Precap: In the fair friends of Shravan’s old school come to visit. Both the points of the exam results and the fair is published, Anish’s team is a few points ahead of Shravan’s.
The next day
Shravan and Anish are sitting face to face in the canteen. Sahib is sitting beside Shravan and Anish’s friends are beside him. Both the team are in a stare competition currently while having their food. The atmosphere is so silent that you can hear if a niddle drops.
Anish: Do you guys still want to continue to face humiliation? Even after seeing the results of yesterday? You can drop the challenge now with accepting defeat if you want.
Shravan: Tell me one thing dhumketu. You are talking like all the other days but you are missing something today. What is it?
Anish: You always keep talking talking nonsense, don’t you?
Shravan: Now I get it, there is no confidence in your taunts now. Your threat doesn’t sound like full of pride but instead full of anger and fear. Tell me honestly, you are not happy with the results, right?
Anish stands up from the table and turns to go, his gang follows him but they stops hearing Shravan’s next words.
Shravan: You are angry and frustrated seeing how less of a difference in the points. You are scared of losing, you are scared of losing to people who you never even considered worth a competition. You are thinking that we can win and that’s why you are keep trying to get us off the competition.
Anish comes back to the table, places his both hands on it and look at Shravan’s eyes.
Anish: I was just giving you guys a chance as mercy. But now not anymore. In the next round you guys will see the reality and understand your place.
He looks at Shravan angrily while Shravan’s expressions remains unchanged the whole time, a little playfull smile hangs on his face. Anish stands up and turns to leave. He stops and looks back at Shravan again.
Anish: Prepare for the worst. The little difference you are boasting about, before you realize it will turn into so big that you won’t be able to cover it in a lifetime.
Anish’s gang leaves the canteen. All the other students in the canteen who were all giving their attention all this time to these conversations being totally silent now starts talking among each other while eating. Shravan smiles looking at Anish go.
Shravan: Sahib, have you heard the idiom “Barking dog seldom bites”, it’s the same with this dhumketu.
Sahib: Shravan you are underestimating them. Have you thought what will we do in the next competition?
Shravan: It’s the election, right? Don’t sweat it, cause Shravan Malhotra always wins in such thing. My charm is something like that, too much irresistible.
Suman comes and sits in front of him with Kanchan.
Suman: Shravan do you even know what for the election is?
Shravan: Not really, what for it is?
Kanchan: It’s to decide who is going to represent the class in the upcoming sports festival. Each year all the classes decides this by doing votes among them and gives the name of the winner to the teachers later as the representative. It’s an unofficial system.
Suman: Shravan back at the day when we were returning from the camp I asked you if you knew about the election. Why did you said yes if you didn’t knew about it?
Shravan: I just heard it from my friends that some election is supposed to happen so I thought….
Sahib: Now do you understand? This election will happen in class only, how many people do you think will vote for you? There isn’t many civilians students in our class Shravan.
Shravan starts to tension. He looks at Suman and holds her hands. Suman gets shocked on this sudden behavior.
Shravan: Sumo, you are my buddy, you will give me vote, right?
Suman: Shravan!
She slowly takes her hands out of Shravan’s hands and looks at him in the eye.
Suman: The class representative has a lot of duty in the sports festival. When you will give your speech, if you manage to make me feel that you can handle it and serious about it then we will talk about it. And wasn’t the challenge you guys have had a rule that I can’t play favorite towards you? Then why are asking for something like this now?
Shravan makes a sad face and takes Sahib with him and gets up from the table to leave. He comes back again.
Shravan: I will remember this Sumo, you made a friend in need go away.
Then he turns at Sahib and speaks in a dramatic tone.
Shravan: Let’s go Sahib. Suman smiles and shakes her head.
Suman: Drama queen.
Kanchan: Not drama queen, say drama king.
Both of them starts laughing.
Shravan’s gang is in meeting.
Shravan: OK guys let’s decide on who will become candidate in each class.
Ved: But we don’t really have students from all classes in our gang.
Mayank: And not all present in our gang are suitable for it. Like if we present Ambuj, no ones gonna vote.
Ambuj tries to protest but ends up agreeing. Everyone laughs. When everyone calms down Shravan starts talking again.
Shravan: OK fine, we will decide the suitable candidates present here for now, then we will go to scout the others. OK?
Everyonelse: OK.
They starts deciding. Shravan asks Sahib if he wants to run instead of him as they are both from the same class. Sahib gets scared and declines. Everyone else starts chanting Sahib’s name to make him agree. Shravan proposes arm wrestling between both of them to decide who will do it. They starts doing it, everyone keeps cheering both of them. The table breaks where they were keeping their hands. Everyone laughs. The gang goes to different classes to scout possible candidates to run for election. A junior is washing his hand at the tap in the ground. He realizes someone is standing beside him. He turns to see some seniors (Shravan’s gang) looking at him. He realizes some people are standing behind him too. He turns and sees he is surrounded, no way to escape, Shravan is standing right in front of him with a big smile. He signals and the others holds the student up in the air and takes him with them. They trains him to prepare to run for the election. The gang choices a girl to be perfect for canidet from another class but she isn’t part of their gang. They follows her everywhere for sometime, her friends misunderstand and starts beating up the boys. They clears the misunderstanding and asks her but she declines. They then keep requesting her with different approaches and she keeps denying. They all gives up after a point, when she comes back on her own and agrees. In their gang they choose Ved to run from his class. But he starts saying that he isn’t good with speech neither leadership. He won’t be able to do it. Everyone motivates him and makes him agree. Before the last period candidates for all the classes gets decided. Shravan gets satisfied with everyone and heads towards class with Sahib.
