Champions

Finally, Today was the day that everyone has been waiting for. The annual competition function was organised in the school today. All the teachers and students entered their respective fields with the best preparation.

He also came to the school today for the first time in his life at the request of Savera to support her in her speech competition.

"Hey Saim, what a pleasant surprise to see you in the school on this special day," He was passing by the balcony when his class teacher Ma'am Samarah stopped him. It was the first time he had come to school on the occasion of such an event, so she was bound to be surprised.

"Ma'am you are making me shy" He laughed at Ma'am joke.

"No, my child, I'm really happy to see you here. I think you are changing and indeed, this change is for the best," She seemed happy to saw her one of her favourite students in the school on this occasion.

"Thank you, Ma'am," He smiled.

"Keep smiling, you look better when you smile," She complimented him and moved away.

"Words of praise from someone go a long way in brightening a person's day," He thought.

"Heyyy dude, how are you?" He was coming down the stairs when someone slipped from the pole next to the stairs and came rushing down to block his way.

He panicked and looked in front of him, Afsah was standing and smiling.

"Whether you are a human or an animal, you jump everywhere like monkeys," He asked her.

"Whether you are a human or a bird, you walk every time like a dove with head bowed," She responded to him in the same kind. He gritted his teeth.

"Okay, let's end the fight, tell me what are you doing at my school?" He knew it was impossible to win the conversation with her, so he changed the subject.

"Why do people go to school?" She asked him sarcastically.

"To study...," He answered and started walking towards the school's main hall where the speech competition was supposed to start.

"Yess..., and I'm here to study also," She answered while breaking flowers from the bouquet hanging on the porch of the school.

"It is illegal here," He pointed to the flower.

"Doing illegal things makes me satisfied," She touched the flower to his nose.

"By the way, today is the annual function in the school. What are you studying here?" he asked as he suddenly remembered.

"I come here to study on normal days, today I came to enjoy the function," She explained.

"Don't tell me, do you study here? I mean is it your school too?" He shocked.

"Yes..., why shouldn't it?" She was still calm.

"If you study here too, then why did I not see you here before?" He questioned.

"Because if you ever got free time from your idle thoughts, you would come to know that I am not only your schoolmate but also your classmate," She gave him a light blow on the head with the flower.

"If that's the case, I have been in my senses for a long time, I've never seen you in the school, not even in class. Why?" He continued the discussion.

"That is because I am not coming to school for the past few days, I was on urgent leave," She answered.

"It's impossible to win the argument with her, she has the answer for everything," He thought as he looked up at her, shaking his head helplessly.

They had reached the auditorium Hall of the school while arguing. The hall was full of students. With great difficulty, they made their way near to the stage, where Savera was delivering a speech written by Saim with great enthusiasm.

As they approached the stage, two students got up from their seats and walked out. He knew that behind them getting up from their chairs and going out was the beauty of Afsah's eyes staring at them. Afsah motioned him to sit down and sat comfortably on the other chair and began to survey the auditorium Hall with her eyes as she had no interest in listening to the speeches, she had just come there to keep Saim company.

Saim became absorbed in listening to Savera's speech with full attention. Undoubtedly, with the enthusiasm that Saim had written the speech on the topic of increasing crime in the sty, Savera conveyed Saim's words to the people through her tongue with the same enthusiasm.

Saim looked away from the stage and saw Waleed sitting on the chair right next to him. Waleed also noticed him at the same time. When their eyes met, Saim smiled, but there was no familiarity in Waleed's eyes.

"Maybe he is still upset about my behaviour of that day," Saim thought and turned his gaze back to the stage where Savera had finished her speech and now the hall was resounding with loud applause at the end of her speech.

Waleed got up and left the hall as soon as Savera finished her speech. Seeing him go out, Saim also quickly got up from his chair.

"Where are you going?... wait... I am also coming with you... these boring speeches gave me a headache," Seeing him get up, Afsah also wanted to leave her chair, but Saim forcibly held her by the shoulders and made her sit back there and said:-

"You just wait here,... I'll be back soon... You just watch my chair so that no one else sits until I come,".

Afsah shrugged helplessly. Saim moved out of the auditorium Hall.

"Woww... it is not fair that I do every difficult task. It's okay to take care of the chair, who dare to touch it in my presence but who the hell have the courage to listen to these boring speeches," Now the other speaker was busy giving his speech on the stage, Afsah started starring at him with mixed feelings of anger and helplessness.

*********

Leaving the auditorium Hall and going towards the science lab, he saw Waleed. He immediately rushed towards him.

"Hey, Waleed..." He stopped him by calling his name "You walk too fast," Saim said taking a deep breath.

"What happened?" Waleed ignored his second talk.

"Where are you going? Speech competition is still running," when nothing else came out of him, he started telling about the speech contest.

"I know, I was only there to support my classmate, she has just completed her speech," Waleed told him.

"But the result is not out yet, you should be there to cheer her," He said.

"I know, but I have my competition in the science lab about the science projector, so I need to have a final look at it," Waleed said and stepped up towards the science lab.

"Are you still mad at me because of my behaviour of that day," instead of wasting more time on rambling, he came straight to the point?

"Yes,... I'm mad at you,... but not because of your behaviour, just because of your silence. How can a person allows others to make fun of him," Waleed cleared the point?

"I have an idea that It was my fault to put up with people's humiliating behaviour, but you probably don't know how hard it is for a coward like me to muster up the courage to stop pointing fingers at people at myself," even today, while describing his defendant, his voice became hoarse "but now I have got my courage to stop them to mocking me,".

"Hmm..., don't worry bro, from now on I'm with you and I see how someone makes fun of you," Waleed's tone changed and he smiled.

"Thanks for your courage and especially for your friendship," Saim hugged him.

"It's My pleasure bro to be your friend," Waleed hold him tight.

"Best of luck with your science project," Saim gave him best wishes.

"I'm the best, I don't need luck," Waleed blinked his eye and entered the lab.

"You are standing here and I have been looking for you all over the school," He was standing in front of the science lab, smiling at Waleed's conversation, when Afsah came to him.

"Why have you been looking for me all over the school when I was standing here?" His mood was pretty good so he joked with her.

"What... don't you think you are changed a lot recently, you are making jokes nowadays, how strange," Afsah raised her eyebrows.

"Yes I also think like that... by the way, what are you doing here, didn't I ask you to take care of my chair in the auditorium Hall," Saim stared at her.

"Did you want to blow your head off the chair lying there, because the speech competition is over there now," Afsah stared him back?

"What? Competition is over? So soon?" He wondered.

"It was not soon, you took too much time to return to the hall," Afsah dispelled his wonder.

"Who won?" He asked.

"Our classmate, Savera," Afsah blew a fly from her nose.

"Seriously, did she win? Bravo..., Let's go and congratulate her," Saim almost ran towards their classroom where Savera was receiving congratulations for the joy of her win. Afsah followed him unwillingly and grumbling.

"She is the one who won, but he is the one who gone crazy with joy, strange...,"