Lying For Him For First Time
I laugh seeing Naina's expressions. Maths lecture is going on and she is totally messed up. The proving part of real numbers is difficult. "Gosh. Kill me now", Naina mutters and I laugh more.
We hear a commotion going outside and sir stops teaching. "What happened?", he asks as another sir brings Shravan holding his arm in a tight grip.
I get up and we share an eye lock. What's happening? He just smiles...tries to smile but I see he is trying to control himself from crying. "Naina, Suman. Come with us", our class teacher appears out of nowhere.
We frown at her but nod. We both follow the three teachers and Shravan in the coordinator's room. "Ma'am, he is not learning even after various warnings. He doesn't respect school rules. Aneesh complained about him smoking near the stage", the sir holding his arm yells.
Shravan's mom glares at him and he looks down. She is the Queen of morals. She won't give any special treatment to her son but that's the topic of worry right now as he needs it today.
Because it was indeed true that Shravan was smoking that day. I saw him too. Aneesh enters inside smirking. He always takes advantage of situations. He is more spoiled than Shravan and after getting bashed by his father, he stopped smoking in school premises and wants to punish Shravan for his stupid enmity.
And he was the one who locked Shravan in that room even after knowing about his phobia. Anger fills up in my veins. "Suman. You know what's happening with which kid. You are the monitor and I know you fulfil your responsibilities honestly. Tell us if it is true", Ms. Gupta asks me in a stern voice.
An evil idea pops in my mind and I try to look as innocent as possible. "I don't even know what Aneesh is talking about when in reality, he was the one who was smoking. I know you all believed him because he has already been punished but it was not Shravan who was smoking. It was Aneesh", I say. Lying feels good today.
Aneesh looks at me jaw drop and Shravan tries to control his laughter. "How dare you blame someone else for your mistake?", Maths sir shouts and slaps Aneesh making me widen my eyes. Shravan quickly stands beside me. "This went downhill in milliseconds", Naina mumbles. I don't feel regret seeing Aneesh almost on verge of crying.
Not because Shravan is helping me in my studies. People who know me well are aware that I won't betray my responsibilities and morals. I had no proof that it was Aneesh who locked Shravan inside and I couldn't just let him roam freely and play with someone's fear which is life risking too. So this is his punishment.
"Sorry Shravan. You guys can know", the sir who held Shravan says. So glad that teachers don't know I am lying. They trust me so much. I feel guilty for lying to them but it is necessary to teach Aneesh a lesson. "That's for locking me in the store room", Shravan whispers in Aneesh's ears. He knows I won't lie, so he must have guessed why I did this. We both smirk and exit as Naina, confused follows us.
"When we both saw it was Shravan who was the guilty, why did you lie?", Naina asks and Shravan and I share a look. "It was him who locked Shravan inside and if I hadn't taken this step, he would have done this with someone else. It was necessary", I replied. "Hmm. Now it does make sense", Naina mumbles. "This was a good one", she grins and we laugh. Aneesh is from the D section and all our classmates hate him.
Shravan jumps in joy as soon as he enters the class and he tells everyone what happened. They all look at me in surprise and I feel heat on my cheeks seeing all this attention. "Sir is coming", I say quickly and go to hide at my seat. Sir enters inside and we receive a big lecture on why we should not do this and that.
I listen to it keenly while others sleep during the day time. "He is suspended from attending lectures for this month", sir ends and that perks up my interest. Exams are starting on the first day of next month. Aneesh can't miss his lectures at any cost.
I feel a burning gaze and look to see Shravan already looking at me. As soon as sir leaves, he rushes outside. I keep thinking about it. Now I feel regret. Aneesh is also a topper and he will be depressed after losing his grades. I facepalm. I really messed it up.
"Suman", I hear after some time and look up to see Shravan standing in front of me panting. "I know what you are thinking", he says, taking deep breaths. I give my water bottle and he gulps down water from it. "I talked with mom", he tells me while keeping the bottle on the table.
"She has decided that he will attend the school online for this one month and after that, he will stay back for one hour for the next week, following the exam week. So that after this harsh punishment, he remembers not to smoke", he says.
"Aww. That's so cute. You talked with your mom even after Aneesh did so wrong and that's so kind of you", Naina says. "It really is", I add. "Give me the return of this kindness by coming in the match", he says and we both chuckle. "We will come. Promise", Naina says.
"I will give you two shirts on the day. It has our team name on it in case you decide to cheer for us", Shravan tells us. "Why not? Of course we will cheer for you", Naina says. "Thank you", Shravan says softly and goes back.
I smile.