Haresa
"Sheldonnnnn, sit with ussss!" Rudra called out to Sheldon with a frantic wave.
I could see the hesitation in Sheldon's eyes.
I had to keep myself from falling out of my desk but I was already halfway to the ground with my hands clinging to the back of my seat.
"Haresa, are you okay?" Ms. Lemming called out.
"Yes, miss!"
Sheldon made his way toward us and stood in front of Rudra. Sheldon had a hand on his arm and he seemed to be avoiding Rudra's gaze. I looked between the two and I could see Rudra was now leaning on his arm. This couldn't be happening.
"Just sit over here," Rudra patted the seat beside him.
Sheldon sat as directed and placed his bag under the desk without complaints.
When was Rudra so friendly with Sheldon?
"Oh, Haresa! Sheldon actually came over to my place yesterday. You should've seen how much kulfi he ate," Rudra said excitedly. "Did you know he never had ice cream before that?"
My eyebrows shot upwards and I looked at Sheldon. He mumbled something under his breath and put his head on the desk.
"How did uh... you guys meet up?" I asked, still eyeing the villain skeptically.
"Well, we met up grocery shopping and one thing led to another and before I knew it," Rudra waved his fingers. "We were at my home hanging out."
I stared at Rudra for a few moments in hopes he would clarify. He had a smile plastered on his face and I looked at Sheldon.
"Um, you guys didn't uh..." I made incoherent gestures with my hands.
"No, we didn't have sex," Rudra replied while rolling his eyes.
There was a thump and a groan. I looked to see Sheldon rubbing his knees and his face was redder than usual.
"Okay, you just phrased it like... Never mind."
"Settle down class, settle down." Ms. Lemming said.
The classroom chatter came to a lull and our attention was directed to the front.
Sheldon kept his head down but I noticed Rudra would glance to his side every so often.
"Okay class, some of you might've been expecting this but since we're more settled into the school year, we're going to do oral presentations on our ethnic backgrounds." Ms. Lemming explained with a smile.
Sheldon's head shot up instantly. His hand shot up into the air which surprised the teacher.
"Yes, Sheldon?" Ms. Lemming had he head tilted to the side, ready to listen to whatever Sheldon had to say.
"What if we aren't connected to our ethnic backgrounds? Like we're adopted and don't know the exact origin of our heritage?"
"You would have to ask your parents to disclose that information. They should have the paperwork for that. It would be a good opportunity to learn more about your background."
"Yeah, um, miss?" Another voice spoke up. "I'm mixed so what would I do?"
"You only have to do one country, don't worry," Ms. Lemming nodded.
"What if we feel like calling ourselves whatever background we're supposed to make it feel like we're just wearing a costume?" Sheldon spoke up again and I could hear the malice in his tone.
Ms. Lemming's eyes shifted and Sheldon gave back a cold stare. "If you have any further issues, please talk to me after class."
I felt myself slowly sinking into my seat. I didn't expect this to happen.
"Anyways, I really enjoy doing this assignment to get to know all of you better and we'll also bring in snacks from other cultures so it'll be just like a party."
Ms. Lemming droned on about the assignment and I watched Rudra ask Sheldon if he was okay. Sheldon gave Rudra a thumbs-up but he refused to make eye contact.
This did not seem good at all.