Billboard Lovers

Chapter 6: Pinocchio

It had been quite a while since Mayank attended physics classes. There was no way this subject based on colossal hypotheses, was taking people to space.

"Forty-nine point four kilonewtons per meter square," a voice answered.

Of course. Aditya Patkar. The school vice-captain.

Mayank rolls his eyes, glancing back at the blackboard. Mrs. Vidya scribbled words that, surprisingly, made sense to him today. Perhaps he had underestimated himself. It wasn't that it finally dawned upon him that bunking classes would not help him understand physics better. Learning was not even on his priority list.

The problem was Aashna. And her mother, Mrs. Vidya Menon.

With Aashna training under his father, Mayank would now be directly on Mrs. Menon's radar.

Just my luck, he thought.

The other day, Mrs. Menon had stopped by him in the school corridor and inquired about his father. Then, just like a normal teacher, she asked about his academic performance- if he was just as lousy in other subjects.

No ma'am. Just physics and chemistry. An absolute disaster of subjects. He wanted to reply.

This is how his final two years of school were going to pass. His parents would be proud. How long was Miss Aashna Menon's acting rendezvous going to last though? Three days and she is still headstrong about her agenda despite him dissuading.

See, this is why you should not study so much so young. Now, her system lacks space to register large, rational data. Two days more until she gives up. Her first audition on Friday would be disastrous and she would cry. Then the cosmos would return to peace. No, I'm not a terrible person. This is for her own good.

A hand had been tracing up his thigh for a while now. It seemed to have lost patience when it punched him to the bone.

"What?" Mayank mouths to the restless girl beside him.

Tahiti gestures towards the board with her eyes.

Why was everybody trying to make him study suddenly?

Then again, as soon as Mrs. Vidya turns to the board, Tahiti starts massaging his neck.

"Not helping," Mayank whispers, "It's putting me to sleep."

Tahiti corrects her spectacles and giggles.

Tahiti. Just as pretty as her name. And talented too. So smart it made him ponder often if he deserved her at all. A month later they would be celebrating their first anniversary and here he was still doubting himself.

"Where are you lost?" she whispers.

Mayank sighs, speculating if telling Tahiti about the whole fiasco would be any good. How would he justify not wanting Aashna and his father's plan to work out? He had lived through the conversation a hundred times only to conclude in negative.

It is equally wrong to keep her in the dark though. The worst-case scenario is that she gets half-baked information from somebody else and believes Mayank lied to her.

She should be aware of the slapping incident though. News like that would have spread like wildfire.

Then why hasn't she inquired about it yet?

"You know Aashna Menon?"

"Yeah. She got into a tiff with your dad, right?"

Mayank nods, trying to frame his thoughts. The class takes a two-minute break as the Section Head borrows Mrs. Menon for something 'important'.