It Ended with a Prank

5 | Shots Fired

"No matter the situation, never let your emotions overpower your intelligence."

- Unknown

The majority of the class occupants weren't excited for the professor to make his entry into the room and begin yet another boring lesson, for obvious reasons. Hitali's case was different. The new and reincarnated Hitali, had taken out her notebook of the corresponding subject and was all set for the lecture to start, when she felt a tap on her shoulder. Turning around, to figure out who is the distruptor, her chirpy mood dropped in an instant and a blank expression, took over her face.

"What is it?" She asked, while trying her best to keep her disgust undetectable.

"Huh?" Senthil was taken aback at her slightly grumpy tone, but nonetheless he continued with his hands tucked into his pant pockets.

"Hmmm, Hi Hitali", he flashed a small polite smile towards her. Seeing her unresponsive stature, he cleared his throat to overcome the awkward silence and went on to the business he had walked up to her desk for.

"We-uh-I mean, I had booked your Organic Chemistry assignment yesterday". He didn't know why he was stammering in the beginning. It could have been due to the icy cold stare Hitali was giving him. He brushed it off and didn't pay much heed to it.

"So?" Hitali kind of barked out her single word as reply.

Senthil's forehead creased in confusion at her behavior. He swallowed whatever words he would have barked out too, if not for his ulterior motive of getting the assignment. What all we do for a meare assignment, he sighed internally. It was a sure shot way of securely depositing the coveted twenty marks assigned for internals, who knew how the final exam's question paper would look like. Though the twenty-eight weightage was quite an out of balance scale, each and every mark of that internals could be a life saver for pushing across the forty passing mark crossline, in hours of need.

"So, the thing is, I saw your assignment with Arjun and he said you gave it to him for today". He let his words sink in and allow Hitali to catch his point.

"Yes, I gave it to him". Her wooden voice and uninterested responses were testing Senthil's patience level.

"Technically it should have come to me, I had booked it before him and now he isn't giving it to me". He complained like a child. He so wanted to resolve the issue at hand amicably and as soon as possible.

"Tech-ni-ca-lly", Hitali stretched the word emphasizing on each syllable, "it's in the rightful person's hands". She stated in an authoritative, no nonsense tone. Looks like she forgot that Senthil wasn't someone to be sidelined or played for a fool, especially if he thought he was on the right side. He was going to fight the battle till end even if it was for just an assignment.

"How's that? What happened to your 'rules'?" His words had an accusing tone to it.

She raised her eyebrow in amusement and smirked. "They are intact and in their rightful place. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to settle down for the lecture". Stating that she faced towards the whiteboard at the center of the class.

Senthil heaved a long and loud sigh and took a step forward and turned swiftly to come face-to-face with Hitali. "When the professor isn't here, which lecture are you speaking about? Coming back to the assignment, I think -"

He was cut-off by Hitali's scoff, "Are we still on that?"

"Yes we are! That's because I don't have the damn assignment in my hand and you aren't telling me, why?" An annoyed Senthil exclaimed while pinching the bridge of his nose.