29. The Head Boy

Hello Fam :)

Happy Reading...

It was the day for counting and the declaration of the election results and there was a festive atmosphere all over the campus. Everyone was excited to see who their new head boy was. Nandini met the staff, giving them instructions, before meeting her friends at the canteen. She found Manik hunched over his book and his whole posture was tense. Mukti was quiet, not usual but not very unusual whereas Abhimanyu and Cabir too were the same which was bothering. Nandini knew it was all due to the results. She gave a small smile to all the three while shaking Manik back to reality, given the boy's history of getting lost in his bookish world.

"Are you tense for the results?", asked Nandini, smiling in assurance, "Manik, it's fine..."

"What? No", he replied and his frown deepened as he stared at the pages again. "It's this boy Digory. He would get himself killed by his stupid acts. He should have listened to Polly when she told him it was a bad idea."

Yeah, right, thought Nandini, rubbing her forehead and she seriously wanted to slap him but Cabir beat her to it.

"Bhai, what the hell", he yelled, snatching the book. "We are out of our minds thinking about the results and you don't even care."

Manik rolled his eyes and took his book. Opening the page he was reading, he told, "Nandini and I had a deal already. The results don't matter. I don't need to lose my peace of mind because of the results."

She facepalmed herself and when Cabir tried to question regarding the deal, she pointed a finger at him. "Don't you dare talk to me before the results are announced."

XXX

Due to some power issues, the results were postponed hour by hour, and the students were left to do self-study for the exams which were due in three weeks.

Nandini had both her knees up on her seat, her back resting to the wall, as she tried to understand relativistic Quantum mechanics from her book. Beside her, Mukti was scribbling something in her notebook. The angry frown on her head told her she was nowhere near to the answer.

Manik was sitting in front of her, sneaking into his novel. He was almost done with it. Nandini shook her head. Knowing the boy, he would have already completed his study. She was almost jealous of him until she saw Abhimanyu, who was banging his head lightly on the table. If it was because the topic was beyond his understanding or he was cramming up, she wouldn't know.

She once again looked at her book. The graph wasn't making any sense, the equations were weird and she didn't even know half of the notations. Why did they have to discover something to understand something they couldn't even see?

She would have continued to mentally curse all the people behind the introduction of Quantum physics if she wasn't interrupted by a message on her mobile. It was from the administration block. Looks like it's time for the results.

Nandini, after informing her friends, left the class.

XXX

It was Manik.

The voting results lead to Manik as the head boy and Nandini was overwhelmed. The boy took a step and luck favored him. Now all he had to do was to prove himself. She wanted to scream, laugh, and hug the hell out of him. Instead, Nandini stood at a corner after announcing in the class and waited for the crowd to finish their congratulations. To the naked eye, she wasn't smiling but Abhimanyu and Mukti knew her for long. They took her into a group hug while Manik was busy with his classmates.

Somehow Cabir squeezed himself into their class and attached himself to his brother until one of the guys pushed him away. He pouted and went to stand beside Abhimanyu to complain about how unfair it was for the brother of the head boy.

It took another fifteen minutes for Manik to free himself and by the time the class had emptied out. It was the last period. Manik was a blushing mess and he chuckled embarrassedly, ducking his head and unsure of even using his limbs properly. Abhimanyu gave him a bottle of water and pushed him onto the nearest bench, to calm him down.

Once Manik noticed Nandini, he frowned. "Are you not happy?", he asked, gaining the attention of their friends. It was only them in the room.

Nandini smirked. "Your deal of helping me out is now useless, Mr. Malhotra. Do you want to have another deal instead of that?" When Manik raised an eyebrow, she turned her lips upside down. "Please help me in passing the exams. The whole Physics part is blank, I don't even know where my chemistry textbook is and the Maths, well, no one has ever understood it."

The way he glared at her was almost comical and if she didn't have to maintain her serious expression she would have definitely laughed. "Nandini, what the hell? How could you not start studying already? There isn't even a month left for the exams", he said, panicking.

"And you told me, I was the last person on this planet to study for my exams. You freaking made me study ages before", complained Cabir.

