69. She's heartless

Tears streamed down from Anupam's eyes as he sobbed.

After getting a hold of himself, he looked her in the eyes and said with trembling lips, "You're r... right. Th... thank you... c... cap... captain. I'll... remember yo... your words."

Then he left with a slight bow of his head. Olivia looked at his back and heaved a sigh of relief.

'It's good if you understand. Otherwise, you'll be the one facing problems in the future. The world doesn't lack douchebags, unfortunately.' She thought.

'Hmm. Now I need a nice long sleep to recover the energy I lost all this while. Haaa.' She yawned widely.

On her way back to class, she looked at a certain corner and spotted something.

'Stubborn.' Olivia rolled her eyes in her mind.

From the corner where she was staring, came out a figure.

"She's so heartless. Just a few moments ago the boy got bullied. But she, instead of comforting him, made him cry so badly." Koushik said, scowling at Olivia's retreating back.

When Olivia had asked him to go back, he just pretended to do so and hid in a corner. From his hiding spot, he could only see what was happening but not hear. He saw the scared look on Anupam while facing Olivia, and him trembling, and finally breaking into tears as their conversation proceeded. Olivia also had a rigid expression the whole time. So he thought she must have said something hurtful to him. He felt sad, thinking about how Anupam was being bullied before and then became very angry, remembering that she not only refrained from reprimanding those bullies but also hurt the poor boy.

"How did she become the School Captain with such insensitivity?" he muttered angrily.

"Miss, may I come in?" Koushik said, but saw no teacher in the room.

"Oh." He went inside, sighing in relief that he did not miss class on his first day.

Attendance was taken half an hour left before the first class started. When Olivia came back to the class, there were still ten minutes left. So she hurried to her seat and cradled her head in her hands for another round of nap without wasting a second.

Koushik's entry to the class attracted the attention of many students who exclaimed in surprise and excitement.

"OH! It's Koushik. I remember! My brother is a fan of that boy band... uh.. yeah, Antraksha or something. He's always chanting their names."

"No idiot that's Antariksha. I remember they made the headlines as one of the most popular up-and-coming band in the country."

"Gosh, look at him! So gorgeous! I thought they used makeup to look like that but he's still so good-looking in real life."

There were various comments but the person in concern was busy looking for something else. A seat. After his tour of the building as a new admission, he came to a class where most of the seats were either already occupied or reserved. After scanning the classroom, he finally found an empty seat near the window but it was not totally unoccupied. A girl was already sitting or rather sleeping there. He froze, remembering something from VN HIGH. Every morning Ankita used to lay sprawled across the Board chatting with the people around her. Her memory brought a smile to his face. He shook his head and sat down.

He was thinking of introducing himself when he realised that his deskmate was sleeping with her face turned away from him. He stared at her for some time and felt like he had seen her somewhere. He was a very observant person, especially with people's face, and could recognise someone just from seeing them once. And that power of observation told him that she looked like the school captain.

'Argh! That heartless girl is haunting me. How can that happen?' He frowned.

He shrugged that feeling off, thinking it to be his imagination because he remembered having heard that all the students' council members were from class XII. He focused on arranging his books and giving his attendance instead. Just then, several students came up to him. Many graduates from Ketu became famous superstars but a celebrity joining the school was rare. So they decided to make an acquaintance with him and fulfil their genuine curiosity about his life as a star. Koushik also did not feel uncomfortable around them like he did at VN HIGH.

The first period started and the teacher asked everybody to take down the questions on their NB. Seeing no movement from his deskmate, Koushik poked her arm with his pen.

"Hey, wake up. The teacher has started the class." He whispered.

"Hmmmmmm." The girl groaned and moved away from his poking.

Koushik moved closer and poked her again.

"Tsk, argh." This time she reluctantly straightened up.

Rubbing her eyes with utmost annoyance, she started writing. But the one who was trying to wake her up was now frozen in his place.

"You!" Koushik shouted seeing his deskmate's face.

"Keep quiet!" The teacher scowled at him.

Koushik apologized awkwardly and sat back down.

He spun his head towards his deskmate and asked furiously in a hushed tone, "What are you doing here?"

It was Olivia. She turned around groggily only to meet a pair of glaring eyes. She blinked twice blankly and went back to her work.

"Don't ignore me. Answer my question," Koushik whispered.

He could not believe the person he was scolding sometime ago was now sitting next to him. He felt like he would explode from anger.

"Writing," Olivia looked at him like he was asking an obvious question.

"I can see that. I meant why are you in this class?" Koushik gritted his teeth.

Olivia did not reply.

"Anyways what did you say to that boy? He was crying after you spoke to him." Koushik continued questioning.

"Eavesdropping?" Olivia lifted an eyebrow.

"What? No, I mean yes, technically, but I didn't hear anything. But that's not the point. I'm asking what you said to the poor boy to..." He could not finish his sentence.

"You two there. If you think you're not interested in attending the class you're free to get out. Don't disturb the rest. Olivia you should be paying even more attention in class since you got demoted. And Koushik, as a new student, you should pay even more attention to what is being taught. Talking with your friends is okay but not when something important is being taught. The person you're speaking with has already learnt these but what about you? Can you guarantee a good result even without paying attention in class? If so then please continue outside. Olivia, is this how you behave as a veteran?" The teacher nagged.

"Both of you, go to the library and..." she told them their task for punishment.

"I'm sorry Miss. I'll be mindful of my behaviour next time onwards." Koushik lowered his head and said sincerely.

"Move." Olivia just got up and left.

The teacher looked at her back helplessly and turned to Koushik, saying, "I know that you're new and are eager to make friends but please take notice of your environment before doing something."

"Miss we're not.." Koushik tried to explain but was cut off by the teacher.

"It's okay. I understand. That's why I was lenient and only asked you to do ten comprehensive questions. If it happens again, the punishment will double." The teacher said in an understanding manner.

Koushik stood there tongue-tied for a moment, then left with a nod. He was fuming inside. He had always been a good student and never received such harsh punishment from his teachers or rather private tutors. Among the three of them, he could be called the teacher's pet.

"It's all because of her!" He grumbled.