King of my Heart-Unroyals #1

04 | The library incident

Mr. Iyer's math class had already begun as Kedar walked in. Since math was an unavoidable subject, all of them who were taking "applications and interpretation" under mathematics had to be present, whether they liked it or not. It was a mini-lecture hall made to accommodate the seventy five students. Mr. Iyer stopped scribbling on the white board as he spotted Kedar and the principal, Owen Bishop, at the door step. The tall, slender man, who remotely looked like the CEO of Google, walked up to them with a gentle, warm smile on his face. He looked like he'd never fail a kid in the exams. He introduced himself to Kedar.

'Ajay Iyer' He said his name. Mr. Iyer seemed to be in his early forties, which was evident from his smile lines and wrinkles on his forehead. He invited Kedar into the classroom as the seventy sixth student. The classroom fell silent, as if everybody had lost their ability to speak. All seventy-five eyes were fixed on him as he walked in, slowly, step by step. Some of the eyes held a look of jealousy, admiration, exasperation, and pity. Deep down, he enjoyed a bit—the people looking at him with jealousy and exasperation, and he understood the people who pitied him. He was born into a cage, a golden cage. 
 
Hushed whispers emerged from the rows behind him as he settled on the front seat beside a boy. 'Harry. Harry Lu.' He extended his arm for a handshake. 'Oh, can I touch you?' He quickly withdrew his hand.
 
His question caught Kedar off guard, and his jaw almost dropped to the floor. 'Are you serious?' He asked in his British accent, which was a bit too thick. 
 
'I was just joking.' Harry clasped his hands together with an awkward laugh.
 
'Don't ever make jokes like that.' Kedar rolled his eyes. 'We don't joke about that dark past of the royal family.' 
 
'Uh, how do I know it's a sensitive topic? I was packed and shipped here from California last year.' Harry said, almost to himself.
 
'It's fine.' Kedar sighed. 
 
'Oh, she's late like always.' Harry complained, looking at Himani Arora, who was walking hurriedly inside. 
 
'Why are you late, Ms. Arora?' Mr. Iyer's voice was too calm for questioning a student who arrived late to the class.
 
'Caught with some works in the debate club, Mr. Iyer.' Himani replied.
 
'Alright, do finish such words before class.' He said, and went back to writing on the board.
 
'Oh, shit!' Harry exclaimed as if he remembered something. 
 
'What?' Kedar asked.
 
'The seat in which you're sitting...' Harry's sentance was finished by a furious Himani standing next to Kedar. 'It's my seat!' 
 
'The audacity of this girl!' He thought to himself.
 
She glared at Harry as if he were to protect her seat from invasion and he apologetically blinked his eyes.
 
'So?' Kedar raised his eyebrows.
 
'You can't sit here.' She clenched her jaws.'
 
'Mr. Iyer,' Kedar casted his eyes towards Ajay's direction. 'Do you have reserved seating in your class?'
 
Mr. Iyer put his marker down. 'No,'
 
'So I can sit wherever I want?'
 
'That's right.'
 
'See.' Kedar's lips formed a smirk, and he displayed his triumphant smile towards Himani. 
 
She gritted her teeth so hard that it felt like they would fall out. 
 
'Ms. Arora, why don't you sit at the back seat for a change?' 
 
'Whatever.' She muttered under breath and walked to the empty chair at the back, which was welcomed by the whispers and murmurs. 
 
'Nerdy princess thought she had the upper hand.' Someone commented from behind, which resulted in others snickering at her. 
 
'Silence!' Mr. Iyer shouted, and the class fell silent again.
 
 But this was only the beginning of the cold war between Kedar and Himani; what really ignited the fire was the library incident that happened the same day. The library stood between the assembly hall and the church, like a sleeping giant, quiet and motionless. One would be greeted with the faint scent of old and musty books as they walked past the oak doors with the most intricate carvings. Inside the library were enormous bookshelves that stretched from the floor to the ceiling, filled to the brim with leather-bound, hard-cover, and paperback books. The library was partitioned into a number of sections based on the type and language of the books. Kedar was in the Latin section when Ehan Kapur walked in. 
 
'We haven't properly met yet.' Ehan said, leaning against the shelf. 'Ehan, Samara Kapur's younger brother.' He extended his hand.
 
'You don't need to introduce yourself. I know you.' Kedar said, still rummaging through the books. 
 
'That's settled then.' Ehan slowly withdrew his arm. 'I haven't seen you all day.'
 
'That's because I don't take the same classes as you.'
 
'Ha, what have you taken in arts?'
 
'Visual Arts.' 
 
'Oh, I didn't know that you were interested in such stuff.' Ehan exclaimed.
 
Kedar pulled out a book he wanted and walked towards the table. 'I don't make my interests public.'
 
'Ha, you're funny. I take Theatre. Following Samara's footsteps to being an actor.' Ehan shrugged his shoulders. 'Now, would you mind sitting with us?' Ehan asked, pointing towards the table where a boy with a crew cut and two girls, one with a high ponytail like Ariana Grande and one with really short hair, sat eagerly, hoping that Kedar would walk their way. 
 
