Never before had Tarun felt such chill running down his spine as it did just that moment. He was face to face with his prime suspect, but no words came out of his mouth. He kept looking at her for what seemed like an eternity before Richa’s booming voice interrupted the seemingly perpetual silence. “What’s wrong with you? Tell me why you threatened me? What do you know?”
Whatever do you mean, what letter? I don’t know anything about it, denied Tarun sheepishly.
It irked Richa, but she realized that the moment morning prayers end, her chance to talk to him will be lost. Also, she was not really expecting him to trust her at first. So unlike her usual demeanor, she said calmly: “Look, I know you want to help Priti. But it’s not me. Even though she wants nothing to do with me, I can’t let something untoward happen to my best friend. I am sure she is in trouble as well, I can see it on her face. Please let me help you help her”
Tarun experienced a sudden sense of unexplained relief. “So, I was wrong” He muttered. But, but you were shouting at Priti yesterday so loudly, so I thought, Tarun stopped the sentence without finishing. Then in a stronger more confident voice, he asked, “Why should I trust you?”.
I can explain what happened yesterday. But that is not important right now, tell me what’s going on?.
Tarun wasn’t satisfied though. “Maybe it is not important for you, but I must know to be able to trust you”. Tarun was quietly hoping to trust her. He felt so alone in his crusade to save Priti. The idea of an ally was a welcome development.
So, Richa explained what happened yesterday and concluded by saying my hotheadedness is my biggest enemy. Tarun nodded to Richa’s annoyance, but he was satisfied and also felt a sense of empathy for Richa. It was now his turn to speak.
Well, how should he put it? Where should he start? He wanted to avoid speaking of the insidious action that led him to discover Priti’s situation. So he said, I don’t know much either. All I know is someone is blackmailing Priti. They have made her steal something from her house already. But now, Priti is supposed to steal something from her neighbor and soon.
Richa was stunned, but she asked the question Tarun desperately wanted to avoid. How do you know all this? Did Priti say this to you?. Trust was essential to any alliance, thought Tarun. So he did not lie. He confessed, he explained over and over again, how ashamed he was of himself, but now that he knows, he really wants to help Priti.
Richa did not care about the morality of what he had done or his guilty conscious “Best way to help Priti out of this situation is that you confess to her, but clearly, you must have thought of it too”.
I can’t bring myself to confess though. Richa didn’t seem very convinced. “Priti may not even trust me to help her. She is a friend, but we do not have any strong bond between us” Tarun tried to masquerade his excuse with these additional comments. Richa did not push him further. Tarun was relieved. Before they could talk any further, they heard footsteps. The time was up! They both agreed to meet during lunch in the school ground and Richa returned swiftly to her desk.
There were four periods of 40 minutes each with 5 minutes break between them before the lunch break. But the 3 hours seemed to last forever for both of them. She kept vigorously thinking about the issue at hand and was even reprimanded by the Science teacher for not paying attention during the third period. On the other hand, Tarun tried to strike a conversation with Priti once or twice, but it remained very brief and revolved around home works. Priti did not engage much and Tarun did not push. Unlike Richa, Tarun wasn’t thinking about any plan of action, rather he was disturbed by a possibility that came to his mind and he was eager to discuss this with his newfound ally. So, when the bell rang four times, Tarun jumped out of his desk and Richa followed. They did not talk to each other until they reached the school ground. Tarun walked to an isolated tree and sat on the long chair under it. Richa joined him not long after. Although no one had said it explicitly, both understood the necessity of keeping their meeting secret. Both of them had a lot to say, but they both waited for the other to speak. Tarun had already started to like Richa, but he was still a little intimidated by her, so he waited for her to speak. Richa waited in an attempt at not sounding overpowering. The ensuing silence was finally broken by Tarun, he said, “I have been thinking more about it and I realize that there are some possibilities that I had not even considered because I was convinced that it is you, But now....., given that you knew, sorry.., know Priti so well, you may shed some light on these scenarios.
Go on, Richa said encouragingly.
Well, what if it is not someone from our class? Only another place I could think of is her badminton class. But what if it is not someone from our school? Although I had a few more of our classmates in my suspect list, I can’t imagine anyone other than you to have done such thing, Tarun concluded abruptly realizing what he had just said.
You mean, I am the only one who you believed could be such a bully? Richa replied gloomily. She was reminded of her reputation.
No, no, no! I did not mean that, protested Tarun. Richa found Tarun’s forceful protest a little amusing. What do you think of me now then? She asked.
