LOVE AND LOATHE

Chapter 1 JAB ATHREYA MET PRERNA

Prerna's POV:

I hate suspense. We had all been gathered at the meeting hall for the last two hours, and still no word about the "surprise news". I had zero interest to discuss student progress reports. I would have died for them to come to point. 

Right then, the principal stormed into the hall. Literally. We all stood up to greet him and he motioned for us to take our seats. 

"So guys, coming straight to the point," Yes please, thank you very much. "...As we had said before, there is a surprise in store for all of you. The contest for 'The Teacher of the Year Award' is open for registrations, and you can all sign up for it, if you're interested. Let me tell you that this is serious business since the prize money has been tripled this year," 

Tripled. Not that the prize money mattered--it's about the prestige after all. Finally, a worthy game, worth my weight. 

"Tripled as in..." "A million INR." 

The principal brushed off the din of those present in the hall and went on with his pre-memorized speech, "The contestants will be closely observed all year; the criteria of selecting the winner will not be revealed and that's the actual challenge."

No matter how tough the challenge might be, guess we already know the winner. 

"...With that being said, let us see who's ready for this; just put your hands up!" My hands were already in the air. I scanned the hall front and back to know my opponents.

My gaze fell upon the guy in a yellow shirt. wait. this guy? I tried shutting down my disgusted reaction. Like who wears a yellow shirt? And he wasn't even looking around. It was as though he was not as stoked to know who he's up against. 

Athreya's POV:

Dude can I put my hand down already?? Not that I can rest my arms in this half-broken chair, but there must be an option to use your mouth to sign up for the contest?

"Glad to see the excitement; hope y'all keep the fire on until the year ends. Thank you guys, the meeting is over and you can disperse." 

I left the room and headed to my cabin. This was the only good about joining this school as a teacher. A room, all to myself; something even my family couldn't provide. 

"We can't give him the entire room!! Given the financial condition of his parents, the outhouse is more than enough for him." Yeah, the outhouse was, but your love wasn't. I let out a wistful smirk as I shook my head, the hint of memory flashing behind my eyes. 

The ringing of my phone cut through my thoughts as I reached for it. "DHRUVVV!!!" I probably deafened him with that one, but anyway he was already half-deaf. 

"Bro!! Finally, they've announced the award; I felt like the past one week that I spent as a teacher had been a waste of time. Like, c'mon, I came here to win the money and all I did since I had joined was babysitting a bunch of teenagers and evaluating their dumb answer sheets. But it was fun though, to be honest-" 

"Slow down bro!" I guessed Dhruv was gonna say something important, otherwise he would listen to me yap about the school and the award for the whole day.

"Yes yes, I'm done here; so tell me, what's up?"  

"Yeah so, I might have been crushing on someone..." 

"What the hell." Certainly the most important thing to discuss right now.

"I know you're not into these kinds of stuff, but yeah, she's in your school." 

"Bro! That's child abuse??" 

"She's a teacher bro." 

"Okay fine, maybe you can visit me whenever you want; BUT I'M NOT THE WINGMAN." 

"That's amazing!" Of course that meant he was gonna make me the wingman sooner or later.

"Okay bye, I need a class to get to." 

"Bye!"

I don't usually lie to my cousin, but this definitely was necessary. I have come here to become the winner; not to be the third wheel on their dates. But since he is also my best friend, I might consider his request. 

I picked up my laptop and walked to the cafeteria to draft my application for the contest. I could smell the aroma of coffee beans being roasted and that of freshly baked pastries wafting through the air. I set my laptop on a table and took the window seat. 

I couldn't see anybody taking my order, so I called the waitress. 

"Excuse me miss," 

She wore a white floral print jumpsuit and her hair was up in a bun. She turned around towards my voice with her brows furrowed. 

"Excuse me miss?" She trying to repeat what I'd just said was as annoying as her countenance.

"It's mister--yeah uhm--can I get a double espresso and some French fries?" 

"Dude tell that to the waitress!" 

"That's what I'm doing miss," 

"I'M NOT A WAITRESS!" she swayed her arms and spilled coffee on herself.

Oh god, how clumsy is she! Ah, but that could not convince me that she's not a waitress. A clumsy waitress. 

She definitely looked like one. "Sorry, but your outfit says so." 

"And that's coming from the guy wearing a freaking bright yellow shirt?" 

That's it. I couldn't leave that place before winning the argument. "Everybody I've met says I have great fashion!" 

"Everybody you've met must have gone through a lot to muster up the kindness to compliment your dumb dressing sense," she said, trying to clean her dress with a tissue as she fake-gagged her stomach out at me. She sharply turned her head towards the table on her right and glared at the kid making clattering noises on his plate. 

A cute kid. And a waitress with potential sensory issues. Like how could someone get mad at that bundle of cuteness?

Prerna's POV:

"Well well well, I have things to do and places to be." he smirked, "Guess not everyone is as busy as I am..." he muttered under his breath. 

I was about to put forth my line while my eyes fell on the wall-clock across the room. 12:14. 

Shit! I need to get the parcel mom asked me to receive from the post office. I grabbed my bag and the car keys and rushed out the door. 

This can't be happening every time. She already doesn't talk to me as much since I quit med-school and said that I wanted to be a teacher instead. If I keep dodging her instructions, she'll end up hating me. But the contest. Yes, the contest. I need to be the winner. I need to win. 

There was too much at stake. I needed to win. But I was not gonna play the dirty game. Integrity is as important as victory. If there was one lesson I learnt from mom that would never leave me, it would be that victory without integrity is just failure with external validation.