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  Chapter 6: School reopens with….

  I spent the last day of my summer holidays in bed, it’s the same day I spoke to Tanya for the first time on facebook, on the chat I mean. I woke up at around 2 in the afternoon and what followed were remarks on everything I did with every mistake I did leading to only one sentence, “What else do you expect to happen to you when you wake up in the afternoon.” On a normal day I would have been pretty much pissed at such remarks but today was different, today I was happy and a bit confused as well so I didn’t say anything nor did I react to the remarks. I was enjoying my last holiday even though I so wasn’t waiting for the school to reopen.

  With the school reopening it meant long days, a six in the morning to six in the evening kind of an affair. I was pretty much confused about this school thing, the things I liked they didn’t teach and the subjects they had I didn’t like! Misery of almost every notorious teenage student I guess!

  I did talk to Tanya over facebook that day but unlike yesterday or today’s morning rather, it was short lived and rather formal. We spoke for about ten minutes and then she had to go as her new session too was starting the next day.

  As my sleeping cycle had changed, I tried to sleep but couldn’t and ultimately got up late in the morning which meant everything was going to be delayed that day. I reached school just about on time and was greeted by my friends I would call them acquaintances as I wasn’t fond of many of them. There were a couple who looked sensible enough and worth talking to which pretty much summed up my ‘real’ friendship circle at school. I had a lot of acquaintances though. Given that I was in the same school for the past eleven years and hence I was meant to know a lot of people.

  On my way to the class I was greeted by a lot of these acquaintances even though I didn’t remember the name of most of them. Being the notorious one kind of makes you famous at school, you are often the star of the school assembly and a lot of other things which I wouldn’t like to discuss out here. Today was a lot different. All of these acquaintances had a smile and the way they greeted me was pretty much similar in every case. It was as if they were telling me something even though I wasn’t able to understand it.

  I entered my class just on time and took my seat next to my ‘real’ friends as I call them namely Mayank and Stan. There was a mystery why Stan’s name was Stan because a name like that is a rarity as far as India is concerned. I did ask him that was it his real name and he replied in the affirmative both the times. I didn’t want to sound racist nor did I care much about his name and hence let it be. Our seat was in the middle of the class room which a normal school going guy or girl will describe as a wrong choice for a notorious chap like me but to be honest that’s the best seat in the classroom because the teacher rarely pays attention to the ones in the middle. It’s always about the people sitting at the front or at the last. It was like the hierarchy remained here as well. As it is said, “People remember the one who came first and the one who is at the last. The corridor of mediocrity is often forgotten by everyone!” The seats that we occupied were literally the ‘middle class’ of Indian society. They get enough, nothing in excess nor too less which most probably was the reason for me being punished a couple of times!

  “So what’s up guys? How did the holidays go?” I asked in a hushed voice while the Chemistry class was on.

  “As if you don’t know. Everything is on facebook!” Mayank said in the same husky voice and smiled.

  “Sure it is. How about you Stan? You still aren’t on facebook are you?” I asked.

  “Holidays were fine. No, I am not and I don’t want to fall prey to it either, lest I might become the talk of the whole school, teaching people funky stuff just like you did!” Stan said and smiled, a bit of laughter followed with Mayank joining him and I was utterly confused about what was happening!

  “What are you guys talking about?” I asked.

  “You are the talk of the school ever since everyone, well almost everyone got to read that debate, I would term it as a fight you had with that chick of yours, what’s her name, Tanya or something!” Mayank said.

  “What fight?” I asked rather confused and amazed that he knew about Tanya!

  “The one that took place on that photo your cousin Kabir uploaded.” Stan said.

  “Oh. Wait but how do you know about it? You aren’t even on facebook!” I said.

  “That’s why I say you are the talk of the school!” Mayank explained.

  “But how were you able to look at the comments and the photo. It was uploaded by Kabir and none of you are added on his profile which meant no one could view it but his friends!” I said.

  “Everyone was able to view it bro because your cousin forgot to change the privacy setting from everyone to friends! That’s how everyone saw it!” Mayank said.

  “But Kabir had deleted it and uploaded it again which meant all the comments were removed in a matter of twenty minutes from the time the fight took place between me and Tanya!” I explained.

