Page 9

Samarth ran up the school stairs, the corridor close to empty as the start bell had already rung.

He was never late to class but they had landed late last night and he had to finish his homework, which he had woken up for even earlier this morning, finished his bathing and paath, then attacked with a vengeance.

While finishing Simple and Compound Interest problems, his mind had veered to the girl who did her calculations in her head.

Where had the time passed?

Samarth checked the buttons down his shirt, hoping he had done them right as he skidded to a stop outside his open classroom door.

“May I come in, Ms. Shanaya?”

The class hadn’t begun yet, the PA system assembly having just concluded. Ms. Shanaya gave him a once-over. Samarth lowered his gaze, running his fingers through his hair. He had combed it, hadn’t he?

“Winning polo matches doesn’t give you the liberty to turn tardy,” she rebuked. “What time is it?”

Samarth glanced at the watch face on his wrist. They weren’t allowed phones during school hours but they did get to wear smart watches to class.

“7.18, ma’am.”

“Give me a good reason why I should allow you inside my classroom after the assembly is over?”

Samarth glanced up at her, then at the class of 40.

His eyes ran across the room, hoping to see that one face he hadn’t been able to see after the blur of blue on Saturday when he had run his horses up and down the field.

By the time he had finished the game and sat through the prize distribution, she had left.

She hadn’t come for their Sunday match, which meant she had flown back.

There . His eyes moved over hers, stuttered back for a split second, then moved on.

Her partner was absent today. She sat alone on the bench for two.

She didn’t look any different. She didn’t look any differently at him.

What was she thinking? Was she disgusted that he whipped his horses?

Had she seen him slap Bodhi’s neck while riding and given up?

But Bodhi knew it wasn’t out of spite. It was part of communication…

“Silence is your reason?” Ms. Shanaya interjected the mess of his thoughts.

“No, ma’am,” Samarth bolstered himself. “I do not have an excuse good enough to be let in, except, that I do not want to miss this class.”

He saw her face change, a smile come and go even before it could stay.

“Oooohh…” Advay and gang hooted from their throne in the back trenches.

“Want to swap places with him, Advay?” Ms. Shanaya zeroed in on him.

“No, Ms. Shanaya.”

She glared at him, and his clan. Then grabbed her whiteboard marker and turned to the board. Samarth figured it was time to go. He could go to the stables and see how the journey had been for his horses. Bella might need a hug and some soothing after the trailer ride…

“What are you waiting for?” Ms. Shanaya’s shrill voice broke his plans. “Get in quickly and close the door behind you!”

Samarth didn’t wait for another order. He quickly stepped inside the classroom, closed the door, and instead of going to his designated seat by the window, veered to Ava’s row.

“Is that where you sit?” Ms. Shanaya frowned.

“Ummm…” he cleared his throat. “No, Ms. Shanaya. I think I have a sinus coming on. The wind might make it worse. If you allow…” he glanced around himself, trying to pretend as well as he could as he zeroed in on the only vacant seat. Beside Ava’s.

“Tulika’s seat is vacant…” he pointed. “May I?”

Ms. Shanaya nodded distractedly, getting back to the whiteboard, drawing topography symbols.

His heart thudding, gleeful as well as terrified of sharing a bench with Ava again, Samarth walked down the aisle to where she sat.

Even though it had been a sum total of two weeks since the year began and they were separated, it felt like ages since he had sat beside her, their bags by the ends of their bench legs, their bodies always half-turned towards each other even when they were concentrating on the teacher.

“You want to go in?” She asked quietly.

“Anything is fine,” he croaked, feeling something was stuck in his throat.

“Done chitchatting, Samarth? Avantika?”

“Done, ma’am, done,” Samarth responded meekly.

Ava frowned up at him, then quietly slid in, towards the wall. Samarth stowed his bag under the table, her bag already there. She went to reach for it but he stopped her.

“It’s fine. They can both stay here.”

“Copy these symbols in your notebooks and then we will start defining each,” Ms. Shanaya instructed. Then added with her eyes on the two of them — “And please, no talking.”

Samarth quietly reached inside his bag, pulled out his Geography notebook and began to copy the drawings of topo symbols that looked all the same to him. How was he supposed to rote them, forget understand?

Saddle

Hill

Ridge

Cliff

His body began to tense up, that sinus he had lied about starting to throb at the back of his head. Ava’s pencil slid into his notebook and he froze.

