Playing Her Lover

Part 1 - A New Day

Sameera rushed into the assembly hall just as the morning prayer was about to begin. Throwing her bag down, she threw an apologetic look at her PE teacher before rushing to the end of the line and folding her hands. Her voice merged with the 300 or so monotonous voices praying to god. 2 minutes later, the principal took up his mic (to the internal groaning of most of the students) and Sameera let her thoughts wander. 

She was proud of herself for reaching a point where Raghav, her classmate, finally talked to her daily. He had even initiated a conversation the other day, even though it was for asking a doubt in Physics. Plus, he had turned to her only because no one was stupid enough to waste their time explaining the concept to him. No. It was fine. She was making progress. It was hard enough making friends when everyone you knew is in different schools, now that the 10th board exams were done. It was even harder getting boyfriends now...

The roaring singsong boom of a "THANK YOU SIR!" was heard and Sameera immediately headed towards the boys' lines.
"RAGHAV!! Did you get your Chem assignment done?" She led.
"Nah, not really. What's the worst she'll do though, throw me out of the window?"
"Dude, she might cut marks from internals," quipped Nur, their classmate, who had just run to the boys' line herself.
"So? Big deal. You are such a spoilsport Nur, always acting as if we have to be perfect students. Stop doing that, no guy likes it!"
Nur rolled her eyes and walked away. Raghav tried to escape with her but was abruptly stopped by Sameera.

"I'll give you whatever I'm done, for Chem, and you won't have to get scolded," Sam said, in an attempt to stop him from leaving.
"Yeah sure, I'd love that. Look, I need to get my bag, I'll see you in class Sameera," he replied hurriedly.
"Okay... See you in class Raghav. Oh by the way, what do we have for the first period?"
"English. Okay, I need to go now. Bye."

Sameera headed for class, head slightly down. Marching into class, she bumped into another girl. 'Indu... Well, truly a wonderful way to start my day'. The shorter, fatter girl had her hair in two neat braids that reached her waist. She had a cute round face, but no one in the class had ever seen it break out into a genuine smile of joy. Her eyes were secured on her bench in the middle of the window row, and on the books, she had in the book tray. She rushed to it, grabbed one, and started reading. It wasn't something she enjoyed, but it kept away the few classmates who still wished to awkwardly converse with her. It was far too slow of a conversation, and some of these people thought talking to a person even once makes them your friends! She flipped a page and waited for the teacher to arrive so this day could finally begin, and thus, inch closer to ending.

Raghav sat in the row beside her, glancing at her every two seconds. Behind him sat Sameera, with her most disapproving face. "Which one of those girls are you looking at Raghav? Dude, literally all of them are such cliche, stupid girls. I know you have better taste than that" Nur snapped at her "Sameera yaar, ma'am is here, please keep quiet"

The English teacher walked into the class to a scattered "Good morning ma'am!" from the frontbenchers and began teaching. As the lesson went on, Raghav kept looking at his watch, counting the seconds to the bell. It finally rang, and the sound made the teacher stop and exit the classroom. At the door, she turned around and called out, "Sameera! Indu! could you meet me after all your classes today?" Both looked at each other in confusion. Indu shrugged her shoulders and nodded her head. Sameera, still very confused looked at Indu again before saying, "Okay ma'am."

The students rushed out for their short break. Most went to the canteen or the assembly field outside to enjoy the few sunny days they were blessed with in July. Indu remained in her seat and removed her lunch box and opened it. Smiling at her favourite chapati and palya combination that her father had packed for her, she began eating. Outside the class stood Raghav. He hesitantly stepped in and took a seat next to Indu. Indu glanced at him before going back to her food. She wasn't going to let him ruin her favourite breakfast. He cleared his throat very audibly. She looked up at him with inquiring eyes.
"Yes? Do you need something?"
"Nothing, nothing... How are you?"
Indu immediately sat up straight, fighting back her groan. "I'm fine"
"Just wondering, have you- have you ever thought about dating? I mean, I guess you would have..."
Indu raised her eyebrows. Taking a deep breath, she said "Nope, not really."
"So, you- you don't have a boyfriend?"
Indu closed her eyes and rubbed the bridge of her nose. "Nope," She said in a clear tone.
"Aah..." He looked away, contemplating his next set of words. He took a deep breath in and puffed his chest out.
"Umm, I'm confessing."
Indu made no effort to hide her true reaction. Her face scrunched up, and she let out a sharp breath. "And that means?"
"I mean, isn't it obvious?" 
'That you suddenly want to make it my problem?' She cursed internally.
"If you're looking for some kind of answer, then it's no."
Raghav was flabbergasted. "What do you mean? Look, give me at least a chance na!"
Indu let the groan out. "Ughh... Look, you've known me for just a couple of months. You don't like me. Now get out of here and let me eat my food."