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Always Take Disrespect personally. Wrongly. Always.” [Jacqueline]
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[Jacqueline’s POV]
I followed Nina by looking at her feet, as the noise around us grew louder. I shouldn’t have worn her clothes. I wasn’t even sure if
I looked nice or if I looked fat. Me wearing a short top while my hair laid down on my shoulder loosely. It was creating a hell of
anxiety within me.
A said to cla**mate B “Well, what the hell is she doing with Nina?”
“Who knows?” B answered.
“Did you see what she is wearing?” C questioned.
“I did. Dang, she doesn’t look that bad.” A replied.
“I think she is trying to impress someone.” B scoffed and retorted.
“I think you are right.” C and A agreed.
I wish what they said to be true. If only I could impress someone, I might have been having normal friends like them. I might be
gossiping about someone like them too. I sighed, I didn’t need to pity myself.
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A boy whistled, “Dude. I want this s*** now.” My palms clenched tighter but I didn’t look up at the voice of the boy.
“Shut the f*** up f*** boy.” Nina seethes. “One more word and I will kick you so hard, your sun will never shine.” My head jerked
up at her as I looked at Nina. She was in a staredown with the guy, who was talking s*** about me. After some stank-eye
between them, the guy sat down as his friend pointed to a seat in the back where Rohan seemed to be sitting leisurely without a
care in the world.
She stood up for me, but why would she? Perhaps guilt? Or maybe she found me pitiful? Halfway across the room, I realized I
didn’t sit at the back and we never sit together. Why was I following her so dumbly? I turned back when her hand caught my
wrist.

She looked offended, as her eyes narrowed down at me dangerously. My face contorted in confusion as I said.
“My seat is there.” I pointed to the place. Her eyes returned to normal.
“Hold up Jacqueline, we are sitting together.”
“But. I sit.”
“Please.”
“Okay.”
We walked up to the back of the cla**room, but the seat we took was the second last because the last one was occupied by
Rohan. He scoffed at us. Or most probably me. Nina turned around and stuck her tongue at him. He snorted, behaving like he
was angry with her. He didn’t seem angry though, when I had looked at him he looked more like a guy who was sitting leisurely. I
looked at their interaction as Rohan showed his middle finger to her to which she snorted and shot him back. They were best
friends. Their vibe said it all.
“Anyway, Jacqueline. Don’t get affected by someone jealous of us.” I held myself to roll my eyes at her. He wasn’t jealous of us.
It was not like I was stealing his best friend away from him. Even if I wanted to, I wouldn’t be able to achieve that. I cut her a
side-eye while Rohan laughed as if we had cracked a joke.
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The chattering of students stops and we realize the teacher has arrived. Everyone greets her by standing up and singing Good
Morning Mam, while she smiles and replies, Good morning students. Mrs. Neha Tyagi was pretty and tall. Her wheat skin was
free of any makeup and around spectacles covered her eyes. Her black eyes always seemed to be filled with kindness. Her face
was Oblong a short b***on nose and thick lips. Her clothes were always of modest light colors. She was a remarkable teacher
and extremely hardworking at her job. I could still remember the first time we met face to face. It was about the time when she
was just a**igned to teach us biology and I was unable to attend her cla**es because my peers always used to lock me up in the
washroom. After a week, they were bored and left me alone so when I did attend her cla** she asked me why I was unable to
answer her because of peer pressure as she quotes. However, She perhaps thought I was a rebel kid who didn’t like attending
cla**es. So she gave me a punishment for standing near the blackboard with my arms in the air. Exactly like when police say
Hands up. After I did what I was told. She made an example out of me. I cried. I was unable to hold my emotions that day.

I still don’t understand to this day why I had cried the way I did. Seeing me crying she first thought I was being a dramatic kid but
then realizing that my tears were for real she asked me to go back to my seat. I did sit down quietly but my tears flowed down my
cheeks. She asked me for reasons and even tried to make me laugh but I was unable to help it. Instead, I hiccuped so much that
she told me to go and drink some water. It was a bad memory but from that day onwards she has always been 50c/o kinder
towards me.
Her capabilities as a teacher were immense, she was a HOD of Biology of our school. Her explanatory methods were
phenomenal.
I shook my head and noticed, The lecture had started as she moved from blackboard to smart board to teach us how the
nervous system works. She had already taken help from some of our cla**mates to take the blinds down and closed the
windows. The lights at this time were off and the pointer in her hand was glowing.
“The nervous system takes in information through our senses, processes the information, and triggers reactions, such as making
your muscles move or causing you to feel pain.”
The image of a kid pulling back his hand from a plate appeared on the screen. As she explained the example. “For example, if
you touch a hot plate, you reflexively pull back your hand and your nerves simultaneously send pain signals to your brain.”
In the middle of the lecture Rohan and Nina Snickers jointly. And then laugh pointing a finger towards each other, the teacher is
facing black-board unaware of their jokes. Dang, they have so much fun together.
My body goes rigid as I realize Rohan’s fingers were sliding in my locks. I clench my hands. He gathered my hair and lifted them
high as one does when they tie it in a ponytail. I try to crane my neck to glare at him, but he tightens his grip on my follicles, and I
stop struggling. Nina now seemed like she was too attentive in the lecture. As if nothing matters more to her.
He sniffs my hair and then sniffs my neck.
‘God! Is he a dog?’
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Next comes his warm breath spraying on my neck.
“What the heck. Should I scream and notify the teacher?”

‘But if I did. The consequences would be lethal.’ My hands clench more tightly.
‘f*** I wished I could smack him.’
Suddenly, I remember I can attempt to ask for help from Nina. At least I should try.
I call her in the smallest voice I could muster when his grip on my hair tightens.
‘Does he want to make me bald?’
“You have such amazing hair, Annie.”
He mumbles in my ear, is he doing this in the cla**room. Like really, I couldn’t believe his audacity. Though the teacher had
darkened the room so that the smartboard could be beheld from a large distance too. But
There were still 40 teenagers in the room.