Once Upon a Time in London

Chapter 2

Rahul passes me another smirk as I get out of his car.

"Enjoy the ride Sharma? Did my car live up to your standards? The soft leather seats, the excellent heating system, the soft jazz music in the background. Or was it unable to meet your highness' excellent taste." He asks gruffly.

I can feel the tears prick my eyes, I wasn't from a very well off family, I'd only gotten into Dame Lyre's because of their yearly Scholarship seat, there was no way I'd be able to attend a school as expensive as Dame Lyre's otherwise. Rahul never had my struggles, he is one of the richest people in school, like the others, he looked down at people such as me, who'd only gotten into the school because of a scholarship. He took it a step further by personally ensuring that he set things "right" by making life absolutely horrendous for me. Tina was the only one in this school who cared for me.

I have to bite back insults as I slam his back door shut, he closes his eyes and presses his lips together, I can see his knuckles turn white as his grip on the steering wheel tightens. As soon as Tina slips out of the passenger door, he's driven off. I grip Tina's arm as we both make our way to the school door.

"That was a bit rude Anjali, he gave us a ride to school" Tina starts.

"RUDE? Did you not hear what he said to me?!" I turn to look at her. "He said all that to rub it in my face, how I'm not as rich as you two, and can not afford a car like his-"

"Anjali, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that but I honestly don't think he meant that, he doesn't know your family background that well." Tina pats the back of my hand in a reassuring manner.

"He knows I'm a scholarship student so I'm sure it was on purpose" I mumble as I feel myself calming down a bit.

"Well, screw him then" Tina smiles as she pinches my cheek.

"Oh you would love to screw him wouldn't you" I laugh as I narrow my eyes at her.

Tina's hand pauses mid-air as her face turns red. "Anjali!" She gasps as she chases after me to the hallway entrance.

I slow down as we finally get to the hallway, Tina playfully shoves my back as she slows down next to me. We're both panting as we try to catch our breath.

"I do not want to screw Rahul" Tina rolls her eyes.

"Mhmm" I smile back.

"I'm serious" she stomps her foot, face still red.

"Right and so am I" I reply, trying and failing to stop smiling.

"Ughh" Tina groans as she makes her way to her locker.

I keep laughing as I walk two rows down to my own locker, putting my bag on the top shelf. I've barely taken my laptop out when Tina is already at my locker, leaning her head against the locker next to mine.

"Your locker is so neat" she gapes as she applies another layer of gloss to her lips.

"And yours is a complete mess" I remark as I pull out my books for the first lesson.

"Sure, sure, as long as I can find my books, I don't see a problem." She winks at me.

I shake my head as I shut the locker closed.

"Have you done the reading?" Tina questions me as we make our way to our English class.

"I have, I took some notes for today's discussion" I reply, sorting through my folder for the notes I hurriedly shoved in there last night.

We make our way to the second row, where we normally sit. The class slowly begins to fill up as more and more students file in.

"Welcome back students" professor Robal begins as he looks across the room, "another semester and I hope you guys are all prepared for today's debate" he smiles as everyone groans, he winks at me as he mentions the last part.

I smile, professor Robal is my favourite teacher. His way of teaching makes learning new content a lot more fun and easier. Over the years, I've gotten into his good books, though he would never admit to it, he does look out for me as a caring father.

"Now class, I would like to hear your thoughts on Wuthering Heights and more particularly, on your views of Mr. Heathcliff" Mr. Robal asks us, leaning his arms forward and tucking them together at the front of his desk expectantly.

"Heathcliff is an incredibly intelligent and self-aware character, his love for Catherine is immense, this is not to say he isn't a complex and messy character because he is. He has done things that I do not agree with, however, we cannot ignore his positive traits" I say, feeling quite proud of my starting points.

Mr. Robal smiles at me.

"I think he is portrayed as a Byronic hero" Rahul's voice rings out.

I swivel around in my chair and make eye contact with him, I'd hoped he wouldn't show. I hadn't even seen him walk in. I look back at Mr. Robal and see a curiosity in his eyes, Rahul is his other favourite student, one he enjoys listening to just as much.

"Heathcliff's jealousy and anger led to his downfall. His all-consuming rage not only destroyed him but also those around him, including his beloved Cathy. He's portrayed as a tortured anti-hero when truly he's more villainous than heroic" Rahul continues.

"Yes, but he loved Catherine", I add. "He loved her more than anything, everything he did was in his rage at being parted from her. That does not justify his actions, yes, but that also gives an insight at his complex character. However, you wouldn't understand that now, would you, seeing your own personal decisions, I doubt you would know what love is" I finish.

Mr. Robal coughed, as if to signal me to not get personal.

"He didn't love her that much, after all, did he. If he had, he wouldn't have married Isabella, no matter what revenge he was plotting" Rahul's voice carried confidence. "As for you other comment, despite the personal nature of the question, some women have pretty eyes, some have pretty lips, some have pretty hair, it can be hard to choose one to fall in love with, I don't question Heathcliff's choice to marry another woman, but that does question his loyalty to Catherine, does it not Ms. Sharma?" Rahul asks.

My face flushes red, because I did agree to some extent. I hadn't personally liked Heathcliff marrying Isabella even if it was a part of the revenge, it did make him look questionable in terms of his love for Catherine. I am trying to come up with a reasonable rebuttal when the bell rings signaling the end of the lesson.

I watch as professor Robal collects the papers in front of him and dismisses us with one final comment on homework for the next lesson. I collect my papers and discreetly look back, to see if Rahul has a smug look on his face for beating me but to my shock, he's already gone.