Chapter 2

I've known you for years. I'll remember you for decades. I won't let anyone else forget if I dream of you in every breath.

Kiara

23th April 2019, Tuesday
7:54

What was the worst thing when you were a Samaritan, the service person of the school council? The attention. The attention which I loved burnt me today, just like it has been for the past two weeks. Add onto it wearing the wrong dress that the school code prohibited. It was a blue dress day, meaning I was supposed to wear the school uniform. I wore my sports uniform. It was already embarrassing to go around the school in a shirt that read 'Go Greens' but when you wore it on a wrong day, you stood out of the crowd. As if I wasn't the centre of attention already.

My classmates asked me if I forgot the day. I didn't. I chose to wear this hideous all white horror with strips of green. The blue uniform - part royal blue, part cyan - was drenched in Ash. It had Ash's hand print on it from that one time.

I had been fooling around the corridors, skipping the sports class. Who liked sitting on the benches and kicking dust? I didn't. I had taken a round of the top floor, it was rarely given the pleasure to be walked upon by the staff, particularly the teachers. The stench from the Chemistry Lab as a result of a fiasco had kept the adults away. I had liked it on the other hand. The smell never warned you at first and then, out of nowhere, it would be floating in your nostrils. The top floor had also given me an excuse to cover up that day.

I had not seen the lab technician creeping out of the corner and next to me. "Good Morning," I had mumbled.

He had simply raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, it's afternoon, actually," The nervous laugh should have scared him.

"What are you doing here, kid?" He had questioned. "Wait, aren't you in the 10th batch? I remember seeing you in the lab once. Aren't you supposed to have P. T. right now?"

I had stood there dumbfounded, just like I was standing now, only this time, she wasn't here to help me out.

"Yes, she is supposed to but she's here to help me with this," she had said, coming out of the Art Room.

"Help you with what?"

"Can't you see?" She had rolled her eyes but managed to hide it by pretending to rub her eyebrow. My eyes had then noticed the paint on her hands. "I'm supposed to take those frames down to the Art Room after paints dry. The paints have dried but now my hands are occupied."

Before anyone could've thought, she had shoved her hands in front of the technician's face. He had stepped back and grunted, before walking down the stairs.

"How did he even know I have P. T.?"

Ash had given me a blank look, her usual 'the world is too dumb to even look at' kind. "He sits in the coordinator's office."

And they all had our time tables plastered on the notice board. "Thanks," I had said. "I should go now."

"No, you won't. You'll help me with those."

I had ended up doing heavy lifting while Miss Ashiamma had ordered me around, passing remarks on the colourful prints on my shirt. The acrylic paints continued to accompany me even after half a year and one class up.

Of course I didn't tell my classmates about the paints, or about her, I shrugged and moved on.

"Kiara."

I stopped midway to the auditorium. Our activity teacher, Nidhi Mukherjee, waved at me.

"Good Morning, Ma'am."

She nodded once her scrutinized gaze stopped at my face after travelling all the way from my shoes. "Umm, Kiara, we have to give the awards to the SpellBee winners for the 12th batch."

I awkwardly fondled with the edge of my skirt. "I know." The list was in my hand. "I was going to the stage t-"

"You won't be doing it," she said in a breath.

I chewed on my lips. Of course I wouldn't be doing it. How stupid of me to forget I wasn't in the dress code. I nodded and began to walk to my class's line.

Nidhi Ma'am opened her mouth but I gave her a small smile. "I understand." I didn't, not after everything that happened in March.

It was fine, to be honest. I got another set of looks when I stepped into the line with other students rather than standing with the Samaritans. A teacher snapped at a group of students, telling them to look ahead. My eyes, on the other land, met the headboy's who quickly looked away.

The lion roared. And she roared so loud, so full of bitterness that it put my selfish moves to shame.

