~Sanvi's POV~
I recoiled with a jolt when my eyes measured upto the face of the person I had just collided my hand with.
An air of a familiar fragrance numbed my senses and I cringed hard, possibly more expressively than I would have liked.
Before me stood a befuddled Rishabh Rathore, whom I had been trying so hard to ignore since past few months.
I felt so stupid right then, after walking in there without caution when I already kind of knew that Rathore would be one of the teammates for the Championship.
It was easy to conjecture since he would have probably been Father's first choice had the arrangement remained the same.
I had been bearing a gnawing feeling of envy against Rathore since the thought crossed my mind at the beginning of the school session but I knew I didn't have to put myself down for that since I too had a rather equal shot at being selected by Father. I truly believed that Father would have been fair in his choice.
If it had come to the worst and he should decide to choose Rishabh over me, I would have surely stepped back with dignity.
I surely would have.
I wouldn't have thrown a tantrum.
I wouldn't have lost sleep for the remaining session.
I wouldn't have been pricking needles at my makeshift Rishabh voodoo doll.
I would have been...okay with the idea of Rishabh rubbing my nose on the prize trophy after he returned home, victorious on his own.
All we needed was one last win for St. Louis before our graduation. If Rishabh would have been the one to bring it in, I could have tolerated his super-boosted haughtiness for a few more months.
Regardless of that, if I had to be completely honest, then I had indeed lost a considerable amount of sleep worrying over this proposition. I knew I was jealous of Rishabh's capabilities but I couldn't stop myself from feeling so.
The world had made up a lot of disadvantages for a girl to walk up the stairs to success even if she excelled at everything her male counterpart did.
I was at least allowed a little jealousy, alright?
However, presently I heaved a sigh of relief realising that my worries seemed to have been for naught since all of us in the room would be representing our school together.
Yay.
Yay, right?
I looked back up at Rishabh and cried internally.
To my utter distress, the previous proposition of not being at good terms with the other teammates was the least of my worry then.
How would I manage to keep away from that extremely annoying brat in such a situation after promising myself that I wouldn't ever cross paths with him again?
The happiness of being selected as a representative after the gruelling months of worry had been rather momentary. I wanted to scream and cry and then scream some more, preferably on Rathore's face.
I could realise what a mistake it was on our part to take Father's punishment so lightly. He actually got us together in a team by hook or crook. How on the earth could we work as a team for the Championship, entirely ignoring each others' presence all the while?
I could have totally ignored his existence around me had I not been already familiar with his real devilish character.
What if he tried to mess around with me again?
What if I couldn't control my rage around him?
What if we fought and failed to win the tasks?
What if we become the reason for St. Louis losing the Championship that year?
We were basically ticking bombs, ready with retorts and punches within a meter radius from each other! But the thing that seemed to worry me the most was what if I couldn't veil my recently aroused weird emotions towards him if he came closer again? What if he realised that I was being affected under his physical influence?
I quickly grabbed another pamphlet from the table after letting go of Rishabh's hand. I didn't have the courage to look up for some strange reason.
Rishabh seemed rather unbothered standing beside me, with his usual straight composure. I frowned upon realising that he probably didn't give a damn about me being in the Championship with him.
But shouldn't he be kicking the chairs and screaming in frustration?
Heck, we had a dang crowd participating in it this time. He must've been fuming inside since the moment he got to know about the new arrangement. I knew he had been eagerly waiting for this day since the moment we were related the story about the Championship by our teacher.
All these years, it seemed as if his entire existence depended on winning the damn thing single-handedly. The jerk was good at everything-athletics, extracurricular activities, academics and being an annoying egotistical braggert about it all.
He was so hell bent on winning every accolade that I had involuntarily become one of his chief competition and tormenting target in academics. Not that I wasn't invested in my share of competition but I surely didn't enjoy his stupid taunts everytime I scored a point less than him.
The Championship had been a dream of mine too, like many other brilliant students of our school. I was really sceptical about being chosen as the representative. I had deliberately tried to be more disciplined this session than I ever had been, owing to the fear of losing the position to Rathore.
I was relieved upon hearing the news from Father. But the idea that the news just smacked Rishabh's arrogance out in one tight swipe was just a bonus and it practically made me giddy.
Served it right for his selfishness.
The thought naturally seemed to pacify me despite the awkwardness of the situation.
Father's booming voice brought me out of my chain of thoughts as I stood inches away from Rathore, cautious enough not to brush my arm against his.
"So the very first work that you need to do is find a compatible partner to perform the tasks with, among the people in this room. Except me, of course."
Father led out a laugh, evidently happy with his attempt at a joke.
No one in room was swayed enough to laugh at that and he coughed before resuming.
"You already have all the information about the Championship tasks in the pamphlet. Discuss amongst yourselves and pair up. Use any tool, any strategy. Choose a partner who'd contribute the best to the task with you. Mind me, person who'd push the BEST out of you and vice versa."
Pairing up with people I had barely interacted with all my school life seemed a rather daunting task itself. I would lose the Championship even before it began.
I could absolutely sense where Father was going with this when he eyed me and Rishabh in a suggestive gesture.
Hell no.
I knew I had to grab Veronica as soon as I could before she scampered ahead and abandoned me for her new fling. I didn't want to be involved with Rishabh even for a millisecond.
I looked around to see everyone staring at each other, visibly confused at the prospect of choosing a partner under the conditions. None of them were much compatible with each other, while some might have been in the same room for the very first time.
Sanaya stared hopefully at Dhruv who seemed rather unbothered about the entire ordeal.
I wondered whether he might pair up with Rishabh? I thought the duo seemed quite tight.
However, Sanaya seemed rather desperate as she kept clinging onto Dhruv who in turn didn't seem to mind?
What the hell? What about Rishabh?
Not that I was concerned about him.
He could just go ahead and pair up with a tree for all my cares.
The new guy, Aakash, had his eyes fixed on Rishabh, and I desperately tried to search for Veronica amongst the crowd.
***********
To Be Continued.