Cigarettes & Peonies

03

Maahi embarks the bus. She sat on the first seat, near the girl whom she met yesterday. They smiled at each other before she plugged in the earphones into her phone and stuffed the speakers into her ears. The kids in the bus were as usual, loud and unnerving, but with the music on, the world of cacophony faded away. The bus sped off along the broad road flanked by impenetrable forests before easing onto the bus stop. The driver here, killed the engine and leapt down the bus. They waited for a while as the students from all around the town came climbing into the bus. Half an hour later, the driver jumped into the driver's seat and the bus sped off to the university. The ride to the university was fairly short, devouring only 20 minutes of their time before traversing through the gigantic gates of the university. The driver gunned the bus down the stop. The driver killed the engine and the students started climbing down the bus. Maahi disembarked the bus and checked the time, 9:10, just in time. She shifted her gaze from her phone to the left and gasped. On the extreme left of the stop stood that man like boy, propped against one of the buses, circled by his friends (probably) and talking inaudibly. I mean it was all too noisy here that there was no way his voice would diffuse in this wild din. Her eyes widened at the sight of him. He looked rather chilled out at the moment for the reason that he was visibly laughing with the guys around. Thankfully his gaze wasn't moving around which is why maahi decided to slip away, besides she hadn't forgotten that creepy encounter with him yesterday. She spun and ran up the walkway to her building.

The classes began for Maahi. Few of the students had decided to bunk the class and hence they were down, roaming vagrantly inside the university. But professor was their dad in such matters and that's why he had already apprise the authorities to hunt them down and detain them in room no. 420 (specially designed for indiscipline students). Nothing much is done here barring the confiscation of their mobile phones and locking them in until the college's over. Trust me that's the best punishment for tykes and it has produced surprising results. Maahi attentively attended her classes. After the termination of her third class, the invertebrates lecture, arrived the recess and today again that queer girl kept on nagging her to accompany her to the canteen. Maahi inwardly groaned and plodded down with her. Again the same situation, inviting attention was her insatiable desire and she just doesn't seem to get enough of it. Maahi was peeved with her improper behaviour and just wished to ask her to leave but then she was too scared to do so. Maahi always had a fear of forming a scene in front of the people, therefore she preferred being invisible which eased her difficulties to a greater extent. Together they strode up the canteen and thankfully found a vacant table on the left. Maahi sat down and rapped her tupperware on the table top. Now, casually looking around her eyes met a pair of cold, blank orbs staring down at her own. A shiver coursed down her spine when her eyes caught the intimidating figure of that man like boy seated just across her, on the biggest table situated in the centre, surrounded by his mates. His dark eyes pierced through her soul as they gawked at her quivering figure in profound blankness. The boys around him said something to him which he clearly mishear due to his unsolicited attention hooked on little maahi. The queer girl was deliberately standing by the counter, where she could see him clearly, and twirling her unwashed locks which were nothing but an obnoxious clump of hairs. Maahi felt uncomfortable under that burning gaze of his, she tried to keep her eyes down but her sensory reflexes just couldn't help but look up from time to time which happens to every one of us when someone's staring at us creepily. His countenance showed no development whatsoever, that cold impassive look still was the only thing manifested by his visage. She gulped. She shifted her gaze to the queer girl who seemed miffed after her failed attempts to win his attention, but she wasn't coming to the table until this creepy guy's here, she knew that well. Maahi got up and sat on the vacant chair on the same table but across her. Now from here the creepy man like boy wasn't visible which kinda solved her problem. She ate her food peacefully, without the queer girl's annoying face and the creepy man like boy's stare. After her lunch finished, she got up and moved to her building, never turning back even for once.