Khusi's eyes wandered over the long rows of books as she tried to find one to spend her time. She had a period off but both Minaskshi and Zeenia had classes, so she decided to read something rather than spending 40 minutes lazily on her phone.
Over the last couple of weeks all three of them had bonded over pretty well. Though Khusi kept to herself most of the time, neither Minakshi nor Zeenia gave her a single chance to be alone when they were at the school, nor on weekends.
After the first encounter with Zeeniya in the market, neither of them had brought up the topic of that man ever.
Her eyes finally stopped on a book as soon as she saw the writer's name.
The Blue Umbrella.
Smiling softly, she took the book out of the shelf and went to the school cafe. Spotting an empty chair in a corner, she sat down, reminiscing her teen days when she used to read that book at least once every month. It was one of her favorite works by the famous author.
"Have you heard about Prachi? She hasn't been coming to school for the last 2 days." Khusi was deeply engrossed in the book, when a few whispers caught her attention.
Two male teachers were hanging around in the canteen, chatting with the school clerk.
"Really? Wasn't she the one who was very rebellious? I think she joined 6 months ago. Poor soul. I wonder what happened to her."
Their words caught Khusi's attention and she pushed herself on her feet walking up to them, curiosity bugging her brain. The moment they uttered 'poor soul' she realized something was wrong.
"Excuse me, what's the matter?" Khusi asked.
Their faces snapped towards Khusi and their eyes widened as if were caught doing something guilty. Shaking their heads, they walked away.
Khusi's eyebrows furrowed at the odd behavior but she didn't pay much heed to it.
She was just about to go back to her seat and start rereading the book when a voice called her out.
"Khusi!" Minakshi ran inside the canteen before realizing what blunder she had made. Shouting in the canteen was strictly prohibited.
"Oops sorry," she apologized, grimacing at the chef who was shooting her daggers.
"Vice principal sir is calling you," Minakshi informed, sitting down beside Khusi, peeking inside the book.
"Me?" Dread settled upon Khusi's chest. She was scared of going anywhere near the Principal's office. Unfortunately the Vice Principal's office was beside his.
"Yes, what are you reading?"
"Do you know why he is calling me?" Licking her lips nervously, Khusi slid the book towards Minakshi as she gazed at the pictures.
"No, but he had stopped Zini too, when we were on our way back towards the staff room. I don't know why."
"Alright."
With trepidations nipping her stomach Khusi made her towards the Vice principal room. Thankfully the principal sir wasn't in his room, so Khusi didn't have to face the scary man.
YOU ARE READING
Not Her
Romance"I don't want to become a mother." This line is a taboo for women in some parts of the world, and so was for Khusi Mukherjee. At the age of 25, independent and single, she wanted to live her life according to her rules. But everything changed when...
