Chapter 36

2018.02.20

I was the second person to come earlier to school. I was shocked when I saw our door. "What happened?" I asked my classmate who had come in before me. I do not know what happened. It was like that when I came in. I was shocked like you. They had been jealous about it for sure." "Dang it! We just finished it yesterday." We had to decorate our class in the first month every year. So I did some wall paintings and we all decorated the door with a saying, 'Come inside, it is fun inside.' There was no wring in it. Mrs. Beth checked it too. Yeah, she came back on the second week of the January. It was almost now a month passed and they tore it down now? Like seriously! That little hamster did have dirty paws.

Everyone who came in was shocked. I asked, "Who was the one who closed the class at last?" "It was Sasha." We waited till she came and she came finally. Before we asked her, she told us. "I came up after going to toilet and I saw Mrs. Samantha was tearing it down. She was shocked to see me and straightened up and told that it is inappropriate so tear it up. I think we better before she comes up." I sighed. My classmates started to complain, "Like really, INAPPROPRIATE! What the hell. There is nothing wrong with it." "I know right. People get jealous over these petty things. So grown-up." We tore it down before Mrs. Samantha came. She walked past our class looking at the door and being proud. After a while Mrs. Beth came in and asked what had happened to the door and we told her that Mrs. Samantha wanted it removed because it was highly inappropriate. Mrs. Beth made a face and said whatever and moved on. Mrs. Samantha came running over when she saw Mrs. Beth and asked her out and talked her about the wordings that was present on the door and told her about the level of inappropriateness. Mrs. Beth came in slightly mad and told us to ignore.

I usually started spending time alone a bit. Yes, I do talk with Sally and Zarina. But they get absent often and I do not feel the connection like I felt with Masha and Sarah. I became obsessed with silence. And I always slept the whole day. I stared out of the window all the time.

It was physics. Genuinely they should get another teacher. I do not get what he teaches. Sometimes yes, but it only lasts for an hour and he gives us simple questions and expects us to solve the hardest ones. Then again he is good in his experiments in physics. We were listening to his boring lecture and he made sexism jokes which were really petty. Everybody laughed. He kind of looked down on women. And it was not funny to me. I found it offensive. Come on! Chill out a little Anna. Sorry, I do not find any of his jokes funny. I always kept a straight face whenever the joke is dumb and not funny at all. Most of my classmates laughs just to pet him up. My sir tried to crack me up many times but I did not give in. So he stopped telling me jokes and started telling to only some of classmates because some did not get him at all on many occasions.

2018.04.02

Today was parent's meeting. I did not do well like the first term test. I remember the first day when I went to roll for the Science stream. One of my cousin sister studied here. And she also did science. I was so excited to do science as the subject just existed for me. I sat down on the seat to be interviewed. They saw my results and I was the sixth best results in the school. "Good Morning Madam." "Good Morning. Why have you got C for religion?" she kind of mocked me. She looked down on me. The teacher next to me came to rescue and told, "No, the papers are tough this year. It is not a big issue." Like seriously I am here to do Science and I have straight A's' for English, Science, Math and Health science. Can she not see my strength in it? I just kept quiet. Afterwards she asked me, "You are Camila's cousin right?" "Yes, madam." I smiled with my dimple popping out on my left cheek. "I want to you not be like your cousin. Can you do that?" My eyes widened. My smile dropped to the floor. I stared at her a minute or so. "I will try my best." I said plainly and she replied, "Yes you should do not turn out to be her." I grabbed on to the paper she gave me. I was mad. I wanted to throw the paper at her face at that time. But to think again may be I am not good enough to be doing science after all.

Mrs. Beth told me to go to a side because she wanted to have a chat with my mother privately. I was not happy about it. I do not know what she is going to tell and my mother is not going to spill the beans. They were definitely were having a serious conversation.

We came home after an exhausting day. Just after I stepped I to home I inquired my mother, "What did Mrs. Beth tell you?" "Nothing." "Mom! Come on!" "She said that you are now spending time alone and you do not talk with others much. You are staying alone." "Not really. So what did you say?" "I told that I said you to because you have to focus on the studies." There was more and she was not willing to say it out loud. Mothers always keep the worst to them and never shar10e. Sometimes it is really tiring.

2018.04.04

Zarina and a classmate were in a quarrel. Zarina told that she and her mother were talking about her and Mathew and always spy on both of them. That classmate is the one who told me to keep my nose put of Jessica's problem when I was crying from the hurtful speech Sandra gave me that day. Zarina also added that she was spreading talks about me and Daniel dating. It was such a headache. Zarina took me to her and we fought about it. And asked her to stop it the nonsense. Then our classmate told me, "It is okay if you accuse me. Do not take my mother in to this story." Zarina was screaming and I said, "Fine, then why did you talk about me and Daniel that day." She flustered and told, "I just said I did not mean any harm and I only told you guys." "But Zarina…" Zarina pulled me off and said to cut if off and said will go. I was fighting with her instead of Zarina fighting with her. Then my classmate called out me and said, "Anna, when it happens to you. You will understand." I looked at her and did not reply. I looked at Zarina and she was slightly panicked. I trusted Zarina. She would not do any harm to me right.

