The Waves Whisper ✓

5 | hope and despair

2
𓂃𓊝𓂃

I saw a pair of brown eyes staring at me across from the playground. Apoorva's white kurta appeared even whiter under the scorching sun in the month of June. He sat with a group of boys from my class. I and Khushi clutched the lunchboxes to our chests and walked past them to the tree where the rest of the girls sat. From the corner of my eye, I saw Apoorva standing up and walking towards us. When he was exactly behind us, I could smell his sandalwood scent.

"Why'd you think it was unfair?" He asked in his baritone yet laid-back voice.

"Don't talk to him." Khushi mouthed something before I said something.

"You only speak inside the four walls of the classroom?" He went on. We kept walking as fast as we could to evade his questions.

"Hey, I'm talking to you." His tone changed from calm to agitated.

"It seems like she's mute." It was some other boy who said that.

I took a moment to study him. "I can talk, but why should I talk to you? To squander my time?" I said. The few boys who joined him laughed at my remark.

"Oh, You can talk." Apoorva said.

"I can. What more are you expecting me to say?" I was slowly losing my cool.

"Did you think that the teacher was favouring me?"

I waited a moment to answer that. "Yes, I do."

"That's because he's the best student in our class." The boy next to him said with pride beaming in his face.

"That could change. I guess."

"Who? Who's going to change that? You?" He chuckled.

"Why not?" My whole body was heating up at that point.

"You believe you can outperform him academically? Girl, you're definitely delusional."

"I don't think I can. I can beat him."
He scoffed. "Fine! We'll see who's going to beat whom." Apoorva said, and he walked away from the scene.

"Wait, did you fall into a curry pot this morning?" Jagdish said, looking at my turmeric-stained blouse. The boys near him laughed. Tears pricked my eyes. The entitlement in his voice! They weren't only making fun of me; they were also making fun of my predicament and insulting me for being poor. They wouldn't have mocked me if I were from a wealthy household like the rest of them. I might have to wear this stained blouse for the rest of the school year, but the shame of being poor will stick with me even after the lifetime of this blouse.

"Oh, piss off Jagdish!" Khushi snapped this time.

"Shut up, Chudail! (witch) Go, have your stale food with your poor friend." He mocked.

I pulled her away before she threw fists.

...

"How's the job search going?" I asked as my brother walked into my room. I was doing my math homework.

"Good news." He said. "I've got one."

"What?" I jumped up from the chair.

"Ratan, that's awesome!" I cried in excitement.

Ratan was continuously looking for jobs after coming to Jaisalmer so that he could save some money to move to Calcutta, where our elder sister Neelam lived with her husband. He promised me that he would take me with him. We both desperately wanted to escape from that house.

"What job did you get?" I asked.

"In a travel agency. My job is to show the angrej (an english speaking person or a white person) around. Mostly the deserts and chowks (market)."

"That's great." I smiled at him.

"Finally, you're not useless anymore, like your sister." Our stepmother came in, interrupting our conversation.

"Here boy." She proffered a piece of paper to him. "Go buy these groceries if you want to eat something tonight." He took the list and went out.

"And you." She said, before she left.

"You're the only lazy person in this house now. And from tomorrow on, you're coming with me to work after school." And she left. She worked as a maid in different houses. A lightning bolt passed through my mind when she said that. Not because I was ashamed to work as a maid, but because I knew I would be made fun of if someone from my class found out.