Aheli asked, "But why was her father arrested?"
Priyam answered, "I didn't get the details but something regarding illegal drugs. I just got a peek."
Aheli gasped, "Wasn't Mr Singha Roy in the pharmaceutical business? He owns the biggest pharmacy in the city!"
"I don't know. I just said what I heard." Priyam said.
"Poor thing, she might be so sad," Aheli said.
Many students liked Deepa for her cuteness and academic brilliance. Shreya was also admired but she was not as friendly as Deepa. They were called the Tulip and Rose pair. One was delicate like a tulip while the other had thorns of a rose. So, many felt pity for Deepa.
As the bell rang, those gathering outside had to get in the class but the ardent worshipers of Deepa did not stop consoling her. She wiped her tears and thanked them with a feeble smile. The only silent ones were Ankita, Rishav, Rai, Koushik, Bikram, Rishi and Sreemanti. Each had their own reasons for not getting involved but none uttered a word of sympathy. Shreya hugged her friend and led her to her seat. Only when the class teacher arrived, every one finally settled down. Having seen the news on the internet, she felt pity towards the little girl, who was going through a tough time. Even after sitting down, Deepa still kept sobbing.
Koushik took a look at her face, flushed from crying. Trains of tear drops slid down her cheeks and she shivered from time to time. The scene was really pitiful, but it did not faze him. In the name of searching for his lost phone, he had secretly seen a CCTV footage in the security room. Deepa was dragging Ankita by her hair. The camera only caught a few seconds, but showed him of one of the many tortures his new desk-mate inflicted on Ankita. He was determined to punish her. Bullying his friend was unforgivable.
Deepa felt his gaze on her face and sobbed harder. She sat in a pitiful but elegant posture, so that no one could move their eyes after looking at her delicate, tearful face. But Koushik just turned away, unbothered. She was stunned. At the horrifying sight of reporters at her house early in the morning, she had quickly chalked out a plan to not get dragged through the mud. It was to portray herself as the Pitiful girl struggling to bear the burden of her father's misdeeds. But his reaction was not in her expectations. She wanted to kill two birds with one stone – get out of this mess and get closer to Koushik. Once again all her anger fell on Ankita.
'What does that wrench have that I do not? Why can Koushik become friends with her but not me?' she began fuming like a bull who saw a red cloth.
School ended with every teacher asking Deepa how she was and encouraging her to stay strong. Even during dispersal time, she was the sole centre of attention. When she finally requested to be left alone, they went away. She requested the principal to let her stay in school till it closed. Some other time, the principal would not have agreed, but knowing the situation she might face outside, he let her stay till the school closed. She waited on the sofa in the waiting area after calling home to inform her late arrival.
Deepa looked at her watch and got up. Picking up her bag with one hand, she heaved a melancholic sigh and walked out of the school gate. She was about to take a turn when she noticed someone familiar. A wicked glint flashed past her eyes. She quickly averted her eyes, pretending to not notice her, and kept walking.
Ankita walked faster, she did not think it would get this late. She was in the doubt clearing session for the upcoming exam, held in the library. It would not have been this late if she was alone. But has her luck ever worked when she needed it? No. Koushik, Rishi and Bikram were also there. Ankita was surprised to see that all three of them were pretty smart. They had more problems than her, but they also understood the explanation quicker than her. While she, on the other hand, had to ask the teacher to explain the same thing twice or thrice. It embarrassed her but they were totally okay with it, and did not make her feel stupid. Moreover, Koushik asked the teacher to attend to Ankita first for she went home alone while they had a car.
Hearing him say that, Ankita looked at him, suprised and guilty. Koushik's considerate nature touched her heart. He behaved so nicely even after how badly she reacted to him last time, when he was only worried about her. It was the first time after so many days, that she looked him in the eye. Although none of them showed any emotion, and their eye contact was also for a brief moment, Ankita's gratitude was reflected in her eyes. The teacher praised Koushik for his behaviour and got to explain Ankita's questions first.
Ankita stopped on her way and opened her bag, searching for her ID card. Students could ride public transports with half the fare by scanning their ID cards at the door.
Just then, someone forcibly pressed their palm on her mouth and hissed in her ear, "Don't shout."
She was then dragged to a narrow alley nearby. It was previously a slum area, but it had been evacuated and was being demolished to build proper housing facilities by the government. The construction work had not yet started so it looked quite creepy.
Ankita had passed by that place many times while traveling on a bus. But that day, the absence of people in the area, gave it a spooky feeling. The sky was gradually getting covered by heavy clouds, making the surroundings darker. Soft, distant, growling noise could be heard from the sky. Just then, the stranger pushed Ankita further into the alley and made her face them. She saw who it was – Deepa. At that moment, the expression on her face was like a rabid dog's — ready to pounce on her at any time.