Holding the straps of her backpack, Ira stood near the swimming pool, tapping her foot on the ground in anticipation, waiting for Ehan. She thought of asking him about tutoring her.

"Not tutoring, it'll be like..."

Her thoughts were trailed off and she stood straight, noticing Ehan walking towards her. He hung his bag on one shoulder, holding it and the other hand had some books. His eyes looked straight and his legs moved ahead until he noticed Ira. He stopped on his tract, mentally groaning. He had no idea of encountering her; being not fond of the way she screams, grabbing other's attention. He doesn't like much attention but whenever he finds her around, everyone's eyes remain on them.

He slowly took a U-turn and walked back on the way he came from. Ira's smile faltered when he changed his route. She knew it was because of her, but still, she ran behind him.

"Wait" she stopped him, standing on his way with her hands in the air. He stopped, looking everywhere but her.

"I have an offer for you" she spoke in an excited tone, clapping her hands together.

He still didn't meet her eyes, looking elsewhere.

"Won't you ask what?" She wondered, frowning at his blank face.

When he didn't reply to anything, she nodded and said, "Never mind. I'll tell you myself. Do you often get angry about anything and find no way to let out your frustration?"

His eyes snapped at her all of a sudden. He looked at her shocked. For a moment, he thought she knew about his life; the frustration and anger he held within him. He looked at her with narrowed eyes as she raised he eyebrows, a wide smile on her face.

"Answer me" her voice brought him back to his senses. He looked at the ground, not understanding what she meant. He turned on his shoes and started walking towards the cafeteria. As expected, she started following him, surprisingly quiet.

He took his usual seat at the corner after placing his orders. Ira did the same and without even asking, she joined him at his table. A deep frown occupied Lily's face as she noticed Ehan and Ira together.

"So you are not gonna say anything?" Ira asked, keeping her voice low. She realised Ehan becomes uncomfortable when people eyes at him. So she kept her voice low.

He kept his eyes fixed on the table, his face stony as he hoped either she to disappear or he to become invisible. He noticed his classmates giving him strange glances from other tables. Just like Lily, they were shocked to see the introvert Ehan Sinha, who stair m doesn't talk to anyone, the one who has no friends, having lunch with a new girl; a junior girl to be precise.

"Here is the offer. Whenever you get angry, all you have to do is, meet me and say whatever comes to your mind. You can yell, scold, shout, scream or even curse me. But don't forget to add 'Go and study now' at the end. This way, you'll be able to remove your anger and I'll be able to study peacefully" she explained.

He looked at her, meeting her eyes with a frown. He tried to look through her soul through her deep black eyes, shining innocently at him. He averted his gaze as she smiled at him, raising her eyebrows. Without saying anything, he stood up and left.

Ira groaned, palming her face with both her hands. It wasn't like she was expecting him to agree. She just wanted to try once. She already made up her mind that she was gonna ask him once if he didn't agree, she wasn't going to force him. After all, he was her senior. Not only that, he was the topper. It was foolish of her to think he'd waste his time on helping her.

"Ehan" Lily called out loud to stop him, but he walked out before she could come out of the counter. Ira looked at Lily, bewildered.

"This boy!" Lily mumbled, sighing in defeat.

"Do you know him?" Ira asked, walking to Lily.

"Yeah!" Lily forced a small smile and went back to her work, making Ira follow her out of curiosity.

"I asked for a little help and he walked out without even answering. Such a weirdo!" Ira commented, leaning on the counter.

Lily smiled sadly as she did her work, "He isn't weird, dear. He is a lonely kid. Poor guy"

Lily's words kept playing on Ira's mind till the end of the day. She didn't ask Lily what she meant, though she wanted to, looking at how busy she was since it was lunchtime and the whole cafeteria was packed with students, she let it slip for the time being.

---

"She's a nice girl" Lily commented, cleaning the kitchen as Ehan started having his breakfast.

He didn't ask who, still, Lily replied, "Ira".

He paid no heed to her words and continued eating, keeping his eyes fixed on the plate.

"The same girl, you were having lunch with" she added, which made Ehan pause. He held the fork near his mouth as he spoke, "I didn't have lunch with her"

That was all, he started eating again, taking all his time to chew the food slowly, drowning in some weird thoughts Lily had no idea about.

"What I'm trying to say is..."

Lily was trailed off by Ehan, "I don't need a friend, Lily. I told you, I'm fine the way I am" he stood up and took the plate.

"All she was asking was a little help, dear" Lily tried to convince him, as he kept his plate near the dishwasher.

"She wants me to scold and curse her. What kind of help is that?" He questioned, walking back to the dining table.

"What?" Lily looked at him confused.

He shrugged, gulping some water.

"I agree she's a little weird. But she's a nice girl. I pity that poor soul. She's all alone here, away from home. It must be difficult for her to cope with everything. But I admire the way she smiles despite all these" Ehan listened to her, staring ahead of himself. For a moment, the early days of his life in the boarding school came to his mind. The struggle he went through, the pain he beard and the solitary life after that almost killed him.

"Life is not easy" he mumbled, before walking out with his bag on his right shoulder.

Lily rolled her eyes as she yelled behind him, "That's why I want you to help her". He heard Lily but didn't stop.

