hours that she had been on the phone and Natasha had been coming up with bullshit excuses for what had happened. Finally, her dad came into the room and asked her to keep the phone down. This time she loved her dad for saying so. Ananya had some pretext to keep the phone down. But that didn't mean Natasha had stopped messaging her about how guilty she was, and yet how innocent she was!
And finally, as morning approached she asked her not to tell Yuvraj anything about this. And this is what Natasha had tried to hint at all night. She knew that she couldn't say yes to this. If there is one thing she had very clear in her mind, it was - not to betray your friends.
She was a going through a major culture shock. The skirts, the guys, the drinking, the smoking, the politics and the relationships. She had accepted all that. But cheating on someone? That is not a part of anyone's culture and that is wrong no matter where you are. That's what she thought and she had it very clear in her mind that she would tell Yuvraj everything.
And because it was Yuvraj who she'd cheated on, she just had to.
hat day, it seemed like Natasha would just not let go of Yuvraj! Immediately after every class ended, Natasha would come rushing in and grab him away. It seemed like she had sensed that Ananya might just tell him. It was during the break that she thought she would tell Yuvraj but she couldn't find him. Whom she did find was Rishab!
`Looking for someone?' he asked as he came from behind.
`Ohh...yes. But not really.'
`Want to share this?' he said and pointed to his plate.
`Okay,' she said. She wanted to ask him about what he knew about Natasha and that guy in his house.
`So,' he said, `Did Natasha tell you anything?'
`Ummm...what anything?'
`Ohh...then, she didn't tell you,' he said and ate from his plate.
`Didn't tell me? What didn't she tell me?'
`You saw that everybody got drunk, right?'
`Yes, and then you and I came out for a smoke,' Ananya said.
`That's when Natasha took him to another room and was all over him. And although Rana resisted at first ...but you know how guys are!' Rishab said.
`Hmm...did you see them?'
`No, I didn't! He just told me that.'
`Could it be that he was lying? You know, guys do that...to show like they are studs or something like that? Maybe it was he made the move on Natasha?'
`What? Rana? No! He really liked her. And he fought with me when I called Natasha a bitch.'
`Bitch?'
`What else? She is dating someone right?'
`Yes,' Ananya said and looked at him with respect.
`He really wants Natasha's number now. He wants to know if he could ask her out.'
`He really liked her?'
`Rana can't stop talking about her! He is raving about her.'
`Is he single?'
`Yes, he is...but he never really cares about girls that much.'
`He is a guy, how can he not?'
`We don't know. Over the last two years, he had turned down many girls... drunk girls.. .But he thinks Natasha is different!'
`What? Really?'
`Yes, he wants her number!' he said excitedly.
`Okay, I will talk to her,' Ananya said.
`But Yuvraj...' he asked. `Isn't that the guy she is dating?'
`Maybe, I am not sure,' she said.
Now, Natasha was really lying! She had come onto Rana and not the other way around. And that guy actually liked her! Unbelievable.
The more Ananya thought about this, the better she felt. Natasha had always obsessed about the guys from Bishop. Now she could actually get one! And Yuvraj can get rid of her. This sounded good. Ananya went back to the class and thought she would talk to Yuvraj. She sat next to him. Yuvraj looked unusually cheerful. And so did Naman. They were looking at each other periodically and smiling.
`What's the matter?' she whispered as the chemistry teacher solved something on the board.
`Guy stuff.' They echoed.
`Oh, c'mon! Tell me? Please?' she asked again.
They shook their heads and said they couldn't.
`Guys! Please.'
`No!' Yuvraj said.
`Why?'
`It's personal.,
'You can tell each other but you can't tell me? How is that personal?'
`Shh! Concentrate! There is a class going on!' Naman butted in.
`Shut up. Tell me!'
`No way,' Yuvraj said.
`Yuvraj.'
`What?'
`I want to know,' she begged.
`Umm...okay,' he said and flipped the pages of his notebook to show a poorly sketched picture of a man with big, scary eyes and a sinister-ish stubble.
`What is this?'
`His photo,' he said, pointing at the chemistry teacher.
`What?'
`Yeah. Naman made this. Nice, right?'
'And this is what you two are giggling about?'
`We weren't giggling! Girls do that!'
`Exactly. So stop doing it and tell me. Why are you two laughing?' she asked again. She was getting pissed now
`I just told you!'
`You lied. I want the truth.'