The assembly began soon. I didn't bother shutting my eyes during the prayer. Nobody tried to make me do it. Before I knew it, a junior member of Samaritans climbed on the stage with a piece of paper. She smiled and began calling the winners. My hands clapped in the monotonous way, joining everyone in chorus. No one cared but no one was crazy enough to not clap and earn glares from their class teachers.

"The highest score," the girl said with a grin, "is 489. Remember guys, the total marks were 500. This brilliant score is by..."

I froze. 489 was not the highest score. My hands went to the crumbled list of winners in my pocket. I opened and scanned the paper. A scowl made its way on my face.

Ashiamma Apte
+2 Medical
490

Those were the highest marks. How dare they remove her from the list? I pushed through the students, ready to climb the stage and make amends. A teacher stepped forward but I saw another grabbing her arm. I was a grieving mad friend for them. Well, let me show them that.

My feet touched the stairs before Nidhi Ma'am pulled me aside. "What are you doing? I told you to stand back, didn't I?"

Lion. I paused in fear. Lion. My gaze met hers and I shook my head.

"What is she doing?" I hissed, pointing at the girl.

"Kiara..."

"She declared the wrong winner."

"No, she didn't."

"What?" I shoved the page in her hand. "Don't you see? Ash scored the highest." All this while, a weird scent of fear was forming a blanket around my body.

"It is just one mark more. It does not matter."

"Bu-"

She looked around and whispered, "Ashiamma is dead. Forget this." She grabbed the page to tear it.

I gasped and snatched it back. "You may forget it. I won't let anyone else."

"Take her out," she said to one of the students. "She needs to see the counsellor." The grave look on her face ticked me off. "She is no more, Kiara. Get it through your smart head."

A student gave me a sympathetic look before stepping ahead. "Screw you. I can walk." The sympathy card fell and he looked stunned before shoving me aside and following Nidhi Ma'am as she smiled and congratulated the winners.

"Winners, my foot." I made my way out. They could shove those fake applauses up their delusional minds and make a mountain of ego out of them.

The air outside the assembly hall was humid and hot. At least it wasn't choking me and that was all I needed. "Breathe," I whispered and shook my head. "This is hard." I put the page back in my pocket. It had been signed by the Principal. One couldn't call it a lie.

My gaze fell at the entrance gates of the school which were two floors down. The tainted full length glass gave a good view. Surprisingly, a white Swift Dzire had pulled up in front of the building instead of the government car that I previously saw with Roy, the fat bellied police officer with an overall lean frame, a nice, too nice, temper and huge patience to listen to a story. While others preferred a short version, he rubbed his stubble, ready to hear the entire story. Full version. Almost as if Ash was his daughter, his student, his friend.

"She was your friend," he had said.

He was grinning at a student. I sucked in a breath and leaned a little closer to the glass to get a better look. Blue pants, blue shirt. A student for sure. I adjusted my specs, careful to not miss a glance at the boy's face. I knew him. I knew that stance, one foot in front of the other. The auditorium thundered with another round of applause at the same time when the bell rang. Roy's face plastered a smile. That big head showed a slight movement. My eyes widened, fear spawning in me.

The door of the assembly hall opened and I jumped in surprise. Nolan stepped out and stared at me, wide eyed. His hands left the door handle and moved to the back of his head, slipping into those curls. I thought he might say something but he cleared his throat before walking away to his class. My heart was racing if it hadn't already stopped.

I rubbed my nose at the senseless statement and turned just in time to catch a glimpse of fear coming true. Roy touched his shoulder.

"Vee," I muttered, staring at the school's drunkard.

13:25

I hated P.T. and I was skipping. Say no more. I hated it with all my heart. I hated it because after every class I attended, I spent thirty minutes cleaning my shoes. Coach had a tendency to glower at me and remark that if it were in his hands he would have never made me a Samaritan.

'Guess what? It's not in your hands.' I didn't need to say that. It spoke for itself every morning when I stood in front of the stage, smiling at the school.

"Kiara, aren't you coming?" The class monitor asked.

I shook my head.

