I came back to Verona, my pocket warm with mom's financial help, or I should say Noah's. I was sure it would tide me over for a while. My full and final job settlement would come after two months. I was relaxed and somewhat happy.
I had barely entered when Lexi came chirping, happy to know I was back, and almost falling over me in her excitement of the same. Ella chided her and ordered her to be back home, and I couldn't thank her enough for it.
That night, I slept comfortably after a long time of restlessness.
Next day, I went to school with an unwanted task at hand. It was the burden of dropping Lexi. My only consolation was that the school would soon close for preparation of exams. I had to survive this duty just for a few days. Moreover, great achievements always start with small sacrifices. Now don't ask me what great achievement! I will just tell you this - I had something great in mind.
After dropping Lexi at the gate and going my way, I found myself to be a victim of weird looks from most teachers and a few students. I could guess what was going on in their mind. How I was with Lexi! It appeared; the entire school was aware of what had happened with me. Rumours are carried by haters, spread by fools and accepted by idiots. So, I was the hot topic of the day, the stares said. And walking in with Lexi had only added fuel to the fire, thanks to Lexi's extra bright smile while waving me goodbye.
I just took it in my stride, telling myself it was a matter of a few more days, and went about my work.
q
Time passes, but some things never change. The school was already closed for preparatory leave. It was Saturday evening, and I was tired. Having finished my dinner, I was all set to go to sleep. I decided to double check the lock of the front door, else Lexi walked in, without knocking, like she often did.
But what can stop Lexi? Just as I was settling into my bed, I heard a rap at the door. I knew instantly who it was. It was late in the evening, and I was already frustrated with things going wrong at school. Being seen with Lexi was spoiling my image further. I cursed Lexi in my head and walked to the door.
'Hi sir, how are you?'
Lexi stood there in a pair of pink capris and a loosely fitted purple T-shirt. She was carrying two bulky books in her hand. She looked like she would collapse under the weight of the books and die right there. I took the books from her hands.
'Anything urgent?' I asked coldly.
'Sir, I am weak in maths. Can you teach me?' she said making a puppy face.
It was unbelievable! Had the Mia episode leaked to the students? Was she mocking me? Or was it just hard luck that whatever happened around me was so weird? I could not leave any scope for Mia part 2.
'No Lexi,' I stated firmly.
'Why sir? You gave tuitions to Mia?'
My ears turned hot and red. I could not believe my ears! What did she know about Mia? I looked at her blankly. Not betraying any emotion, I asked, 'Who said that?'
'She herself did.' 'You know her?'
'We had been classmates. I failed in tenth and Mia passed.'
The sleepiness had vanished. I wished I could kill myself. It was all so messed up! I stood silently, wondering how best to handle this. Here I was trying to keep this whole episode away from Ella and this house, and this girl Lexi had turned out to be Mia's friend.
While all these thoughts ran Helter skelter in my head, Lexi stood there looking at me with the same innocent face. I gave her the benefit of doubt. Maybe she did not know the entire episode. I heaved a sigh of relief and asked, 'What topics are you facing problems in?' I turned to keep the bulky books on the table.
She beamed, elated that I had somewhat agreed. 'I don't have a specific problem, sir. I request your guidance in entire maths.'
'Maths is a vast topic, Lexi. You need to tell me which part of maths bothers you the most?'
'Algebra,' she said after much deliberation. 'Okay. Why are you so uncomfortable with it?'
'In finalizing the value of x,' she stated victoriously, finally zeroing in on her problem.
Her patent smile irked me the most. I looked around at the bulky, half-a-kilogram of Advanced Maths books lying on the table. I felt an urge to pick up the books and bang them on her head. Yet again, I controlled my emotions and said, 'X is an unknown number, Lexi. It cannot be valued.'