Vira squirmed in his seat. He hated the spotlight. Professor Arak always tended to go the extra mile. His grandmother seemed to be enjoying this. He had bribed her into not talking about him, and she had kept her end of the deal. Professor Arak was an unforeseen circumstance.
He stared pointedly at his shoe. Somehow the design seemed more fascinating.
"When he was just twenty, he had three books published, which have now sold over a million copies. They are even used in other countries as reference material.
By twenty-five, he had already earned a doctorate and is now a visiting consultant for the Marina Government.
He has an international lecturer's license; he still chooses to work in a school. In many ways, he has followed in the footsteps of our own Principal, Maw Lava. It is only appropriate that we all thank the brilliant, one and only, Doctor Nayak, a teacher by blood and at heart. What less can you expect from the grandson of Professor Atira?"
There was pin-drop silence. People were still processing the information.
Vira awkwardly got up and bowed before slumping back into his seat. If only the earth could open up and swallow him.
Tobi was the first to clap, followed by everyone in the senior section. Some felt ashamed for having mocked his ideologies.
Some felt honored to have been taught by him. Judging by the loud cheer and the deafening applause, it was evident that everyone who knew him loved him.
Laika grinned as he clapped hard. Some things were news to him as well.
Mina could not understand what was going on. She stared open-mouthed at him. She had no face to show him.
She must have looked foolish to him. She was, in comparison, underqualified, had only complained, and had been a royal pain as far as he was concerned.
The fact that he was this humble with so much to his name made her feel ashamed.
Her father didn't think much of her; if he had, he would have definitely told her. Was she really such a hopeless person?
While she hated to admit it, she did owe him an apology.
After the ceremony, kids flooded around Vira, chatting excitedly about how cool he was. Saka stood at a distance and smiled. Just this one day he would share Vira with everyone else.
Mina stood quietly in a corner, with a book in her hand, waiting for the crowd to leave. Vira noticed her standing. "Yes, Maw Mina?"
She took out the book and said, "Can I have your autograph?"
Vira looked surprised. "Huh?"
"I am a hardcore fan of Ariv. If only I can have his autograph..."
Vira felt too embarrassed to react. He quietly took his pen and signed the front page.
He turned to leave, but Mina said, "I am sorry."
Vira felt like someone had shot him. Was the world going to end?
Vira nodded, "No hard feelings."
Mina said, "I'm thinking of staying here for one more year. I hope to learn from you."
Vira looked at her and said, "Maw, I hope so too." With that, he walked off.
Mina gritted her teeth. Gosh! The jerk! She could never like this guy in a million years, she thought to herself. Would it have killed him to just say okay, or that he would be happy to guide her?
Vira smiled to himself. He couldn't resist that one.
****
Atira took the last boat to Marina. She paid her homage to Apā and had dinner with the others before she left.
Dinner was a fun affair; everyone was in high spirits.
Vira casually passed a fountain pen with Saka's name engraved on it. It was something Saka would treasure for life.
Vira borrowed Roma's car to drop Atira off. Saka tagged along.
After sending Atira off, Vira decided to take Saka for a drive along the coast, surprising him.
"Vira, we are going in the opposite direction."
Vira nodded. "The cool sea breeze will help you unwind. You must have had a rather tiresome day."
"It was fun, especially your expression when Maw Arak spoke about you."
Vira grunted. "Laugh laugh. At least you had fun."
"Maw Mina had the shock of her life." Saka giggled.
Vira chuckled. "She tried being nice, but it kind of failed. She'll continue being herself, hopefully."
Saka looked surprised. "Don't you want her to change?"
Vira shrugged. "From being the prejudiced snob? Yes. And I think she is trying. She tried being nice to you, remember? When she realized you were serious about studying in Gaya, after the certification, I don't think she tried demoralizing you. And that time after our little hospital trip, she must have bitten her tongue to sound nice.
I can imagine that would have been a blow to her ego. For people like her, it's difficult to apologize. But their actions speak louder than words, so it's okay."
Saka was perplexed. He said, "You are willing to brush everything under the carpet? That is it? No hard feelings?"
Vira laughed. "We have a million things to worry about; do we need to worry over petty things like holding grudges?"
Saka was quiet. "Do you not hate Fiza as well?"
Vira shook his head. "I am better off in every way possible. She is jealous, nothing more. Why would you waste your time or your brain cells on her? Ignorance is bliss. Just ignore her."
Saka felt Vira was too easygoing. This was a side of Vira he never knew existed. A guy who didn't hold on to grudges.
Vira casually looked at Saka. He cleared his throat and said, "Saka, I will be spending most of your summer holidays at Ekatweep. I will try to visit you during the weekends, but I may not be able to spend much time."
He was met with dead silence. Saka gave no reaction at all.
After a few minutes, he asked, "Is this why you took me out on this long drive?"
Vira shook his head. "Do you think I'd want to be scolded for over an hour? Of course not. I genuinely want you to relax. But I feel I should tell you upfront. I don't want you to get mad at me later."
Saka asked, "When are you planning to leave?"
Vira replied, "By the start of next week. I want to complete my project before the academic year starts."
Saka nodded. "So Sen Akat and Sen Ken are already there?"
Saka was gauging. Vira knew Saka was really jealous of Akat. Vira smiled. Saka was cute when he got jealous.
"I don't know. Akat's phone is with his boyfriend."
And I'm kind of scared of him, but Akat is madly in love with this guy. If he is happy, then what can I say?
Saka nodded. "Hmm... wait, Sen Akat has a boyfriend?!"
Vira nodded. "Prapit, you saw that guy, right? Not as handsome as me, but somewhat decent-looking."
Enlightenment struck Saka. "Oh! He thought Akat was cheating on him and hit you?"
Vira decided the explanation was not worth the effort. "Something like that; he jumped to a hasty conclusion after running away from Akat. So I thought I'd help them get back together."
Saka giggled. "Poor guy. I guess he must have felt like me."
Vira mumbled, "If he had reacted like you, Akat would have gone easy on him. But that guy decided to be macho. I hope they have sorted out their feelings by now."
****
A few hundred kilometers away, somewhere in Mainland Marina...
*Achoo* Akat sneezed. Someone was thinking about him.
He was pouring over his laptop, trying to work on an agile model.
Five minutes later, he heard a knock. He hated it when people disturbed him while working.
He grunted.
Prapit gently opened the door, bringing in a bowl of soup.
"Get some fresh air. Eat something. You are sneezing because you are cooped up inside all day long."
Akat looked gratefully at the soup and then at Prapit.
"Thanks, Prapit. Just a bit more. If I mail this piece by tonight, I can rest for the next three days."
Prapit looked at the dark circles under Akat's eyes. It was like when he was in college—focused on his studies, he thought of nothing else.
"You do know, right? I will willingly give you everything I own; you can quit working any moment."
Akat smiled. "I know. It's exactly because of that I work on what I like instead of forcing myself to work on whatever I get."
Prapit sighed. He waited until Akat finished his soup and took the bowl.
Akat looked at Prapit. "I need energy for three more hours. A booster would be nice."
Prapit smiled as he bent down to place a gentle kiss on Akat's forehead. "Call me if you want anything. I will be in our room."
Akat nodded, smiling happily at Prapit, who pampered him like crazy ever since their big fight. He was enjoying every second of it.
Life was now exactly the way he wanted it to be.