Chief's hidey hole

It was three thirty in the evening when Jyotsna and Anwar went back. They sneaked through their secret tunnel (they called it a tunnel for want of a better word) and tiptoed to the classroom. It was empty except Jyotsna’s bag and Anwar’s slate on the teacher’s desk. Someone might have put it there.

“I won’t go home”, Anwar said.

“Where will you go then?” Jyotsna’s interest peaked.

Anwar just looked at her and shrugged his shoulder, “Abba will kill me if he finds out what I did. But you don’t go telling him anything”

“I won’t” she pouted.

“Swear it! Or I’ll tell about your diary!”

“I swear I won’t tell” She stormed out of the class leaving him behind. The diary was a secret she had entrusted Anwar with! She couldn’t imagine he would use it to his advantage. It was a crime! She thought. While she walked out of the school, she came across Jawed uncle, looking around craning his neck above the throng of school kids walking out.   

“Hey Jyotsna, where’s Anwar?” He asked lifting her up.

She jerked her head side to side, her pigtails smacking Jawed uncle’s face, “I don’t know”.

When she reached home Anwar’s mother was chatting with the woman who had a basket full of steel pots and pans that glowed orange in the evening sun. A skinny child as tall as Anwar was carrying what seemed to be a bundle stacked with Anwar’s old clothes. Mrs. Jawed had a shiny new frying pan in her hands. When she noticed her she called out to Jyotsna’s mother. They asked her the same question. Where’s Anwar. She told them what happened. She enacted the part where Mahadev had pushed her and Anwar jumped down the bench. She told them everything except they had bunked school and went fishing. She looked at her knees and made it sound as though they spent the day in the classroom.  When she finished, their mothers joined their heads together and talked. Jyotsna caught the word ‘expelled’ several times. She nibbled whatever food she could and left for the litchi orchards. There, crossing the barbed wire fence, she entered a small hut made for the guards where Anwar was seated on the damp ground, surrounded by litchi peels and reddish seeds.

“How did you know I’m here?” He asked, sulkily.

“You said this will be our new hideout yesterday” She said.

He offered her litchis. She flopped to the ground and started to slurp the fruit.

“Did you see Mahadev?”

“No but he told everything to baba”

He threw aside the remaining litchis and raising an eyebrow asked, “Everything?”

She nodded her head and added, “They are going to expel you”

“Expel me? He is the one who must be expelled!”

He waited for a couple of seconds for Jyotsna to say something but she remained silent fidgeting with the fruits on the ground.

“I tried to save you and you hadn’t done the math problem and Mahadev pushed you and I didn’t do anything.” Tears swarmed up in his dark black eyes.

Jyotsna sat there, staring at him. Her mother always picked her up and caressed her whenever she cried. But Anwar was too big. She stroked his head gently and waited for him to stop crying. She felt a surge of rage for Mahadev. True, if anyone should be expelled, it’s him.

“Let’s pay him a visit, shall we?”

Anwar looked up wiping his eyes. A smile lit up his face.