tales of Suchita

Radha knew he was in trouble the moment he stepped in the school. He had woken up with a sick feeling in his stomach and when his mother had asked him if he was unwell, he hadn’t been able to provide a better answer than ‘I have a feeling something is going to go wrong today.’

And something did go wrong…horribly.

He hadn’t even been allowed to go to his classroom to keep his bag. He had been redirected to Ameen miss’s cabin by Parshu uncle. The sick feeling intensified as he neared her cabin door and when it swung open and he saw Ameen miss behind her desk with her lips in a thin line and Priyanka with tightly crossed arms across her chest, his stomach plummeted. He knew he would have vomited his breakfast had he eaten enough of it.

He wasn’t sure what crime he had committed but he could see – you didn’t have to be a detective for this – that it must have been terrible. He kept his bag next to the chair and sat down. Ameen miss didn’t move a muscle while Priyanka continued to stand. Disapproval and anger hung in the air like a thick cloud, suffocating Radha but he didn’t speak. Speaking would be an admission of guilt and he hadn’t done anything.

“Priyanka here,” began Ameen miss, “says that you spread jam on her table, desk and the notebooks kept in the desk drawer. She says she found a note in your handwriting in the drawer and it says…urm it says…”

“Payback’s a bitch,” said Priyanka tightly.

Radha had the inappropriate need to chuckle. Whoever had played that prank on her was clever. But he was also hyper aware that the thief had escalated to a level beyond fun and games. Messing with his books had been quite the step. But this? What was it that the culprit wanted?

His attention? Radha was giving him plenty.

To get him into trouble? Maybe.

But why – the question remained unanswered.

“What do you have to say about this Rishidhar?”

Oh, so they were back to that were they? “Miss you know I’m going to say I didn’t do this.”

Priyanka moved towards him as if to hit him when Ameen miss got up, ready to intervene. She could understand the girl’s anger, seconded it in fact, but there was no way she would condone physical violence.

Once the girl had settled down, she turned to face Radha. “Can you please, for once, drop the detective act and just answer my questions?”

“Miss if you aren’t going to…”

“Radha please…”

“Miss I didn’t do anything. Someone is trying to frame me!”

“What someone copied your handwriting is it? Don’t be a fu…”

“LANGUAGE!”

“Miss he accused me of stealing pencils from the arts and craft room,” she shouted, pointing an angry finger at him. “He tried, repeatedly, to get a confession out of me and when I refused to say anything, he did this. Look at my skirt miss…it is ruined.”

Ameen miss rubbed her temples, advising herself to remain calm. Only ten minutes past 8 and she already had a headache thanks to petty vendettas and want-to-be detectives fighting over spilt inks and jams!

“Priyanka you may leave.”

“But miss…”

Ameen miss gave her the look…the look that could mean only one thing. So Priyanka left her cabin without further ado, closing the door behind her with a soft click.

“Miss…”

“Did you accuse her of stealing pencils Rishidhar?”

“Yes but…”

“It wasn’t her.”

“But how…”

“It was one of the teachers,” she said dully knowing her secret was safe with him. She looked at his mutinous expression and hastened to add, “The CCTV cameras in the arts and craft room caught her. We are planning to add more throughout the school since…” she abruptly stopped, realizing she was about to explain a management level decision to a thirteen year old.

Radha though did not hear beyond ‘it was one of the teachers.’ His world was spinning. He felt like he was sinking into the chair, melting like hot butter. A teacher, his mind said in a numb voice. Not Priyanka, it added sarcastically. You who thinks are such a genius, nothing but a dumb turd, said his mind in the best imitation of “Dev D.” Nothing but a loser…

“Rishidhar? Rishidhar! Radha,” said Ameena miss, “are you okay?”

“It can’t be a teacher,” he whispered. “I put those scratches on the pencils. They were in her box. I thought…”

Radha looked at her, face pleading. Ameen miss felt terrible to break his illusion but it had to be done. “I don’t know what you thought but…it wasn’t Priyanka.”

“Impossible…” he said in that same, lost, my-world-is-coming-to-an-end voice.

“Radha you need to tell me truthfully. Did you play that jam prank on Priyanka?”

“It doesn’t matter miss,” said Radha, getting up. He swung his bag upon his shoulder and started to leave, “Nothing matters anymore.”

“Radha wait, I cannot let you get back to class yet.”

“It’s okay miss. I know you will have to suspend me. He must have copied my handwriting for the note perfectly. I understand. I’ll see you in a week.”

Radha walked out of the cabin and went to sit near Parshu uncle’s chair while he called home to ask someone to come collect him.

Suspended for a crime he didn’t commit. Proved wrong, humiliated and sent home like a dog with his tail in-between his legs. Who was this boy? Why was he out to get Radha? And what had Radha done to deserve any of this?

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This is the tenth post in the series. To know more about Radha, click here.