The next couple of days quickly enlightened Sameer with the fact that his shy, innocent Naina had developed a streak of boldness, and he was enthralled to see her like that. If Sameer thought that Naina had been kidding when she had said she would teach him, his misconception was cleared the very next day, when Naina showed up with a timetable for his studies. He looked on in surprise, as she went on to explain how each subject needed to be tackled and literally ordered him that they would start immediately in the first free period they have. And so, the teaching sessions started, in classroom, in library, in canteen, and most of the days even after the school when Naina and Preeti would make an excuse of extra classes. Since, it would have been suspicious for Naina to stay back alone, she included Preeti and sometimes even Swati as her partners in crime, which would in turn lead to Munna and Pandit also staying back. His head swirled as he tried to gobble up the syllabus of few months in few days, but Naina kept helping him in every way she could. Rakesh sir saw them once in the library, and upon enquiry Naina had lied through her teeth about Sameer having the book she needed so she was simply asking if she could borrow it for some time. She had bowed her head and listened to her father’s lecture about not even daring to talk to the ameerzada, and then after he left, she had ignored everything and was back into her teaching mode. This had totally surprised Sameer, because she hadn’t been the least bit scared, instead her expression was of total determination as she went about checking his sums.
Once when he had dared to utter that he thought he couldn’t do this, Naina had glared at him, and irately replied, “of course, this isn’t a piece of cake. What do you think, your 12thstandard is going to be easy? It would be even more difficult with the pressure of board exams as well as your office responsibilities. You have to learn to handle the pressure.” Again, Sameer had been taken aback with her matter-of-fact way, eyes wide, he gulped and meekly returned to his Biology book. Naina would scold him, drive him, encourage him, in short let him do anything but give up. Her fortitude and her strength motivated him as well as enamored him.
These teaching sessions however were not without perks. The boldness Naina had acquired was not just reflected in her determination but also in the way she was now more comfortable to be physically close to him. She didn’t shy away when he held her hand, instead she would herself twine her fingers with his. Once when she had been searching for a book in the library, he had dared to hug her from behind, sliding his hands around her waist, given in to the temptation while being perfectly prepared for her admonishment, but had been stupefied when she had instead leaned back into him and placed her hands on his own. Another day, when he had successfully finished everything there was to learn for the Maths and Chemistry examinations, she had flung her arms around him and squeezed him in happiness, making him feel that he could slog for hours at end if she kept on hugging him like this.
In all this, he waited for an opportunity to talk to Arjun and it arrived on the day before exams when school ended early and Naina left after giving him instructions to sleep well without worrying. Sameer cornered Arjun in the corridor saying, “I need to talk to you.” Arjun sighed as he nodded, he knew this had to happen, so he accompanied Sameer to the playground. Without any formalities Sameer simply stated, “Thank you… for what you did for Naina. I know we should have avoided talking so late at night, but there was no way I could call her during day-time. And thank you again, for helping her plan the surprise, I cannot tell you in words what it meant to me.” Then he couldn’t help but add in a wondering tone, “although honestly I am still extremely surprised that you actually helped her in coming to my home!”
Arjun scowled as he muttered, “It’s no surprise when my own sister can turn into a blackmailer…”
Sameer tilted his head, ears cocked, eyes narrowed in confusion, “What? Naina, a blackmailer… What are you saying?”
Arjun heaved his arms upward in exasperation as he said, “what else? She saw me with Shefali in a park one evening and blackmailed me saying she would spill the beans on me in-front of papa if I don’t help her with the surprise. Dirty little blackmailer… this is the same sister who wouldn’t utter one single word against me or say anything in-front of anybody, and now look what she is ready to do for you.”
Sameer stood stunned for a minute, imagining his feisty little temptress threatening her older brother, then laughed outright, howling as he doubled up holding his stomach.
Arjun stood frowning, eyeing him in annoyance, his arms folded, “What’s so funny?”
Sameer somehow controlled his laughter, as he wiped tears of mirth from his eyes, “You are… How did you fall for the trap? I mean, I know Naina is very intelligent, but I thought so are you”, he sniggered.
Arjun’s scowl deepened, “Care to explain…??”, he asked, exasperation evident in his tone.
Sameer grinned as he said, “If Naina knew about you and Shefali, so did you, about me and Naina. She wouldn’t have said anything to anybody about you. Plus, don’t forget, Shefali is Naina’s friend since long before you knew her. And Naina would never cause any harm to her friends and family even in her dreams.”
Arjun was flabbergasted as it dawned on him that Sameer was right, Naina had just used his own panic against him. He mumbled something about his own sister being traitor, but then graciously accepted that he was indeed fooled. Sameer sobered down and thanked him again. Arjun shrugged saying, “She is my sister. I saw her shattered twice and both the times you were the reason behind her pain. But this time the reason wasn’t something you did, but her concern and affection for you. She took a lot of time to forgive herself for not being there with you when you needed her. I have seen her cry for you, I have also seen her happy because of you and I cannot ignore how much she cares for you. So, there is no need to thank me, because I cannot see her losing that shine from her eyes again. But, if you ever break her heart, I promise I will kill you myself and take my own sweet time about it.”
