1.1 | Under The Clear Summer Sky | ✓

19 | the assembly

Preparations for 10 A's assembly was underway. Vineet sat in the corner, reading his novel, letting the students do their thing. The thing was a play. To be more specific, A modern twist to Romeo and Juliet.

Anu sat next to him, correcting the test papers. The two teachers were in-charge of the assembly of 10 A. But the students didn't seem to need their help. Hence, they simply watched on.

"Oh, Romeo. I love you most ardently- Wait, Isn't this that line from pride and prejudice?" Sana stared suspiciously at the script.

The scriptwriter giggled. "I just added all the famous lines from all the classic romances."

The class stared at her.

"Why not just call it an amalgamation of classic romances then instead of Romeo and Juliet?" Vihan retorted. 

And so, the scriptwriter was forcefully made to change the lines.

"Oh, Romeo. I have feelings for you too but I...You do not know my surname."

"Does it matter?" Shrest asked, rubbing his nose.

"Well...Yes."

"I don't care for your surname. I love you for who you are."

"But my surname is...Bhatt?"

The scriptwriter giggled again. "It's an Indianized version, after all." The class stared at her, again. Anu laughed as quietly as possible. Vineet glanced between her and the class, a smile playing on his lips

"Your surname is Bhatt?" Shrest asked, as if he was reading out an official circular.

"Indeed. And I know your surname is...Kapoor? Who are we, Alia Bhatt and Ranbir Kapoor?"

The scriptwriter giggled for the third time. "Well, they're my most favorite celebrity couple. Deepika and Ranvir is a close second."

The scriptwriter was fired.

The script was re-written using Anu's help. It was much better this time.

"Romeo, We may share feelings. But we cannot act on them." Sana declared. 

"Why not?" Shrest asked, in his monotone voice.

"Because you like cucumbers and I dislike them." Sana stated, seriously. The class burst out laughing.

"Shrest, can you make more of an effort?" Sana had begun scolding him. "You need to modulate your voice more and-"

"Never mind guys. This is better. We can try a comedy version of Romeo and Juliet." The entire class agreed to that. The script was changed again.

"Romeo, you love me, don't you?" Sana re-started, for the fourth time.

"Sure, I guess." This time the line was actually from the script.

"But we cannot be together."

"Why?"

"Because you honestly suck." Sana was asked to freestyle the reply.

"You suck too."

"You suck more!"

"You suck more-more!"

"What even is 'more-more'?"

The day for the class assembly arrived. The boy who had acted very normally while rehearsing and practicing was now stationed to his desk and wouldn't leave. He cited illness and sickness but everyone knew better. He was scared.

"Shrest. Get up." Sana tried pulling him up. But he was too heavy.

Vineet sighed. He approached Shrest. "Come outside. Let's talk."

The brothers went outside. After two minutes, they still hadn't returned. A little worried, Anu trudged outside, wondering if they were okay.

"What would you know about fear? You're perfect." Shrest retorted. His tone and his expression were foreign to Anu. The coldness in his voice couldn't be mistaken.

"I'm not perfect, Shrest. I'm not good at speaking up on stages or communicating-"

"Stop trying to act humble. Mother raves about you enough for me to know better."

Vineet sighed, rubbing his forehead. "Don't listen to her-"

"I'm going back in, thank you for the unwanted pep talk." Shrest turned around. On finding Anu looking worried, he gave her a nod and went back inside the class. Anu watched Vineet. 

"Are you ok?"

Vineet leaned against the wall, his hand rubbing the temples of his forehead, irritably. "My mother...Just how much of a mess has she made.." Vineet sighed to himself.

Anu didn't want to intrude. She merely stood there. 

Vineet dropped his hand and stared at his feet. He was visibly upset. 

"Do you want me to give you some alone time or you want me to stay here and talk to you..?"

"I think...I think I need some time alone."

"Okay. I'll go back in, then." Anu padded into the classroom. She pretended nothing happened and cheered the class up. The class packed all they needed and headed over to the auditorium. Sana and Shrest rehearsed on their way. Vineet hadn't yet come back.

The auditorium was packed with students. The students had heard that they were going to do a play on Romeo and Juliet. Anything related to romance garnered a lot of attention among the teenagers. So, it was rather natural that everyone watched the proceedings with eager attention. 

The time to perform the play came. It went rather smoothly. Both the actors hid any signs of nervousness very well and performed the dialogues perfectly. 

By this time, Vineet had returned. His expression was back to normal. Anu watched him, gave him a smile and focused her attention on the play. 

What in the world had happened between the two brothers?

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