The Perfect Photo

Chapter 7

The students started to get up from their desks, and the classroom slowly began to empty. Amidst the commotion of tired minds wanting to rush back to their homes, I kept my focus on Pritam. He stayed put at his desk. I couldn't take my gaze off him as I watched him write something in his notebook. Once the classroom population thinned, I made my way through the back entrance of the room, to make less of a scene. Neha followed me swiftly. We took seats in the last row right behind Pritam.

I stuck my index and middle finger on his back such that it would feel like a gun muzzle. "Stay quiet, and nobody gets hurt," I started. "So Mr. Rocky Balboa do you happen to remember the two of us at all?"

No answer.

"Or do you plan on spinning up a story that you have some short term memory loss from bumping your head into some misshapen rock while climbing?", I asked.

Pritam stayed silent for a while like maybe trying to think of someway to get out of this situation. He slowly turned a little so that we could see his face. Stone-faced he calmly replied, "You do know that Rocky was a boxer and not a rock-climber, right?"

Neha raised her voice, "Do you not know how to address your seniors?Answer only to the questions asked and keep your mouth shut otherwise and do not give these smart-ass replies. You thought playing a prank on your seniors was funny?"

Neha grabbed his spectacles. It took him back by surprise, so was I. "Did you think wearing nerdy specs would make you go unnoticed? Is this also fake like you mister?", questioned Neha in a cold voice. She meant business.

"No mam. These aren't fake; I was wearing contacts the other day.", he replied earnestly.

"Quit doing this 'mam' thing", I said. I never liked juniors calling their seniors as Sir/Mam. "Give his spectacles back, Neha. Now Pritam Patel, if that is even your real name, Give me a straight answer. Why did you do what you did on Saturday and why did you lie to us?"

"I did not lie to you. Everything I told you was, in fact, true. I never mentioned which year I studied in nor which college I went to. That does not mean I lied to you.", he said wearing his spectacles back.

"So did you know that we both went to this college?", asked Neha.

"Yes, I did."

"Then you never thought you should mention that you went to the same college?", Neha asked.

"And what about asking directions for the juice shop? Don't tell me you didn't know where the juice shop was on your campus. You just said that you did not lie. Did you just lie about not lying?", I added. Both of us were on fire. We were grilling him left, right and center. The best form of stress interview I thought.

"I have never been to the senior campus till then. I did not know my way around."

He is somehow wading around all our questions, but he will not be able to answer this last one.

"Okay. I will let everything else be. What about the message you sent?" I finally asked the one thing that hurt me the most.

"What message?", he asked with a convincing shocked expression on his face.

"The message you sent calling me 'Hey beautiful'?", Neha joined.

"Oh! I didn't know.", he replied in his ever steady tone.

"What do you mean by you didn't know? What kind of game are you playing here Pritam? I never met anyone more mysterious than you in my life", I said. My frustration was evident in my voice. His answers were getting on my nerves. I did not know what he was trying to fabricate.

"Well...... I thought it wouldn't come up to this. But there is something you should know."

I clenched my fist. His next few words could possibly decide the future shape of his nose.