"Why?" she asked.

I suppressed a groan, hiding my face in my bag.

"I'm sorry, okay?" She said. "But try to understand, I need to explain them why you skipped."

I nodded. "I know that. I have been the monitor for five consecutive years." I almost felt foolish saying that. People forgot quickly that the 'throne' they were sitting on was nothing but a glamorized seat for service providers, the kind who were never acknowledged for help but always taunted for being snobs.

My hands shuffled through my books. I smiled when I found the expired volunteer card. Grabbing a red pen, I quickly changed the date to today and gave it to her. "Tell them I have been called in Block 1 as a volunteer."

She nodded. "I now understand why you refused to be this year's monitor. This is hectic."

I glanced at the ceiling to avoid her gaze. Or this conversation. "You'll get used to it."

She followed my gaze and blanched. "I'll report that too." The paint was falling off the ceiling. "Close the door when you leave."

"I'm just leaving," I said and walked out of the room. She sighed and closed the door before sprinting past me.

Monitoring was a hard job and even harder if one had to monitor hard headed people. It wasn't everyone's cup of tea. The thought provided relief to my tensed muscles, the ones which were afraid that people of Dandelion Presidency School were quickly forgetting that this Samaritan was once a class monitor, more than once.

Block 1 was the kindergarten block. The teachers usually needed help during the afternoon hours when kids either dozed off or went ballistic on the school furniture. A volunteer simply kept them occupied while the teachers stretched a bit. It was far better than running in dry mud.

I smiled at the maid who sat near the water cooler, tying the shoelaces of a kid.

"Are you here to help?" She asked once she was done.

I nodded.

She motioned me to join the others. "There isn't much to do. You will have to take them out to the swings. Is that fine with you?"

I nodded. Children's ground was far from the assembly ground. Coach would not find me.

Minutes later I was pushing the giggling spirits on the swings. It was fun. I enjoyed just as much as the kids were. Among their screams it was difficult to hear the guys playing volleyball a few metres away but my ears could never miss that accent.

"Pass me the ball," he said. "I said pass me the ball."

My head jerked in his direction.

"See! We lost," someone said.

He placed a hand on his shoulder. "Doesn't matter. This isn't a competition."

There he stood looking completely different than this morning when he came out of the Auditorium. Nolan Adams, a brown haired senior with a British accent that clashed with the rowdy guys' language surrounding him was a fine definition of handsome company. I did not mean his looks. I meant the soft edge in his voice that altered itself to show respect even to douches. Two years in Dandelion Presidency and he had not once raised his voice, a rare sight when half of his batch mates got suspension letters on regular basis.

Who helped to set the books in the library despite not liking reading? He was, in a way, adoring. The one time he had argued with a teacher over some grades, he had ended up apologizing later which earned him a good reputation and I personally believed even an increase in grades. All this and Ash would laugh at me for being smitten with a guy I had never talked to.

I did not realize I was staring until a little boy pulled my skirt. "The horse," he said.

I tore my gaze from Nolan, picked up the kid and placed him on the horse. He pressed the buttons. It didn't start.

"Let me check," I said and tried the handles. Nothing. I decided to check the controllers that were placed in a 'stable'.

"How does this thing work?" I scratched my ear when my hair tickled the skin and turned the power button off before turning it on.

Nothing happened. Just when I thought of calling someone, I saw the horse move back and forth and the little rider laughed. Nolan stood next to him with a smile. He looked at me and his smile softened. My nails dug into my thumb, embarrassment being overpowered by the warm tingling on my hands.

Wait. What did he do that I couldn't?

"Hey, careful." Nolan rushed towards the girl that was about to step on the wires. Oh, right. I didn't plug in the wires.

"Kiara."

I turned to see the same maid calling my name, one hand shielding her face from the heat and the other beckoning me. "You are called to the Counsellor's office."

I gritted my teeth. Was Nidhi Ma'am seriously doing this?

"Someone named 'Roy' wants to meet you."