Snippets of Madam Sirr (S1)

Chapter 18

"Keep doing your best KS and remember...."

KS interrupted her. "Never accept defeat." She completed the sentence.

Babita Ji smiled, the pride in her swelling to the top. She glanced at her one last time before leaving. As she left, KS looked at the sky, the clouds forming a blanket of rest above her. She smiled, her heaving heart at rest burrowing deep with a steeled determination.

She was suddenly pushed forward as Aryan thumped her back. She turned around and saw his signature smile plastered all over his face.

"Aarey yaar be happy we did it" he shouted jumping up and down.

KS laughed seeing her friend's antics. "Aryan..." she began cutting his celebratory dance. "Thank you."

He arched his eyebrows, knitting them together. "What for?"

"For being there when I needed you the most."

Aryan scowled playfully swatting her arm. "That's what friends are for. What's there to say thank you?"

"I know but still..." he interrupted her, putting his arm around her shoulder. "If you really want to thank me...you can buy me an ice-cream." He said winking at her.

KS laughed. "Aarey Aryan, you never change. Come let's go."

They both ran across the field sharing an ice-cream in the bench next to the cafeteria.

"Karu..." he began as he was gobbling down his cone. "Honestly, I didn't think that I'd be able to pass the test."

KS almost spat out her ice-cream in shock. She gulped it down, the sudden words freezing her.

"What are you saying? You were even better than me. I was the one who broke down."

He smiled. "Haan, that is true but I had my doubts...." He picked his cone and it disappeared as magic. "I haven't always been the best in physical exams so I thought that I'd not able to you know."

"But you passed the entrance exam and that's harder than all the other exams combined."

"Haan, I trained a lot for that and....my brother helped me prepare. He was my strength." He said looking up at the sky.

KS was silent, his words tracing the wound in her heart as she recalled her own brother. She edged closer to him. They both stood silent for a while as the evening deepened in the sky.

"Karu you remind me a lot of him...my brother."

KS almost choked again. She composed herself and smiled.

"I'll always be here for you Aryan. Always."

He nodded at her as he continued to stare at the sky. KS saw a lone teardrop escaping his eyes.

"You know, it was my brother who helped me pass the physical exam too."

Aryan looked at him, the melancholy in his eyes disappearing.

"Really?" he asked, his brows knitting in intrigue.

"Haan, he was my strength too. I miss him."

Aryan side-hugged her as KS nestled her head on his shoulder. They stood in silence, contemplating the weight of their shared emotions.

"Let's make a promise Karu..." Aryan said as he broke the silence. "To be there for each other always even when we abandon ourselves."

KS was shocked to see how quickly Aryan had understood her nature. She composed herself forcing the tears to stop.

"Haan, promise." She said and smiled at him.

They both walked, hand in hand to their respective rooms as a comfortable silence enveloped them both. They reveled in the unspoken emotions and their bond of camaraderie and trust, both feeling a sense of honor and pride at their promise to be each other's shadow.

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Three girls and three boys tiptoed to the ground, their toes not daring to touch the ground as they rushed past their hostels. KS and Aryan were the leaders, carefully taking their gang outside without getting caught by their officers.

They heaved in relief as they reached the ground and huddled together around the bench. The moon shone, a sliver of silver light through the night. KS cuddled closer to Aryan, grasping in his warmth as the bitter wind rose throughout.

"Aarey yaar, I can't believe it's our final year" Raman said.

"Haan, it feels too short" Needhi agreed with her.

KS sat straight and looked around her friends. "Do you guys remember our first day when we were all punished?"

Everyone laughed. "How can we forget that Karu" Aryan commented with a chuckle.

"Haan I thought Babita madam would kill us that day" Raman said, widening his eyes.

"Her punishment was enough to kill us" KS said, a scowl on her face.

Everyone laughed again, their voices overlapping another as they stood huddling battling the freezing cold.

"Haan but it brought us closer together" Aryan said hugging KS close to him.

A collective silence fell upon the group as they were all engrossed in their thoughts.

"Babita madam was tough but I'm going to miss her" another batch mate said, a note of melancholy in her voice.

"Haan yaar, I never thought I'd say this but I'm definitely going to miss her" Raman said.

"Guys....." KS started sharing a brief look with Aryan who nodded at her. "What if we plan something for her?"

"Like a party?" Needhi asked.

"Haan, we can thank her for everything....and have some fun too."

"Babita madam and fun....now that I'd like to see" Swapna said with a laugh.

Everyone laughed again relieving their memories.

"Karu, the idea is good but what shall we do?" Raman asked.

"Me and Karu have already planned everything. We'll tell you the details." Aryan said.

Everyone huddled closer to listen to the plan. As Aryan finished, her could see the group nodding in appreciation. He felt proud of himself.

"The plan is good but...." Needhi started, her mouth arched in a frown. Everyone starred at her. "Guys shouldn't we do a prank?"

"A what?" everyone chorused.

"Come on guys, it's our final year. We should do something." She said looking around the group.

"If we get caught...?"

"Then we'll have to make sure we don't get caught" KS said, a smirk on her face.

"But what are we going to do Karu?" Aryan asked.

"Well....what if we throw water balloons at the senior hostels?" she asked, a mischievous glint in her eyes.

Everyone became tensed and silent, looking around at one another.

"Karu....we'll definitely get caught..."

"We can do it tomorrow night..." Raman suggested.

"But we have theory classes..."Aryan said.

Everyone groaned.

"Let's skip the class yaar. It's boring anyways" KS said.

"This is really dangerous Karu" Aryan said, the fear apparent in his voice.

"Haan but this is our final year yaar."

Everyone agreed despite their growing fear.

The night was still as the group sat together in the training ground, the stars above twinkling like tiny witnesses to their bond. They looked at one another, their faces lit by the soft glow of the moon. The stars continued to shine, as if promising them that no matter where life took them, this bond, this place, and these memories would always be their guiding light. 

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