Horizon (Indian SciFi begins)

5.3) Somewhere in between

"Lunch's ready !", Aai alerted. I kept the telephone diary to its position swiftly and washed my hands.

Throughout the lunch, Aai Pappa were exchanging stares, as if they wanted to talk to me regarding something.

"Aai Pappa, you can directly talk to me if you want to. It's not like I'm not gonna-", I tried to make things seem less awkward.
"Beta, is everything ok with you ?", Aai started off. "Is something troubling you ?"

"Na, nothing", I pretended to smile.
"Also, it seems the school is closing up for a week due to whatever has happened today", she said as she moved the glass of water to Pappa.

"Vedant !", he said all of a sudden. I quickly got into a defensive position and scanned my surroundings. "What happened ?!", I asked.

"Nothing. Nothing..Um.. so Vedant you are now entering this age.. where you know.. you people like to try out new things.. you feel attraction towards the opposite gender..", Pappa started the awkward talk. "So do you feel that attraction towards girls ?"

I tried to finish my meals as soon as possible. "Umm.. No", I said in a low voice.
"Does he like boys then ?", Pappa asked Aai secretly.
"What ?! No !! I don't feel.. attracted to anyone", I said as I gulped down the last morsel of the food and left.

I went to the balcony to cool off but I could still hear them talking. "I don't agree with what Dr.Gaikwad says Vedant is still a kid", I heard Pappa yelling.
"Vedant is 14 years old now. He isn't a kid anymore", Aai defended. "We should just call him one more time, I feel."

Who is this Dr.Gaikwad ? Why is he trying to meddle in my family matters ? - I wondered as I continued to stare at the empty road infront of me as I heard my parents call someone.

"Hello, Dr.Gaikwad ? I'm Vedant's father speaking", Pappa said loudly. He usually talks a bit loud when he's on call. I don't know why.

"Yes, I asked him the questions. But it seems he's uncomfortable about it. Yes.. I understand why this is so important.. but can't we just bring him to REDZ again and get a checkup done ?...", Pappa continued.

"Tell him about his anger ! It is a sign of excess testosterone", Aai pointed out.

Testosterone ?! Isn't that a hormone ? What does it have to do with some burn marks ?

"I'll just ask him directly.. if his puberty has set in or not", Pappa said as his voice lowered. He was ending the call.

Time to act clueless again.

***

I continued to fiddle with my phoenix bracelet as I sat on the first bench. Waiting for Aditya to show up. Usually he was the first one to reach, so it was quite surprising to see him enter the class late.

"Did the earthquake shake you a bit too much ? Vedant and coming to class early. That's new", he remarked as he saw me.
"I could say the same thing about you. Aditya and coming to class late", I said. He turned back to smile at Snigdha.

"What's this ?", I asked as I noticed Snigdha smiling back.
"Uh.. love.. attraction", he said as he continued to gaze at her through the window.

"Exactly.. and why's this happening ?", I asked as I stood up.
"Because she's from the other batch."
"No. Not that. Why is everyone feeling this.. attraction ?!", I asked as I recalled yesterday's conversation.

"Because we aren't kids anymore", he said as he kept his bag besides mine.
"We aren't adults either", I said as I sat down.
"I guess we are somewhere in between.. what do they call it.. ha ! Puberty !", Aditya said as he sat down too.

"Exactly, what is this puberty ?", I asked.
"Vedant, don't tell me you don't remember the extra session we had", he said as he brought his mouth closer to my ears. "About sex education", he whispered.
"Honestly, I just dozed off there", I confessed.

"Uh ? You remember that chapter in our science textbook ? Human reproduction", he searched for something in his bag.
"You mean the chapter that Sneha teacher skipped intentionally ?", I said as he removed the textbook.
"Read this !"
"You know I can barely understand anything."
"Uh oh. I left the cycle's key in the lock itself", Aditya panicked as he rushed outside.

That's when I saw Mayuri and Mahesh enter the class. Mahesh sat on the last bench with the others while Mayuri made her way to the first bench.

Idea. She was the class topper anyways..
I hurried towards her. "Hey !", I greeted.
"Vedant ?", she looked surprised.
"Uh there's something I can't understand and Aditya says this chapter can help clear my doubts. I'm sure you've read it already", I said as I opened the textbook in front of her.

"Human Reproduction ?!", she exclaimed. All of the others started staring at me as if they'd seen with my phoenix armour. I checked myself again. No it wasn't true.
That's when everyone started laughing. "What can she tell you ? Even she hasn't got it yet", I heard some girls say.

Some guys from the other row started whistling and calling out my name. "Tell her to show some practical too !", someone shouted. Mayuri hid her face out of embarassment. I couldn't understand what was happening.

That's when I felt a punch on my face. It nearly caused me to crash into the floor. It was Mahesh.
"I told you ! Stay away from my sister !!", he roared.