Vira sat in his room, glancing at his laptop screen, fidgeting as he sat with his book.
Akat had noticed his movements for a while. He sighed. Vira was becoming overly expressive, which was great. But, at the same time, he was being a distraction.
He could focus on his simulation logic.
"What is agitating you?" Akat asked Vira.
Vira looked up. "I'm just waiting for an email."
*T-ding*
"Here it is!" He squeeled excitedly. Akat crept behind him, and peered over Vira's shoulders, curious to know, what is was all about.
"3 month course on Northern philosophies and integration with everyday physics."
He looked puzzled. "Are you trying to do spiritual physics?"
"No! It's about how physics can be linked to the beliefs followed by North schools of philosophy. They worship space and time." He added as an afterthought.
Akat shrugged his shoulders. He didn't believe in God or otherworldly existence. His only god was Prapit. He smiled bitterly. And his only god had deserted him.
Vira forwarded the e-mail to Maw Lava. He could now sleep in peace.
****
Maw Lava loved the idea of integrating physics with philosophy. He called up Vira's grandmother the moment he saw Vira's mail.
"Atira, Thank you! The course you have offered is brilliant!"
"Don't get me wrong Lava, it's open to public, your student only got an invite."
He knew Atira like the back of his hand. She had created a course, after carefully understanding Saka's likes and dislikes from Vira.
He just smiled. Vira took after his grandmother in many ways. Both put their students before them.
****
Saka felt his stomach go upside down. For the first time, he didn't want to go to school.
Laika dragged Saka with him. He didn't tell Saka about the alternative plan that they had come up with last evening. Vira had told them that he didn't want Saka to feel obliged to him in anyway, and Saka would never believe he was capable of getting it purely because of his brilliance.
Saka dragged himself to the classroom.
Vira took the morning class. His presence brightened Saka's mood, but as he turned to leave, Saka felt himself slip into further depression.
"Saka, come out for a second please."
Saka stood up and mechanically walked to where Vira was standing, just outside of the classroom.
Vira slipped something into Saka's pocket, and leaned towards his ear and whispered, "cheer up, things won't be that bad."
He patted him at the back before disappearing.
Saka blushed. He had forgotten to breathe when Vira suddenly leaned towards him.
He touched hos pocket and pulled our a square bar of chocolate with a "cheer up!" sticky note stuck on it.
Vira was worried for Saka. That gave him a new high. Smiling to himself like an idiot, he walked back inside.
Biology period was the very last period.
Until Mina walked in, Saka had completely forgotten about her. Vira's chocolate, untouched, remained in his pocket, which he occasionally felt, to ensure he wasn't dreaming.
"Students, attention please!" Mina barged into the room and observed everyone.
This was where she wanted to be. The centre of everyone's attention. Her word was absolute.
Being a teacher was rewarding in that sense. Of course, there were those few unruly children, bane to every teacher's existence, but most of them were manageable.
She did not register everyone's face, she didn't care. She took out her attendance sheet.
There were two kinds of teachers - those who marked only the absentees, at the end of the class and spent more time teaching like Vira, and those who spent more time giving lectures and marking attendance for half the period, like her, Tobi observed.
She grimaced as she read Saka's name. Wasn't that that red headed yankee? She looked up. He sat her and gave her a look of insolence. No doubt, it was him.
Saka was mentally preparing himself. Trouble had come. Even that chocolate in his pocket was not going to save him. Mentally he sighed. Bring it on, he spoke to himself.
"Jun Saka, please stand up." She had the perfect opportunity of embarrassing him, now that she was his teacher. This was truly karma, she felt.
Saka stood up. Biology was not exactly his forte. Though his overall scores were decent, he did have problems with the diagram. Was she going to ask him questions? He wondered.
"Jun Saka, how many students do you see here?"
"29", he said. Was this a trick question? Was he supposed to count himself? He didn't because he technically couldn't see himself.
He tended to overthink when he got worried or scared. He took a deep breath. He would stop thinking.
"And none of them are as insolent as you."
The whole class was quiet. What the heck was she talking about?
"The first day I saw you, I asked you to dye your hair black. You still parade about looking all flashy. I'm surprised you weren't taught the meaning of respect."
Saka didn't bother to reply. This was going nowhere. If she was still hungry up on what happened two months back, she can stay there.
Tobi stood up and said quietly, "Maw, excuse me.."
Saka turned and signaled him to shut up. Tobi shouldn't be involved in this.
Just then Maw Lava waltzed in. " Excuse me Maw Mina, sorry to interrupt your class, but I will need to borrow the class head. He has been selected for a prestigious program.
Thanks Tobi, you may sit now."
Maw Lava made it seem like Tobi had stood up to inform the teacher that Maw Lava had come.
"Sure Maw Lava. If you may share with us what this is about, we can jointly applaud?"
She had no idea who the class head was, and tried to search for the person.
"Why not? I am sure you've heard of Vayu college?
"Oh my! Of course! It's our sister university!" She said proudly, bragging about her background to the whole class given the opportunity.
"They have an internship position for 3 months. This is a credit course that adds weightage to the entrance score as well. And considering the academic background and knowledge our class head has in this field, the college has decided to provide him with a certified program."
"Brilliant! If our class head can stand up, we can applaud him. This achievement is no small feat my students!"
The class applauded, looking at each other, confused. Was this teacher a bit hurt on the head? One second back she had bashed their head, now she was praising him?
Maw Lava sounded surprised. "Why Maw Mina, he is already standing. If you will excuse us, Jun Saka, please could you come with me? We have some paperwork to do."
Mina looked like someone had dropped a tonne of bricks on her head. What was happening?