Sameer listened patiently, his heart thudding on hearing about her tears, and softly said, “Do you think I would break the heart of the person who accepted me as the broken pieces I was and made me what I am today? I didn’t know anything about care, affection and love until she came into my life. I know I hurt her in my arrogance and unjust anger, and I will regret that as long as l live, but she accepted me just as I was and it’s her love that changed me. Trust me, I love her, more than I can explain in words, and will always do.”
Arjun looked as if he had swallowed a lemon, as he finally blurted, “I know you love her. I understand that now.” He rubbed his hands over his face, and through his hair, as if gearing himself up for an ordeal, as he added, “I can clearly see how much you both care for each other, which is why I want to tell you something. I don’t want this to ever come up between you in future, because if it does, and my sister is broken again I won’t be able to forgive myself.”
Sameer was perplexed on hearing this. Arjun looked extremely guilty, on the verge of tears, he was shaking slightly, and his hands bunched in a fist. “The examination papers… I had stolen them”, Arjun confessed looking at his own feet, not having the courage to meet Sameer’s eyes.
Sameer felt as if he had been hit by a ton of bricks, the shock evident on his face, as he croaked, “what?”, still unable to believe what he heard.
Arjun’s face contorted with anguish, as he looked up, and said, “I had stolen those papers. I didn’t know what to do, I succumbed in pressure. Papa had so much expectations from me, it was a matter of his pride. I was scared… I knew I was good in studies, but still I was afraid that what if I couldn’t score more than you, what if somehow, I failed. It would have meant letting down papa. He already suffers insult at home from Tauji because he is just a librarian, and he had all his hopes pinned on me, I just didn’t realize that what I was doing was wrong. I am sorry… I am sorry I did that, I am sorry I let you take the blame. I thought many times to tell you about it, but I didn’t even have the courage to meet your eyes, let alone accept my crime. But now, I cannot bear this guilt anymore.”
Tears flowed from his eyes now, as he heaved, and added, “I am ready to accept whatever punishment you decide. I am even ready to confess in-front of papa and principal sir, if that’s what you want. But please, don’t misunderstand Naina…”
Sameer was dumbfounded, his ears ringing as he heard the confession, and one sentence stood out like a neon sign out of the entire revelation. Don’t misunderstand Naina. He had almost stopped breathing, his stomach lurching as if he was falling from a great height, “Naina knew about this?”, he asked seeking confirmation.
Arjun nodded in acceptance but then looking at Sameer’s expressions, hurriedly added, “Please Sameer… She didn’t know anything about it that day in principal sir’s office. She truly believed that you had stolen those papers. She came to know the truth couple of days later, when she found out that I had a spare key to papa’s locker. That’s when she confronted me, and I couldn’t lie to her, but it’s because of me that she remained silent. I didn’t know at that time what she felt for you, and now I can only imagine how much I myself hurt her by putting this blame on you. I begged in-front of her to not let this truth come out ever, for my sake and for papa’s pride. She knew papa would break down if this comes out, his values, his morals, everything he is proud of will be shattered.”
A red mist swam in-front of Sameer’s eyes, his hands fisted, his body shook as he recalled the insult his Nanu had to bear, how his mother had left him, the agony of being labelled as a thief. He had been unable to comprehend that Naina would label him as a thief, even after spending all that time with him while she taught him. However, the immediate next moment, with just the mere remembrance of her name something shifted in his heart, and this time he recalled how Nanu had trusted him despite the allegations, how Naina had slowly gained his trust with her unconditional love and affection, and later she had told him that she would always trust him completely. But, he had broken her trust, hurt her by placing that thoughtless bet, and hadn’t been able to control the damage in time. He didn’t know what he would have done if he knew about Arjun’s truth at that time, but now he clearly knew what he needed to do.
Sameer sighed as he looked at Arjun, and asked, “You say you are ready to confess in-front of your father and principal sir, despite knowing that it would break your father’s pride? You realize that you could also be banned from exams, right? They couldn’t prove my crime, but you will be confessing yourself.” Arjun sniffled and nodded miserably. If this was the punishment he had to bear, he would do it for his sister.
That single nod of Arjun’s head, convinced Sameer of his sincerity and he let go of all the resentment. “Then do what I say, forget this incident and the guilt you are feeling, and don’t bring it up ever in future”, he said shocking Arjun. Arjun couldn’t believe his ears, he kept looking at Sameer with an astonished expression, as he continued, “Naina and I suffered a lot already because of this. I placed the bet, not because I couldn’t become head boy, but because I was labelled as a thief and Rakesh sir insulted my Nanu and my upbringing.”
Arjun was horrified to hear this as he realized that his actions were at the crux of the bet which had ultimately devastated his own sister. Sameer understood what Arjun was probably thinking, so he placed a comforting hand on his shoulder, as he added, “Bringing Naina into this whole matter was unjust but at that time I failed to realize the implications in my anger. And now, it doesn’t matter, I am glad to know the truth but punishing you won’t serve any purpose. Nanu believed me always, and Naina forgave me and accepted me back in her life. I don’t want anything else.”
Arjun gave a weak watery smile in relief, and Sameer tried to lighten the mood, as he questioned teasingly, “So… You and Shefali… huh?” Arjun glared, “Don’t even go there…”, and they both chuckled.
The afternoon heat and stillness, brought a sense of peace to Arjun instead of discomforting him, as he finally felt a burden lift from his shoulders, and a feeling of solace at having made the correct decision in supporting his sister because it was clear that she had indeed made the right choice.