Chapter 1
“She showed up with a bang.”
“She’s a bomb, isn’t she?”
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Ruchita
I braked outside the school gate, still debating whether to go in or not. Going inside meant facing this nightmare and if I returned to the apartment, I could pretend it was all a dream for another day until Rachit showed up.
A sigh tumbled past my lips. Nightmares and realities were born from the same cosmos.
As it turned out, nobody in the 780--now 782--count high school student body owned a bike. And if their faces weren’t indication enough, the whistles and catcalls that followed told me a girl on a bike wasn’t everyday occurrence at this elite school.
I hesitated before parking. Schools like these had reserved spots for students. If I accidentally stole another student’s parking spot, it wouldn’t exactly give me an advantage to befriend people here. Also, I didn’t want to start a fight without backup.
In the end, I parked right in the middle of the lot, figuring it was better to get a suggestion from the management than to take the pain myself. I slipped off my helmet, letting my fiery orange hair cascade to my shoulders as I locked it.
I walked up to the front door confidently in my heels, scanning the area carefully. A blonde beside a shiny BMW locked eyes with me. I smiled at her, expecting any reaction except her turning her back to me with a flick of her hair. I reeled back in shock. I was expecting hostility, but not within 5 mins of my arrival.
The lady at the desk was sweet enough to give me a smile and a map of the school, that strangely did not look like the Marauder’s Map at all. No secret stairwells, no free windows--in conclusion nothing of essence. I chucked it into the nearest bin.
My first class was Calculus, which was a disappointment in itself. I made my way down the halls to the right classroom, tentatively knocking on the door to get the teacher’s attention.
“Ah, a new addition,” he said kindly, waving me in. He looked old, possibly between 40-50, with greying hair and a tall build. His shoulders were still broad, no doubt the result of ages of working out. “What’s your name, child?”
“Ruchita Singh,” I offered warmly, mirroring his smile.
“Right so, Ruchita, tell me are you familiar with questions like these?” He indicated to a question he had written on the board. I followed his hand. It was an equation involving integrals, something we had already done last year.
“Yes,” I replied.
“Would you mind solving it?” He asked. He was a philomath.
“Its 1/27arctan(u-2)/3+1/18(2u-13)/(u²-4u+13) + c where u belongs to all the reals numbers,” I said without missing a beat. Shit. I probably should’ve acted dumb.
He smiled, his eyes crinkling round the edges. “Finally, it seems I have a challenge. Go on, find a seat.”
I turned to the class and surveyed the room quickly, finding two empty spots, one beside a girl with pigtails and harry potter glasses and another beside a boy in a black shirt. One look in his direction and I knew I would be keeping my distance. He was lounged out, one of his elbows resting on a blonde’s desk, who looked too smitten with his nails to care where they’d danced this morning. He was surrounded by his friends, no doubt, judging by the way his eyes were boring into mine, like he was trying to rate me with no shame at all.
I scowled mentally. The American version of Rachit.
I made my way over to the girl, who hastily cleared up the desk for me, looking terrified. Once settled, I leaned over and whispered, “I love your glasses.”
She squeaked, retreating further into herself. I mentally face palmed myself. In less than one hour I had managed to upset a blonde, challenge a teacher, terrify a nerd and cause uproar among who knows how many students. Kartik Bhaiya would be proud.
I waited until the end of the class to apologize. “Hey, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to offend you,” I said, grabbing her hand as she stood up.
“No, no, no....it’s...um, not that,” she had a cute voice, like that of the starring girl in a princess movie. She shuffled awkwardly. “No one’s ever talked to me before.”
“The fuck?! Why?” I asked, appalled as we walked out together.
“Typical stereotypes,” she waved a hand dismissively. “Athletic step brother that girls swoon over, nerd step sister that no one notices.”
I made a face. “That’s stupid.” She followed me into the next room--a Chemistry lab--and set her stuff beside mine. Fate in action.
She shrugged. “I can’t change it.”
“Well, I can,” I whispered.
I wasn’t too sure how, though.
The periods that followed sucked because Kiera wasn’t in any of my classes except the first two, Calculus and Chemistry and I’d depleted my friend-making energy for the day. So I slept through Economics and spent the free hour before lunch slinking around the lower levels of the school.
Kiera, as I promptly realised was extremely fun to be with once she shed her shy armor. She had a bright smile, and a sharp mind. Not to mention, she knew a lot about the building itself--including, mind you, the bricks it was made with.
Very, very important knowledge.
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Our last period was Gym. The moment I walked out in my gym clothes, I knew something bad was going to happen. For one, Kiera was standing off to the side, looking like she was ready to bolt. On the other, the class was divided into two teams on the basketball court and they were looking at both of us to chose.
“Come to my team, babe, I don’t lose,” the guy from earlier said. His eyes traveled up and down my body, glinting with lust, appreciating what he saw.
