Struggles of The End

Chapter 4

{{As promised, I had released a chapter this Friday and would keep on doing so every Friday until the book is finished. I would really appreciate all of your support, your comments and votes. I am not aiming for any votes or comments but just do it !!}}

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Shubham's suspension was over and he came back to school again.

The entire class was looking at Shubham when he was entering the classroom. It was like they were waiting for him and not in a good way. He could sense that they were talking about him.

He did not want them to talk about him. They were giving him looks as he was someone from a completely different universe.

Someone who got suspended.

He was an example for them, an example which their parents gave them and warned them about.

Its like how mothers warn us about thieves or pick pockets when we first start carrying our own wallets or purses in public.

Its kind of the same, mothers warn their children to stay away from boys like Shubham, who get suspended in school.

He felt that. He did not want to be there anymore.

He passed through the eery eyes and sat at a bench that was empty. The class started in another 15 minutes but the seat remained empty, nobody came to sit beside him.

The teacher came in and she started teaching. Shubham was not listening to anything, he stared at the walls with absolutely no expression on his face.

He thought why did schools always have walls like hospitals, half of the wall was painted white and the other half was painted blue, it was the exact same combination that he saw in hospitals as well.

He remembered when his mother was at the hospital and he used to visit her, he saw the same exact walls. He could not decide if the hospital's walls were like school or the school's walls were like the hospital.

The boy sitting in-front of him suddenly turned towards him.

"Are you sleeping opening your eyes or what? The teacher is calling you."

Shubham can then hear his name being called out several times.

"Yes ma'am?"

"Can't you hear me? Children, am I not audible to you all?"

As expected, the entire class which consisted of children who were asleep half the time and boys who were busy holding hands with their girlfriends all unitedly sang in a very bad sounding tone, "Yes Ma'am, we can all hear you.'

Shubham thought to himself that in times like these, they become united when it comes to getting the first hand view of another fellow student having a bad day.

Its kind of an entertainment to them.

"It seems so Shubham, that you have not learned anything from your recent endeavours, isn't it?"

Something strange happened this time, maybe because all the eyes at once were seeing Shubham or maybe because he was tired of taking blames, he spoke up.

"Ma'am, I was not the one who threatened, rather I was the one who got threatened. Now, I could have told this that day too to Priyanka Ma'am just as I am telling this to you now, but you and I both know that it would have made little to no difference."

Out of all the teachers, Shreya Ma'am was the sweetest, she did not go straight complaining to the teacher in-charge or principal for the smallest affairs, she used to talk to the students herself, make them understand if there was any problem.

In this case, she also did not expect Shubham to answer back because she has never seen him do so. Most of the time when Shubham was sent to the staff room she was there and she had always seen him stay quiet.

Shreya Ma'am didn't say anything to his outburst, she just signalled him to sit down and continued to teach.

Shubham found it strange, he was ready to be sent to the staff room again or be humiliated in-front of the entire class again but nothing of that sort happened.

The class continued as if nothing ever happened.

After the class, Ma'am strode past him, did not ask him to come with her, did not even say anything to him.

It took some time for Shubham to comprehend what happened. It was not Divya, it was her friend Sareen.

Shubham was thinking maybe she would inform about this to the teacher in charge and maybe again the same thing would happen, maybe again they would call him and get him suspended. He was cursing himself. He did not want his mother to go through this again.

The next class started and time passed but nothing happened.

The next class ended as well and it was lunch break but he was not called to the staff room.

"Did you really think that you would complain about me, that too in-front of the class" Divya came raging towards him.

She did not even complete the full sentence and a slap with a tremendous force landed on his face.

"What do you think of yourself? You would talk against her in-front of the entire class? What gives you this audacity? You will tell her sorry in-front of the entire class after the break ends, when everyone is in the class." Sareen said to him while holding his collar.

Shubham did not expect that, he looked around once and saw a few of his classmates watching them and others were in their own. Some busy flirting, some busy playing silly games like red hands with each other.

He looked at Divya. He was kind of glaring at her. Divya tried to pull Sareen once but she did not let go off Shubham's collar. Divya was not a girl who would back of when she is doing something but today there was something different about Shubham which even she was able to feel. His eyes, it looked as if it was burning, it was a constant stare which sent chills down her throat and she could not understand why suddenly she felt like she should move away.

"Let go of my caller, you would repent it and you would repent it now. I have no more to loose and you know that very well. At this point I do not care what you would complain about me or who watches me here. But the intensity of my slap that is going to land on your cheeks is not going to be the same that you gave me."

"Now, I am going to count till 3 and I won't finish counting and you would realise what mistake you just made by crossing your line"

Shubham did not have to count. His eyes did the talking. They never had seen him like this. Sareen did not say anything. She left her collar and moved away with Divya to her bench.

Next chapter would again be released on next Friday, that is 1st December 2023.