The Hospital

3. Graveyard

The windows of the black car were misted up with droplets. 

A soft hand pressed the button on the door to lower them down. And the first thing that fell in their sight was a building. A huge building. 

It was visible how its amber-orange colour had slightly washed off to look peach. The rainwater sat on the iron fences as minute grey crystals. The overgrown shrubs around the walls had covered most of the entrance area. If the entrance door was not wide open, one would have to peak in through the fences to have a look at the walls. But that sight would have disgusted anyone as the smears of some unknown greasy substance were distributed on some parts of it. 

It was still beautiful. As beautiful as a crow painted white.

A cacophony of squealing and laughing noises from the main ground filled the dead air with liveliness. And that building held a huge signboard on the top of its neck.

"Chestwood high." Nivedita worded out the letters written on the board. "Although we did come here yesterday for the admission procedure, it gives the same feeling of strangeness." She opened the door of her black mustang and let her shoes get ruined in mud.

"Yeah, I hate to agree with you. It looks like one of those schools where only bad things happen. You know things like drugs, gang bullying, lecture bunking etcetera." Jay also came down while dragging his bag and headphones out of the seat. "What has Mom got us into? Something is definitely strange here."

Nivedita's hands involuntarily got folded across her chest as her palms massaged her forearms. "Strange and cold." The atmosphere still held the water droplets captive as the cold smoke got intertwined with it. "Now don't go the 'detective Jay' mode. Just focus on your studies."    

"Yeah, fine." Jay coiled his headphones around his neck as if it was his pet python. "See you later, Nevy. Hope you don't get any of your patients killed on your first day." He lifted his hand to wave at her when she abruptly took it in her grip. 

"It's not funny, Jay. How many times have I told you? You don't joke about this stuff." The sudden change in her tone was not new for Jay to witness. His words, although said jokingly, had often hurt his own people.

"Okay, okay. I was just joking. Which...I shouldn't have. I'm sorry." He jerked his hand off and slyly ran his eyes around him to check if any of the kids saw him getting embarrassed. His shrunk eyes caught a group of guys laughing at him from afar.

What the hell is wrong with them? He cursed under his breath and moved his eyes away while wishing not to face those guys in school again. 

"Better. Now get inside and study. I'll make a round check on Friday to talk to your school counselor and teachers about your performance. Try to be interactive and polite." Her dominant eyes were speaking louder than her angry voice. 

He dumbfoundedly looked at her index finger, which was being flashed in front of his eyes as if it was replaced by Hitler's target stick.

"Okay fine. Stop yelling at me"—he plugged his headphones in his iPod—"I'm seventeen for god's sake." And finally turned around to enter the school building after wearing them.

"And one last thing." 

"What now?" 

"Take care." The smile on her face would have surely melted his anger.

"Whatever." 

He turned after rolling his eyes on her.

She sat silently in the car until he entered the school corridor.