Invitation To The Cricket Match
I gulp realising that I have nothing to eat now. Well. I think I need to survive. Shravan looks at me. Then he looks at others.
"Idiots. We ate her whole lunch", he says and all bite their tongues in realisation. Shravan stands up from his seat. "We still have five minutes. Come on. Quickly", he instructs and I nod no.
"No. The bell will ring and we will get late", I refuse the offer and everybody roll their eyes at me. "My promise. You won't miss anything. Come quickly", he says and I get up. We ran out of the class and went downstairs to the canteen of the school.
I widen my eyes seeing the queue. "Stay here", he says to me and goes in the crowd making way for himself with the money in his hand. And soon he's back with food for me. I smile at him and take it.
"Want some?", I ask and he nods no. So I quickly munch the food. "Thank you", I tell him and the bell rings. I widen my eyes and panic. "Eat slowly", he instructs with an assuring look and I eat slowly like he said.
Once I finish, I throw the plate in the dustbin and we go back to the class. We see our ma'am has just turned in the way to reach our class. "This is what I wanted to tell you", Shravan says as we enter the class.
"She didn't even reach till now. And you were gulping the food so quickly. Even teachers have lunch breaks and they know we need time. Like they do. So stop getting scared. Just relax", he tells me.
I smile at him. We sit in our seats as the teacher enters inside to teach us Biology. I glance back at Shravan and feel heat as I see him already staring at me.
I look away and the lecture begins. "I will take a quick oral test of you all for the Nutrition part of your chapter and you all are going to answer", she instructed. "Shravan. You will stay silent and wait for your turn", she fakes a glare at Shravan who smirks in return.
Shravan is really very good in studies and naturally, he gets excited in quizzes or when teachers randomly ask questions. And he won't even let the poor student speak who has a turn and would just say the answer.
"Alright. But I am not giving you a guarantee about it", he warns at the end and we all laugh. Miss shakes her head in amusement. "What should I do with you?", she mutters and our laughter doubles.
The quiz starts.
Shravan didn't remain true to his promise and he is loving answering on someone else's turn. This Bhopal Brad Pitt is unpredictable.
And it comes on me. "Why is a person without a gallbladder advised to not eat oily food?", she asked me. Silence. I see Shravan smiling at me. He is not taking my turn. I smile back at him.
"Gall Bladder has Bile juice in it and it helps in emulsification of large globules of fat. If we don't have a Bladder, it will be a big problem for digestion of fats", I reply slowly and she smiles at me.
"Good", she appreciates me. I sit back on my seat. I thank Shravan for letting me answer and he mouths a welcome back as both of us chuckle silently.
"Ok. We will study about respiration in the next period", she says after the time gets over. We thank her and she goes out. "Suman", I turned around to see Shravan standing.
"Are you free in the upcoming week? I mean you don't have any plans right?", he asks. "I am free", I reply confused and he grins.
"I will pick you up from the school itself and we will go for my cricket match", he tells me. "You are going alone and not from school? ", I ask, confused.
"My mom is the coordinator. Remember? She has taken the responsibility and we are going with her. I will tell her that you are coming with us. Mom will manage", Shravan told me.
"But won't I be marked absent for the day? I won't get classes like you will as you will go for the competition, not me", I ask worriedly. He chuckles and tucks a hair strand of mine behind my ear.
"I will manage that too", he assured me. "But please come. Naina can join us too. And I think she will. I just doubt you as you are a very bright student and won't like risking your classes", he explains.
"Will you give me time? I need to ask my parents and they will allow me but I just need to inform them", I say. "Sure. Just it should be yes. There is no option for no", he tells me, acting stern.
And he fails.
I laugh at him and he smiles back at me. "By the way. What will the time table be for that day?", I mumble. "English, Physics, Hindi, Library and Sports", he replies after thinking about it.
"Physics...", I trail off. The chapter Light is already going over my head. How can I afford missing my classes? "You are facing troubles in it?", he asks. "No. Don't worry. It's your match on the day. I will come", I say.
He has invited me and I don't want to ruin his mood by saying no. I will try to comprehend the lesson on my own. But, I know I will not understand it.
"Suman", he calls out to me in a soft tone. "Yes?", I ask. "I know how important your studies are for you and you need not miss them for me", he says to me.
"As far as that chapter is concerned, I'll teach you", he tells me. "You will?", I ask. He smiles at me.
"I will"