My Destination, My Bondita

58 - First Stage of Progress

Anirudh nodded when Bondita asked him to teach her, ignoring the warm feeling he was getting from how she was asking him so sweetly. 

"I'll teach you after this class," he informed her. "You can stay back." 

Then he glanced at Batuk and asked, "Batuk do you want to learn too?" 

Bondita shot a glare at Batuk, ordering him with her eyes to say no. She needed her Pati Babu to be alone with her, so that he got impressed by her. 

Batuk saw his Boudi's look and shook his head. Either way, he didn't want to stay for extra lessons. He was already tired from these lessons. 

"Dada, I'm sleepy," he just said. 

"Yes, just go and sleep," Anirudh told him sarcastically, sounding displeased. 

Batuk gulped nervously. 

"Get back to work," Anirudh ordered to Batuk. Then he turned to face Bondita. "And you Bondita... if you feel it is right, you can work." 

She felt like a a stone had been thrown into her heart when he spoke to her like that. Bondita just wanted to cry. 

Anirudh went back behind his desk, and she looked back down at her book, tears forming in her eyes. 

When he screamed at her, it never felt like this. She could handle any side of her Pati Babu, but this was a side that she wasn't used to, nor did she think she could ever get used to. 

After the lesson that day, Batuk packed his things and left the room. Bondita just sat there. 

Anirudh looked up from his desk and asked, "Do you still want to learn?" 

Bondita nodded. 

Anirudh went towards the blackboard and picked up a chalk. He began explaining things to her like a teacher, very distantly. He wasn't smiling at her, nor did he have any cheerful tone in his voice. 

Bondita looked at him, trying to focus, but feeling sad because he wasn't giving her the special attention he normally gave her. It felt like she was a stranger. 

"Do you understand?" he asked finally, after completing his explanation. 

She gulped. She had been so lost in her thoughts and worried about him being mad at her, that she had missed out on some parts of the lesson.  

She had to change the topic somehow!

Bondita stood up from her seat and approached him slowly. Anirudh furrowed his eyebrows when she came close. 

"Pati Babu," she started, "I want to learn all of English fast!" 

Maybe then he would love her!  

Anirudh felt his heart melt when he saw her enthusiasm. This enthusiasm was one of the many things he absolutely loved about her. 

"If you have the wish to learn, then you can learn," he told her, trying hard not to smile. "There is nothing you can't do when you set your mind to it." 

If she set her mind to it, then her Pati Babu would forgive her and love her! 

She grinned at him. 

Anirudh continued to try hard not to smile back. He turned his focus on the blackboard again. 

"You can sit down," he told her, "I'll continue to explain..." 

She nodded and went back to her seat to continue her lesson. This time she would pay attention extra hard and ask all the right questions to impress him!