All is Fair

Chapter 1

A Puddle of Tears

  // (Trigger Warning: Self-Harm) //

  Sanaa turned to her best friend, Shoba. She had suddenly broken down into tears. Sanaa was at first worried that maybe Shoba's exam marks had made her cry. But then, she saw the girl prodding the table with her fork.

     "Is it Ravi again?" Sanaa asked. Ravi was Shoba's fiance. They had been together for 3 years and their families had agreed to the match after much consoling and emotional blackmailing.

     Shoba was silent, continuing to stab the table. Sanaa sighed. "What did he do now?"

     "We fought." she said moodily.

     "As usual. What's the matter then? You've been upset for over a week now. No patching-up?" Sanaa closed Shoba's tiffin box.

     "I saw a girl with him. He said that he was just 'casually hanging out' with his friends. And I see this pic. Of him with another girl kissing his cheek!" Shoba suddenly began crying again. She buried her face in her hands.

     "Don't think much of it. I'm sure there's nothing to that picture."

     "We had an ugly fight over the phone last night. Today morning, one of his friends called me and told me that he had cut his wrist after the phone call."

     Sanaa was shocked. "What?!"

     "It was not a deep cut. But now he wants to meet me after college. He's super mad at me. Will you please come with me? I know that I won't be able to face him all alone."

     Sanaa was about to protest. She took in Shoba's miserable condition and hesitated. She would have to turn away and bite her tongue once they solved their issues. The problem with her was not the fight. Rather, whenever she would see a couple together, she would be tempted to launch into a very 'un-Shakespearian' monologue. It's like a cough that she couldn't keep in. She looked at Shoba.

     The girl's lips trembled as she tried to control her tears. Mary, who was sitting on Sanaa's left, noticed Shoba's tear stained face. "Shoba! Why you're crying da? Don't cry. Tell me what's wrong." Shoba shied away. She looked at Sanaa again, pleading her one last time.

     It was just one of those agonizingly slow days at college. No lecturers had come for the past 4 hours. Rasheed was just about to get up and go out of the class when Ravi walked in. He quietly sat down in the bench in front of Rasheed. The other boys looked at Rasheed pointedly. They wanted him to go and work his charm on Ravi.

     Rasheed sighed, jumped down from the table and walked over to Ravi. He proceeded to take a seat beside him and started watching an old cricket match. Rasheed was not going to talk to his 2nd year senior. He barely knew the guy. He was just going to be there, to lend his support to the others. Slowly, the other boys quietly flocked over and tried to cheer Ravi up.