002

THE cab halted just adjacent the school's gigantic green gate, and Rina alighted. She paid the t-fare and began walking into the school compound.

So much posh and expensive cars kept driving in and out of the school compound, throng of students filing in, making the gate entrance very busy.

That is exactly how it always was at the gate every morning, very busy.

The security themselves most times finds it difficult trying to control the traffic, as they either end up separating a fight which must have resulted from the students, mainly from the juniors stepping on themselves or something else, or turning traffic wardens overnight, controlling incoming and outgoing cars. Gosh! It was always busy.

She managed finding her way into the school compound and exhaled so deeply. One marathon accomplished, she sighed.

Now in the school compound, students were all gathered in groups chatting and laughing, classes for the day hadn't yet begun.

She looked toward the lobby leading to her class and saw a lot of them, mostly girls. Groups of five and six, they were all chatting away, she sighed.

Getting to walk past these groups was another marathon itself, it was like hours of torture.

She heaved a sigh and braced up, she had to walk past, else she won't be in class that day.

"Oh dear, do you know the Prince is coming home soon?" She heard a student asked and she made a face.

"Yep, and he is coming to pick a bride you know?" Another asked and they all burst into laughter.

"You all keep shut, heard Prince Raghav already has a girlfriend," came another.

"Girlfriend indeed, is she from Shimla kingdom?" The second student who had spoken came again.

“And who told you all he needs a wife? He needs wives.”

Another laugh.

Rina hurriedly scuttled by, her ears almost itching from hearing of the Prince here and there.

Why was this really trending? Everywhere she went, the Prince, the Prince. She sighed.

Making a left bend, she took the stairs, leading to her class. On getting to the lobby upstairs, she came by another group of students, realizing their major topic of discussion and obviously fed up hearing about it, she braced to just scuttle by.

"Here comes the pauper girls," a student in the group sneered, or more like announced and they all turned to look at her coming toward them.

Rina now looked into the faces of the students and oh God! It was the bully girls, she hated crossing their path and always avoided doing so.

Now, just this Monday morning, she had run into them, was that a way to start the week? Ugh, bad week!

Gosh! She felt like the ground should open up and swallow her, she hated being called that.

She bowed her head in shame, avoiding their eyes and slowly walked pass.

"I wonder what she is still doing in a school like ours, her likes should be in the public schools," the most smallest of the group blurted out.

They burst out laughing.

"Look at her pauper school bag," another jeered and the laughing continued.

Rina couldn't stand this anymore, she hastened her footsteps. Suddenly the girl who had first spoken, put out her left leg on the way, Rina stumbled and fell.

The chattering increased.

Rina didn't know when the tears streamed her face, and slowly ran down. She was too sad to move a thing.

"Rina!!!" Someone shouted from a distance.

***

Zaina sat in the class feeling all bored up, there was nothing in particular that enticed or interest her at the moment.

Even the novel she was holding in her hands could do little to savage the situation, she still felt bored.

She looked around the class and hissed for the umpteenth time, all students were gathered in groups talking about the Prince and his arrival.

She was bored up with it, even her father who was one of the staunch councilors of the Bhagya Palace, haven't gone nuts as this when the news first reached him.

She looked out of the window downstairs and toward the gate entrance, to see if she could get sight of her best friend.

She didn't see her or anything about her, and she was really feeling too bored.

Everyone was seriously occupied with the Prince's discussion. She looked at her wristwatch and winced, it wasn't that late anyway, there was still like fifty minutes to class beginning hour.

Then she decided to go out of the class, take a walk or just go downstairs, she might even get to see her best friend.

So she got up and walked out of the class, still looking into the novel. Just at the entrance to the class, she bumped into someone.

"Hey girl, you blind?" The lady asked.

Zaina looked at her, it was Vidya, alias 'the busy body'. 

She scoffed.

"Hey," Zaina called, "I'm the one who is actually supposed to ask you that, make use of your eyes."

"No, you learn to make well use of your eyes or I call the palace guards," she sneered and breezed into the class.

Zaina scoffed, that was Vidya for you, always showing off with the palace and everything concerning it. Just because her mom was a very good friend to the Queen before she got married to the King, they were still best friends though.

But what makes Vidya behaves the way she does was what they didn't know, she wasn't of the royal blood, but she so acts like one.

An uproar emanating from one of the gathered groups of students outside the class startled her. She made to ignore and continue her walk out, but something drew her back… the hair of the lady on the floor.

A red hair, gosh! That was Rina, she alone had such natural red hair in the whole of the school, what was she doing on the floor? With those students surrounding her?

"Rina!!!" She shouted and ran up to her.