This is a depression —

She wrote, pointing to the jalebi-like drawing he had labeled Hill. Samarth’s heart stuttered. He could not let this opportunity slip. So he drew another symbol, butchering it mindfully. He glanced at her from the side of his eyes. She wasn’t looking at him or his notebook, her eyes on the board.

Samarth cleared his throat. A little too noisily. All eyes turned to him, including Ms. Shanaya’s.

He smiled sheepishly — “Throat’s starting to get itchy, ma’am…

I’ll drink some water. Sorry…” he started to reach for his bag when Ava passed him her own bottle.

He took it, elated, opening the cap and pouring a sip into his mouth.

The back of his pencil nudged her arm. She startled.

Then nudged back with the back of her own.

Samarth smiled, pointing to the butchered drawing he had made. He returned her bottle and made a question mark beside his drawing. Ava huffed, reached out, and wrote — Ravine.

Before she could look away, Samarth brought his pencil below hers in his notebook and wrote — Are you angry with me?

Ava’s surprised brown eyes rose to his. She frowned, a small smile coming to her lips.

Samarth pushed his brows up, nudging his chin to his notebook. She understood, and brought her pencil below his.

Why wud you think that?

He quickly scribbled — Because you didn’t come for my sunday match

Kresha wanted to go shopping in udaipur

Samarth huffed, eyeing her. She began to turn back to her notebook but he couldn’t have it. He flicked the back of his pencil on her arm to get her attention back and quickly wrote — You liked the match?

Yes

We won

I know

You didn’t wait after the prize distribution

We had to go for lunch… mummy-papa sent us with their chaperone friends, they took us out

Ava looked at him then, pushing a lock of hair off her eyes. It cleared her face like some otherworldly planet had risen in the sky. He saw her full face this term then. Otherwise, there was always hair covering the sides of her face, even when she had tied her high ponytail.

Stop looking! She wrote.

Why?

Samarth looked up after writing those three letters and her mouth was slightly open, her cheeks reddening. Shit. Shit. Shit. That otherworldly planet? That was the warmest sun!

Ava turned the page of his notebook because they had run out of space. Samarth stared in horror, and dark amusement, realising he was scribbling in his Geography notebook — a sin for a guy like him, even if he detested Geography with a vengeance.

Finish your symbols Ava wrote.

I’ll copy from you later

She smiled again, and he couldn’t believe that he, Samarth Sinh Solanki, was going for a girl’s smile and red cheeks again and again, faster and harder, more aggressively than he had ever gone for a goalpost.

“Did you finish copying the symbols?” Ms. Shanaya’s voice broke their exchange. Samarth sat up, now a little nervous. Because with the attention she had been showering on him today, it wouldn’t be surprising if she asked to check his notebook.

“Yes, ma’am!” “No ma’am…” “10 minutes, ma’am…”

Samarth loved his class in that moment. All 38 of them. Not as much as he loved Av… he stopped. Glanced at her. She was engrossed in selecting a pen from her floral pouch. Samarth noticed then that even her bag had some floral print on it this year. Had she come back on a flowers phase?

“Take 5 minutes, not a second more after that,” Ms. Shanaya’s stern voice ended the groans. Samarth put pencil to paper again — Do you have practise today?

Yes

Can I come?

Sure

And tomorrow?

No, book club. But saturday I’m free

I’m not here on Saturday

Where are you going again?

Wide brown eyes rose to his, part furious, part curious.

Badrinath. Samarth smiled.

Why?

He gave her a look — why would someone go to Badrinath?

Her nose scrunched at him, so he decided to spell it out for her.

To do darshan. Papa gave me letter of permission.

You’ll go alone?

With Harsh, my friend from Nawanagar.

How?

By car.

You can’t drive!

He is permitted to drive.

When will you be back?

Leave Friday evening, reach there early Saturday, do darshan, leave by evening and be back Sunday morning.

Ava’s face was inscrutable as she gave him a long look.

Did she find his trip for darshan of Badrinath uncool?

He knew his close friends found this side of him too soft and pansy .

Kush, Jai and the lot never stopped ribbing him whenever they got a chance.

He didn’t care. Never had. His relationship with god, religion and his desire to express that wasn’t dependent on people around him.

His Dadi Sarkar, his Papa and Hira ben had brought him up better than to let others’ voices and the world’s noises interfere with his resolution to do something.

As Ava’s face remained shuttered, Samarth wondered if she would want to be with a guy who went to Badrinath for darshan on his weekend off.

Hey? He wrote, unable to take her silence anymore.

What?

Just like that