"What are you looking at me like that, huh?"
"You know why I am speaking to you this way," Sweety paused seeing the closed door of her room. Kirell, her roomie was with her friends hanging out in her friends' rooms leaving her some time to speak with Bappa.
She saw the idol her father gifted her this birthday, Bappa's eyes were blinking as she spoke. As if the statue had a system of reacting on voices around. Which was dope!
"Since you know everything, tell me what should I do? I can neither be happy with Mom and Papa because they are too protective! Then I thought coming here and staying in hostel for the first time will be something new but I don't like many people here. Girls are hopeless. Nishi is fine but if you say of boys, I made quite good friends over there. But.... I can't guarantee it will stay that way...."
Rob was listening to her from the beginning. At first, he was sure the girl became crazy and one of his mud bulls must have gotten into a wrong side of her brain to make her speak all alone. Then she mentioned a deity she worshipped and he realized she was speaking to the deity.
Weird girl.
That's what came to his mind.
"But you know what has changed? I miss Tessa! I mean, can you imagine? Two sisters who fought like hell at every opportunity, I am missing her! But I won't say that to her or she'll think too highly of herself...." A smile formed on Rob's lips, lightening his mood. That was why he was coming back to this girl no matter how much he tried staying away.
"I miss her Chinese looking eyes which disappear when she laughs." She herself laughed imagining that.
Then she said sadly, "I hope she forgives me for spanking her too much. Now that I remember her crying face, I feel bad at doing that to her. I wish I could take that back."
Sweety slept after some more confession for her family when Rob felt the silence surrounding the girl. Her steady breathing was an indication of that.
Putting the phones down, he wondered another fact that the girl never once complained of the girls who made fun of her nor did she seem angry. Rather she enveloped her sadness with some happy memories.
As soon as that realization struck him, he pondered on his own life.
Gazing up at the ceiling where the fan was moving in circles, his eyes went back to the time he was with his family. Happy and carefree.
His mother caressing his ruffled hair all the time, he enjoyed her hands on his head, patting her lovingly. No one loved him more than his mother, it was after she was gone that the love affected him the most.
Then the scene ran in his mind like a film on fast mode. His escape from the country, illegally migrating into India and blending into the crowded country ever since.
He would be lying if he said it was an easy thing. The series of events that went for him to be where he was today, he knew his family was looking for him till date. Or.... what was left of his family.
The following days Rob adhered to the old man's advice and left the girl alone but the access to entertainment was right in his pocket which he plugged in and listened. And boy did he hear things! If there was a knowledgeable person in their school, 'Ignited International Minds', it could be him.
Once he happened to hear the gossip of some girls while Sweety was passing through the library browsing over books.
"I heard Dean and Chairman had another private dinner in the Chairman's house."
"How can you say that?" The first one's companion hushed.
But the former was quite confident. "Oh come on! I know this because I saw her being picked up from the school gates into the Chairman's car. I know it because my Father knows the Chairman! So I know every car has the logo of promoting Odisha."
Rob ensured to keep that info to himself for the record time.
Then again one day,
"I have been trying to get that man and me alone but it is not happening!" He recognized it as the irritating girl Jasmine's voice.
He was not very interested in her boy scout until...
"Simple. Go to Mr. Wilson with a doubt. Or... you can pretend you are possessed by an evil spirit and need his psychological sense to help you out!" That friend of hers must be a psycho to say such a thing.
That time Sweety heard them when she intervened, "You all should stop routing behind the teacher and focus on the coming tests. And Jasmine," the girl sighed heavily disappointed, "You have got a lot of admirers from school, can't you hang out with them? An affair with a teacher is scandalous!" She uttered the last line in concern.
Well, it was indeed concerning as the girl was being haywire with her infatuation with the Psychology teacher.
As for Rob he couldn't have thanked Sweety more. The way she looked out for him without his knowing only made him feel giddier within. Like someone cared for him.
His grin dropped with Jasmine's next comment.
"You are saying this because I might steal him away from you? Have you two fought over something? He doesn't seem so into you now."
He was in his room rolling his feet involuntarily while listening when he stopped doing it, distracted.
"When did I give an indication for Mr. Wilson and me to have anything?" Sweety was getting too much of snides from her peers, it got too much for her to keep her emotions within and ignore them.
"Don't act too smart with me. It's not like I'm the only one who said it."
"But you could be the only one to spread the rumor of and everyone is speaking of it. Last week, one of our seniors asked me how I tried my way out with Mr. Wilson. I can't believe you are my classmates." Her footsteps were heard receding from there but the other girl did not give up.
"Then tell me what you did? It may not be dirty..." someone chuckled in background, "but you did do something due to which he always keeps on catching glances at you. Without your knowledge."
Jasmine did not hold back, "In another case I would have assumed he fell for a hot chic but you are neither hot nor a chic. Which means only one thing, you're having sex with him." Rest of the girls gasped hearing that.
Relating to that, Rob turned mad at the way they spoke with Sweety. It was nowhere close to what they claimed yet the number of girls being an audience to this nasty gossip coerced him to dash into the hostel and give a good scolding to that Jasmine. Maybe add some torture punishments too. Nowadays kids don't learn until behaved strict.
"What? Have you not heard the word? Don't act hurt or surprised darling. You are not bad-looking," Rob could imagine how Jasmine must be doing a look over of Sweety. "You have big boobs which is a fantasy of every man. And for the down part-"
"What in the world is going on here?" A childish, crany voice thundered Rob's ears interrupting the flow there. Fortunately. There was pin drop silence, he could here nervous shuffling of bathroom slippers.
He could not hear tears from Sweety though, so he willed himself she must not have taken the comment to her heart.
"What is all this crowd for? And why is everyone surrounding Sweety Roulette? Go back to your rooms and study!" The girls squinted their way to their rooms on their warden Mam's call. "Hopeless girls!" She called after them.
Rob praised the brave Sweety to not create a fuss about it. But little did he know, that when he kept his earphones aside to take a nap, she was in her bed weeping in her pillow.