Here's the 39th chapter.
Enjoy reading.
Shaurya was in his cabin, constantly ruminating on her thoughts.
"Kal se pehle bhi toh kitni baar tests ho chuke haina Sir... Kabhi aapne mujhe dekha hain aaj tak absent hote hue ?... "
"Aur Sir..."
"Aap hi btaaiye..."
"Abhi tak jitney bhi tests hue hain... Usme mera score kabhi low gaya hain Sir ??..."
"Toh fir mera test ko intentionally skip karne ka toh koi matlab hi nhi banta Sir..."
Her words had left an indelible impression on him.
Something was bothering him because of the way she showed him the mirror.
No one had ever dared to speak to him like this before.
Something in him had shifted as a result of the way she fought back with him in a confrontational but respectful manner.
She wasn't arguing with him to justify her failure to appear in the test; rather, she was simply conveying her reason for being absent the day before due to an emergency and requesting that he take her alone test, for which she was more than prepared.
To say he wasn't surprised is an understatement.
In all his years of teaching, he had never encountered a student like her who spoke to him so straightforwardly still staying under limits. Rather, students used to butter the teachers for getting higher grades, and this fierce girl stood out among the rest.
"Anokhi" as her name suggested, was unlike the others.
"Aap aaj mujhse vo test le sakte hain... Chaahe toh usse mushkil questions daal dena Sir... Lekin main taiyaar hoon..."
She was asking him to take a test just for her and even challenged him to put more difficult questions on it, in order to dispel his misconception that she intentionally skipped the test.
He himself couldn't understand whether it was the fact that someone answered to him in a blunt manner that irritated him, or the fact that he was somewhat in favor of what she did that irritated him.
Following the spat, he realized that everything she said was true.
Though he had vented his rage on her, he could tell by her way of speaking that there was a genuine emergency that forced her to miss the test.
He was, after all, her class's mentor. He was well aware of her caliber.
He had noticed that she never missed class and that her previous test scores were excellent, and he had always observed her active participation in classroom discussions, which reflected her studious mind.
But, in the back of his mind, the thought of her being Aastha's student always comes up, that she was there to hook Shaan into their trap.
Deep down inside, he didn't want to believe it.
Anokhi's demeanor never gave him the impression that she was there with any intention, but his Badi Maa's words always came in the way and reminds him that Badi Maa would never be wrong and that what she said about Anokhi, that she was there to act as a mediator between Shaan and Aastha, was true.
He slammed his palm against the desk, enraged.
"Tum kuch bhi karlo Miss Bhalla..."
"Tum jitni bhi bright student ho... Mujhe usse koi fark nhi padta..."
"Tum yaha apni padhaai ke saath - saath Miss Kashyap ke diye gaye instructions bhi zaroor follow karti hogi na... Lekin main tumhaari aur tumhaari Aastha Mam ke koi bhi intentions ko poora hone nhi doonga...", he blabbered, his eyes stinging from tears.
He stood up in rage and composed himself so that he would not break down and become weak when he remembered the woman named "Aastha Kashayp".
He stormed out the door to get some fresh air and clear his mind.
Anokhi had returned home with Mimi after college.
Mimi's health had returned to normal, but Anokhi couldn't get past the events of the previous two days.
The scene she had encountered upon arriving at the Crèche that day remained with her.
After that incident, she didn't want to leave Mimi at the Crèche.
She was concerned about what would happen if something happened to Mimi and she was unaware of it or couldn't reach her in time.
That's why she didn't want to drop her off there any longer from tomorrow.
But what else she can do ?
She couldn't think of anything else to keep Mimi safe under her watch.
After that day, she couldn't stop thinking about how she could keep Mimi with her in some way.
She was thinking of ways to keep an eye on Mimi while being at college as well.
But how was that possible ?
How was it possible that she bring Mimi to college and have her spend the entire day in class next to her, attending classes with her Anumaa ?
This was absolutely not possible.
So what was the other way ?
She kept thinking on various possibilities for quite some time when all of a sudden a brilliant idea clicked her mind.
"Yeh idea mujhe pehle kabhi kyu nhi aaya ?!!!...", she exclaimed to herself, facepalming.
"Isme toh koi pareshaani bhi nahi aayegi...", she jumped to the floor and smiled.
"Lekin..."
"Main sure bhi toh nhi hoon...", she said, her face flushed from the uncertainty of her plan.
"Lekin ek baar main try karke toh dekh hi sakti hoon...", she thought with hope.
"Kya pta kaam ban jaaye...", she said with a smile on her lips.
"Haan..."
"Main abhi unse baat karke poochh leti hoon..."
"Mujhe aaj ke aaj hi pta lgaana hoga ki main Mimi ko vha rakh sakti hoon ke nhi..."
She quickly grabbed her phone and dialled a number to get to work on her plan to keep Mimi the safest.
She talked to the person for a while, and the moment she hung up the call, a bright smile made way to her lips.
She bloomed with happiness and ran straight to Mimi.
She approached her munchkin with joy, shouting, "Mimi Shonaaaaaaaaa !!..."
She was relieved that she would no longer have to be concerned about thinking about Mimi while at college.
How was it ?
Do tell me in comments 😊