74. Koushik's apology

"Are you cursing me b*tch?" The boy who was talking trash about Olivia was ready to charge at the tiny girl.

"Nope, she was just helping you find a way to lessen your sins. Let's go, Anisha." Another boy spoke promptly and dragged her away from him.

"Hey, let go of me, Mainak! Let me teach him a lesson." The little girl named Anisha, struggled to free her hand.

Although Mainak was not much plumper than her, he had a height advantage

"So that you can jump on his throat? Not a chance." Mainak held her firmly.

Anisha huffed in discontent.

Mainak may have said that aloud but in actual fact, he was scared that the foul-mouthed boy would hurt Anisha. He really looked hot to trot. After making sure they were a safe distance away from him, he released her.

Anisha ignored him and turned to Olivia with a big smile, "Hi I'm Anisha Maity."

"Olivia." Olivia introduced herself.

"You've got a nice name. By the way, don't pay attention to his words. His mouth smells like a f*cking sewage." Anisha grimaced.

A big and tall boy said, grinning widely, "Yes Olivia, don't mind him. People like us who aren't on the top twenty list are often looked down upon by snobs like him. Now that they know you've been demoted, they're using this to crush your morals. Don't feel bad and keep fighting."

"Oh, where are my manners? I forgot to introduce myself. Srijan Basak. I'm friends with Anisha." He scratched his head.

Olivia, who was staring down at little Anisha, had to tilt her head back to look at the giant before her.

'A cute giant.' she thought.

He was plump and his chubby cheeks became round like rosogolla when he smiled.

Olivia recognised Mainak to be the person who asked her if she was a new student on her first day in that class. She also recognised Anisha and Srijan from their voices. They were the ones who were expressing their sympathy after learning that she was a demoted senior student.

She saw another boy beside Mainak. They were more or less of the same height, except, the former had a muscular build while the latter was skinny. From the moment Anisha stood up for her she was observing the four. She had noticed that when Anisha was threatened by the foul-mouth, he was ready to lunge at him but was held back by Mainak.

Anisha followed her gaze and exclaimed, "Oh! That's Samrat Kar. And beside him is Mainak Acharya."

Olivia nodded.

"Thanks." She said to Anisha and made her way to the door when Koushik gripped her hand.

"Wait." He said.

Olivia halted and looked at their hands with a frown. Koushik followed her eyes and jolted his hand back.

"I'm sorry, I acted thoughtlessly. Here, it's unused." He offered her his handkerchief.

Olivia glanced at the meticulously folded pink handkerchief and looked back at his guilty face. Then declined it and bounced her head, motioning him to continue.

Koushik put it back and turned to the foul-mouthed boy, saying, "Please apologise."

"What?" He asked sardonically.

"I said please apologize to her for what you said," Koushik frowned.

"Dude, why is a star like you mingling with these nobodies? You know, they barely managed to stay afloat and can get kicked out of the academy any minute. I heard you ranked fifteenth in the entrance exam. Don't lower your standards." he said.

"Thank you but what you said is wrong. Ketu trains people in various fields. It accepts satisfactory results. But what you did just now is ruining the school's reputation in the eyes of new students like myself. Don't you, as a veteran student of Ketu, have the responsibility to uphold its reputation? What you're doing is called bullying. Today a boy bullied a fellow newcomer and had been suspended. He had also been warned that another such behaviour would get him expelled. I guess you know what happens if Ketu labels a student as unqualified to study here. All other schools in the country would think twice before accepting them. Please don't ruin your future." Koushik said in a firm yet pleading voice.

"Did I say anything wrong? She doesn't do anything in class but sleep. If she withdraws her name from the school, someone more qualified will be able to join. What's wrong with that? Isn't she just wasting resources?" The boy retorted.

Koushik wanted to say something when Olivia walked past him with her bag thrown over one shoulder.

"Hey, wait. Don't leave. He should apologize to you. Gimme a moment, I'll make him understand his mistakes." Koushik ran after her.

Olivia stared at his beautiful face for a while and thought, 'How naive! If everyone could understand their mistakes just like that then... heh! Nevermind. However, I wonder what the reason behind your strong feelings towards bullying is. Why do you take it so personally every time, like back then with Anupam and now with me? Is it really just a sense of justice?'

"Don't bother." She shot him a dispassionate gaze.

"Hey, iceberg, don't you feel sad at all? He spoke so meanly about you. Well, you wouldn't be an iceberg if you felt anything after all." Koushik muttered as he trailed behind Olivia.

She turned around abruptly, "What?"

"What what?" Koushik asked, dumbfounded.

"You want to say something." She stated.

"Uhh... yeah... I... I just wanted to say that... uhhh... I..." Koushik fumbled with his words.

"Hm?" Olivia raised an eyebrow.

"I'msorry," Koushik said in a single breath.

His hands were clasped tightly, his eyes were sealed shut and his head was bowed.

'Cute.' Olivia stared at his face half hidden by his fluffy hair.

Not getting any response, Koushik cracked open one eye, then the other, and slowly lifted his head.

He saw the confused look on her face and hurriedly explained, "For... uh... the thing with Anupam. I clarified that you were not only not at fault but also helped him, yet I unfairly blamed you based on my assumption. So I am sorry."

Olivia nodded and started walking.

"Huh? Hey, where are you going?" Koushik asked.

"Home." Came Olivia's reply.

"I apologized but you didn't say anything. Was it not sincere enough? I really mean it. I can try other ways if you're not satisfied. After all, I wronged you." Koushik tagged along her side.

"Unnecessary," Olivia said.

"Argh. It's so difficult to talk to you. Anyway, let me explain properly, from the beginning. I mistook you for a close friend of mine." Koushik said.

A glint flashed passed Olivia's eyes.

Koushik continued, "We were from the same school. She said she'd be admitted here so I too tried to get into Ketu. You know, your face resembles her, so I foolishly acted like it was her before me and not a different person. I was demented seeing you so unsympathetic towards Anupam since my friend's very kind towards others, especially vulnerable people. Later it struck me that I was constantly imagining her in your place and expecting you to behave like her. I realise what a stupid mistake it was. And I'm utterly sorry for my misbehaviour."

"You like her?" Olivia asked.

Koushik said hastily, his voice a notch higher, "Y.. yeah. I.. I told you that she's my close friend, right? It's... it's only... natural for friends to like each other. Why would we even be friends if we don't... like each other!"

Olivia could see a faint blush across his ears and cheeks. She just nodded and left for the dormitories. Koushik waved at her and rubbed his neck with a silly smile as he thought about Ankita.