LEECH

CHAPTER FOURTEEN - AISHA (NOW)

I don't want to change out of this kurti.

It's not completely white, more like the colour of the moon, and I can't stop staring at myself in the mirrors while I pass by them. Not to look at myself, that's just weird, but rather to blatantly stare at this beautiful garment I'm wearing. Can't believe I have to return it to the school after tonight. I wish I could buy it.

Aarush returns with two cups of steaming hot coffee in his hands. I gratefully accept mine, letting the hot drink soothe my hoarse throat.

We are sitting on the benches outside the cafeteria, and when I look into my coffee mug, I can see the reflection of the moon shining into it.

Dad has been chewing my head because I missed tuition today for the ceremony. But sometimes, you just gotta do what you gotta do, against the 'Academics First' rule.

"People need to stop shipping me with you." Aarush grumbles as he plops down beside me. I laugh, handing his jacket back to him.

"Why? It reduces your chances with Jahnvi?" I tease, and he just rolls his eyes.

"She'll think I actually have feelings for you."

I shrug. "Well, no one told you to cover me with your jacket in the middle of the class, but you did anyway."

After the inauguration ceremony day one was over, all of us who were still in school gathered in our classroom to do a celebratory party, which is basically another name for wasting our time by screaming along lyrics and jumping up and down to dance-y ssongs without any proper rhythm or decorum. The teachers were supposed to be busy, or so we thought, unless one particular 'sir' arrived at the doorstep and watched us creepily.

"Look, I wasn't going to just let that creep stare at you, okay? It was the least I could do. It is what anyone should have done."

The 'creep' he's talking about is our English teacher, who has a strange obsession with staring at young girls. There's not much we can do about it, though, other than staying away from him. He's a teacher, and we are mere kids. There's a huge power imbalance. Unfortunately, that's how people with power work. They like to exploit the people below them, and in this case, it meant us.

I roll my eyes. "He can't do anything, Aarush." I say, taking a huge sip of my coffee and letting the aroma soothe my nerves.

He sets his own mug down and stands up, looking at me seriously. "It's not nothing, Ash. I hate that guy and his guts."

"He's a good teacher, though."

"Does that justify anything?" His jaw is clenched as he paces around the dark area.

"Okay, don't be so bothered. Chill." I say, attempting to calm him down. That's just who Aarush is. He hates injustice of any sorts and gets really worked up over it.

"I despise him. That disgusting, repulsive piece of —"

"Okay, okay. Drink your coffee before it cools down and there's no fun in it."

He sits down again, grumbling even more now than before. I smile. He'll never change. I hope he doesn't.

"Did you take Jahnvi home that day?" I ask, slurping the coffee the way my parents drink tea. They say it heightens the taste. I don't know what they mean, but whatever floats their boat.

A figure in a black hoodie walks past us, barely shooting us a glance as he strolls into the cafeteria with his hands in his pockets. I can't see much of him because it's so dark outside, but I can tell that he's tall. Like, tall tall. Must be an athlete. I wonder which school he's from.

"Nah." Aarush says, drawing my attention back to him. "She said she can walk home alone."

I snort. "And you let her? Darn. This is why you don't have a chance with her. You need to chase, kid. Fight for your love."

"Which is why I need you to do something." He pleads, turning his puppy eyes towards me. "You need to set us up."

I shake my head, both exasperated and fond. "Yeah, no, it doesn't work like that."

"You've to make it work —"

Just then, the same guy walks out of the cafeteria, with packets of chips and cans of fruit juice that glint under the moonlight, balanced precariously in his arms. Before I can look away, one of the cans wobbles. I open my mouth to warn him, but it is already falling, directly onto the ground and rolling in my direction. I cringe at the loud metallic clang.

Bending down, I clasp the can — orange juice, yum — and hold it out for the boy to take. He leans forward and reaches for it. His warm fingers brush against my cold ones as he takes the can out of my grasp. He inclines his head towards me as a greeting, a tuft of hair peeking out from under the hoodie.

"Thanks, Aisha." He says, and his deep voice is enough to hold my attention, and by the time I notice what he's said, he's already striding away.

I stare at his retreating figure, dumbfounded. "How does he know my name?"

"Ash," Aarush sighs, "You're well known around the school. You performed in today's inauguration ceremony. He must have been intrigued and asked someone about you."

"Still," I frown. "Not even everyone of my own grade knows my name, but a guy from another school does? That's not just weird, it's creepy."

"You're calling him a creep, yet you defend that darn teacher?" Aarush laughs, shaking his head. "Cut that boy a break, he's just arrived here girl."

I nod, yet I can't shake the feeling that this nameless, hooded boy is about to get very, very interesting.