Well, now I know that you will never do a thing to hurt Priti. Ohh, also I like you now. I think we could be good friends. A smile crept across Richa’s face, she felt the warmth of his words. She did not say anything. A few seconds later she said, “If she was not who he thought she was, how can he trust anybody else to be who they seem to be”. Tarun relieved that conversation has moved on from the awkward reply he had given just a moment ago, nodded in agreement with Richa. Yes, you are right! We can not eliminate the chance that it could be our classmate. But what should we do?
The lunch period was coming to an end. Richa said she has thought of something, but it will take time to discuss. Both of them were frowning, they needed more time to talk. Now they will have to wait till tomorrow. They would have to find ways to be able to meet for long periods too, both thought while walking back to the classroom separately. As luck will have it, the absence of Sanskrit teacher resulted in the 6th period being turned into a game period. Without any communication with each other, both of them headed to the library.
More I think about it, clearer it is to me that our chances of stopping Priti from stealing again are minimal without confronting her. But that possibility is out of the question on account of my temperament, your cowardice and Priti’s insufficient trust on you as well as overwhelming hatred for me. That was aptly put, smirked Tarun. So only thing we can do is monitor Priti most of the time. If she steals something, she will pass it on too. We need to be there. A blackmailer wouldn’t ever stop. But once we know their identity, we will find a way. It was hard to knowingly let Priti go through the stealing, but Tarun understood that Richa was being more practical. So they discussed a plan for the rest of the period until both were happy with it. They both knew what they will do from tomorrow. Tarun stood to head back to the class, as usual, Richa would follow shortly after. Before he left, Richa said, “there is one more thing that only you could do. I know you won’t like it, but it has to be done.” Tarun knew what it was. Their eyes met and no one spoke anything. Tarun left the library thereafter.
Maybe if she can help Priti, there was a chance of reconciliation? Richa wondered when she was heading home after school. And Tarun, he is alright, she thought. He thinks he can be my friend, silly boy doesn’t know how I chase everyone away from me. While she was trying to be a pessimist about any potential friendship with him, a smile adorned her face.
Tarun felt better too. A sense of camaraderie overflowed through him. He did not know Richa a lot better than he knew her before, but what he had told her earlier about them being friends was not a lie. Maybe because he noticed how much she cared for Priti. He wanted a friend like that too. But that was for the future, for now, he wasn’t alone anymore. He had an ally now and more importantly a plan of action.
Whatever do you mean, what letter? I don’t know anything about it, denied Tarun sheepishly.
It irked Richa, but she realized that the moment morning prayers end, her chance to talk to him will be lost. Also, she was not really expecting him to trust her at first. So unlike her usual demeanor, she said calmly: “Look, I know you want to help Priti. But it’s not me. Even though she wants nothing to do with me, I can’t let something untoward happen to my best friend. I am sure she is in trouble as well, I can see it on her face. Please let me help you help her”
Tarun experienced a sudden sense of unexplained relief. “So, I was wrong” He muttered. But, but you were shouting at Priti yesterday so loudly, so I thought, Tarun stopped the sentence without finishing. Then in a stronger more confident voice, he asked, “Why should I trust you?”.
I can explain what happened yesterday. But that is not important right now, tell me what’s going on?.
Tarun wasn’t satisfied though. “Maybe it is not important for you, but I must know to be able to trust you”. Tarun was quietly hoping to trust her. He felt so alone in his crusade to save Priti. The idea of an ally was a welcome development.
So, Richa explained what happened yesterday and concluded by saying my hotheadedness is my biggest enemy. Tarun nodded to Richa’s annoyance, but he was satisfied and also felt a sense of empathy for Richa. It was now his turn to speak.
Well, how should he put it? Where should he start? He wanted to avoid speaking of the insidious action that led him to discover Priti’s situation. So he said, I don’t know much either. All I know is someone is blackmailing Priti. They have made her steal something from her house already. But now, Priti is supposed to steal something from her neighbor and soon.
Richa was stunned, but she asked the question Tarun desperately wanted to avoid. How do you know all this? Did Priti say this to you?. Trust was essential to any alliance, thought Tarun. So he did not lie. He confessed, he explained over and over again, how ashamed he was of himself, but now that he knows, he really wants to help Priti.
Richa did not care about the morality of what he had done or his guilty conscious “Best way to help Priti out of this situation is that you confess to her, but clearly, you must have thought of it too”.