'Fine.' He said, and they both walked towards the table by the window of the aisle that said, "Business management reference books."
 
'Do we have to bow to him?' Kedar heard the short-haired girl whispering to the boy with a laptop open in front of him. 
 
'What? Don't be stupid, Zara. He isn't the king yet.'
 
The three of them straightened up as Kedar made his way to the table. 
 
'Akshat Menon, Mahi Taneja, and Zara Gul. My fellow thespians who do theatre with me.' Ehan introduced them to Kedar.
 
'So, I'm the odd one out here.' Kedar chuckled as he opted for visual arts instead of theatre in arts class.
 
Fifteen minutes into the conversation with the four of them, Kedar was able to analyse their characters well enough. Ehan saw himself as the leader of the group, while others didn't. Mahi was reserved and often seen with a poker face, but she looked like she was conscious of her looks the most. Zara, agreed to whatever Akshat said and never contemplated enough before speaking her mind. Akshat seemed the meanest of them all, often cracking offensive jokes and roasting the girls. 
 
'So, do you have people to button up your shirts and stuff?' Zara asked Kedar while twirling her pen. 
 
'No.' He said, with a straight face. 
 
'But I've heard families like the British Royal family have staff to put toothpaste on their brushes.' Mahi smirked a little. 
 
'We're not that kind of royalty.' Kedar said, exhausted from the annoying hail of questions.
 
'But you're still royalty, bro.' Akshat said, with his left arm dangling from the backrest of the chair. 'You must've got a guy to open the door every time you walk into the palace or fold a napkin for you.' He chortled in such an annoying way that one might be tempted to throw him over the bookshelves.
 
'Why don't you appoint staff like that and see it for yourself?' Kedar replied, which made Akshat stop laughing. 
 
'Akshat, no more stupid jokes.' Ehan interrupted. But Akshat's eyes were somewhere else, in the right corner of the aisle behind him. There stood Himani Arora, searching through the bookshelves.
 
'What's between you and Himani Arora?' Ehan asked, almost like a whisper, so only Kedar could hear. And he raised an eyebrow in response.
 
'That incident. Today in the class.' Ehan reminded him.
 
'Oh, nothing.' Kedar found it absolutely unnecessary to explain everything to Ehan Kapur.
 
'Excuse me.' Akshat, grabbing his MacBook, walked to where Himani was standing and settled on the single brown leather couch beside her. From the corner of her eye, she sensed his presence and chose to avoid him.
 
'Searching for books, Ms. Arora?' Akshat asked in that mockery tone he always has.
 
'Can't you see? When have you gone blind?'
 
'Uh, what's the matter with you? You seem a lil grumpy today.'
 
'I cannot help but act grumpy since I've got to put up with snobs like you every day.' 
 
Akshat frowned. He didn't like girls talking back to him, especially Himani Arora. Kedar, Ehan, Mahi, and Zara were already watching the clownery from a few feet away.
 
'You always have a nerve.' Akshat was already getting worked up. 'And what's with devouring all these books? You'll end up in some dude's kitchen anyway. Women are such brainless creatures.' 
 
A wave of anger passed through Himani's body, like she'd been electrocuted. But she was used to hearing obscenities from Akshat quite often. 'Ha, I agree with you. Women are rather stupid creatures. Because no woman in their right mind would bring up a dull creature like you with no personality.'
 
She collected the books and tried to walk away from him. But Akshat wasn't having it. She could not walk away from there after insulting him in such a bad way. He straightened his quite long legs as Himani tried to walk past him. Her foot caught between his outstretched legs, and she lost her balance. A thud! She was on the floor with the three books she had picked from the shelves, spread across the floor. Her vision almost went black for a second after the sudden shock. 
 
'Take classes for perfect walking instead of math. At least that would be of some use.' A scornful laugh from Akshat followed. 

Both Kedar and Ehan stood up, seeing her fall, but it was Kedar who reached there first.
 
Akshat has bullied Himani since the beginning, but this was the first time he had tried hurting her physically. Tears were already stinging her eyes, but she was adamant that she wouldn't cry in front of that prick. She looked up through her eyelashes. A hand outstretched to help her get up—prince Kedar's.
 
'Aw, is this like the Cinderella movie where the prince charming comes in to save the poor girl?' Akshat pouted. 
 
'If you blabber with your filthy tongue anymore, I'll chop it off.' Kedar said, which made Akshat clench his jaw and zip his mouth instantly. 
 
'Come on, get up.' Kedar turned to Himani with his hand extended. But she didn't, so he forcefully grabbed her by her left elbow and picked her up. 
 
'Leave my hand.' She struggled to leave his deadly grip as he pulled her up from the floor. 
 
'Why are you creating so much drama? I'm just trying to help.' He said, narrowing his eyes, still holding her. For a second, he thought there was nobody else in that room, just the two of them. 
 
'I don't need your help.' Her eyes were two volcanoes, red and hot, burning through his soul. 
 
'Nautanki.' He muttered under his breath. 
 
She pressed both her palms against his chest, a hard push. It lasted for a second, but her touch burned him through the thick fabric of his uniform. She pushed him aside, grabbed her books from the floor, and vanished behind the bookshelves.