That day, he was expecting Ira to show up again in the same spot and nag him but she wasn't there, for which he was thankful.

A few days passed as such and one day, he noticed Ira playing basketball with a few of her friends or classmates as he walked out of the classroom, walking through the corridor. He was on the 6th floor and she was playing at the basketball court which was visible to Ehan. He stopped, looking at her happy face as she threw the ball in the ring. She high-fived with her teammates, laughing with them.

He sighed and walked to the library, thinking of Lily's words. The way she pitied Ira, he thought she was as helpless as him. But she wasn't like him, not even a bit. She was living to her fullest, unlike him.

---

Ehan sighed, throwing the ball in the ring. He was playing basketball all alone at his indoor basketball court.

Noticing Ira and others play, he wanted to play too. So he came home, freshened up and went to the basketball court at the house. He didn't even have lunch that day.

He played for a good half an hour. After that, he was bored. He was tired of playing all alone. He sat in a corner, leaning on the wall. He gulped some water, looking around him. The walls, floor, ceiling, and everything near him screamed luxury, but he felt like the poorest person in the world, having no one to hear him, talk to him or be with him.

---

"Mary, I failed in one subject" Ira said in a whisper, keeping the mobile pressed against her ear.

"What the hell, Ira? How could you, you stupid girl? I didn't send it so far to fail. I just can't believe it. You moron, how could you be so lazy not to study? I don't think you could survive there. Come back to India, I'll teach you a lesson. I'm gonna kill you, Ira. I'll chop you in pieces and feed you to the dogs. I'll..."

Ira sat up straight, panting very badly. She quickly turned on the lights, breathing heavily.

"Hunny bunny, it was just a nightmare" she mumbled, hugging the toy to her chest. It was her exam in a couple of weeks and she was already thinking of all the outcomes if she failed. Mary already warned her to study properly the previous night, when she told her about her upcoming mid-term exams, which resulted in the nightmare she just had.

"I'm sorry, Hunny bunny. I think I should study now otherwise, Mary will turn to 'bloody Mary' in no time. You sleep on my pillow" She made the teddy lie on her pillow and went to freshen up.

She came back brushing her teeth and washing her face. Grabbing a packet of chips, she took out a book to read. Within a few minutes, all she wanted was to sleep.

"Study Ira, Mary is gonna kill you otherwise" she told herself and an idea popped into her mind.

She grabbed a pencil and started scribbling something at the top of each page of the book. Whenever she felt like sleeping, she read those words and resumed reading.

With great difficulty, she completed a few charters before sunrise. She slept for a few minutes, then dragged herself to school, half sleepy.

She was so sleepy that day, that she stood resting her head on the counter of the cafeteria after placing her orders. Her bag loosely hanging on her shoulders and she held some books in her hand, which she later kept on the counter.

Ehan was sitting in his usual spot, having lunch.

"What happened, dear? You look dull?" Lily queried, making sure her voice would reach Ehan.

Though he heard Lily, he didn't react.

"I was trying to study in the middle of the night" Ira mumbled lowly, which didn't reach Ehan's ears.

"Aww! Poor girl" Lily's loud voice made Ehan wonder, "What did she say?"

Ira grabbed the tiny bag of food Lily forwarded, and packed as she requested. She wanted to go home and sleep for a good few hours. She thought of having lunch later. She left after paying, leaving her book on the counter. Though Lily noticed she had forgotten the book, she didn't stop her from handing the book.

When Ehan stood up to leave, Lily said loudly, "O God! She forgot her book here".

Ehan looked at her and the book she held in her hand. "Dear, would you please return it to Ira? She may need it to prepare for exams" Lily smiled politely and Ehan couldn't say no. He hesitantly took the book from Lily and quickly made his way out.

Lily smiled at his retreating figure. She had known him for years, always quiet, lonely and sad. She wanted Ehan to make friends and open up to them but he never listened, saying that nobody could understand him.
Now that she met Ira and got to know about her life, Lily knew Ira would understand Ehan's pain better than anyone ever could.

Her thoughts were trailed off when Ehan came back with the book, "She was nowhere" he said, forwarding the book back to Lily.

She looked at the book and Ehan before saying, "Seems like she went home. Where should I keep it here? You please keep it with you, dear. I'll take it tomorrow and return her".

Ehan gave her a look of 'What's wrong with you?' but he shoved that in his bag before leaving.

He made his way home, thinking of playing some games to pass the time till evening. He planned to complete his homework after that and to kill the remaining time of the day, he decided to try his hand on any new electronic.

As he passed the main gate of his house, the guards smiled at him, which was very unusual. He nodded, not being able to react at that moment. As he walked through the garden, his eyes caught a car, other than his, parked. His heartbeat fastened as he took slow steps towards the main door, expectations filling his heart and mind. He stopped a few steps away from the main door as his eyes caught the face of his mother, who was sitting on the sofa, busy typing something on her mobile.

The hopes of going back home and being with his family, awoke in Ehan all over again, just in a Nano second. He couldn't decipher in words what he was feeling then. He wanted to jump in delight, like his 6-year-old self. His Mom was there to take him home; he couldn't be happier.

---

Assalamualaikum,

Will Ehan's Mom take him back with her?

What did Ira scribble in her book?

Do let me know through comments and don't forget to hit the star.