I can’t bring myself to confess though. Richa didn’t seem very convinced. “Priti may not even trust me to help her. She is a friend, but we do not have any strong bond between us” Tarun tried to masquerade his excuse with these additional comments. Richa did not push him further. Tarun was relieved. Before they could talk any further, they heard footsteps. The time was up! They both agreed to meet during lunch in the school ground and Richa returned swiftly to her desk.
There were four periods of 40 minutes each with 5 minutes break between them before the lunch break. But the 3 hours seemed to last forever for both of them. She kept vigorously thinking about the issue at hand and was even reprimanded by the Science teacher for not paying attention during the third period. On the other hand, Tarun tried to strike a conversation with Priti once or twice, but it remained very brief and revolved around home works. Priti did not engage much and Tarun did not push. Unlike Richa, Tarun wasn’t thinking about any plan of action, rather he was disturbed by a possibility that came to his mind and he was eager to discuss this with his newfound ally. So, when the bell rang four times, Tarun jumped out of his desk and Richa followed. They did not talk to each other until they reached the school ground. Tarun walked to an isolated tree and sat on the long chair under it. Richa joined him not long after. Although no one had said it explicitly, both understood the necessity of keeping their meeting secret. Both of them had a lot to say, but they both waited for the other to speak. Tarun had already started to like Richa, but he was still a little intimidated by her, so he waited for her to speak. Richa waited in an attempt at not sounding overpowering. The ensuing silence was finally broken by Tarun, he said, “I have been thinking more about it and I realize that there are some possibilities that I had not even considered because I was convinced that it is you, But now....., given that you knew, sorry.., know Priti so well, you may shed some light on these scenarios.
Go on, Richa said encouragingly.
Well, what if it is not someone from our class? Only another place I could think of is her badminton class. But what if it is not someone from our school? Although I had a few more of our classmates in my suspect list, I can’t imagine anyone other than you to have done such thing, Tarun concluded abruptly realizing what he had just said.
You mean, I am the only one who you believed could be such a bully? Richa replied gloomily. She was reminded of her reputation.
No, no, no! I did not mean that, protested Tarun. Richa found Tarun’s forceful protest a little amusing. What do you think of me now then? She asked.
Well, now I know that you will never do a thing to hurt Priti. Ohh, also I like you now. I think we could be good friends. A smile crept across Richa’s face, she felt the warmth of his words. She did not say anything. A few seconds later she said, “If she was not who he thought she was, how can he trust anybody else to be who they seem to be”. Tarun relieved that conversation has moved on from the awkward reply he had given just a moment ago, nodded in agreement with Richa. Yes, you are right! We can not eliminate the chance that it could be our classmate. But what should we do?
The lunch period was coming to an end. Richa said she has thought of something, but it will take time to discuss. Both of them were frowning, they needed more time to talk. Now they will have to wait till tomorrow. They would have to find ways to be able to meet for long periods too, both thought while walking back to the classroom separately. As luck will have it, the absence of Sanskrit teacher resulted in the 6th period being turned into a game period. Without any communication with each other, both of them headed to the library.
More I think about it, clearer it is to me that our chances of stopping Priti from stealing again are minimal without confronting her. But that possibility is out of the question on account of my temperament, your cowardice and Priti’s insufficient trust on you as well as overwhelming hatred for me. That was aptly put, smirked Tarun. So only thing we can do is monitor Priti most of the time. If she steals something, she will pass it on too. We need to be there. A blackmailer wouldn’t ever stop. But once we know their identity, we will find a way. It was hard to knowingly let Priti go through the stealing, but Tarun understood that Richa was being more practical. So they discussed a plan for the rest of the period until both were happy with it. They both knew what they will do from tomorrow. Tarun stood to head back to the class, as usual, Richa would follow shortly after. Before he left, Richa said, “there is one more thing that only you could do. I know you won’t like it, but it has to be done.” Tarun knew what it was. Their eyes met and no one spoke anything. Tarun left the library thereafter.
Maybe if she can help Priti, there was a chance of reconciliation? Richa wondered when she was heading home after school. And Tarun, he is alright, she thought. He thinks he can be my friend, silly boy doesn’t know how I chase everyone away from me. While she was trying to be a pessimist about any potential friendship with him, a smile adorned her face.
Tarun felt better too. A sense of camaraderie overflowed through him. He did not know Richa a lot better than he knew her before, but what he had told her earlier about them being friends was not a lie. Maybe because he noticed how much she cared for Priti. He wanted a friend like that too. But that was for the future, for now, he wasn’t alone anymore. He had an ally now and more importantly a plan of action.
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