The next day as usual Pooja woke up early... got ready and went to Verma Coaching Center and found Teju sitting at the 5th bench, Ravi sitting at the last bench.... then she told to Teju about the last night’s events and how Shreya was unable to understand her properly..... Teju too sided with Pooja and told her to take that Shreya lite....
Then again after 3 hours Pooja found herself getting ready for school and strangely she didn’t feel like going to it..... cause Shreya would be there but after a while she thought, “Why shouldn’t I go if she would be there?” and boldly stepped into the school premises but a strange feeling gripped her.... she felt as if she did not have any friends in there and what all Shreya must have told about her to everyone else.... The class was quite full and nobody showed any sudden change in their demeanor when she entered the class, so she thought Shreya mustn’t have told anything.... then after a few minutes their class teacher Savita entered and made a surprising announcement, “Dear students we are going to have yet another new student in our class and she is coming from Tamil Nadu ... be nice to her.”


Most of the boys were excited when they came to know it was a girl coming..... For the first time in four years Pooja was not sitting beside Shreya... Then a few moments later, the new girl entered the class and brought along with her a lingering fragrance of White Lilies, she had shoulder length hair, good complexion and she looked a little nervous.... but Ms.Savita put her arm on the new girl’s trembling body and said, “Why don’t you introduce yourself.”

Then the new girl began, “Hello everyone, my name is Rose Arthur and I came from Tamil Nadu.”

Then Ms.Savita said, “Welcome Rose, I am your class teacher Savita and please take your seat... your Roll No. 41.”

Rose scanned the class and found only three places empty...one was beside Pooja in the second bench and one was beside Shreya in the first one..... The last bench was empty except for messy haired boy and she didn’t want to sit either in the first or the last bench so she chose to sit beside Pooja.

Pooja gladly moved aside and was happy that Rose chose her and not Shreya..... The first thing Pooja told Rose when they sat beside each other was...”Nice perfume Rose.”

Rose smiled and said, “Thank you, it’s called the “Dawn of White Lilies.” What is your name?”

Pooja replied,”Pooja, and pleased to meet you.”

Rose continued,”Oh don’t be so formal.” And they could’ve talked like that for some more time if their teacher hadn’t opposed them.

Slowly the time for recess came and Pooja took it up as her responsibility to introduce Rose to all the students of the class and one by one both of them went and met their friends.....

Then Rose asked, “Who is that weird boy in the last bench who is not eating anything.”

Pooja thought,”Oh god, how many times should I tell him to get 2 tiffins and not one”

Then Pooja got back to her senses and said,”Ohh his name is Ravi.... he doesn’t talk much”

Suddenly Shreya muttered, “Except with some people.”

Pooja said angrily, “You got a problem with that.”

The discussion seemed to be getting heated up and before something else could happen.... Pavan intervened and said, “Calm down both of you...what happened.”

“Ask your cousin.....humph”, saying that arrogantly, Shreya exited the scene.

Pavan then asked Pooja what was the matter and Pooja didn’t say anything about the previous night and she along with Rose went away,

Rose then asked,”Pooja, who was she, what was her problem.”

Pooja said, “Her name is Shreya and she is kind of mad, leave about her, tell me why you came to Hyderabad 2 months after the school began?”

Rose stayed silent for a few minutes and then slowly started, “I come from a small village in Tamil Nadu.... and did my schooling till ninth standard there only.... but one day I entered a painting competition sponsored by St.Joseph’s Society and won the first prize in it. So, I was entitled to a scholarship and that’s how I got admission here.”

“Wow Rose, that’s really cool, show me your drawings.... and I don’t want to hurt you or anything but your English is... is really good.” said Pooja feeling a little uncomfortable with herself.

Then Rose smiled and said,”Ohh though I came from a little village, my English teacher who taught me for 9 years was really good and took great care for us to learn correct language.”

Pooja felt she shouldn’t have said that but then quickly changed the topic, “So where are you going to live Rose have any relatives in Hyderabad?”

