Chapter Nine

Enjoying Success At Restaurant

The exam week came and went. In a blur, I might add. First time, I didn't face any problems with it. In one week only, the answer sheets were distributed as these were of

forty marks.

And I got satisfactory marks. Mom and Dad were really happy with it. And they've allowed me to come with Shravan and his group and Naina to the restaurant in front of our school to celebrate our success.

We enter inside and settle down. "You would like to eat chicken, fish or mutton?", Bunty asks and Naina makes a face while I choke on the water in my mouth. "We are vegetarians", I manage to say.

"Oh. Sorry", Bunty says quickly. "So will you face problems sitting with us since we will eat non veg?", Shravan asks in a worried tone. "As long as it is not brought near me, I am totally fine with it", I say. "I am too", Naina adds.

We start checking the menus. "Can we order chilli potatoes? It's been days since I ate them", I ask. "There's no need to ask. We will order what we want to eat. So this is for snacks. You both decide your main course too, then I will place the order", Shravan says.

Naina and I decided to have red sauce pasta and chilli Paneer along with Chilli potatoes. Once Shravan and his group decides what they want to eat, he places an order for all of us.

I put a spoon of chutney on my plate and onion. I dip the strip of onion in the green chutney and pop it in my mouth. "What are you eating?", Shravan asks, surprised as all look at me amused. "She has a habit of eating like this until the food arrives", Naina says.

"It tastes spicy and I love it", I tell everyone. Shravan takes one from my plate and eats it. "It does", he says and winks at me. I smile at him. Our food arrives. We shift a bit away from them and munch our veg course.

"Aneesh's results aren't affected at all by getting suspended", Ved says. "Actually he is a fast forward person by nature. He must have covered the syllabus for this July revision tests beforehand only", a boy from his group says. There are a total of ten boys and six girls.

"Why did you save him and let him attend online classes?", another girl asks. "So that his mid semester results aren't affected. I can't be a madman like him and I have high standards. I don't want to take revenge by targeting his education and academic position", Shravan says, sipping the cocktail.

I am impressed.

"He doesn't deserve any of this good treatment. He deserves kicks and punches", Sameer grunts. Shravan chuckles and pats his shoulders. "If he is expelled and doesn't get good grades, he can blame Shravan and tell that Shravan fears getting behind him on the scoreboard", I explain.

"And everyone will believe him. Shravan's hard work will be ignored and Aneesh will get all praises. When in reality, Shravan deserves them. So he isn't giving Aneesh an opportunity for that and is doing what should be done", I say shrugging. And all try to understand it.

"Exactly", Shravan smiles. I smile back. "But won't he try anything on Suman now that she has lied. He is a spoilt kid and won't understand in one way", Swati says raising her eyebrows.

"If he tries anything, my shoe and his face", Shravan says. We all laugh at him. "And besides...", I say. "I am enough to handle cheap people like him. He would think twice before targeting me in his acts", I say.

"We all admire you for this thing of yours since the start", Munna says. I smile at them. "Are you guys participating in the upcoming MUN?", I ask while taking a sip of water. "Not my thing", Shravan says.

"Are you?", he asks, after all refusing to participate in it. "Yes", I say. "Naina?", Shravan asks and Naina shakes her head. "Only you are taking part?", Shravan asks. I hum. "Tell us about it", Vedika says excitedly.

"I am participating in UN Women. And the country alloted to me is Belgium. In that we will debate about a particular problem, women face and that is our agenda. I will research regarding it on my country and represent it in the committee session and also we will find solutions to it ending with a draft resolution containing all our proposed solutions for it", I explain.

"You don't have any fear of public speaking?", Kamya asks in shock. "Once she starts talking in the committee sessions, she rarely stops. I have seen one that happened in our school last year. Believe me, many delegates refrain from speaking or pointing at her country", Naina laughs.

"You rarely talk in class", Shravan narrows his eyes at me and I hide my face with my hands. "Dude. Never judge a book by its cover stands true in this case", Shravan jokes. "By the way, have you won any certificates in past MUNs you participated in?", Payal asks me.

"Yes. In every MUN. The only certificate I haven't won is the one for asking questions to other delegates. I have won for speech, research and position paper. One day, I will win this question certificate too", I say determined. "What is a position paper?", Bunty asks, confused.

"When we are given our agenda, we research it and find what has been done regarding it in our country and assemble the information on a paper. This is our position paper. We basically tell at what position our country stands in solving this issue that is our agenda for the day", I explain.

"When is it?", Vedika asks. "It will probably be at the end of this month", I reply. "I will come to see your practice", Shravan says. I smile. "Sure. Come tomorrow", I tell him.