Chapter 3: Chapter 3
Aranya loved the smell of books, new and old, she loved to scribble, take notes, memorize and recite, and feel a little smarter the next day. And unlike at home, it was where girls are believed, respected, loved and cared for, sometimes even more than the boys. Boys were seen as the inconvenience they really are.
'Where's VI A?' asked Aranya to a group of seniors milling about in the corridor, discussing skirt lengths and pubic hair.
'Why do you want to know?' asked one of them.
Aranya had received two double promotions, once when she was in LKG and once in the first standard, making her the youngest in her class.
'I'm a new student.'
The senior who now seemed to have noticed her patchy skin, pointed in the direction of the class, and looked away from her as if staring any longer would give him the disease as well.
'It's not contagious!' said Aranya sharply and made her way to the class.
Her new classmates welcomed her with sideways glances and scared whispers. She sat alone on the first bench. The kids on the second bench leaned away from her. Some covered their noses. A few minutes later, the teacher walked in and the class settled down. A few kids still looked at her, cringed, but that was okay. She felt worse about her brother throwing that CD at her than the behaviour of these kids.
The teacher noticed Aranya sitting alone, smiled extra benevolently and said, 'If you need anything, my staffroom is on the fourth floor.'
People often thought Aranya had special needs because of her condition.
'Ma'am, except for school picnics, which I would like to be excused from since I get sunburnt if I expose myself to too much of the outdoors, I think I would be able to manage myself. Thank you though for the help, Ma'am. It was too kind of you,' clarified Aranya with her gap-toothed smile. The teacher smiled back, asked her to sit down and welcomed her again.
'Open to page no. 33. And all of you who don't have the books can go outside the class,' said the teacher.
She had started reading from the book when a boy at the door interrupted her. 'Good morning, Ma'am, may I come in?'
'Dhruv? You're late again. I can't let you in,' said the teacher. Dhruv, without protest, took two steps backwards, leaned against the wall and stood there.
Aranya wondered where she had seen him before. She turned back to ask the two scared kids who held their breaths about the boy. 'You can breathe. My disease isn't contagious.'
One of the girls let up. 'Dhruv. He's the son of one of our teachers. He has failed twice. He keeps picking up fights with seniors.'
'Why?'
'They say things about his mom.'
'What things?' asked Aranya.
'Dirty things.' Aranya drew a blank. 'That her mother gets naked with the principal in his room,' whispered the girl.
Aranya gasped. 'What? Why would anyone say that? That's horrible!' said Aranya. She saw Dhruv shift in his place. He looked inside and caught Aranya staring at him. She recognized him now. He was the boy who had pointed fingers and laughed at her that night. The pity in Aranya's heart melted away.
Maybe he deserved it.
I Love u Rachu
Please support me for my work and get early access of my further chapters. Link provided below. Thanks.
https://www.patreon.com/aditya6499
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone