Kindle to Rekindle

3. Nimrit 2.0

Change is the name of the game.

Nimrit's father separated Nivedya from the boy and pushed him onto the ground. The teacher in charge of the dispersal scolded the boys and asked them to go to their respective buses.
When Nivedya was passing from where Nimrit and her father were standing, her father purposely commented aloud, "You see this Nimrit, that is why I warned you to stay away from such boys. Mawalis."

Nivedya was angry and wanted to reply to Nimrit's father but Collin dragged him away. "Nivi, just chill dude. Fathers-in-law tend to misjudge their future sons-in-law, but that doesn't mean you pick a fight with them. Not yet."

"Father... what?" Nivedya asked Collin with an irritated expression. 

With a wicked grin and tease in his eyes, Collin explained, "My dear son, don't pretend now. The entire day you have been staring at the girl sitting diagonally opposite you and how could anyone not see the excitement on your face when Shaina ma'am asked you to do a combined project? Dude, you have a serious crush on, Nimrit. So you know... her father, your father-in-law..."

Nivedya heard Collin patiently and then spanked him on the back. Collin ran laughing inside their bus. Nivedya followed him and sat on one of the window seats. He knew Collin only wanted to cheer him up and forget about everything that happened.

Nimrit's car passed Nivedya's bus and their eyes met. Nimrit was confused by Nivedya's violent behaviour. Her heart was telling her there was another side to the story but her brain reasoned he was the 'bad boy' found in romance novels and she was not losing her heart to him.
'Losing her heart'? The thought jerked Nimrit and she deduced that Barkha had messed up her sane brain. She half-heard her father who was constantly rambling about the incident and how she should tackle such situations.

Nivedya reached home and hugged Rose tightly. He confided with her what exactly happened at the school.

"Oh! Nivi. I am so proud of you. You did the right thing but you shouldn't have beaten him like that. I mean the boy deserves punishment but you're beating him has escalated the incident and I am sure your parents will be summoned to school tomorrow. Don't worry though. You have the most understanding parents any child can ask for." Rose boosted Nivedya's confidence and backed up his actions.

"I know Rose D. My parents let me take my decisions and give me the freedom to judge the right and wrong. I have seen parents, a father, lately who forces his opinion on his daughter and the fool believes him blindly. I mean does she not have brains? And she is supposedly a top-notch student." Nivedya gave Rose a brief about Nimrit.
Rose smiled and patted Nivedya's arm in understanding.

As expected, Nivedya's parents were summoned to meet the principal the following day, but when Nivedya revealed the reason he reacted so violently, the room went silent.

"Nivi, as much as I appreciate your vigilance, I don't approve of you hitting Madhav so badly. You could have reported the matter to the teacher on duty or come directly to me. You know that the kids at this school don't require an appointment to meet me. I am leaving you with a warning this time but next time you might be punished for hitting someone black and blue.
As for you, Madhav, I can't believe boys from our school could do such inappropriate, immoral things. I don't want this matter to escalate so I am not suspending you, but you will be in detention for a week and your sports class will be substituted with kitchen duty for the same duration. Am I clear?" The principal resolved the issues and both the boys assured her to not repeat they're inappropriate behaviour.

Nimrit was getting a cold treatment from her class. Someone told them about Nimrit's father's comment and they decided to boycott her. Nivedya was a boy known for his good behaviour and he was a friend who was always there. Nimrit pretended as if nothing mattered to her. She restricted herself to covering up topics completed in her absence. She thought it was all under control until she saw Nivedya who averted looking at her.