"Baby, isn't it the reason why you are confident about your exams right now?", asked Manik.

"True", muttered the younger twin while smirking at Nandini. "I could even write my exams now and pass with distinction."

Nandini stomped his foot without Manik noticing. The boy already was close to having a panic attack and his baby brother getting injured might add to it. Ignoring the daggers shot at her by the said baby brother, she pouted at Manik. "I tried, really but it's confusing."

"We are finishing it right now", he announced. He pulled his notebook out of his bag and asked Nandini to sit down.

"Or you could show us during the exams", suggested Nandini and earned a very pointed glare from the boy. "Or we could study now. That's a great idea too", she said, smiling innocently. 

"Manik, can we join too?", asked Abhimanyu, pointing and Mukti and himself.

"Did you two not study too?", he asked.

"No, Manik, we did. I thought it would be better to go through a second time so that I wouldn't forget", explained her best friend, lying through his teeth.

"Yeah, that's true. I am not perfect but I will try to explain the best I can", muttered Manik.

Nandini snorted and so did Cabir. They both glared at each other before ignoring.

"Bhai, I have to meet my guide to discuss the previous work I had submitted. Shall I take the car and pick you up after work? Will you be okay here?", asked Cabir.

Manik went to Cabir to hand over the car keys. While the brothers were having a long conversation, probably about Manik asking him to be safe, Nandini pulled Abhimanyu beside her. "You lied to him. You didn't study too", she accused.

"True. But did you look at him? The boy could send me into a panic mode by panicking himself", he whispered.

Nandini pinched his arm and yelled traitor in his ear for betraying her.

XXX

By the time Manik had finished explaining quantum mechanics, Nandini thought she could try for the Nobel prize that year. He was a good teacher. Beside her, Abhimanyu was looking at Manik as if he would kiss the ground Manik walked on.

"It's the first time I am going to appear for an exam without being scared of failing. Thank you, head boy", teased Abhimanyu.

Nandini chuckled when the tips of his ears started turning red. She would have happily joined her best friend but then he got a text from his father about his whereabouts. They realized it was more than three hours since their college got over.

"I guess I need to show the proof that I am still alive to my parents. Thanks, Manik", he said again and asked Mukti if she would come along.

"I need to wait for Cabir", said Manik.

"I will wait with you", offered Nandini. She felt Abhimanyu's gaze upon her and ignored him.

He shook his head and kissed her head before leaving with Mukti.

Nandini dreaded the awkward silences between Manik and her. The boy was already not very comfortable and the awkwardness only added to his disadvantage. She was twirling her pen between her fingers when Manik broke the silence.

"You didn't say anything about the results. Is it going to be awkward between us? I don't know what to think about all this", he muttered, fiddling with his fingers.

"Manik", she sighed and shook her head before reaching out for his fingers and looked at him. "I am happy. In fact, very happy. I don't know why all this affects me so much. I guess it's because I will finally have a friend to work with me instead of someone who would only add troubles but I didn't want to reveal my emotions to people. The rumors spread and I don't want you to start your journey on a bad note. This is important for you", she explained.

Manik laughed, confused, and unsure. "I don't know how complicated your brain works. I think you are being paranoid for no reason."

She chuckled. She might be paranoid but she had a good reason to be. It has been years and Nandini isn't used to good things happening to her. She didn't explain that to him. He didn't need to face the cruelties of life as of yet.

XXX

Nandini didn't even realize when the three weeks had passed and it was time for the exams already. The last week was given as a preparation holiday but since they all thought it would be better if they had Manik close by and hence they all gathered up in the college library every day.

The first years mostly had their exams in the morning session while the second years had it in the second half. Since Manik accompanied Cabir, he had to go to the college in the morning and was waiting for their friends in the canteen by the time Nandini reached along with Abhimanyu and Mukti.

