When Ankita got a grip on herself, she let go of Punit and trudged a bit away from them to be alone for a while.
Punit watched her intently as she stood with her back to them. All of this felt unreal. The brutal assault Sibal and his cronies belted out on him, Ankita’s rampage on the bullies and now this... Something rolled over in his guts, infuriating him. His hatred for Mr. Shah had reached an all-new level. How could the man be such a coward, such a puppet as to punish the victims instead of the culprits, and that too, in the most painful and humiliating manner?
It was then that he realized why his back hurt as if scalded with boiling water. Mr. Shah had whipped him like a horse. Anyhow, he was glad that she didn’t have to take that.
Despite knowing that she was furious and needed time to cool off, he went ahead and joined her. Cautiously, he stole a glance before meeting her angry glare.
That day, there was an uproar in the Principal’s office, so much that the entire school kept mum and listened to the conversation.Mr. Ratan, Raj and the other parents could be heard roasting the Principal.“Who gave you the bloody right to lay hands on my daughter? Did I!!? This is NOT why I’ve sent my girl here. Get that straight!!! If you have any issues with her, call me up. That’s what I’m here for!!!” Mr. Ratan’s angry voice rang from the Principal’s office.“Teach your girl to behave and then maybe no would lay hands on her,” followed Mr. Shah’s response.“Teach your master’s son first. IF you have the spine! IF you have any bit of self-respect!” Mr. Ratan barked back.The victims of Sibal’s bullying episode – Punit, Ankita, Edwin, Bruno and Jyotsana huddled outsid
After a week’s hiatus, Ankita trudged through the gates of her new school. She adjusted the weight of her bag on her shoulder, her cold, sweaty hand wringing its strap as she did. Her head and chest thumped alike as she ran her eyes around the strange surroundings. Though the school was pretty young, it was massive with a ground that could pass for a football stadium.Unfamiliar places and situations always made her feel uncomfortable. The never-ending stretch of grounds with no proper direction didn’t help either. Small, comprehensible pl
Ankita was jittery as she strolled to the grounds and lined up with the rest of the girls. She glanced at the sea of heads before her. As usual, she was the last in the row, thanks to her height. She was taller than most girls and it seemed that she wouldn’t stop growing. Many a time, she has pondered over how tall she would be by the time she hit twenty. The chatter was deafening, and she wondered what they had so much to talk about! Unlike others, she could barely start or keep up with a conversation.
Punit sat in his car; his tall frame stretched out in the driver's seat. He ran his fingers through his silky hair and adjusted his soft, kind eyes on the camera. "I'm gay," he said, pausing for a moment. "Well, not really. That’s what the others think. If you ask me why, then, let me tell you, it took me a couple of years to figure that out." Punit frowned and leaned back against his seat as the traffic around him ground to a halt. He decided to go live on his YouTube channel to speak his mind. "Apparently, people have this notion that guys into fashion designing, or the nursing profession are by default gays," he continued, shaking his head in disbelief. "I know, right? Crazy! I don't even know where they got that idea from! And maybe I'll never find out. But hey, you don't see any of them hitting on other boys. At least most of them. And even if they do, so what? That's their choice. That doesn't make nursing or fashion designing the official course for gays." Punit glanced
PUNIT’S POVHang on, I need to stop by this store. Anki wanted me to get some stuff for home. But that doesn’t matter, we can keep talking. Ok, wait. Let me just find a parking space.Talk about luck, all spaces have been taken up, as usual. Now finding one is going to be a pain in the ass. Oh damn, here we go again with the language. Oh, thank God! There’s one.At the store now. Man, I love the blast of cold air from the air conditioner on my face each time I walk through this door. Is there anyone else like this or is it just me?“Good evening, how are you today?” That was the store manager. He kind of knew me pretty well as I stopped by often.“Awesome like always, you?”“Wonderful day here!”“Perfect
PUNIT’S POVOkay, got what I need, and now I’m headed home!We’re planning to cook some khichdi tonight. And she’s a great cook, have I told you? Give her any ingredient, she’ll make something great out of it, and one look is all that she takes to get ideas.So, where were we? Ah, yes! That day, she headed to the principal’s office to complain. Well, it didn’t work. Ask me why I’m not surprised. That guy was a chicken and didn’t have the spine to lift a finger against the chairman’s son. Well, I can't blame him. He has to save his ass. He and he alone must, because, no one else will save it for him.So, one afternoon, as I was taking a cautious stroll in the school grounds, (cautious because, you know... this bully Sibal would be lurking in the corner waiting to bash me up) I chanced upon a ruck
Note: Going forward, the story will be in Punit’s POV until specified. I don’t know why the heck I was following her, I mean, like what exactly did I want to find out? Beats me. Maybe it was the way she walked around with that guitar strapped over her back. It made her look so special as if she wasn’t already. I learned that she took music lessons when the rest of the school pigged out on their lunch. How fab is that?But I’ll admit it, I was shit scared. From the way I was going on, I was damn sure, someday, I was going to get caught tailing her, by someone or the other. And if it was going to be her who caught me red-handed, well, God save me. I’d seen the way she’d mauled Sibal. She was strong and didn’t give a damn about anything or anyone. Yet, something told me that she’d have spared me. She would, right? Um...So, one day, it happened. She c
It was the annual school fest and I had big plans. Really big plans!I’ll be honest, I was shit scared. For one, people were for sure going to laugh me out the gates. Two, Sibal would laugh me out to space. The very thought of it made me shudder. But it was now or never. It was hard finding the stuff I required for this feat, but I did, and I just had one more thing to do.“So, what will it be?” asked a senior girl sitting at the desk. She was entering the names for the fest in the notebook before her.“Fancy dress,” I stated and moved out after making sure that she got it right. I literally strutted down the corridors, as if I’d just enlisted myself in the army. Well, it was as good as that.Yup, fancy dress. That’s what I had signed up for. I had a never before unique idea up my sleeve, but I was scared.As I strolled down the third-flo