Shravan: Everything will turn out fine Sahib, I’m telling you.
Sahib: You have prepared good for all the other classes but what about our class?
Shravan: It’s Anish against me, our classmates aren’t all blind neither all of them are part of his gang. They have seen how things have been all this time. I’m sure they will choose wisely.
They are about get inside class but stops seeing Anish in front of the class, he was saying something. He stops noticing them. He smiles at them.
Anish: Shravan, Sahib come inside. We are having an important discussion about the sports festival. The whole class needs to be here.
Sahib whispers to Shravan.
Sahib: He is definitely up to something.
Shravan whispers back to him.
Shravan: Don’t worry.
Both of them sits on their seats. Shravan and Suman smiles at each other, then gives attention to Anish.
Anish: So guys as I was saying, sport festival is coming soon. We are supposed to give the name of the representative of our class tomorrow to the teacher. So like every year we are gonna decide this by voting. Anyone wants to nominate themselves or someone?
Shravan looks around the classroom, then at Suman. She smiles at him to give him confidence. He smiles back and looks at Anish. With his usal attitude he raises his hand. Anish smiles like he was doing till now at this.
Anish: Ah, Shravan of course. Given the current situation I guess everyone knew you will be up for it, no surprise there.
Shravan: Stop the drama and go ahead with the election.
Anish: Sure, as we don’t have much time.
He writes Shravan’s name on the board.
Shravan’s Pov
He is saying way too sweet words. What is he up to?
Anish turns at the class again.
Anish: Anyone else?
Nobody raise their hands, as they know of the challenge between Shravan and Anish, they are waiting to see how things turns out in this round.
Anish: Fine. Then I would like to nominate Suman for this.
Suman and Shravan both looks at each other getting surprised and then at Anish. Everyone else seems surprise by this. He writes Suman’s name on the board too after seeing Suman doing nothing to decline this.
Anish: Now let’s start the vote.
Shravan gets a bit confused and stands up.
Shravan: One second, what about the speech?
Anish: Come on Shravan, we all are in our final year now. We all know each other well enough to know how much one is capable enough. Even you after being a transfer student and missing school for medical leave for months, have become one us, get along well with everyone.
Shravan: But…
Anish: Fine, I will do both of your introduction. So guys on one hand we have Shravan Malhotra as the class representative candidate, self nominated. We all know Shravan. In fact the whole school knows Shravan. They keep knowing him everyday with his new antics all the time.
Everyone laughs. Shravan looks at everyone and then angrily at Anish while sitting down.
Anish: As you all know, Shravan is a transfer student and as he came in our school from the very beginning he has trouble understanding the system of here and started clashing with them and how he have now started a revolution currently in the school. He is still learning the school rules and systems and deciding to either accept them or not by his own fixed opinion.
Anish looks at Shravan and gives him a smile. He again looks at the class and starts speaking.
Anish: But we also should remember when Shravan dedicates himself to do something he does it completely till the end with perfection. I hope you all remember the cultural fest, when with a leg injury he took part in the parade and the play. His team won the first award while Shravan won the best actor. He placed second in last exam. And everyone is aware of his current priority so no point in mentioning that. Did I missed anything Shravan?
Shravan forcefully gives a smile at him.
Anish: On the other hand we have head girl Suman Tiwari as candidate for class representative, nominated by me. Everyone here knows how hard working she is. This year she was entrusted with leading the parade on 26th and she did a praise worthy job. She became the best cadet and she is our head girl since last year. She was also part of Shravan’s play in the cultural fest which won award for our school. As someone studying here longer then Shravan she is well aware of all the rules and regulations and customs of this school. She understands the duty of the class representative and our class’s priority in the sports festival. And yeah, she came first in the last exam. So I guess that covers the introduction part. Now who ever wants to vote for Shravan raise their hands please.
Only Sahib raises his hand, he looks around at others. Suman and Shravan looks at the class but no one else raise their hands. Anish smiles. He writes one beside Shravan’s name.
Anish: Now raise your hand to vote for Suman.
Everyone raises their hands. Then everyone gets surprised seeing Shravan raising his hand. Even Suman gets surprised. She looks at him, he looks back at her raising his one hand.
Anish: When one candidate votes for the other, I don’t think there is no need to do this then.
He erases the board. Everyone takes their hands down.
Anish: So it is decided. Suman won the election, she will be the representative of our class in the sports festival.
Next: Suvan on bike ride again.