2018.04.13

On April 11th Friday was my birthday but it was holidays so I was not able to celebrate with my friends. My parents and my siblings wished me at around five in the morning. I got fifty cans of beverages from my dad. A long skirt and a blue and white striped t-shirt. My sister bought me a long necklace that went with the dress and my little adorable brother made a 'Happy Birthday' card. I held him tight and thanked him. My sister sat next to me and asked me to share the beverages with her. I laughed. She was very nice the whole day, she treated me as her queen these days and she stole my beverages. I was mad at her and told to keep her away. She drank at least five per day. "Engel, you should stop it. It was a gift for me not for you. You already had ten in two days and that is enough. Rest are mine. I have to share with mom and Andrew." She got mad and told that I was being selfish and arrogant about it.

Toady was Sunday and my best friends were making a small surprise for me. They had bought big boxes of gifts and I was extremely happy about it. This was the first time I am going to get a real birthday party and real gifts from the heart. In the interval they told me to wait in the class and hey will go to the up road near the small shop under the tree and decorate it. I was waiting eagerly. I bought pizza and some beverages. My guy friend was also coming. I was out of this planet.

After ten minutes I went up and they had decorated it soooooooooooo beautifully. I cried. They had a cake. Two gifts from Sally and three gifts from Zarina. I was overjoyed. My guy friend did not bring nothing at all. I was like 'Guys are like that'. He had bought another friend of his along with him too. I had to feed him too. The pizza had gone a little cold. We celebrated and cut the cake and I had no time to open the gifts because we were already late for the class. The interval was over and we were late for five minutes. We rushed in with all the bags. We looked down avoiding sir's eye contact and sat in our seats. I could hear murmurs of my name behind us from the boys.

One of the boys turned and called me out. "Anna! Anna!" and quickly turned before sir saw. It was Tim. He is the guy from the bench incident. The guy who told that he will sit behind us and he guy who I glared at. We became friends afterwards. "Tim! Why?" "Happy Birthday!" "Thanks bro." I was happy that he wished me. "Why did you not tell me your birthday?" "How can I tell that?" "Treat?" "I have some pizza, shall I give?" He nodded and gave him some slices. Then he passed a small gift. The bag was from the shop 'The Lover', so he had cut the 'Lover' and wrote it as Friend along with 'Happy Birthday'. I smiled at him and mouthed 'Thank you!' There was a small silver bracelet with a dolphin on it. I immediately removed by other bracelet and put it on and called him out again. And showed my wrist and Zarina told him that it was very pretty. I am a fan of Zarina talking with my guy friends. In kind of cut me off and talk with them. But I never complained about it expect for Sally. She also agreed with me too.

Suddenly there was a huge rain and it poured so heavily that we could not hear sir at all. So he paused for the mean time and waited till the rain cease. Daniel and his guys were in the back row. They started shouting and some of them started singing 'Happy Birthday to you!' It was definitely Daniel's best friend. My stomach filled with butterflies. I was blushing hard but no one can see it because my skin tone hides it perfectly. Tim noticed too. I did not turn my head. And some of them shouted 'Happy Birthday Anna!' Zarina was watching the guys like a vulture and kept updating. The whole class knew now. Even my classmates got to know. I was over the moon. I was so happy that I was ready to die but not ready to propose to Daniel. I started to give up on Daniel because it was my gut feeling that it will not work out. And I did not want to date him just for fun. It was wrong. I did not want to play with his feelings. And above all I am still not sure if he had a crush on me.

I stayed after class and opened the presents. Sally got me a blue short dress, handmade card with memories and the cake. Zarina bought me a green headphones, wrist watch and a perfume. I thanked them a lot and shed a few tears with joy. We waited till sir comes and we gave him a piece of cake. Later my best friends dropped me off at my home and left to their homes.

I updated in my new stargram account stories of my birthday. After that I saw messages from Tim. I opened and it read. 'Sorry for not giving a big gift.' I replied, 'Are you insane? It was a great gift. Sorry for the cold pizza.' 'No. The pizza was good. And you should hurry before Daniel moves on and catches on another girl.' 'I do not care. If he wants he can. It is his choice and his wish.' It was confirmed that he had a crush on me. He liked a girl like me. I was grateful for it. Then my guy friend messaged me. 'Oii' 'Hey!' 'You got a lot of gifts he!' 'Yeah, you did not give me though.' He just laughed it off and then we chatted for a while and then he told 'It was a waste of time I came today. You gave a dry cold pizza and a useless beverage.' 'Yes, I should not have called you.' My heart shrank. Was it that bad? I was hurt. And I was getting fed up of his negative comments and pessimistic attitude. I gradually stopped talking to him after Sally got accused because of him.