Sister !

"What was going on in the class?" Dalia asked looking serious.

"Nothing Ma'am," Taaliyah replied. But she was panicking inside.

"Nothing happened Ma'am," Derek also said the same. And the girls nodded.

"Yes Ma'am," Fred also said.

"Then how come I got the news that there was a huge physical fight in 8 A during this lunch hour and that even girls were involved?" she asked looking at the girls. "Who was it who fought with the guys?" Everyone remained silent. "Who was it? Tell me now," she raised her voice and almost everyone in the veranda heard her. All the students went silent and ran back inside their classrooms while a few stood watching the scene.

"It was me," Taliyah said in a low voice.

"Taliyah," teacher screamed. "Don't you know as a girl you must not engage yourself into any fist fights? How could you? How dare you?"

"She did nothing Ma'am," Derek stood up for her.

"You shut up, am very disappointed in you Derek,"

"Ma'am," he tried to speak.

"I said you shut up," but Dalia shouted at him, asking him to keep quiet.

"It's true, she did get angry, but she did not do anything, Ryan was the problematic one,"

"Ryan," teacher called out loud. "Come over here,"

"Yes Ma'am," he walked towards them.

"What happened?" Dalia asked.

"We were having lunch, then we discussed random things and Derek got angry and suddenly she came over fuming with anger too," he narrated a story with no head and tail. "Huh?" everyone included the teacher asked in the same tone.

"Ma'am it's not like that," Derek opened his mouth again. "Taaliyah pack and bring me lunch sometime, today also she did it. Seeing this Ryan made up stories about us, I could not stand to hear to. Taaliyah saw it and she got angry too since he involved and dragged her along,"

"Is that the truth?" Dalia asked Ryan.

"He was wrong. Taaliyah and I have been friends over years, how dare he change the meaning of our friendship since childhood. She is like a sister to me," he said.

Taaliyah was shocked and looked at Derek when she heard the word sister. She felt hurt suddenly. Like a hole in her chest. She felt sad for no reason.

Ryan was embarrassed. "How can you go against your friends gossips about then spreading false news?" Dalia asked Ryan.

Ryan out his head down.

"Apologise," she said.

"No need. He had already said stuff and people who heard it will believe it. There is no point in getting a single sorry from him. he has sabotaged our age," Taliyah spoke angrily.

"Relax," she was told by Emily who stood next to her.

The drama extended for sometime more with Ryan getting detention to help clean the campus one day during the weekend. Derek looked at Taaliyah who went completely silent. She did not look at him either. She did not listen in the afternoon classes properly missing them all sitting busy with her thoughts where the word sister circled inside her head. Derek watched her but had no idea why she went unusually silent.

"What happened?" he asked her. She looked away.

"What?" she asked back.

"What's going on?" he wanted to know.

"Nothing,"

"Are you sure? Tell me if there is anything,"

"There is nothing," how could Taliyah ever say that it's his problem.

"Okay okay relax," he said and handed her a chocolate. A kitkat this time. She took them took a bit and gave him his share. He had them smiling. And he sat back on his seat.

'Start preparing for the exams everyone, its four days away,"

"Mondays are always shit," Taaliyah cried and laid down in the desk.

"Don't forget to go through my notes," Derek said to Taaliyah and walked out of the class ti submit the biological notebooks in the staff room for correction.

*******

*******

The exam week arrived and everybody had designated places in each classroom. Derek was in the classroom of 10B and Taaliyah in the class of 9C.

They hardly met during the exam days. Taaliyah tried studying well this time. A challenge she kept for herself since she got nicely scolded by the teacher getting into trouble. She wanted to prove herself and too a lot of stress. But learning maths alone was a huge trouble for her. Since Derek had always helped her. She was afraid to ask help at others.

"Come here," Derek called her seeing her sitting with her math notebook reading the problems.

"You cannot read and learn," he said.

"I can, I never work out the problems,"

"That's why you always miss few steps," he knocked her head.

"Oww...."

"See this proof," he began to teach her. But she looked at him as he explained it. She smiled. No matter how upset you get, how much you get hurt, or feel bad, no matter what others tell you or what conflicts you have inside you, in the end, you will always want to be with the person you adore, and that's what you call friendship, you will never give up on them, not even when the world shut you out.

She knew it then, Derek will always be a bug part in her life, unlike other friends. But she was not sure about his side of ideas about her. Sister. It echoed in her head. 'If it's sister, then let it be sister, at the least I matter,' she consoled herself. She listened to his words carefully.

"Derek," Fred came running to him suddenly. It was almost time for exams. "Our teacher asked me to take you to staff room right now," he informed.

"Remember the Theorem, write well, see you after the exams," Derek said and ran away.

"Do you know why?" he asked Fred.

"No," Fred replied as they ran away.

Taaliyah watched them leave and walked back to the classroom. She heard the girls speaking. "We saw his father in the staff room, wonder what is going on," Taaliyah's heart pounded loud.

'Could something have happened to his mother,'

The exam began after the long bell and everyone settled down.