I rolled my eyes. “Kiera and I are on whichever team you aren’t on.”
“That would be us,” another guy stepped forward. This one looked better, with a slight stubble and tanned skin that matched Kiera’s. His hazel eyes were warm when he smiled at us, hardening once again when they landed on her. “However, there isn’t room for two.”
Ah. The famous stepbrother all girls wanted to sleep with--Adrian. I pointed to a random guy with an afro. “You. Change teams.”
“And why should I?” He crossed his arms over his chest, his teeth gleaming.
“Because I said so?” I deadpanned, flexing my muscles. Diplomacy wasn’t my strongest suit. I was too impatient. I threw Mohawk a look, one I had mastered on Rachit countless times and it always sent him scurrying back. This guy didn’t stand a chance.
Kiera and I took position at 45 behind Adrian as they tossed the ball. I didn’t really have the skill for basketball, but I had power and precision, both result of years of training. I made wide passes, from one end of the court to the other, mainly to Adrian who took all the shots, getting us in the lead quickly. Kiera just hung around behind me and avoided taking any passes.
The blonde from earlier, the one who’d ignored my smile, eyed her up, exchanging glances with the guy I had blown off twice. I watched as they circled around her, like vultures around dying meat, before the blonde tripped her and Kiera fell flat on her face.
“Awie, Jacque look!,” She squealed. “Its the bimbo that wrote you love letters.”
Ja-whatever turned and smirked, eyeing Kiera as well. “I thought she threw herself off a cliff?” He mocked.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Adrian’s jaw lock. He looked like he was debating whether to join the mockery or to defend her. How defending was even a choice, I didn’t understand. Suicide jokes were simply not okay.
“You need to pick on a girl to take your mind off from losing?” I taunted Jacque, dribbling the ball between my hands.
“Feeling bad for your princess?” The blonde jabbed.
“Elena, play the damn game,” Adrian ground out.
I smirked, taking up my penalty shot or whatever it was. It was something else I guessed, because all the players were behind me instead of on the circle. I turned around to Elena, standing just behind me.
My muscles coiled as I folded my arms, ready to throw with as much force as I could build. I swung my hand and the ball went flying to the basket, hitting the pole instead of the basket. It made a quick rebound from the force and within a second it had regained its inertia as it came hurtling back. I ducked on time, making the ball smash right into Elena’s face.
The impulse was as powerful as I had calculated, because her head jerked back and she fell to the ground, no signs of bleeding. I’d aimed it at her forehead, to avoid any damage to her facial organs. Her brain would survive, if it existed anyway.
“What the hell?” She spat from the ground, struggling to get up.
“What the fuck was that?” Jacque asked, staring at her slumped body.
"That was physics saying ‘fuck you all’ ,” I said cockily.
“Sass it down a notch,” Adrian whispered, leaning over my shoulder. Even then, I could hear the smile in his voice.
“At least I didn’t have to think about defending my sister or mocking her,” I retorted, walking away from them all. “By the way, congratulations on the win.”
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There was a crowd around my bike when I got there. I sighed, realising I had forgotten all about the issue. They parted when they saw me, clearing a way for Kiera and me. And of course, leaning against my bike were Jacque and Adrian, both obviously waiting for me.
“I don’t appreciate hooligans touching my bike,” I said, my tone ice cold. “Move away.”
“What crawled up your ass?” Jacque mocked. “I was just here to say hello.”
“I don’t want to say hello, please leave.”
“Sweetheart, an attitude like that won’t win you friends,” Adrian tsked. He seemed different than in the gym, more sardonic, more of an ass. But he was making a valid point.
“I’ve got one, I don’t need an army. Move aside, I have to drop Kiera home.”
“Why are you even hanging around that bitch?” Jacque asked, nodding towards Kiera, who shrunk behind me. “We’re more popular, much better friends to have than a sleazy bitch.”
I moved fast, kneeing him right below his ribs and twisting his arm behind his back the moment he bent over. I slammed him into my bike, making it wobble from the impact.
“You talk about any girl like that again, I will rip out your balls and hang them from your intestines,” I snarled. The threat sounded better in Hindi.
“That’s enough,” Adrian laid a restraining hand on my shoulder, pulling me back. I let him do it for a second before shrugging him off and violently shoving Jacque in his direction. They didn’t resist when I revved up the bike and signalled for Kiera to get on.
“You seriously like him?” I asked her with disgust.
“Well, he does have a nice physique,” she mumbled.
I rolled my eyes. Of course she would notice physique. “Hold on tight,” I said instead.
I pulled on the hind brakes and the accelerator simultaneously, making the bike go up in a wheelie. Kiera’s hands tightened around my shoulders and she let out a scream, one I was pretty sure could be heard down the street.
The bike sped forward the moment the front wheel landed on the ground and before I knew it, the school was far behind. Until tomorrow.
