"Have you heard of Gaya Institutions?"
Laika answered, "They are one of the biggest educational institutions right?"
Maw Lava nodded. "They own some very prominent universities like Phupha, Dara Medical School, Vayu college of Spiritual and allied studies"
Roma nodded. "Indeed, they own the best colleges in the country."
Maw Lava continued, " The chairperson who owns the entire group is a close friend of mine, Maw Atira."
Rin gaped. "Wow! How come? Are you secretly rich?"
Laike smacked her. Maw Lava laughed. "I am quite open about it. If I weren't, I won't have been able to build Mann High."
The three looked at each other. It never struck them that their Principal could actually be an elite rich person.
"We studied together, we became members of the educational board of Marina, we still are."
"Almost twenty six years ago, Atira's daughter Amara, fell in love with a fellow student. Love or lust, remains to be seen. He was a scumbag who had fun with her and then ditched her.
Atira did not allow Amara to abort, every life is holy, the child should not suffer for the parents' sin. Right?"
The others continued to listen to him intently.
"But she just could not forgive the father of the child. She had lost her figure, was forced to work, and her mom did not make things easy for her. Atira banned her from entertaining guys or dating till the child was old enough to be aware of the surroundings.
But Amara could not deal with these restrictions. She was by far too spoilt. She showed the child her irritation, and slowly irritation turned to hatred.
The kid was abused, ignored for days together. But to him, his mother was the only thing he knew. He still ran to her when she came home, still wanted to talk to her.
But when he was five years old, she told him something. She said if only he could get rid of that ugly face that reminded her of a mistake, she could maybe like him.
He took her words seriously.
Atira found her grandson with a knife in his hand, his face gnashed, the floor was covered in blood. He was not crying.
She tried to calm herself, and asked him why he had done what he had, the boy simply said, "now mama will like me.""
She took him immediately to the hospital and had the best of surgeons work on his face."
He stopped for a moment.
Rin's face mirrored the horror everyone felt.
No kid ever deserved to undergo such hell.
The mental agony the child must have felt, it was unimaginable.
He continued, "Atira kicked Amara out after that, sending her money for self sustenance, but never allowing her inside. And Amara never bothered to come back for her son.
Things didn't get better for some time. The child thought the mother had left because he didn't do a good job, and tried to disfigure himself again.
He was under constant supervision and had to go to a child psychiatrist. Atira became a mother to him. She did for him, things his mom should have. She told him stories at night, played with him, took him out.
Slowly he started forgetting about his mom. There were nights he'd break into a cold sweat, but her hand comforted him.
He started thinking that people would accept his face.
The huge gnash on his face made other kids tease him. They called him monster.
But she refused to give up. She tutored him at home, for the next ten years. He was a brilliant person. He loved math.
She asked the most brilliant minds to come home and tutor him.
By the time he was fifteen, he could solve advanced algebra like he invented it.
The scar on his face almost completely healed, along with his heart.
She then told him one thing, "People will exploit you because you are rich. Don't tell them your family background.
Some people will approach you for your looks, don't fall for their flattery.
There will be people who will love you for you, without knowing anything about you. Cherish them. They will be with you through your good times and bad times."
It was the first time he went out. He got it in a college, where people were two years older than him. While the college was owned by his grandmother, no one knew about it. He got it in through merit system.
In two years, he completed his degree in advanced mathematics, and took up engineering mathematics, which he completed in the next two years. He was not identified a prodigy, but he was brilliant. A genius, some called him.
He went on to publish two books which simplified Trigonometry and Astromathematics, that won him a grand award. He wrote the books under a pen name though, Ariv."
"Ariv? The Ariv? His books are bought by all university students, as there are lots of tricks and tricks he teaches to solve the problems! He keeps a very low profile and nothing is known about him, except for the fact he is a teacher!" Roma exclaimed.
"Yes, the same Ariv. It's just Vira spelt backwards."
"That makes sense," Laika mumbled.
The others waited for Maw Lava to continue.
"He did a dual master's degree, and made one friend. For the first time he understood what his grandma meant. That was you, Rin."
Rin's eyes welled up with tears. She didn't realise that she meant that much to him.
"Infact you were the turning point. People never approached him, and he took it as normal to be ignored. He thought he was unworthy of a friend. But you tortured him, dragged him around, and Jiv was just as kind, introducing him to his girlfriend. For the first time he felt excited to live."
He then joined Marina high, thinking he'd become someone important to the lives of the kids. But Marina was corrupt. He felt he was slipping back into darkness. He could not work there with a clear conscience. He started drawing himself back into his shell. He felt worthless and powerless."
The others began to understand more about Vira, why he laughed at the smallest of jokes, why he defended his students the way he did, why he was overly protective, yet totally shut down or diverted the talk when it got personal.
"Atira called me up. Vira cannot go back to his dark world. He needs you right now. Please help." She is an iron lady, but her grandson makes her melt.
So I took an interview to evaluate him. He was outstanding. He was genuine. I knew he had to be part of Mann.
But he is still not strong enough to see people hurt or fall. And this is where you need to help him. Be his pillar of support. Show him how much he really means to the society, that good people and genuine relationship exists."
Rin bawled her eyes out. "I cannot believe such a nice person has such a horrid past!"
Laika and Roma were quiet.
Saka's cheeks were wet. His heart hurt so much for Vira.