Playing Her Lover

Part 4 - New Faces

"Wait, you mean you're going for it?" The girl in the sleek ponytail raised one eyebrow at her friend. The friend being addressed looked down, avoiding all eye contact, feeling almost guilty. "I mean... yeah." She sighed.
"Swara! Dude, seriously? You're in 11th honey, you don't need to suck up to teachers anymore. Least of all to Archu! She already loves you, man."
Swara looked out the window and rubbed her nape. All her friends were frowning at her. "I'm sorry guys... I-I've already committed, and I'd hate to make Archana ma- Archu work even more..."
Another friend sighed in exasperation. "Such a teacher's pet you are. Okay, go on then, we'll head for the buses."

Swara watched the girls as they exited the class, immersed in discussion already. She truly wasn't needed to entertain them. She wondered if they were talking about her. Shit. They probably were. But when it came to choosing between her friends and her teachers, it would always be the latter. She lifted her bag off the ground and slung one strap over her shoulder. Brushing away the curtain bangs that adorned the sides of her sharp face, she headed for the seminar room. Now that she was alone, she felt some peace. She started making a mental checklist of all the things she needed to do that day. She hadn't been able to finish her Economics notes. The girls had insisted on chatting and playing random games during that period, and she had no choice but to follow. She hated sitting on the last bench. She couldn't hear anything, nor could her bespectacled eyes make proper sense of what was being written on the blackboard. She pushed her thoughts away. 'At least you have good friends, honey. Be grateful. You'll have to compromise shit for your friends sometimes, it's inevitable.'

Two people were engaged in a vivid discussion in the classroom beside hers. Both were flailing their hands around, while also trying to pack their bags quickly.
"Siddharth!! This is too exciting yaar!! I mean, this might be the last time we get to do something fun through both these years."
"I know right!! Dude, I wish I got into some school that had proper fests. This school can't bother to do anything, just force us to mug up history dates."
Tall and well built, the other guy put his hand on his hip and pointed an accusatory finger at Siddharth. "Don't you dare disrespect History, don't you dare!" His voice went up five pitches with the last line.
"Mirzab, all other subjects are better, okay? Like, Socio's a hundred times better than history!"
"Nooooo!" The two guffawed, hands over their stomachs.
"Okay, okay, let's go before Archu scolds us for coming late." Siddharth wheezed through his laugh. 

The two walked out of the classroom and saw Swara walking right by them. Mirzab straightened himself and waved toward her,
"HEY!!"
Surprised, Swara's hand went right to her chest and her eyes bulged. On seeing the two of them, she visibly relaxed, before turning a deep shade of red.
"I'm so sorry! I didn't see you two" she said apologetically, her hands locked, fingers twiddling.
"Oh no, no, no! I'm sorry, I shouldn't have startled you like that!" apologised Mirzab.
Siddharth quipped, "You are also in the skit competition right?"
"Oh yeah! We should get going, we're already late." She grinned awkwardly.

Mirzab and Siddharth continued their conversation, including the commerce student's views on everything now. Swara was able to be shy for only 30 seconds before she was easily talking to them. They reached the seminar room now. When they peeped inside, they saw that all the chairs had been put to the side, and three people were already waiting for them, Archana ma'am and two other girls they vaguely knew by sight. Despite both their relatively neutral expressions, it was clear to Swara that they were not happy to be there. Not exactly the best start to the preparations, but alright... They would still manage, I suppose. Mirzab and Siddharth wished Archana ma'am a good afternoon, then stood beside the girls. 
"Swara?" Archana ma'am asked the girl who looked like she had gone into a trance. Swara was slightly startled and stood beside Mirzab.