Anyone Else But You... by Ananya Ritwik; Verma Mallik

scared that she might just end up making people cry more.
She frantically thought about what to say next.
“ Arre, yaar. Chorr naa . Get full in the next test ok ay ? Like, don't even make one mistake. Show the m that you can do it. Alright?" Sahana said while stroking S asha's strewn hair.
"I am sick and tired, ok ay? W hy do they always do this? It's a s tupid test. Doesn't even count , ” S asha said among weeps.
"Baby, they are your parents. They want the best in you. And these t ests are there to test how much you've understood the chapter in detail. It's ok ay. Do better in the next one,” she said.
Sasha turned away and lay down on the bed.  "Yeah...Okay,” she mumbled.
"Now, you should get up and start studying. Sho w them how much you've studied,” Sahana encouraged her.
"I ne ed a break,” Sasha mumbled. She turned around and asked Sahana, " Gol gappe khaane hain ?"
"Uhh. Sasha, dekh, chacha angry hain. Thoda sa padhle . We will go after two hours, ok ay?" Sahana said with hesitation. She didn't want to go. And her intuition was telling her it would be the perfect ly wrong time to get out of thi s house.
"No. I wanna go. NOW!" S asha got up and started dressing.  
Sahana sat there with a lon g look on her face. "If you want to go, then go. I am not coming. I am not abetting you in suicide ,” she said.
"Fine. Your loss,” S asha said, while putting on her jeans.
When Sasha was done, she went out of the room opened the front door and walked out without looking at her parents si tting on the sofa in the room.

Mr. Vajpai got up and rushed to the room where Sahana was sitting.
"W hat did you tell her to do?!” Mr. Vajpai screamed.
"I told her to study. She wanted a break. I told her not t o. She still did. It’s not my fault;” she said and turned her face away from the overwhelming man.
"Go after her. G od knows what she will do .”
Sahana stood there for a while. She thought about the prospect of going out. It gave her immen se joy to be out of this hell.
" Theek hai ,” she replied in a monotone without facing the red-faced man.
     
    A few minutes later, Sahana and Sasha found themselves sitting in a bare park at one corner of the Mother Dairy outlet that was there nearby. Some old people occupied the only seats available, while what remained of dilapidated swing sets wasn’t even worth giving a look. So both the girls decided to stand next to the fence and enjoy their ice cream.
“So tell me. Are there any hot newcomers?" Sasha asked while licking her orange ice-lolly.
"None. I am not kidding. Not even one. It's like all hot guys on this planet are dea d. Each one of them is a withered geek or weird-faced , ” Sahana replied licking the trickle down her han d from the lemon ice-lolly.
"So true. But there must be someone who is moderately good?" Sasha asked shifting her lol ly from one hand to the other.
"I don't know, man. Maybe, I d idn't notice much. The whole day there are workshops. That's it , ” Sahana replied.
"Hmm...Good,” S asha said taking a huge bite of her ice-cream.
"Although...” Sahana said.
“What?” Sasha asked with excitement. “Remembered anyone?”
"Arree. Don't worry. He's not hot. He's ok - ok. Kind of do-able. Though he's a writer,” Sahana said.
"Ooohh…writer! What book?" Sasha prodded for more information .
"I don't know. I don't remember the book. He told me a week ago,” Sahana replied.
" So you've talked to him? Whoa!" Sasha exclaimed.
" He’s not a c elebrity . Stop getting so excited,”Sahana replied.
" Chal koi toh hai ,” Sasha s aid, biting her empty stick.
" Bakwaas na kar . Let's go,” Sahana said, while pulling S asha by her hand towards their home.

 
    *
    “ You should take tu itions,” Mr. Vajpai said to his niece.
"Okay. But why?" asked Sahana. What's going on? What new scheme have they thought over? She wondered.
"Because you need them,” he replied shifting his weight from one side to another on the huge