AISHA: The Cursed Name

Chapter -6 The First Lessons

The First Lesson

After all that she experienced, Aisha's brain could not attend lessons. But she had to. She made a choice, and she had to walk the path she chose. It was around 11:00 when the great bell rang, alerting everyone to go to their classes.

Bani leads Aisha through the corridors for their first lesson. It could have been anything better, but starting the new session with an hour-long history period was not the best thing. The two girls entered a large room with paired desks and benches placed in two parallel rows. The class had windows to the left and a large bookshelf opposite the door. All windows had plain green curtains of thick fabric, perfectly aligned to one side of each window. The floor had a wooden texture, providing significant sound while walking. Parallel to the huge wooden entry door, at the farthest distance was a raised platform, and the teacher's desk was placed in the centre of it and behind it was an enormous blackboard. The room, made out of dark mustard bricks and a decorative wooden ceiling. The room was lit by hovering fireballs and lamps kept at each desk.

Students had already taken their places when Bani pulled Aisha onto the first seat, as the Bhoomi Mayavi boy ran away from there, seeing them. Everyone was throwing hateful glares at Aisha. No one uttered anything, but they seemed to look uncomfortable seeing her around in a school uniform. Aisha was clutching a thick book between her arms, digging her head into it to prevent seeing those faces. The class wasn't quiet, giggles and murmurs were audible as they suddenly faded, and the pin-drop silence was disturbed by the sound of sturdy footsteps walking in.

A man, dressed in a brown Kurta and a white Dhoti with a thick gold-plated border, finely plicated and then a corner bought over, hung on his left arm, came, glancing at all the faces. He had a beard and moustache that he always curled up. His straight and slightly greased hair, tied into a low pony, and some lingering over his forehead, had a green stripe. His green eyes sparkled as he turned to face the class from the front, and the doors banged closed. His eyes made contact with every student, sitting at the back and coming forth, as they fell on Aisha, and he said,
"You? What are you here for? You should have gone away. Or...  Anything!"

Aisha stood up, looking straight into his eyes when she said,
"My greetings, sir, Good Morning! I'm sorry, sir, but from now onwards I will study with this batch. As instructed by the headmistress, I will attend all the classes. And during the magic sessions, I shall stand by and watch out for all four powers until I discover mine."

He smirked and said,
"I like the way you speak. Human! You even smell like one. Bad flesh of low quality, intoxicated blood of the human world, weak bones and muscles, manners of an ordinary road picked, and what else, oh yes, and a powerless claimer to be a Mayavi. But listen to me well, it's of no use being in places you don't deserve, Miss...?"

Aisha was about to say her name when he interrupted,
"Dare not utter your foolish name in front of me. I don't curse, ever. Let me know your last name."

As he finished, Aisha smiled and said,
"Sorry, sir, but the only name I have is Aisha. I used nothing before, and nothing suits me after it as well. It will be kind of you to call me what I am."

As the words left her mouth, her throat felt dry. Her voice turned low and shaky as she missed how proudly she used to take her full name, Aisha Rawat. But not anymore, the pain struck her heart as the memory of not being her parents' child came to her mind. A slight discomfort was in her eyes as she fidgeted her fingers against the table. She was trying her best not to show any emotions, but her body language spoke it all. She was in a crowd, which neither she wanted around her nor did the crowd want her near them. It was all noticed by Bani, and she looked up at Aisha, passing her an assuring smile.