`It was the truth!' Yuvraj said.
She gave up on him and turned to Naman to ask. But he was already engrossed in his new iphone, playing Angry Birds. No matter how much she tried, he never looked at her even once in the entire lecture. He either stared intently at his phone's screen or looked up only to steal secret glances at Yuvraj. They both kept meeting each other's eyes and smiling.
Ananya wondered if they had scored high on some IIT mock test of theirs. That could be the only thing, right? She thought to herself. But that was hardly personal. Then what could it be? She kept asking, but they still didn't say anything. She had totally forgotten that she had to tell Yuvraj about Natasha.
The class ended and almost immediately Yuvraj vanished from the class. She freaked out. She wouldn't see Yuvraj that day. They didn't have a common class anymore. Ananya called him up but he kept rejecting her calls.
That's when Naman said, `You seem freaked out today?'
`Because I am!' she said angrily. `So now, you either tell me what the matter is with you two or I'll break your teeth. Like seriously.,
`Yuvraj would kill me if I tell you this!'
`I'll kill you if you don't.'
`So I die no matter what?'
`Exactly.'
'That's not fair!'
`Naman.'
`Ohh, okay! Fine,' he said, `I don't know how he will react to me telling you this...but what the hell! Yuvraj and Natasha made out today! Basement! He didn't say what all they did...but I am pretty sure it was more than a kiss!'
`What? Today? she asked, shocked.
`Yes. They might be doing it again. Right now. That's why he ran...and that's why he is so freaking happy!'
Ananya had no words.
is not that she didn't mean to tell Yuvraj. But she just didn't get a chance. Over the next few days, Yuvraj got very busy with Natasha... for obvious reasons. Slowly, even Ananya got busy with the preparations for the debate at The Bishop Boys. Yes, as a token of thanks for being such a good friend and keeping her mouth shut, Natasha had dropped out of the team. Natasha told Yuvraj that she wanted someone new to have the chance. Only Ananya knew that it was pure bullshit.
And then, the exams came. People like Yuvraj and Naman who had been concentrating on their engineering entrance examinations became the busiest. Since they had hardly concentrated during the classes, they used to be neck deep in books trying to cover up the entire course in a matter of hours.
`How's it going?' Ananya called up a tense Yuvraj to ask.
`Not so good.'
`Don't worry. I'm sure you will do it.'
`I don't think so. There is just so much to learn by rote. This is totally brainless stuff. I c
an't remember all this,' he complained.
`C'mon Yuvraj, you will do fine.'
`I hope so.'
`I know so,' she said.
`Let's see. Anyway, how are you doing?'
`I'm good. There's just too much syllabus to cover. But otherwise, it's all easy,' she said.
`Great.'
`Hmm...' she didn't know what to say. She was still a little disturbed with whatever was happening between Natasha and Yuvraj.
'And how are you generally?'
`I'm okay.' It hurt her to see that in a matter of a few days they'd become so detached that he had to ask such formal questions from her. All because of Natasha. Everything was happening too fast for Ananya.
`Good.'
`By the way, how's Natasha?'
`She's good. She's been helping me a lot. She's really sweet these days,' he said.
`Oh. Is it?'
Because she is hiding that she is cheating on you!
`Yes. Why do you sound so amazed, Ananya?'
`Naah! Nothing.'
She wanted to tell Yuvraj what had happened. But she just couldn't bring herself to tell him. Every time she thought of bringing up the matter, something or the other came up, and she decided to let the matter go. Just like she did then.
That day, she could've told him about what Natasha had done at Rishab's place. But then she thought she'd postpone it till the exams are done with. She didn't want to add to his stress during exams. She knew how serious Yuvraj was about his studies and how important marks were for him. Between the nights of hard work and Natasha, he already didn't have any time left for Ananya. So she decided not to bring the Natasha matter up and waste the time she was getting with him.
A couple of hours after they hung up, her phone buzzed.
`Hey, Yuvraj.'
`Hi, Ananya! I hope you weren't busy?'
`Of course I was! We have exams tomorrow!' she said.
`Yeah, I know. That's what I needed your help for,' Yuvraj said.
`Ohh. What is it?'
`I really don't get a thing about Optics...'
`Why? It's the easiest of all the topics in physics!' Ananya felt a little strange that of all the people, Yuvraj needed academic help from her.
`I know. But I somehow never attended a single class of it at school,' he said.
The Backbenchers: The Extra Class Page 5
