Who is mine?

Chapter 2: The Class Room

The way to class was quicker than I expected it to be, with Meredith dragging me all the way. She was visibly exited. She really wanted everyone to know that I was the new kid around, I on the other hand really wanted her to mellow down. All kinds of thoughts were running across my mind, I had never been bullied before, but popular media had painted a picture in my head of the American high school life and all that could go wrong with being the nerdy "new girl'.

The hallway was not as crowed as before with everyone hurrying off to class. "I should have eaten more for breakfast" I told myself. My head felt lighter and I was finding it difficult to breath at times. Trying to keep the whole idea of me being in an entirely different continent wasn't that easy. Everyone was a stranger. I felt out of place among these people. I was an outsider and that thought would come forth in all the little things I saw. There was everyone here, it was as if the school was a world in itself. There were students of all ethnicitties around me. I even spotted a few Indian kids, one of them was speaking Malayalam, my mother tongue. I was home away from home. My mind was everywhere with Meredith pulling me to the class. The rush made my palms sweat and she seems to have noticed all this. She glanced at me, her eyes filled with a tint of concern and her eyebrows frowning. "Calm down Sneha, your hearts racing like a horse!" she laughed teasingly, well it was true. It didn't take me long to realize how fast my heart was, no wonder she stopped. "It's going to be a great day" I told myself, as I closed my eyes. I gave her my best smile, "I am okay, I guess we should hurry. We would be late otherwise" I rubbed her hand with my thumb. She gave me a reassuring smile "Chill I am always around; it's going to okay" She gave me a thousand-dollar smile. She was pretty and there was no denying that.

She quickly took me across to a classroom nearby. It was small with a man in his mid-thirties standing by the board. He was tall and well built. His hair, dark with shades of grey in them. His eyes were dark brown, they were many shades actually. His tailored shirt did very little to hide the muscles underneath. His beard had streaks of white in them and his glasses added on to the erudite vibe. He was reading something. The students were all sitting alone unlike back home in India where we sat on long benches, five or six of us huddled together. Those were good times. Nobody seemed to have noticed us. That was a relief.

Meredith waved at a group of girls, presumably her friends. They all looked alike. They were all dressed like her. she seemed to have not seen the teacher or maybe had chosen to ignore him. She went right in and sat with them. I wasn't sure of whether I should follow her lead or talk to the teacher first. I decided on the latter. "May I come in" I asked him, politely. "Pardon?" He seemed confused. His voice was heavy and old at the same time, He had not heard me. The others were staring now, "Isn't this how people generally entered classrooms?" I wondered.

"May I come in Sir?" I asked him again, louder this time. He seemed amused. "You don't have to ask. Come in" I heard a few giggles, Meredith's friends. "Did I do something wrong?" I didn't know what to do. "Were they making fun of me?". I zoned out for a second. My eyes were watering up, My throat was getting heavier. I couldn't cry here, I tried to laugh along. Maybe that would make it easier I thought.

"Silence!" His voice shook me. Everyone was quite now. He did not seem very sweet then. His eyes were kind when he looked at me." You must be new. I am Mr. Ashton, your teacher for calculus. "What's your name?" He was trying very hard to make me feel at ease, It was helping. I tried to focus on my breath, "Yes sir, I am new. I wanted to sound confident but my voice was faltering. I am Sneha sir. Thank you, sir,". He was grinning now "You don't have to call me sir Sneha, Mr. Ashton would do. Why don't you grab yourself a seat huh?".

I quickly looked around for an empty seat, I found three. One that Meredith had saved for me besides her and the other two at the back. I saw her beaming at me, she patted lightly at the empty seat, signaling me to sit with her. I was doubtful of that. I didn't want to be around her friends, right after the whole giggling fiasco. I wanted quiet. I gave her a smile and pointed at the back. She must have understood that I wanted to sit alone. She mouthed an "Okay" and was talking to her friends again.

I was getting curious glances on the way. The walk to the back felt like an eternity. I saw a few friendly faces on the way, it wasn't going to be that bad After all. I thanked the teacher and sat down. I heard a gasp, one of the girls for sure. Why was sitting down such a big deal. It felt like I was in Kindergarten again. That's when I realized that the class had become quite again. I saw Meredith looking at me. She was trying to say something.

Mr. Ashton had begun his class now. I tried to focus. I was yet to get all my books, meanwhile I had brought my old notebook along. It had my previous calculus notes. Seeing them made me smile. I had doodled along the corners of my pages. All kinds of thing. That's when I noticed the wolf. It was beautiful with jet black fur. Whoever had drawn this on the table had taken some time. It had initials too. A.K. As I was that little wolf drawing. I heard someone enter. The room was filled with the scent of sandalwood. It reminded of the paste that I would occasionally rub on my neck after morning Pooja (Prayer). The scent was mixed with that of the earth right after rains. I closed my eyes as I tried to breath it all in. When I opened them I saw him and his hazel brown eyes.

A/N: Hello everyone, I am so sorry I have not been able to write for a very long time. I have been busy with college and a lot has happened over the months. Its the beginning of another year and I have finally decided move forward. The chapter is shorter and I am sorry about that. I am working on the third chapter as of now :) This story is a pure work of fiction. Please like, comment and share. I need your support. The person who send me the most exiting progressions would be getting a shout out. You can reach out to me on Instagram. My handle is th3_silent_writer.

love you guys :)