Hiccup!
Manya looked at Arjun and directed a killer look at him. One look should have been enough to warn him that he still had time to stop with his laughter, or else the things would not go in his favour. But then she noticed him laughing wholeheartedly,and her heart missed a beat at first, then started running with the speed of a bullet train. For a moment, she was actually worried that he might be able to hear her heartbeat out loud!
But just at that moment, the girl shouted out, “There is, there is my teacher, she is back with my food!”
Manya looked in the direction the girl was pointing in, to notice a slim, beautiful girl approaching them, clad in a red suit.The anger that bad been simmering inside Manya started to boil over again, but the last six months had taught her to consider things from the other person's perspective as well. So instead of blurting out and burning the poor girl with the flames of her anger, she asked gently,”So you are Miss Nidhi, the one this little girl was talking about?”
“Yes!” She replied with a smile.
“If you don't mind, can I ask you a question?” Manya tried to smile back, forgetting all her anger and asked politely.
“Yes, go on!” Now the girl in front of her was getting a little annoyed, which was evident in the tone of her reply.
“Did you don't like your job?”
“Excuse me!?”
“You excuse me, how can you leave a little alone and go to buy food?”
“The kids at my school are well-behaved, and I hadn't left her anywhere. I asked her to stay at a particular place and then I went to buy some stuff for her!”
Manya handed the child in Arjun's arms and indicated to him to take her away from there for some minutes, so that she could talk to her teacher.
Arjun understood the indication through her eyes, and took the kid farther away by diverting her attention towards a cotton candy stall nearby.
Manya turned her attention back to the teacher and started again, “You must be kidding me, right? I still don't understand whether what you have done was just a mistake, or if you have done it deliberately! How did you suppose that a little kid like her would stay at the exact place in an open area, without getting distracted?”
“Ma'am! I don't know who you are. And why are you being touchy about that girl? I understand that she might get hurt, but she didn’t ,so what is the point of this argument? Plus I ain't her mother, that I will carry her with me all the time!”
“Sure, you ain't her mother, but she was your responsibility the moment her mother left her in school! Plus, do you know what the kid was saying to me? She said that you are her favourite teacher, so I request you to please be careful to maintain the myth for the kid, at least.”
Manya took a pause to glance at the kid, before continuing, “You are right, I am not her mother either. But you will find out very soon why I was being touchy about the child. Also, I am sorry but I won't let the kid return with you!”
After that, she pulled out her phone and dialed a number, the call was answered after a few rings. She spoke in a very low tone such that the conversation was not decipherable to the teacher at all, and then she handed the phone to her, saying, “Please have a talk.”
Nidhi took the phone and hands shook of their own accord, as she began to realise that she was on the wrong foot, but she couldn't just run back now! Thinking this in her head, she said out loud, “Hello! Who is this?”
“Oh principal sir! Okay sir, definitely, definitely!”
The call was disconnected after this, and she returned the phone to Manya. After a moment’s hesitation, she asked, “Who are you?” Trying to recognise her, she looked at her face with concentration.
“It shouldn’t bother you. And don't worry, just consider today as your half-day, and go and think about where you went wrong.” Manya said this as she reached out to hold her hand, pressing it gently. With a smile, she continued “Sometimes, even though we realise that we are going in the wrong direction, we find ourselves unable to double back and correct ourselves because of our built-up ego or fears. But as a teacher, we really need to fight both of these, as the teachers really play a great role in the development of a kid.” Acknowledging her with a nod, she smiled once again and started walking towards the place where Arjun and the child were playing.
*Looking at them engrossed in their game, a voice within her prompted her, ‘Wasn't she doing the same thing by not returning?’ She proceeded to reason with herself, that if she returned to the same life, won't she mess everything up again? She shouldn't be the one thinking anything about it, it was not her place to even entertain these ideas.*
She jerked the thought away and asked the kid, “Kiddo, how much of your homework is left?”
“Only two people are left!” The kid replied excitedly.
Before Manya could reply, Arjun spoke up, “Ah! That's fantastic, one will be filled by me! And for the other one, let's look for a person, as the miss standing in front of us will be converting into a zombie real soon! I don't think your school will accept a communication skill project in collaboration with a real zombie.”
The kid's eyes grew wider in amazement as she asked, “Really?”
“No!” Both of them exclaimed as they burst out in laughter.
************************
Manya was getting ready for the board meeting, when the conversation that had taken place between her and Arjun at the rooftop started playing in her mind, as if a tape had been re-wound..
“Minnie, can't you stop? I am starting to get a little tired of running; I am willing to wait for you my entire lifetime, but at least give me some hope! You just keep running, and I keep following you. Please tell me, can't you stop?” Arjun’s question came back to the front of her mind, along with the expressions on his face.
“Arjun, mind your steps- you are drunk.” Her own voice rang out in a warning tone.
“No!” He shook his head stubbornly, then continued, “I am not drunk.” Saying this,he pulled her close to him and spoken in an earnest tone, “Look, look at my eyes! Do I look like I am drunk? No I am not...or if I am drunk, then it must be poison...the poison of my love for you, as I am not able to detoxify myself from it. I am greatly addicted to it; I know it might be sounding cringe-y to you, but it is true...it is true, Minnie…”
A series of hiccups broke the chain of his rambling for some time, but he started again.
“You know what, sometimes I thought you had never loved me...because I know exactly when my feelings started for you. But you...you...you had just kissed me on a random night! Oh no, wait- I had kissed you! I am sorry Minnie, I am a bad guy, a very very very bad guy!” He started slapping his own mouth, making her laugh out loud and concerned at the same time.
“You have never drunk as much before, right?”
“No! I can drink ,just like you...I am better than you...know…you know why I love you so much?” He said again, letting his head rest on her shoulder.
“Why?”
She waited, giving him a few seconds to reply, but there was nothing in return. So she prompted him again, “Arjun…!? Tell me, why do you love me so much?”
She looked at him to find out why he had not answered, only to realise that he had fallen asleep the moment he had put his head on her shoulder.
She smiled as she remembered the drama of last night, thanking God that she wouldn't have to face him that day, as he might not be there due to the ensuing hangover.
************************
Arjun woke up with a throbbing headache and was confused for some minutes due to the reason for the pain. He was looking around the room, puzzled, when his eyes landed on a glass of water on the table by his bed, along with a folded yellow note.
“Take these tablets after waking up, it will help you with the headache. And next time, don't drink when I am not around!
Bye and take care,
Minni ♡”
Arjun suddenly recalled everything about last night, and hit his head on the pillow, hiding his face into it out of embarrassment. His muffled voice shouted out, “How can you be so dumb, Arjun! And what am I supposed to do now!”
************************