  “In the world of technology twenty minutes is too long a time bro!” Stan said.

  “By the time your cousin deleted that pic, someone had already used print screen the page in around 4 pictures and then mailed them to the almost everyone you know. The ones you didn’t, they got it from the ones you knew!” Mayank explained.

  “Who did this?” I demanded.

  “How would I know? I don’t even have an email id!” Stan said when I looked him with questioning eyes.

  “Well it will be a lie if I say I don’t have an email id because I do and to be honest I did receive that mail. Being a friend of yours I did try and search out to whom that email id belonged but just wasn’t able to track that person down. I can give you the email id if you want.” Mayank said.

  “Tell him the whole story. Go on.” Stan said.

  “What whole story?” I asked.

  “Ask him what he did after he couldn’t find to whom the email id belonged.” Stan asked me to ask Mayank.

  “What did you do?” I asked.

  “Well, the comments were so awesome, funny, so entertaining on the whole that I sent it to everyone on my email list! I am sorry but that might be the reason that half of the school knows!” Mayank said.

  “WHAT!” I said rather loudly. Loud enough for the teacher Mr. Khutrapali to hear. He was a man of few words. He gave it all while he was teaching but apart from that he rarely said anything. When he heard me shout he didn’t say a word but just showed me the door with the index finger of his left hand so as to say, “Get out!”

  “I am sorry bro.” The last thing I heard from Mayank before I had to go out of the class.

  On my way out everyone kept giving me that “hi” which I had been receiving since morning. I knew that it had to do something that they read in that comment section but what was it. I still had to figure that out. I racked my brains to get to a logical conclusion for the wave of the hand. It sure had to do something with the comments and with the show of hands as well or maybe a wave.

  “What could it be?” I thought to myself running the whole conversation cum fight that took place over the demon of a website which was successfully able to spoil my already spoilt reputation to a point of no return. After being given the freedom to think by Mr. Khutrapali I did come to a logical conclusion for the wave of hand in around ten minutes.

  “It sure has to do something with what Tanya wrote about curling of fingers thing.” I said to myself. All in all it meant “Fuck you” the words with which Tanya’s roll of hand came to an end. Once the bell rang for the end of the period and Mr. Khutrapali came out I went back in the class to be greeted with the same wave of hand.

  “To all of you too!” I said and gestured back the same thing. They all started laughing like hooligans which continued for a couple of minutes and ended once our maths teacher came in.

  It was officially the worst day of my schooling life. It’s not that I hadn’t been humiliated at school before but it’s just t
hat it never involved my personal life and now that it did, it felt a bit odd. What felt more odd was the fact that they had read the conversation so all of them knew about Tanya and that I had a crush on her and that she defeated me hands down in that conversation!

  “I am really sorry bro. I had no intentions of hurting you but to be honest its really funny. The only way to pass it is by being sporting enough and laughing along!” Mayank said.

  “I guess this time I will try that out Mayank. Don’t blame yourself for it. No matter what I say, it did happen didn’t it! I was just taken aback by the fact that how could all of you know. Now I am fine. Don’t worry.” I said.

  “Dude that girl is getting the better of you again.” Stan said.

  “Why do you say that?” I asked.

  “I know you will deny it eventually but still I will tell you. Before, when either of us made a mistake no matter how small it was, you would be angry with us for a day or two. We would do everything we could to make you happy. You eventually did go back to being normal but then there is today. You just don’t have a problem with Mayank even though he has spoiled your already pretty bad repo and also given you a one and a half year full of agony at school. You never were like this before. That girl is surely changing you! For the better of course!” Stan explained.

  “Oh shut up Stan. It’s nothing like that. Simran told me that I should stop reacting at stupid things that’s why it didn’t hurt me.” I said.

  “Well then there is another theory I have in store but this time I think you won’t be able to deny it.” Stan said.

  “That is?” I asked.

  “That she has pissed you so much to such an extent that no matter what happens it all has just ceased to bother you!” Stan put forward his second theory.

  “I second that!” Mayank said and they both smiled.

  “It’s nothing of that sort. Fuck you both!” I said.

  “Well you don’t have to say that anymore. We have an unofficial symbol now which no teacher can ever understand. You too can use it if you want.” Mayank said and waved.