Cabir was munching his sandwiches while ignoring Manik beside him, who was too restless to be considered as normal. Nandini groaned and stormed off to their table. She wrapped an arm around Manik's shoulder, startling him but when he gaped at her, she gave him a smile. "Breath, okay?", she told him softly. The younger twin was still nonchalant about the whole ordeal. "Dude, would you stop eating for one goddamned second? Your brother is close to having a panic attack here."

"Dude, trust me, it's very normal", he told.

She ignored him. She didn't need to mess her temper right before the exam and concentrated on getting Manik back to normal. Abhimanyu was helping him take small sips of water.

"How did your exam go?", asked Mukti.

"Excellent. I will pass", told Cabir, grinning.

Nandini rolled her eyes and checked the time. It was time to leave for the exam hall. She told Manik the same. Once he gulped down some water, Cabir hugged him tight and whispered something in his ear to which Manik nodded and gave a smile.

On their way when Manik was still restless, Nandini slowed down and pulled Manik by hand, letting herself fall behind Abhimanyu and Mukti. "What's bothering you?", she whispered.

"I will fail", he hissed. "I should have studied harder without sneaking into books before the exam. I don't even remember...."

"Manik", Nandini said, tugging his arm and pulling him back from his rant. "Dude, you taught us everything. At least, show some confidence to motivate us."

"Nandini", he whined.

"Manik, you will be fine. Listen, you know what you are studying, you understand it instead of mugging up. Half of the teachers are betting on you to be the topper this year and here you are thinking nonsense. Buckle up, Malhotra. Show them what you are", she said, grinning and pulled him inside the class without listening to his protests.

XXX

While the others submitted their papers half an hour prior to the final time, Manik used his whole three hours. Cabir was on a call with his mother and Nandini ignored him again. Mukti was beside her, exhausted, and her sweet boyfriend went to order something for all of them to eat.

Half an hour later Manik came to the canteen, shoulders slumped forward as if he was carrying the burden of the world on his shoulders. Cabir, who was talking to Abhimanyu, took his mobile out and dialed a number before handing it over to Manik. "Bhai, mom wanted to talk to you", he said, giving a sweet smile.

Manik nodded. Keeping his bag on a chair, he stepped away for some privacy.

As soon as he was away, Nandini banged her hand on the table in front of the younger twin. "Why are being this heartless today? Can't you see he isn't on his elements since morning?", she asked. She noticed Abhimanyu all perked up, staring at the two of them.

Cabir, the idiot, burst out laughing. "Nandini, you are so sweet", he said, between his laughter. "This is a regular thing for us. It's your first time. Give it a semester or two, you will get habituated to it."

Nandini frowned in confusion but she didn't want to feed his ego by asking him any further question. Instead, she waited for Manik to finish his call. She was relieved to see he had a small smile on his lips. Looks like the Nyonika Malhotra is capable of making her son smile.

"Manik, how did your exam go?", she asked as soon as he sat down. Cabir was forcing him to eat some sandwiches.

The boy shrugged casually. "It's fine. I forgot a question."

"Question?", asked Abhimnayu. "Just one question?"

"I have read about it but I couldn't remember it", he told. "It's a four mark one. I should have studied harder", he said, muttering the last line to himself.

"So, you are scoring 96 in this paper?", asked Mukti, "In chemistry?"

"I don't like that one. I can't even remember them properly. They all are confusing", he complained, clearing ignoring the marks Mukti said. 

Nandini gaped at him and when she did the mistake of looking at the younger Malhotra, he smirked at her, a 'told you' written all over his face. Nandini huffed in annoyance.

Mukti rubbed her forehead and looked at Cabir. "Don't tell me you are scoring a hundred in your paper? I might get a heart attack here."

Cabir grinned. "Don't worry. Half a hundred at max."

"Bro, you said your paper was excellent", pointed out Abhimanyu.

"Bro, my definition of excellent varies with my brother's. Don't bother comparing. He even undergoes a panic attack before every exam to score a number close to hundred", he told.

"How the hell are they even twins?", Mukti asked Nandini in disbelief.

"Tell me about it, best friend", she muttered with a sigh. 

So we are done with the semester exams. Yay. :P

Bạn đang đọc truyện trên: AzTruyen.Top