Us │✔

35│Beauty And The Beast

Jivika~

It was 07:35.

Our assembly was supposed to start five minutes ago, but the absence of many classes led to the delay. And our class was one of that many. The whole year we had not been invited to attend the assembly thanks to our Math teacher's early classes. Initially we thought we were lucky. Later, I realized that standing here, staring into the space was much better than losing my mind over the volume of a cone.

"1! 2! 3! ..."

Yes, our school liked to take the attendance of the class in this way. By announcing the roll numbers at one go. Because most of our teachers liked to make us do their work, however, the principal wanted anything but that. Hell bent that she wanted to see the adults working, this system was started by her.

But that was not the current problem. It was the fact that the girls of our class, late as usual, had lost out our spot. Why? Cause we were busy chit-chatting till our teeth clacked painfully. And the boys were smart enough to secure themselves a spot early. Not to mention the fact, that our shortest girl had not arrived yet.

Yes, you got it right. Maahi was late, again.

Sighing, we made the collective decision to stand behind the boys line. Now, we twenty-nine boys in the line, and after taking a one-hand-distance, we were literally outside the gate of our school. This line was longer than the queue in front of banks. And that's when the culprit graced us with her presence.

"Why are you people standing behind?"

"Because you are late!"

"Don't worry, I'll sort this out. And by the way, I might be late but I've never stood in the late-comers line. Also, why the hell should I be early? I mean, I live five minutes away from this place, if I sneak out early my mother would start asking me if they took pity on me and gave me the janitor's job!"

Marching to the front-side of the ground, she spoke in hushed tones with the short boy from C section. After minutes of arguing back and forth, the guy relented and shifted a bit. The boys of our class, enjoying our misery, tried to shift into the space she created.

"If, if you move an inch, I will cut your legs into pieces!"

That got the issue covered. And so she stood in that small space, so small that I was unsure whether this was the place where we could form a line.

"Line wahi sai shuru hoti hai jaha mai kadi rehti hu."
[The line starts from where I stand.]

Before I could let out a complete chuckle, the prayer started. The choir which consisted of Kiara, Pratik and few others would definitely bag the prize on how to sing in such a way that they could make the innocents like us cry with desperation. Peeking through my eyes every once in a while, I caught those two flirting shamelessly up there, on the stage.

This was something which was going to happen for the next two years as well. But definitely the last time I got to see it. And so, for once, I smiled watching their antics rather than gagging like I used to.

Not the last day at school, but one of the last days.

Then came our Yogini, who reprimanded us for opening our eyes before the prayer finished. Well, why bother when we hadn't closed them in the first place. For the past five years I had been hearing her dialogues. They were the same all the time. So, along with the others, I mimicked her lightly, completing her sentences before the words would come out of her mouth.