The Last Bell

MEET THE FRIENDS

Arham: The most studious of the lot. Never on the wrong track. Disciplined and obedient. Vulnerable.

Shantanu: Arham’s best friend, studious, sincere, like Arham, but more silent, introvert and observant of the lot.

Kuki: Casual, carefree girl, social media craze, cool girl, lacks in studies and is cool about it.

Nidhi: The most practical of the lot, boastful, selfish, to her friends, silently an attention seeker, but still a favorite with all the teachers because of being obedient, fake and sincere in front of the teachers.

Ishaan: The rogue of the lot, careless, indisciplined, managing anger issues, jealous.

Akshara: An average student, trying to up her scale, stressed for not being able to achieve as expected, but doesn’t care about looks, appearance etc.

CHAPTER 1 — THE LAST BELL

The last bell rang through the corridors of the school. Within seconds, the building erupted with noise — laughter, footsteps, shouts, the clatter of desks, and the sharp echo of bottles, lunch boxes and books being put inside the bags.

This was the last day of the school, the last day of the final exams in March.

The students jumped like a burst dam, their faces glowing with the excitement of the last day before the mini summer vacation. They laughed, pushed and punched, teasing and cracking jokes, discussing holiday plans, and amidst all this they knew, that they would be back again to the same school, same group of people and to the same environment in a fortnights’ time in the first week of April, when the new session, new academic year will begin.

Amid the chaos, Shantanu Iyer remained by his bench, quietly collecting stray paper aeroplanes, throwing them in the dustbin, picking up the fallen pieces of chalks and stationary missed out by some careless classmate and aligning them neatly on the teacher’s table.

He always did that. It wasn’t out of obedience — it was just his way. He liked leaving things in order, even when the world around him was noisy and out of place.

“Children, hurry up!” Mrs. Sana, their class teacher shouted from the doorway, her voice echoing over the noise inside the classroom. “Bus students form a line for dispersal, Come on”.

“Two minutes Ma’am,” Shantanu called back, hurrying to take his school and lunch bag from his desk

Arham, standing beside him, helped Shantanu in picking up the paper aeroplanes and throwing them in the dustbin. He chuckled. “Shantanu, even after the final bell of the year, you’re not done cleaning?”

Shantanu smiled faintly as he picked his bag hurriedly. “Last bell or the first bell, someone has to be responsible.”

“Yes, Ok. Ok. Come, let’s go now”.

“But promise me one thing”, Shantanu stopped Arham by his hand

“What?”

“That this won’t be the last bell on our friendship”

Both immediately had tears in their eyes. They hugged each other tightly.

Arham and Shantanu were the best friends since they were in class 1. Arham was always the class topper. And Shantanu the second, but still proud of Arham. How much ever others tried, they could never ever match him in studies and in singing too. But otherwise Arham lacked in all other aspects. Sports, PE, dance, it was always a C grade for him.

Both were proud of each other and supported each other in everything. This bond perhaps stemmed from the fact that both of them had families which shared common values and upbringing methods. Arham’s parents were both doctors and Shantanu’s parents a mix of teacher and IT professional. Their mutual love for singing songs and interest in music also cemented a closer bond between them.

But today was different. After spending almost eight hours every day together for seven straight years, they were parting ways, because Arham was shifting to another school after the vacation. The boys knew they wouldn’t be able to meet daily or talk daily henceforth, but still knew that they would continue their friendship. How! Time will tell!

By the time they stepped out of the classroom, the corridor was a blur of motion. Students were in queue, but it did not look like a straight line at all, and even the teachers had lost all the hopes of controlling them.

Ishaan Khan leaned against the wall, shirt un-tucked, shoe laces open, his expression mix of carelessness and confidence that somehow always drew attention and was difficult to ignore. Ishaan’s father was a college professor himself, a strict disciplinarian, but somehow, Ishaan didn’t quite seem to follow him in his footsteps when it came to discipline and manners.

Akshara, a studious and sincere girl, hardworking in everything, but hardly manages to get marks in the exams, for reasons not known to anyone, not even to herself, was relieved to be free of studies for a month so she can pursue her dance. Ashara’s father was a business man while her mother was a home maker, and both of them wanted Akshara to excel in studies first, everything else was secondary.

Nidhi, the class’s self -declared, over confident, all -rounder, was busy boasting to everyone about her upcoming summer badminton tournaments and her plans of going on vacation to Kashmir. Nidhi’s parents were socialites, who had big friend circle, partied almost every weekend, participated in every activity possible, whether it is of their society, their friends, their friends’ friend, etc. And they also made sure that every small and big detail comes on their status. Photos and videos with filters ON.

“Looking the best is important, in all the photos. What would people think and say otherwise?”, was Nidhi’s mother’s standard comment.

Kuki, was the new admission to the school last term. Being Shantanu’s best friend from society, she had joined the same school with him and ended up becoming a sore in the eye for Nidhi from day one, who used to consider herself in the group of best friends with Arham and Shantanu. Kuki’s parents were humble middle class people, working in IT sector, going through their daily grind. They were not as social as Nidhi’s parents, but maintained a borderline image.

They were six of them — a small circle that had stuck together since Class 1. They had grown up side by side — celebrating birthdays, sharing lunchboxes, and school notes . Even their families knew one another. Kuki too knew them and they knew Kuki since before, as she met them at Shantanu’s birthday parties every year.

They weren’t just friends anymore. They were a part of each other’s everyday stories.

Without realizing that stories change the narrative sometimes. And so will theirs.