(The story is transitioning from Vyakhya's perspective to the author's, the narrative shifts to provide a broader view of the characters' emotions that Vyakhya couldn't fully capture.)
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Days passed, it's the 1st of April, the first day of Vyakhya's 11th grade. She is aware that her classmates this year are practically strangers, but her whole toxic group of friends is still in the same class.
"I'm heading out, Mom. I don't want to be late on the first day," Vyani informed her mother.
"Come on, hurry up," Adbhut, her younger brother, impatiently shouted.
"You hurry up, bro. I'm not the one still in doing shit when we're already running late," she retorted while tying her shoelaces. Her hair was shorter, a change she made during the break, perhaps a step towards being more determined.
"I'm off!" she exclaimed as she dashed out the door.
"I'm coming too, wait for me!" Adbhut shouted back, washing his hands.
"I can't afford to be late for my senior year. I need to hurry!" she called out as she ran off..
She kept running, a faint smile on her face as she gazed at the changing shape of the clouds, the birds singing various melodies, and the rhythmic sound of her shoes on the road. The surroundings were neither quiet nor bustling, with everyone engrossed in their own tasks. Vyani's mind wandered to Tis, wondering if he would follow her to school also.
Upon reaching the main door,
"Kaka, namaste," she greeted the watchman, who smiled warmly at her.
"Namaste beta," he replied.
Returning his smile, she continued on her way as he shouted out.
"Hey, who told you that you can park your bike here?" the watchman shouted at someone behind her.
She turned around before heading in. Sand blew up due to the sudden brake of the bike as
"Ayaan? What is he doing here?" She muttered to herself, her eyes widening at the unexpected sight.
Ayaan took off his helmet, shaking his head and adjusting his hair as he smiled at the watchman.
"Kaka, it's okay, who cares if I parked here, it's not like it's a no-parking zone," he responded casually, meeting Vyani's gaze. His eyes roamed over her, noting her surprised expression, which seemed to stroke his ego.
She turned her head, realizing he caught her staring, and resumed her run.
"Man, why is he here?" she muttered to herself, her mind filled with questions.
Ayaan swiftly adjusted his two book bags on his shoulder as he followed behind her.
Knowing he was tailing her, she continued running while he walked, watching her like a predator tracking its prey.
"Oh my god, which class is 11th A now?" she thought to herself before reaching the hall. Glancing back, she saw Ayaan still behind her, his eyes fixed on her.
"Need help, miss?"
"Oh my god, Tis, you came at the right time, help me please," she said, looking at Tis who was gliding in the corridor.
"Why is that jerk following you?" he asked, smiling.
"I don't know, I'm just trying to find my class," she said, finally stopping as she looked at the school map on the board, placing her hand on the wall map, studying it.
A large hand landed next to her, veins visible on it. She gulped and looked beside her, finding him staring at her. As she looked up and then immediately down, she turned to leave.
"I'm new here, can you tell me the way to 11th C , 'stranger'?" he whispered, leaning down towards her ear.
Startled, she turned back, stepping away, her eyes meeting his with a mix of nervousness and courage.
"Why are you here?" she questioned, her voice rising in defiance.
"Own the school, do you?" he retorted, a smirk playing on his lips, hands casually in his pockets.
"I-I mean, you don't study here, right?"
"I don't study anywhere, but indeed, I've been admitted here, commerce," he responded, his eyes gazing intensely at her.
"Wow, tough break, kiddo. Your life's gonna be a blast," Tis chimed in, laughing heartily as he floated beside Vyani.
She gulped as she turned around, to avoid more conversation, as she took a step, to run away.
Ayaan clenched her bag's handle tight,
"I thought you knew I was coming here," he whispered, leaning down into her ear. Tis watched the scene unfold like a kid in the cinema.
Vyani swiftly moved away, pushing his grip slightly and creating distance.
"What? Scared of me now?" he taunted, tilting his head and crossing his arms.
"Can you do me a favour and pretend you don't know me?" she responded in a hushed tone.
"Why are you giving in to this guy, kiddo?" Tis questioned, a hint of irritation in his voice.
"I asked you something, didn't I?" He retorted, his gaze intense and piercing."
"I don't wanna talk to you," she dashed off, leaving him staring, his face contorted in anger as he muttered, "Seriously?" raking his hand through his hair.
"What's up, student?" A teacher's voice boomed out of the nowhere as he hurried to his class.
Vyani finally reached her class, her hands trembling, her heart racing. Tis whispered in her ear,
"Scared of me now?" Copying Ayaan's tone.
She startled, "Are you out of your mind?" she shouted at him.
The whole class turned to stare as she raised her voice, giving an awkward smile as she stepped into the room.
"Vyakhya, I was waiting for you!" Amisha exclaimed, rushing over to her.
"Oh, really?" She replied in an awkward tone.
"Some of us thought you vanished after seeing your grades," Anirudh, her male friend, chuckled.
"Hehe... So hilarious," she laughed sarcastically.
"Girl, we thought you were planning to not come on the first day," Siksha, her other friend, said, placing her arm around Vyani's shoulder.
"Well, even though we hit the library together, I still missed you," Avni said, smiling warmly at her..
They all headed to the school assembly, where she spotted her brother standing in the latecomers line, shooting daggers at her. Ignoring him, her gaze fell upon Ayaan, almost involuntarily; he was grinning with his friend, and as his eyes met hers, she quickly looked away, muttering to herself, "Ugh... why does he always catch me staring? Why do I even bother looking at him?"
After the assembly, the first period commenced.
"Hey there, students! I'm your new teacher, Asmita Tomar. I'll be teaching you physics, and unfortunately, I'm also your class teacher. So, as you'll soon realize, my rules are firm. Just ask your seniors; I'm not one to go easy. Everything must be in order, or you'll face my wrath on parent-teacher meeting days, understood?" Asmita mam declared to the class.
Throughout the holidays and even the previous year, Vyakhya had planned to sit with Avni in 11th grade, but her plans changed. Now, Avni and Shiksha were seat partners, and to her dismay, Amisha pulled her over to sit with her.
"Class, let's give a round of applause to Amisha, who scored an impressive 98% and brought pride to our school," the teacher announced, prompting everyone to clap enthusiastically.
Amisha stood up and politely bowed down and got praised by everyone. On the other hand Vyani kept sitting on her chair clenching her fists , she knew that being in second place meant being overlooked unless you were exceptionally pretty or wealthy, neither of which applied to her.
As one class ended and another began, the cycle repeated itself, everyone praised the first place while ignored the second place as always, Vyani wasn't sad but, she was used to it all by now, being a second option, wasn't something new to her. She was adjusted to sadness, and immunized to happiness.
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