  I waved back. “I hope you understand.”

  “Why are the two of you waving at each other?” Mr. Rakka the maths teacher asked.

  As soon as he asked the whole class burst out laughing.

  “What’s there to laugh? Tell me? I too want to have a good laugh. It’s been a long time since I had one!” Mr. Rakka said rather sarcastically.

  “Nothing sir.” Mayank said.

  “Oh come on. Out with it. As I said I too want to laugh.” He said again.

  “We were waving at each other because we are meeting after a long time and didn’t see each other and now as we did, we waved at each other, just when you saw us sir.” I made up a story.

  “Really? You both are sitting right next to each other if we remove Stan from between you yet you say that you didn’t see each other! Am I supposed to believe that?” He said.

  “The truth is the truth sir. We were so engrossed studying what you were teaching that we just didn’t see each other.” I lied.

  “Okay okay. Enough lying for one day from you! I don’t have a problem with anything else, all I hope is there is no ‘bromance’ going on out here. You are too young for that is what I would say.” He said as the whole class burst out laughing yet again.

  It officially was the worst day at school already and it now seemed to be a long day ahead. I somehow survived the rest of the periods including the lunch time without being troubled much, apart from a couple of waves from here and there. I reluctantly attended the coaching where the same ‘wave’ had gone viral already yet the person it was hurled at was still me. I just couldn’t wait to go home and sleep off. It was like a bad dream. Every moment I felt that in a couple of minutes I will get up and the bad dream will end yet it never happened. I reached back home after a really long day, threw my bag away and went straight to my room to catch some sleep.

  “What’s up with you?” Simran came to my room and asked.

  “Nothing. I just want to catch some sleep.” I said.

  “Well that’s new. Never before did you sleep right after coming home. Everything alright?” She asked again.

  “Yeah you too start off now that she is bringing about a change in me. Earlier I never used to sleep after coming from school, now I do so, it means that she is changing me!” I said spilling out everything that was in me!

  “Woah woah woah….Who are you talking about?” She asked.

  “As if you don’t know.” I said.

  “I don’t. Is this about Tanya?” she said.

  “I guess so.” I replied rather sarcastically.

  “What about her? Did she trouble you again? Should I talk to her and tell her to leave you alone?” Simran said.

  “No. Something really bad happened at school.” I confessed.

  “What happened?” She asked.

  I told her the whole wave and the photo saga. She too laughed a bit at it.

  “I still can’t figure out where Tanya stepped in apart from the insult you faced which was pretty funny for sure!” She said.

  “It was Stan. From somewhere he came up with the idea that the changes I am going through are because of her even though I hardly talk to her. I have spoken to her just once, after coming back from there, so how can she possibly be affecting me!” I said.

  “I don’t know about that but as far as I see it all the changes you are going through are for the good and how does it matter if it was because of Tanya or because of someone else, they are happening and in turn they are making you a better human being so you should be happy about it!” She explained.

  “I guess so. You know I did like her the first time we met at the birthday party but after what happened today I think I have started hating her and most probably will continue to do so for the rest of my life. The next one and a half years of my school life I will have to live with random people waving at me all the time! I just hate her.” I said.

  “I don’t think that you hate her. About that school problem, well nothing of that sort is going to happen. They will play with you as long as you will react. Once you stop reacting they won’t say anything and as it is it’s a school they sure will find someone else to bully in the next one and a half years to free you from your duty so cheer up.” She said.

  “Okay I do agree with the second part of what you said but not with the first. I do hate her.” I said.

  “Well that is for you to figure out. I am not falling into it. I need to help mom for dinner so I have to go now!” She said and walked off.

  She stopped on the door for a brief moment and said, “Vishal you know it’s a well-known fact, hatred sometimes can be the first signs of love.”

  “Simran.” I shouted.

  “What? I am right here. There is no need to shout!” She turned and said

  I didn’t say a word but merely waved at her.

  “Stop abusing me lest I tell papa about it. Now I am going.” She said and walked off.

  The nightmare of a day was on the verge of getting over. I had decided that soon after dinner I would go off to sleep and that’s what I did. A shocker it was for mom for sure but she didn’t say much.