Kritika (Kiku) really wanted to change the world. If only all the politicians would listen to her! But there's only so much one can do at the age of 11. The world in 2003 hadn't heard the phrase "child-friendly" yet. Well, definitely not where Kiku lived.
One sunny day in June, Kiku was starting her first day at a new school. It was a tiny school, just five years old. "There are five other children in your class," her mother had said.
"Good. I hate crowds." said Kiku. Her previous school was a large, centrally administered public institution, with as many as fifty students crammed into a class, alongside three other sections in the same grade. The teachers only liked the boot-licking front-benchers. And if someone called them that, their weapon of choice was to complain to the teacher, who took immediate action against the criminals. What was funny was that the Hindi equivalent, 'chamcha', carried less of a sting.
When her father dropped her off at school, Kiku was nervous. She was a middle-bencher in her old school, which meant that she had none of the rigour of front-bench medal-winners, nor the languid, relaxed coolness of the back-benchers, whose only purpose in life seemed to be anarchy that destroyed all life on earth. In her old school, middle benchers were either introverts or what the staff deemed as the B/C-graders, and demanded little attention to themselves, grateful to scrape by, if not entirely happy about their situation in the classroom. She wondered what kind of seating a classroom with only six people had. There seemed to be very little scope to remain invisible, and Kiku was scared - in her experience, if you weren't invisible, you were bullied.
This is not to say that Kiku wasn't confident. In fact, as her mother would say, she was "just a shade too much, sometimes". She liked people, and liked to talk. But most of her peers never seemed to understand her, and it often felt like the only people who would listen were her parents' friends, who seemed only too eager to do so.
As Kiku entered the classroom, it struck her how spacious the room looked, although it must have been smaller than what she was used to. Six desks were arranged in a semi-circle, with the teacher's desk facing them. I suppose everyone is a front-bencher here, she thought.
Sailaja ma'am, whom Kiku would soon define as a dragon with a heart of gold, introduced her to the class. Ma'am was a plump lady with an affinity for pink - her sari was shocking pink with a dark blue border (Indian Barbie vibes), she wore magenta lipstick and little pink stones shone from her earlobes. Any possibility of making fun of her attire, either in public or private, was belied by the stern expression in her eyes as she waved Kiku to her seat. She seemed quiet, even indifferent to the new student, which Kiku was grateful for, not wanting to indulge in the humiliating routine of standing in front of the class as she reeled off her name, age and hobbies. Predictably, the desk right next to the teacher's was empty.
"Hey. My name is Rehan." said the skinny boy next to her. He spoke with an ever-so-slight nasal twang. He wore glasses with thin rims and looked around at his peers warily.
"That's Akila, Sushmita, Jacob and Sameer." he said, pointing at each one in turn.
"Pointing is rude, Re!" said Akila, sounding more affronted than she felt. "Honestly, some people are just so backward..." Kavs got the feeling that Akila was the class 'leader' of sorts, given how vigorously the boy and girl beside her were nodding their heads.
"You're a shitty person, Aks." Re sat unbothered, not looking at Akila. Kiku giggled (did he just say 'shitty'?) and he looked at her, puzzled - he was not expecting to be funny. He took in her general being - the crisp white and blue uniform, oily hair in two long braids and a dark brown school backpack whose cover she was just unbuckling. A few moments passed in silence as Sailaja ma'am discussed how to create compound sentences, and had them all working in pairs over an exercise in their English textbook. Re noted how easily Kiku put together sentences, an ability he prided himself on. Kiku, for her part, thought he was too quiet and didn't know what to say. The silence was terribly awkward, and Re couldn't take it much longer.
"You read a lot?" he asked, nodding at the two thick volumes peeking out of Kiku's bag.
"Yeah, I'm reading Harry Potter at the moment. It's really great, I reckon it's one of the best books ever written, with such incredible characters! I really enjoy fantasy - I've read the chronicles of Narnia too - but Harry Potter is the best for the way it flows, like a seamless river of words. But my uncle said that it's just a copy of LOTR, so I'm reading them side-by-side to compare. I can't say I see plagiarism, it's still interesting though..."
O-kay...? Kiku talked fast, and Re didn't understand the words she said. Pla-gi-a-rism - what? And who uses the word 'reckon'? What the hell was LOTR? He wanted to ask, but was that a stupid question?
"...but I'm having trouble following Tolkien, the way he's written it is super dense and it's not a smooth read, you know? I like Rowling better because she can really write, and of course..."
How is she still talking? Re liked to read too, and to be honest, had asked her about reading just so he could launch into his favourite, Jurassic Park. But he might be lucky to get a word in.
"....and that's why I like Hermione the best. Hey, does the library have good books here?"
Re jumped. He had begun to doze off.
"Yeah, um... I think so." To be honest, he had no clue. He borrowed from the Murugan lending library, close to his house. "We have a lot of RK Narayan's books."
"Yeah, my school had them too. Actually, this book is from there only, but I forgot to return it before I left. I guess that's stealing, huh?" She said, a slight twinkle in her eye.
"I... Guess so?"
"I mean, it's not like anyone was in the queue to read it, you know? Most kids in my old school borrowed Tinkle and Amar Chitra Katha, so it's anyway wasted on their shelves." Kiku looked at Re, a little defensive. "I did them a favour."
Re grinned.
"I think so too."
"What sort of books do you like to read?"
"Mostly sci-fi and thrillers." He wondered whether he should tell her that he didn't like Harry Potter much, but decided against it.
"Ohh. I am not a big fan. Thrillers kind of scare me, but my brother loves them. Have you read Jurassic Park?"
"Yup! Michael Crichton is my favourite!"
"Nice! My brother re-reads them like I do Harry Potter. I tried, but I couldn't get past the first chapter, it was way too scary." Kiku covered her face and shuddered.
Re looked at Kiku thoughtfully. Something about her felt (there was no other word for it) familiar.
Hey, do you want to see something funny?" he asked.
'Oooh yes please!'
The period was almost over, and the next one was PT. Sailaja ma'am was looking over everyone's work, correcting them in large big red ticks and crosses, patiently explaining how to write them better. Re slowly opened his bag, taking out a life-like yellow rubber snake. He tucked it into his pocket and looked shiftily at the rest of the group. Everyone had their heads bent over their worksheets.
"Ma'am, can I go to the bathroom? I completed my work."
"May, not can, Rehan. And yes, go ahead."
Re slowly walked around the semi-circle, and, with Kiku's wide eyes trained on him, promptly dropped the snake on Akila's lap.
Her scream tore the silence of the room.
Sailaja Teacher spent the rest of the period calming poor Akila down, as the rest of the class shuffled out. Re was nowhere to be found.
"He'll turn up, no point trying to find him." said Sameer, dragging Sushmita and Jacob onto the courtyard and passing the football around.
"Class was boring, but god, he is so weird." said Susmita.
"Remember the Thekkady field trip? When he was too busy looking at some frog, and stepped into that awful puddle?" Sameer turned to Kiku. "The puddle was literally under his nose, but he kept looking up at some random frog on a tree. Got an entire pant leg wet, and that was the only pair he carried on the trip. Who does that? He is the weirdest."
Kiku giggled, but felt rather strange. Sameer's jokes fell a tad beyond the lines of a good-natured jab. She was sitting outside the classroom, feet dangling onto the school courtyard, watching her classmates play. As she looked around, she caught Re watching her cautiously from behind the library door. He looked like a deer caught in headlights, and somehow she knew that he was looking at her for affirmation. She grinned at him. Best day ever, she mouthed.
You're welcome, he mouthed back.
