16 Let's defeat the Huns!

I tried not to look sad or in the slightest bit disturbed as Snape's doppelganger continued talking about our school's festival, which would take place on the last day of school.

It was only one month till the last day... one month till I had to leave them.

And god, I'd never been this scared in my life. Not when I decided to dress as a guy. Not when Hrithik-anna confronted me. Heck, not even when telling Rohan about my secret.

"Why do you look so glum?" a voice murmured beside me and I shook my head, sighing heavily.

"Nothing," I whispered.

"I would've believed it if you hadn't sighed right after," Rohan said as he discreetly thumped my right shoulder, away from the teacher's eyes.

I smiled lightly.

"Well it feels like yesterday when my appa announced that we were bankrupt over the dinner table. But look, it's only one month till this ends... till I go back to being a girl."

"Shhh!" Rohan hushed me quite harshly as he glanced around. "Walls have ears, bud!"

Though I rolled my eyes at this, the tingling in my stomach returned as I sat beside the guy I was in love with. I glanced sideways to look at the boy who gave me everything I didn't have when I was still rich. It was wrong, but sometimes I felt like it was actually good that we went bankrupt.

The sound of Hrithik-anna's voice pulled me from my thoughts. How did he end up here? Behind him, stood both Ryan and Karan-anna.

"— know, we have a bunch of sister schools," he was saying loudly, while Snape's doppelganger stood in the background nodding now and then. "People from this school would already know that it's a tradition for us to be the host of the sister schools during the school festival. So they'll be coming here."

Excited whispers broke among the guys and I rolled my eyes. Boys.

"Shut your holes!" Anna yelled. “Behave like a gentleman, ya got it? I don't want you to run around those girls like a bunch of starved stray dogs."

How anna got the guts to talk this casually in front of a teacher, and such a scary one at that, was beyond my imagination. But that's who he was: talkative, stern and cocky.

God, I'm going to miss all of them.

"So, each class is responsible for one activity and after a lot of thinking"— he flashed a mocking wink —" I decided that you guys would do a... drum roll, please— play!"

No one clapped. Everyone looked bored. "C'mon guys! Do show some excitement!" Hrithik-anna said, annoyed, and Karan-anna snickered.

"Yay! This is great!" Ryan muttered with an eye roll. "Enough excitement?"

"Wait till I smash your nose in the dorm," anna said as he turned back to us. "And since I'll be leaving school soon, I want ya guys to do a play of my choice." He looked around with a rare genuine smile and slowly everyone started whispering and nudging the people around them. All this while, I’d selfishly only thought about me leaving this school. Why had it never occurred to me that these guys would be graduating shortly? They would be leaving fr college. And moreover, Hrithik-anna wouldn't be the Dorm Head.

The ache that was now constantly present in my heart took an even heavier feeling. I looked around to see that everyone had just now realised the same thing. No one would be there to boss them around. At the same time, no one would be there to lend a hand when he was gone. He was the, as far as I know, the best dorm head and school president.

Ryan strode forward to stand beside anna. "Okay, since this sick, sadistic— ow, what was that for?!" Ryan yelled as he rubbed his upper arm where anna had punched him.

"I'm still the School President, punk," anna said. In the background, Snape's doppelganger mildly chuckled. I felt like I’d caught a glimpse of an alternate universe. With a pat on anna's back, the teacher left. "Well, continue with what you wanted to say," anna said with a shrug and stepped back.

Ryan took a dramatic breath and started again. "Well, since this sick, sadistic ass—"

"Cut the crap and just spit it out!" anna growled in the background and Karan-anna let out another snicker.

"Alright, alright!" Ryan said with an exasperated sigh."Well, since these guys here have shared the same food as us—"

"Mate, hold up," Hrithik-anna said, "we eat in the same cafeteria so I don't thin—"

"Hey, I'm tryin' to sound a little emotional, okay? So just shut up and act teary!" Both Karan-anna and Hrithik-anna rolled their eyes and I stifled a laugh. I was really going to miss them. "Well, since he deprived me of their tears, I’ll get on with it. These useless mongrels are gonna graduate pretty soon, and though I'll be happy to see them off, this society expects us to act at least a little emotional. So let's just do this crap and get it over with.

"So, it seems like Hrithik here wants us to do a play on the story of Mulan, you know, the Chinese girl who dresses as a boy..." From that moment on, I couldn’t hear anything else. I looked at Hrithik-anna, my eyes wide. He shot me a wink and his lips trembled as he fought to keep his smirk hidden. That problematic son of a— no, I wouldn't swear! Did he just do that for me? Like, what the hell is wrong with this guy? Argh!! Suddenly I didn't feel like I was really going to miss him. Beside me, Rohan coughed and I directed my glare at him.

