Under The Clear Summer Sky

9 | shrest vs the bullies

10 years ago.

Anu and Vineet walked over to the elementary students block, as was their routine, to pick up Shrest.

"Shouldn't the magnetic field be downward? Since the force has to be towards the north." Anu tried to portray the directions with her hands. 

Vineet shook his head. "It's an electron. So the it's path would be towards south. So, the magnetic field would be into the plane."

The discussion continued until they say Shrest and his friend, Sana crouched outside the block. Anu had met Sana before during the sports day for the 1st and 2nd graders. Shrest vehemently denied Sana being his friend. He called her his rival. Anu simply thought it was cute.

Sana caught sight of them and whispered something to him. Shrest's head hung lower. Sana seemed to frown deeper at that.

"What are you kids doing? Let's get to the bus." Anu smiled. Sana watched Shrest. Then, she waddled over to them and blurted out, "Shrest got punched by a bully."

Vineet's body tensed, immediately. "What happened?"

"A couple of seniors were hanging around here. I was pulling cash to get some food from the cafeteria in lunch break. The seniors saw that and tried to grab the money from me. Shrest was next to me, when it happened. He tried to stop what was happening and protect me from getting hurt..." She glanced at Shrest, who was now glaring at her.

"He ended up getting punched."

Vineet jogged over to where Shrest was and inspected his face. A red bruise was on his cheek. Anu crouched down and rubbed Sana's head. "Are you ok, Sana? Did you get hurt?"

Sana shook her head, glancing once more at Shrest.

Anu smiled. "Should I drop you off to your bus?"

Sana shook her head once more. "I can go by myself, thank you."

Anu patted her. "Are you sure? Okay then. You had better get going. Vineet and I will handle this from here, don't worry."

Sana nodded. She pulled out a band aid from the side pouch of her bag and handed it to Anu. "He refuses to put it on because it looks 'girlie'. Please help him with first aid."

And Sana waddled away.

Anu smiled and walked towards Shrest and Vineet. 

Vineet inspected the bruise. His hands trembled. 

"Did you tell the teacher about what happened?" Anu asked, lowering and softening her voice to put Shrest at ease. Shrest nodded, a pout forming on his features. 

"What did the teacher say?"

"She said she'll inform the coordinator and-and-" Tears were streaming down his cheek. "she said she'll take action against those boys."

Anu patted him and nodded, "That's good."

Shrest cried silently. As if he didn't actually want to. As if he wanted to seem brave. Anu guessed that he hadn't wanted to show his emotions in front of Sana, not wanting to upset her further. Vineet said nothing, only staring at the bruise, his mood worsening by the second.

Anu held out her arms. "You want a hug?"

Shrest nodded and reached into her embrace. Vineet watched his brother. He seemed to have come back to reality after a temporary rage-induced haze. His hands still trembled.

"The little brat. I've asked him for hugs so many times and he'd just make a face at me. You ask him once and he goes running." He grumbled, plopping down on the ground. 

Anu smiled and stared down at Shrest. Shrest made a face at him, hugging Anu tightly. "Her chest is softer than yours."

Silence.

Anu's face went hot.  Vineet coughed and looked away. Little Shrest was unaware of why the adults were acting weird. 

"Little pervert, come on. Let's get to the bus." Anu pulled him up. 

That day, Vineet was a little jealous of Shrest.

✿

word count: 711 words

[behind the scenes]

What happened to the bullies?

Anuradha told Maya about what happened. Maya, being the principal's niece, informed her aunt about the incident. The principal personally followed up on the incident. 

The bullies got suspended from school for 3 months. At the end of the academic year, they were not allowed to renew admission in the school.