Chapter 5

The red and beige walls of Chicago High School had the blue and yellow lion which symbolized the vision of the school. The ancient roman pillars at the front steps signified the history behind the walls of the school. Large square-shaped windows, front lawns and the beautiful architecture can make anyone fall in love with the school. Inaaya stepped out of the car. Mr. Nanda who had his hands on the wheel gave her a hopeful smile, "You are going to wonders, Inaaya. I know you will love this school"

She sighed and gave a smile. Swirling around on her heels, she observed the school. Her heart skipped a beat when she saw Ayaan standing near the stairs, talking to a bunch of people. The brown leather jacket with red t-shirt made me him look charming with his hair styled in a different way. It was like he was a different person. He laughed as he gave a high-five to someone. She let out a breath, "Keep calm, you have talked to him before. So what if he looks extremely handsome today. It is fine"

Digging her nails in the straps of her bag, she walked to him. But, he walked inside with his friends. Keeping her head low, she entered the glass gates. Her heart knew this is going to be different. Back home, school meant classes and library. She was called 'The Einstein' by her classmates which felt special but it also made her target of jokes. She wondered if it would be different if she had a friend.

Her eyes kept searching for him in the crowd. It was unusual feeling for her, to want to be around someone, to look forward to spending time with them and to have butterflies in your stomach when they touch your hand. Being the first guy to talk to her about other things than homework made him special for her. Friendship was new for her.

When she reached her locker, there was a note in red. 'Watch out what is coming for you, Bitch' it said. Frightened, she looked around to find a bunch of people walking down the hall. She tore the note in pieces before keeping her stuff in the locker.

Half of the day passed, she saw Ayaan in her French, Calculus and Literature classes. He didn't even look at her. She kept wondering if she did anything wrong which had made him angry. She took her lunch and walked to the empty seat in the corner of the room. While she was eating the pudding, a small girl slipped beside her. She had medium length straight honey blonde hair were perfectly tucked behind her ears making the dark brown eyes shine. She had a sparkly pink jacket over blue denims and yellow colored blouse. She smiled at her saying, "I am Charlotte. I saw you eating lunch all by yourself. I think no one deserves to be left alone like that. You mind if I sit here while you eat?"

Inaaya was confused. She shook her head before resuming eating. Suddenly, there was an announcement. Charlotte started fidgeting with her colorful beads bracelet. The announcer started speaking, "Hello Chicago High School, here is something exciting message for you from our new girl Inaaya Nanda"

A recording starts playing, "Well, I am a 'Shadow'. People don't notice me which makes it easy to get by. I can do whatever I want and no one would notice it (Pause) How about this you stay down and I go all the way to the top? (Pause) The creamier the better (Pause) I like when she licks me, it shows her love..."

Inaaya froze when she heard her voice with tears welling up in her eyes blurring the vision. These were sentences from the conversations between her and Ayaan. They were not said in the way they were presented. These were simple conversations. Something inside her broke. She knew it was going to be hard to be in this school but she never imagined this. Her hands started shaking. She saw everyone laughing. Charlotte sat still. She had her pink nails digging inside her palms. While the recording continued, she ran out of the cafeteria.

****

Inaaya was sitting on the stands of the school ground. The announcement ended minutes ago. She had her head buried in her lap and was crying her eyes out. She sensed someone sitting next to her. A voice spoke, "I had smoothie thrown at me by the whole school just because I was wearing orange. It was the second week of the school"

Her head jerked up. She found Charlotte watching the empty field. Charlotte continued, "I heard them talking about doing something to make you regret coming to this school. I sat with you because I wanted to be with you. When something like this happens to you on your first day, it is worst."

She turned to Inaaya saying, "Don't cry and let them think they won. You have to step up."

Inaaya wiped her tears, "But I don't know what to do. I don't think I have courage to even go inside those doors again."

"AK did this to you. Whole school knows this. You have to do something or else they will win and continue doing this to everyone" she replied. Inaaya wrinkled her brows, "Who is AK?"

"Ayaan Kapoor, the captain of the basketball team. The school worships him because he looks good and has won almost all games for the school. I don't know why popular guys are such a jerk" she rolled her eyes. Inaaya shook her head in disbelief and covered her face with her hands. Everything was a lie. He was a mirage, she should have known.

Wiping her tears, she took a deep breath and stood up. She walked in the building. Charlotte called her out but she didn't respond. She reached the cafeteria and found Ayaan sitting with his friends. They were laughing about something. She walked up to him. When he saw her, his smile faded away. He could see the pain of betrayal in her eyes. One of the guys from adjacent table said to her, "I would really like if you are on top"

She ignored him and was staring at Ayaan. Her voice was shaking, "W...Why?"

He didn't answer. She asked again in a high voice, "Why did you do this? We were friends"

He scoffed, "Did you really think a girl like you can be friends with me? You don't belong here. You ruined many people's life by coming back. You were supposed to remain out of our lives. And, please I wouldn't waste a second on you if I didn't had to do all this. We wanted to ruin your life here, so you could just go back running"

She had her insides burning. She heard his friends laugh. He continued, "I hated every second I spent with you. I wished to run away whenever you used to talk about some crazy stuff. Who wants to talk about the stuff you talk about? Well, I did it for my love. So, everything is fair in love and war. There...there is the reason. I did it for love. So it is fair"

A rage took over her body. Tears poured down. She walked close to him and slammed her palm against his face. A loud voice echoed in the cafeteria silencing the laughter. He put his hand on his cheek where it burnt as redness started occurring. She was panting, "No, it is not fair"

She grabbed her bag before leaving the cafeteria. Everything in the cafeteria stood still. Ayaan watched her go rubbing his cheek.