"Who knows, maybe the next target is you guys..."
As soon as the 1st Commander said this, the school bell suddenly rang to signal the end of lunch break— 'Tang-Tang-Tang!'
The Commander told us, "Go on, the meeting ends here." We immediately left that empty classroom and started heading towards our classroom. Right then, the rain outside suddenly stopped, and a beautiful rainbow emerged between two mountains. Me and Anurag stopped right there to watch it. Looking at it, I suddenly burst out laughing. Anurag asked in an irritated tone, "What happened, bey?" I said, "Nothing yar, let's go."
When we reached near the class, we saw that the entire class was looking at that rainbow, and Anaya was also standing right there. I was just staring at her when suddenly Anaya turned and looked directly at me. My heart suddenly started beating incredibly fast. For 1 second, I got terribly nervous and couldn't gather the courage to look back at her again.
Just then, the English mam came into the corridor and shouted, "Come on, everyone get inside the class!"
We all went and sat inside the class. Mam was teaching, and I was looking outside the window, where that rainbow was slowly disappearing. Then suddenly, a loud sound echoed in the class— 'Chatak!'
Mam had pulled and slapped a boy sitting in the front because she had asked him where she was teaching and he couldn't answer. A pin-drop silence spread across the entire class.
Anurag started trembling with fear, and nudging me with his elbow from under the bench, he whispered, "Abe, where is it, bhai? Tell me quickly, otherwise the next turn will be ours!" I said without even looking at the book, "How would I know? Am I even reading?" He got angry, "Then what are you doing here? Do you come here to study or to pass time?" I fired back, "Alright, if you are such a big scholar, then you tell me where it is." Anurag turned his face away a bit out of fear of getting caught and said, "I know... it's right here, on this very page." Catching his lie, I said, "Where? Point out the exact spot." He got arrogant, "Why should I tell you? If I tell you, then won't you find out for free!" I said to myself, "Wah beta wah! What a scene of yours too."
We were just whispering among ourselves when mam started walking towards our bench. She came over, struck her scale hard on my bench, made me stand up, and said in a stern voice, "Aryan! Stand up! And tell me which line is going on right now? Tell me quickly!"
I immediately stood up. My mind was completely blank, and sweat was trickling down my face due to nervousness. I couldn't figure out what to say...
While I am still thinking, a student enters the class and says, "Mam, Principal sir is calling you." She looks at me, then turns back and leaves the room. As soon as she steps out, I sit down with a jerk and let out a deep sigh of relief. Anurag whispers to me, "You got saved today, bacche!"
And then 2 to 3 classes pass, the final bell of the school rings— 'Tang-Tang-Tang!'—and school gets over. Everyone leaves the school premises. Me and Anurag were walking together on the way back home.
While walking, Anurag suddenly becomes serious and says, "Tulsi... I mean, do you really think Yash would still be the same friend of ours?" I reply, "Maybe he is not the same person anymore." Then Anurag says, "Hmm... he knows us inside out. What we do, where we live, what we like, and what we don't. So will he attack us? I mean, has he changed so much that he would attack us too?" I say, "Do you remember that day when he brought his leader's letter? How his behavior was? So yeah, he has changed a lot compared to before."
Just then, amidst our conversation, a flashback hits me—
It's the first day of school, our admission is brand new. The classroom has that weird atmosphere, old wooden desks all around, and 'Welcome' written on the blackboard. All the kids are looking at each other for the first time. Right then, Yash had entered the class crying his eyes out because he wanted to sit with his elder brother.
Mam enters the class, quietens everyone down, and introduces us to each other. She asks everyone their names and tells us to give our introduction one by one. Some kids were hiding behind their benches out of fear, some were telling their names nervously, some were very happy, and some were just busy crying.
Right then, in that crowd of crying children, I found a boy who, as soon as he entered the class, started talking to everyone and was calling everyone "baccha", as if he himself was the oldest one there. That was no one else but the chutiya Anu sitting next to me.
Just then, he looks at me with anger and says, "How dare you call me chutiya? What did I just say to you?" I reply, "What? When did I call you chutiya?" Then he says, "You just said it— chutiya Anu! And why are you calling me by my nickname, the one my mummy calls me by?" Then I say, "So should I not call a chutiya, a chutiya?"
Then he gets even more annoyed. Then we start staring into each other's eyes, and right then, a song starts playing in the background— [Song: Barkha (Bheegi Aankhein Version) / Line: "Ye dekh bheegi aankhein meri, baarishon ka bahaana mila..."]—and suddenly it starts raining heavily. Standing in that heavy rain, we were just staring into each other's eyes like crazy. Then he makes a nasty face, spits on the ground, and I do the exact same thing. Then, in a fit of rage, he takes his bag, throws it directly at my face, and runs away. His bag hits my face hard, jisse mujhe kafi dard hota hai (which hurts me a lot). I grab his bag and start running behind him, shouting.
Scene Cut.
I was standing in front of my house, and lightning was crackling in the sky. I open the gate and say to myself, "It's good that mummy is usually not at home at this time." I am just about to head inside when suddenly a voice comes from behind, "Aryan, you came?"
I looked into the room and my senses flew away; mummy was working at home with a massive pile of files in front of her. She looks at me with pure anger, lifts her hand, slides her bangles down her wrist, fir mere peeche pad jaati hain (and starts chasing after me to beat me).
And now I was inside my bathroom, my face visible from one side. When I look at my face in the mirror, there was a clear red imprint of a hand stamped on my cheek. I put my wet clothes inside the washing machine and go to take a shower. After showering, I put on some light clothes, go to my bed, and turn on the TV. I also keep some snacks near me, look outside the window, and say, "It's raining a lot these days. It rained just this morning, and now again... though the rainy weather feels quite nice."
Then, I comfortably start enjoying my show on the TV.
The End.