"Ruhan, breathe," Alankrita said, as she stared wide-eyed at the purple faced boy walking alongside, "You won't pass if you asphyxiate before you write the test."
"I'm allowed to be nervous, okay?" Ruhan wheezed, his eyes bugging out. They were walking to class on the morning of the test. The day before, along with the rest of the students, they'd submitted their projects, earning a subtle nod from Vilochana ma'am when they did so.
"You've taken physics tests before, haven't you?"
"Yeah," Ruhan paused to gulp in a breath of air, "but I've never had to do well before. God, this pressure will be the death of me. How do you handle this shit?"
Alankrita shrugged nonchalantly. "After being a genius for more than a decade and a half, you kind of get used to it."
Ruhan stopped walking and stared at her.
"There's no way you were a genius at three."
Alankrita rolled her eyes and turned him towards the door. "Just suck it up and go."
She shoved him forward and he dug his held onto the ground, resisting her. "Are you kidding me?" Alankrita groaned, pushing against him with her shoulder. He simply wouldn't budge. He stepped aside to let a boy walk through the door, and Alankrita almost fell flat on her face. "Ladies, first,' he said with mock sweetness, gesturing toward the door. Alankrita mimicked him and said, "Age before beauty."
Ruhan smirked and said slyly, "Fine, have it your way," and bent down, wrapped his arms around her from behind and yanked her off her feet.
"WHAT THE HECK," Alankrita shrieked, her feet dangling a few inches above the ground as Ruhan sauntered into class. He dropped her down, narrowly missing snapping her spine on the side of her desk, sat on the one next to her (after shooing away a very star struck Shruthi Vatsav). Clasping his fingers on his knees, he smiled and waited for Alankrita to catch her breath. She glared at him as she shakily sat down in her seat, and fixed her ponytail, which had shifted a good forty five degrees down the right side of her head, courtesy of a Ruhan Das,
"Alankrita, breathe. You won't pass if you asphyxiate before you write the test," Ruhan said in falsetto, biting the inside of his cheek to stop himself from laughing at Alankrita's disgruntled expression.
"If you higher marks than me, swear to God, I'll eat my socks," she grumbled.
*****
YOU ARE READING
The Wrong Number
Teen FictionHIGHEST: #6 IN HUMOR "Your command over sarcasm appalls me." "As does your ability to comprehend it." With a practically non-existent social life, extra study sessions at the best coaching institute in the city, a mind numbingly boring job and...