"Now do you get my point?" Rohan asked, a smile heavily playing on his lips. Talk about cute.

I mentally slapped myself. Focus, Uthra. Focus! "What point?"

"That he's a jerk."

I snickered. "Yeah, kinda."

*

*

*

Surprise, surprise! I was Mulan. I didn't even know why anyone would select me for the prestigious lead role. Yay! (Please note the sarcasm.)

Since the senior guys pulled out the we-are-graduating-soon-and-won't-be- a-part-of-this-school-ever-again card every single time, they ended up casting the roles. It didn't feel like a play. It felt like they were dressing us up and humiliating us. Another one of Hrithik-anna's brilliant ideas was to make this play concentrate on Mulan's almost nonexistent love story with Li Shang. And Ryan was Li Shang. God, could this get any worse?

"Our eyes clash so much with the characters. We don't even look the same!" I yelled, exasperated, from my spot on the floor to the teacher in charge. Snape's doppelganger shot me a glare. In the background, Rohan, who was part of the stage crew, gave me a wink and mouthed “sir.”

Pfft, yeah, manners.

"This is utter stupidity, sir!" I said, sounding obviously snarky.

"You think I enjoy watching your horrible acting?" the teacher asked, sounding so much like Snape. Seriously, was he a Snape wannabe?

"Don't you?" Ryan shouted from across the room, his head half inside Li Shang's costume and half sticking out. With a sigh and without another word, doppelganger Snape left the room. Was this how film directors behaved? If so, then that's sad.

I looked around the room and my eyes, once again, met black ones and I started feeling all tingly inside. I mean, god, they were just freaking eyes! Why would I go all crazy over them?

Rohan flashed me a grin before walking away with some box in his hands.

I wanted to run after Rohan and just “hang out” since no one was doing anything useful, but the sound of a cloth being ripped made me glance back at where Ryan was standing, surrounded by a few guys who snickered and groaned.

Well, there went Li Shang's costume.

I glanced back at Rohan, who started walking towards me.

"This is such a bad idea," he stated as he came near.

"Great discovery, Watson!" I mocked sarcastically.

"Bad mood because of this dumb practice?"

The word “yes” was almost out of my mouth, but then I thought about the real reason for it.

It wasn’t the practice. Not the play. Heck no, they were things that would give me memories to smile about after I left the school. The real reason was the inevitable end. I was upset that I had to leave the school after the school festival ended. Shaking my head, I gave Rohan my best smile. Or I tried giving my best one. Didn't know how it ended up looking. "I'm just sad that I have to leave everyone." Leave you...

Rohan didn't reply and I was startled to see so much sadness in his obsidian eyes.

"I'll miss you, bud. You are my best friend." I swallowed back a bitter laugh. Best friend. Nothing more.

"You too, Rohan. I'll miss you, too."

*

*

*

Lately I'd really started behaving like a character out of a book who was going to die for sure. You know those characters who saunter around the place they live looking at inanimate objects and trying to hold on to even the tiniest bits of memories and happiness before they pass away? Yep, that was the story of my life right then. Lying on my back, on my bed, all I could think about were things like this. But what topped the list was my love for my roommate. For God's sake, I even looked at his freaking toothbrush and smiled in nostalgia! Someone please call the mental institute!

A tap on my nose pulled me from my internal screaming.

"Hi." I looked up, mesmerized by Rohan's messy hair, his wrinkled unbleached t-shirt and his twinkling eyes. He wasn't literally beautiful. But he was the most attractive person I'd ever seen. "Earth to, mate." Mate. Best friend. Nothing more. And just like that, my mood went from bad to worse.

"Can you please stop with the whole bromance greeting thing and just call me by my name?" I snapped and Rohan looked taken aback. Yay! Way to win over your crush, Uthra. "Sorry," I muttered. I buried my head in my hands, trying to stifle a groan.

"Hey," Rohan called softly. "I know how hard it's been." I let out a bitter chuckle.

"You don't even know half of it, rich boy."

Rohan cringed. "Don't ever call me that."

What is wrong with me? Why am I snapping at Rohan?

"Once again, I'm sorry..."

"Nah, it's alright."

"Okay."

We remained silent and the silence started pressing me down harder. I took a deep, calming breath but it did nothing to soothe me. I rolled my shoulder blades, I counted from one to ten, I even sang a song mentally! But nope, nah, nada, I felt nervous, as if there was a griever waiting to attack me. (Maze Runner, anyone?)

"You can share what's bothering you, y'know..."

I glanced back into his black eyes. Of course, Rohan and I would be in contact after I left... or that's what I hoped. But even if we kept in contact, would I ever get to stand in such close proximity to him and get lost in his black eyes like how I did as his roommate? And before I knew what was doing, my stupid mouth uttered three words that were cringeworthy.

"I love you."