Heart wrenching adoration, Part-14

I stood beneath the shower and felt the icy cold water run freely, mingling with my tears that ran unchecked. I stood, unmoving with my scrunched shut as I fought with the grisly images of my horrendous past but in vain! My parents dead bodies, my mom’s blood-splattered, tattered tee that I had gifted her on her 31^st birthday, our house reeking of blood with things lying around shabbily...the images flooded my mind, nearly chocking me and I bent over, retching but nothing came out. Apparently, I didn't have anything in my stomach, which was quite a good thing as it turned out! I couldn't have taken another round of puking!

I don’t know for how long I stood there, lost in my painful abstraction but my di and friends voice brought me round.

“Khushi, are you ok?”

“Khushi open up!” 

They yelled anxiously. I sighed and turned off the shower. 

“I’m fine! Just give me a sec!” I called back, wrapping myself in a towel.

I emerged out of the bathroom wearing my bathing robe only to find my di and my friends waiting on me pacing back and forth anxiously.

“Khushi, are you alright?” Di asked worriedly, taking me in her arms.

“Of course di! Stop worrying please! I just vomited a bit and you guys are behaving as if I’ve just been diagnosed with some life-threatening disease and may drop dead anytime as soon as your backs are turned!...I’m absolutely fit and fine.”I asserted, putting on a smile.

“Oh really? Then why are you eyes red?” My di asked sceptically, making me grimace. Why was my sister  so perceptive when it came to me?

“Di, have you ever considered IB(Intelligence Bureau) as a career option? Because if you have, I can bet anything that you’ll be an instant hit!” I commented tactfully, earning a disapproving grunt from my sister.

“For God’s sake! I rubbed my eyes because some soap got in. That’s why my eyes are red...Now if your Spanish inquisition is over, you guys go and get ready for school and let me do the same. I don’t expect our hostel warden to not to drop me a line for being late even if I was sick last night!” I said exasperatedly when she continued to look dubious and then practically ran out of the room to evade the constant scrutiny of my sister and friends.

“Why is she screeching like this?”I asked irritably as Mrs.Sulochna Mudliyar kept on wailing.

“I’m cent percent sure that I didn’t misplace it ma’am!...I know somebody has hidden my copy...these students must have done that...all the marks and remarks I had entered in that notebook!” Sulochna ma’am hollered.

“What the!What have we got to do with her notebook?Why will we take it?Is she in her senses or what?”I asked in disbelief.

“Shh, khushi don’t get so irked. As a matter of fact, she is right, we did hide that wretched notebook of hers!” Anvesh said gleefully and I nearly fell from my chair.

“You, What?!!!” I screamed.

“Shhh! You’ll get us slaughtered!” Akash whispered frantically, glancing nervously at Sulochna ma’am who looked nearly in tears.

“Guys, you really shouldn’t do that! She looks so... bothered!”I mumbled, mortified. Bothered was an understatement by quite a wide margin.

“Yeah right, she’s hell winsome!” Arnav muttered sarcastically, and I caught a  bitter tenor in his voice.

“It seems as if you guys hold some sort of grudge against her.”I hedged cautiously.

“Grudge? Its an awful understatement khushi!...She was our class teacher last year and left absolutely no stone unturned in making our lives miserable! She was supposed to teach us geography despite that fact that she wasn’t even acquainted with even ‘G’ of it!...and the assignment she gave us! We were forced to study all sorts of irrelevant, rubbish MCQs when we should’ve been learning important concepts! I won’t be surprised at all if I fail in geography when our results come in May. All she did perfectly was to run to our Vice-Principal or class rep to unfurl her long list of complains against our class. In fact, if it were up to her, she would’ve climbed all the way up to the central cupola and yelled from there for any one who were listening how very notorious  and good-for-nothing her class was, though other teachers never had even a word of complain against us!” Anvesh concluded his monologue, throwing a dirty look at Sulochna Ma’am. I blinked.

“Uh...Oh! So where did you hide it?” I asked.

“On the top of that cupboard  in the kitchen in which cutlery is kept.” Arnav said smugly.

I gazed at Sulochna Ma’am as she continued with her tantrum and that was when I noticed other smug, taciturn faces in my vicinity. With a jolt I realized that everyone were in the secret!

“I’ll go and call the Vice-Principal! When these little devils will get punished, they will automatically hand over my notebook.” Sulochna ma’am snapped , throwing a malevolent look particularly at us and I had an uneasy feeling that she knew that Arnav and Anvesh were the mastermind of the entire debacle. 

As soon as she was out of the dining area, everyone was in splits! The sound of laughter reverberated in the room and several people even thumped Arnav on the back appreciatively! Arnav raced across the room into the kitchen and emerged with Sulochna ma’am’s notebook, grinning ear-to-ear and holding it as if lifting a trophy. 

He cautiously slipped it into Sulochna ma’am’s bag, between bundles of Answer sheets that she were checking. Apparently, she had left it there with our hostel warden Rajeev Sir, who was in with us in the entire prank!

While the notebook was being planted where it should’ve been, several guys stood on the tables to gaze out of the glass panes at the top from where corridor was clearly visible, in case Sulochna ma’am turned up! Girls kept tab on the door.

She soon returned with Thomas Ma’am who in her usual genteel disposition queried us and the students ran helter-skelter to sit.

“Children, did you really take ma’am’s notebook?”

“I know they did!”Sulochna ma’am sniffed but her voice was drowned by a loud chorus of ‘No ma’am!’ to which I could wager I saw our Vice-Principal’s mouth twitch and I had an inkling that she knew that we were the culprits, but she too decided to play along! After all Sulochna ma’am’s constant complains had kept her on the edge too!

 “Sulochna, why don’t you check your bag and drawers once?Maybe you kept it there and forgot about it?” Thomas ma’am said making Arna nearly burst out laughing, but he controlled somehow. 

“Arnav, come hear and help ma’am!”Thomas ma’am beckoned and we nearly gave ourselves away! Asking the thief whereabouts of valuables that he had stolen!

I watched curiously as Arnav sauntered to where the two teachers stood and put on a good show of searching. He finally pulled the notebook out.

“See ma’am, it was in your own bag and you were accusing us! What will we do with stealing your copy?” He asked, lifting his chin up and giving a confused Sulochna ma’am a condescending look as if having done her a great honour. At that precise moment the bell rang.

“Brothers and their sisters, with this we come to the end of today’s blame game! Now, let’s go to our classes!” Anvesh said dramatically before marching out majestically.

Everyone practically rushed out of the room unsteadily, with red faces from trying to control laughter for so long! As soon as were quite a distance from the dining room, everyone nearly rolled on the floor, laughing except me as I stood mesmerized staring at Arnav who was laughing so freely!