Chapter - I - What’s your name?
July 6th, 2015
[First day after summer vacation, in class VII – B, a new admission is expected to arrive. A girl sitting on the last bench (window side) looking completely uninterested and out of place yet pretty. It looks though that she has lost all her compassion for life but still her eyes sparkled with no doubt. She is that kind of a person who is sick of living and surrounding her is an aura of remorse. Nobody is sitting in front or beside her].
Teacher: Come on you all on your seats.
[Rizwan (a tall boy, tanned muscular and appealing) enters the class].
Teacher: This is your new classmate, come introduce yourself.
Rizwan: Hey everybody, I'm Rizwan. I love football and it's my life and ladies mind you, you'll always be my second love, because football is the one.
Male Student A: Why don't you marry one, 'Football'
Rizwan: Why you 'being jealous girl, if you love me so much just confess it. I'll consider you.
Male Student A: Why you – (Teacher interrupts)
Teacher: Now don't fight, go Rizwan sit there (points at the empty seat in front of that girl).
[Rizwan goes and sit there and the teacher starts taking attendance. Rizwan now sitting in front of that girl turns around to face that girl, he finds her somewhat familiar looking].
Rizwan (to the girl): and you?
[She is, as always intentionally oblivious and ignores him. He tries again but she again ignores him but he doesn't give up and faces yet another rejection. Then the whole year he tries and fail. A year passes they are promoted to class VIII but both are in different sections so they never met. Just like that another year passes].
April 3rd, 2017
[Now they both are in class – IX- B and this is the first day of their new school year. Rizwan while coming to his class sees the girl talking to a boy with passion in her eyes this was the first time he saw her like this, like now she has gotten a purpose in her life].
Dhruv: So, I'm finally here!
The Girl: I am so happy, but why are you in Khushboo Ma'am's class, I wish you were in mine.
Dhruv (amazed): You call her Ma'am in school!
The Girl: And so, do you have to.
[The girl then goes and sits on the last seat (window side) and Rizwan goes and sits in front of her. He turns around to face her thinking that this time she may answer him].
Rizwan (to the girl): Hey I'm Rizwan, and what's your name? (she ignores him) Well worth the try but I shall try again.
[The reason why the girl (a confident appealing girl) is so ignorant is that, her parents are divorced. Both of them had affairs and upon discovering the truth both divorced each other. She now lives with her mother who doesn't really care for her. Her mother is either busy with her 'friend' or other friends. Her father is the same, to add insult to injury her father lives next door. Her life had become a routine, she used to wake up, prepare breakfast, go to school, come back, and then prepare dinner and the cry whole night. The only light in her dark world was her childhood friend and neighbor Dhruv. Their room are opposite to each other and so close that one could jump from Dhruv's room window and land in her room and vice versa].
April 2nd, 2017 (the day before the first day of IX class)
[Its 11 o'clock, night time. The girl is preparing dinner while her mother is in her room with her "friend". She barges in her mother's room with the supper for two and her eyes closed, leaves the plate there, runs to her room and starts crying. Dhruv opens his window and hers (his hand can reach there is very little distance between the windows) and starts shouting].
Dhruv (shouting): Would you stop weeping for once and go to sleep, for god's sake this has become everyday dilemma for you, I'm already very tired of all the paperwork I had to do to be enrolled into your school and after all that pain I had to go through I am not in your section, talk about tragic and I accidentally drank coffee, so my allergy is killing me and I cannot handle your crying why don't you understand if they don't care about you then you should not care about them.
The Girl (while crying): What do you know, you don't even have parents to begin with.
[Dhruv quietly shuts her and his window and goes to sleep].
The Girl: I'm sorry I didn't mean it, sorry.
[She keeps shouting the same. After one-hour Dhruv's slumber is broken he opens his window].
Dhruv: Its okay, can I sleep now.
The Girl: You forgive me.
Dhruv: Yes, lady just sleep now.
April 3rd, 2017
Rizwan (to the girl sitting behind him): Hey I'm Rizwan, and what's your name?
[She ignores him, he found her familiar looking but now that familiarity has become affection].
Rizwan (to the girl): Hey I'm Rizwan, and what's your name, Rozee.