Sanvi's POV
Pavan and Veronica took up the Debate Round as their task. Dhruv and Sanaya chose the Swimming Race. Dhruv was an excellent swimmer, known around the school for his victorious backstroke. The sole reason for my hesitation from approaching Dhruv was just that particular aspect. I kind of knew he'd take up swimming when I read about the tasks and I wanted to stay as far as possible from swimming,- perhaps a bit too much far.
And Sanaya? I had never interacted with her and her bored demeanor was rather demotivating for me. I might've done almost all my class group projects by myself, while others piggybacked on my work. But the Championship was too big a deal for me to partner up with a disinterested person like her. Although it was a difficult proposition for me to amicably co-operate with a person, I had to adapt myself with the present conditions.
Now for mine and Aakash's choices, we were left with the Mental Aptitude Test, the three kilometre Cyclothon, and the Treasure Hunt.
Honestly, I was all in for Mental Aptitude. But I doubted if Aakash was keen enough for it. He was an above average student but very athletic. I internally hoped he wouldn't choose the three kilometres Cyclothon. The athletic vigour in me had already fizzled out by that time.
"Why did Father make a group of seven when he already knew that there will be so many damn tasks? A huge crowd is required to go through so many tasks." Sanaya scratched her head while twisting her lips in annoyance. I grabbed a seat beside her while reading the pamphlet.
"Exactly.. And moreover, the pairings will most definitely remain uneven. Who will perform alone?" Veronica pointed out in a concerned tone, seated beside Aakash and Pavan. Everyone nodded. However, Aakash clicked his tongue derisively at Veronica's words.
"It's a good thing Father made an odd group of seven." We turned to look at him for a clear explanation. What was the guy's problem?
"Listen, the basic rules say how the focus of the championship this year is on team-building. This very process of pairing up will go to show right from the very beginning how that loser that remains alone should be cast off for being incapable of being in a team. And do you still need to guess who'll perform alone? That loser Rishabh Rathore, of course! I tell you, that'd serve him right for his arrogance! He is the least deserving among us anyway." Dhruv scoffed loudly at Aakash's absurd contention.
I found myself scoffing alongwith him, much to my surprise. Others stared at each other, evidently dumbfounded at his venomous words. I could almost read everybody's mind, each worrying how they got stuck with such a weird group. Well, the general consensus was not on the wrong there. Aakash was being blatantly obnoxious and deliberately harsh towards Rishabh.
Rathore? The least deserving among us? Aakash might've been a newbie but he should of all people have known about Rishabh's capabilities, being targeted directly as a rival right from his arrival. Quite strangely, I felt tiny needles prickling my skin with each of his words against Rishabh.
"Shut your trap, dude. You're going way too far with this." Dhruv chimed in an agitated tone. I was sure Dhruv felt the same way as well. He was visibly fuming. But why did I feel that way?
"Oh, come on, Dhruv. Of course, you'd be biased towards him. But I am so grateful for Sanvi. It's a good thing that I saved her in the nick of time by taking that compatibility test. We scored a whopping 91%. It's almost like we're made to be each other's partner. I was almost worried that she'd be the one left out. Dontcha worry, love. I am here." My fists were itching to smack that guy so damn much. He was already on my last nerve and then he uttered the very last thing that edged me to a complete outburst.
"That obnoxious jerk needs to be castrated, doesn't he, Vee?" My eyes shot up towards him as he endeared me with that denomination. I closed my eyes and banged my palm on the table, surprising all.
I mark the fucking limit here.
"Don't kid yourself, Aakash. Everyone here knows that Rishabh, out of us all, deserves the most to be in the team. Else Father wouldn't have approached him by himself while you came in strutting here with the rest of us. I won't be your partner in trashing Rathore, or anyone in this group. We're supposed to be together in this, united. Your snide remarks add nothing to our repartoire." I inhaled a long one and continued.
"I had tolerated your rudeness in roping me in with that online test, which I should mention, that you CHEATED your way through to entrap me. But now don't you think you should be worried about your own position in the group, Aakash?" The dam couldn't have broken sooner. I had had enough of his bullshit. He was visibly taken aback at my tone. The rest kept looking at me like like had never seen me before.
"I am not going to be your partner if you keep on deriding people like this. You talk about team-building? What would you contribute to that very particular team? Your continuous lectures bitching about your own team-mates? That's exactly what Father intends to do. This particular interaction showed us how to judge people." I inhaled sharply once again.
"You paved the way for your own verdict. No one here wants to be partner with someone who is so self obsessed and vindictive. We need someone to bring the best out of ourselves. I truly worry that you might just bring out the worst in me like you're doing right now." I inhaled sharply before continuing with my outburst.
"I rest our rather short partnership right here. Let your work speak for you and not your obnoxious demeanor." I stood up with a jerk before snatching my bag. My eyes fell on Dhruv, who appeared to be extremely satisfied at my words. He beamed and pulled up a thumbs up at me when I turned around to shoot one last retort at that scumbag.
"And you don't know me well enough to bestow me with any of those cringey nicknames. Learn to talk properly and join the group after learning some manners and cleaning your trashy personality."
Saying so, I strutted right out of the Cafeteria with my nose high.
Aakash had a masked expression on his face, that either showed how badly he wanted to thrash me for insulting him like that or how badly constipated he was in the brain. Both could be the case but I felt extremely liberated after that.
I caught everybody's bewildered reactions with my peripheral vision. They were flabbergasted to witness Rathore's own academic rival defend him against his other rival but I didn't care. That scumbag, Aakash, didn't get to deride my enemy. Only I had the right to bitch about Rathore and I could do that without being influenced by any indolent third party.
I heard a fading voice of Aakash screaming, "You'll pay for this, Sanvi Dixit." as I ran out to the ground; the adrenaline rush of the confrontation seeping through each of my veins.
I didn't care about anything anymore.
Championship? Group? Pairing up? The propositions stood at the background while I reeled with the thrill of the strangest argument I've ever had.
It was justified, wasn't it?
I did the right thing, didn't I?
What the hell did I do?
Oh no.
I felt so light that my stomach churned with a sudden excitement. I was skipping happily towards my scooty in the parking lot when I felt a sudden tug on my left arm and in seconds my feet were swooped up from the ground. I was being pulled harshly and was ultimately pinned to the nearby car, kept in a dark shed away from anyone's notice.
I felt a familiar fragrance numb my senses as I inhaled sharply. I opened my mouth to scream profanities at the jerk only to be silenced by a cold palm. His fiery dark gaze almost bore down on me as I felt my legs going all jelly in front of him.
The jerk I had defended minutes ago.
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To be Continued.