“No one actually, I am going to live in a hostel near school.” said Rose and a few minutes later tears started rolling in her eyes..... It was the first time she had come so far away from home and she was remembering her family in TN....

Pooja saw that and said,”Hey don’t cry Rosy... we will talk to your parents once the school finishes and you know what...... Let’s go shopping in the evening......a new mall is opening today”

“Ohh OK...fine....” said Rose controlling her tears.....

The real reason why Pooja wanted to go to mall was to buy a gift for Ravi and she needed someone to accompany her as her Mom wouldn’t let her go alone...

Later that evening after school............Pooja and Rose made a phone call to Rose’s parents residing in Tamil Nadu.

Rose started, “Hello Mom, it’s me Rose.”

Rose’s Mom was extremely emotional on listening to her daughter’s voice because it was the first time that Rose was staying away from them, words failed to come out of Rose’s Mom’s mouth and only tears rolled down her cheeks.

Then suddenly Mr. Arthur (Rose’s dad) took the phone from Mrs. Arthur’s hand and said, “Hello Rose glad to hear from you, your mother is.....you know right what she does when she gets emotional......”

Rose imagined her mother crying and she too started crying and her father tried everything to console her. He said, “Don’t worry darling; it’s just a matter of one year...it will be over soon and you will even come here during your vacations right?”

Then he tried to divert the topic by asking her about other things like school and is she made any new friends.

Rose suddenly got excited and replied, “Dad; the school is really nice, all the teachers here are warm and very helping.....forgot to tell you Dad....I made a new friend here.....her name is Pooja and she can’t draw or anything like that but she really has some imagination.....”

Then Rose continued telling some more trivial things about Pooja which made Pooja a little squeamish.

Mr. Arthur asked if that Pooja was near.

Pooja took the phone and said, “Hello Mr. Arthur, my name is Pooja; nice to meet you.”
Mr. Arthur said, “No dear the pleasure is mine. I am really glad Rose made friends so soon....”

“Ohh nothing like that....we started talking and found that we had many things in common that’s all.” said Pooja

“No Pooja you don’t understand....Rose is a very shy kind of girl who doesn’t talk to a lot of people ......she’s always lost in the world of her art...to be frank I’ve never been able to completely understand her myself.....I know I am asking too much but if possible try to make the fear of new people in her go.”, said Mr. Arthur

Then Pooja thought, “I myself don’t like to talk to people unless required and he asking me (an introvert), to make another girl into an extrovert.”

While she was lost in those thoughts...Rose’s Mom suddenly took the phone and said,”Pooja, see to it that she eats well, she doesn’t eat until she is forced too......”

“Mrs. Arthur, I won’t be staying in same hostel as Rose but OK fine I will try to check on her whenever possible.”

Then Rose took the phone from Pooja’s hand and said,” Bye Dad; Bye Mom...love you......”

“We love you too....bye and take care.” said her parents together and disconnected the call.

Then Pooja said, “Now you don’t start crying again.....get ready....we will leave for the mall in an hour.”

Both of them went away and quickly got ready and Pooja went to her mother and said,”Mom, my friend’s birthday is coming up and I need to buy a gift........can you umm lend me some money.”

Without much thought her mom asked, “How much?”

“500 Rs.” said Pooja

“So much!!!, who is this friend?”, asked her mother.

Pooja was taken aback by that question but said, “She is a new girl in my school.”

“No Pooja, don’t waste so much money and remember the value of the gift is in the heart that gives it and not its price.”

Pooja thought, “Such dialogues are nice to listen but not to follow practically.”

Then Pooja became a little disappointed and asked slowly,”OK then, you only give...”

Pooja’s mom then removed 200Rs. from her purse and gave it to Pooja.

Pooja went to her room and checked all her savings and they added to some 300 Rs.
She now had 500Rs. but if she spent everything....she wouldn’t have anything left for a whole month.

Pooja’s mind was now divided into 2 halves.....

Angel (the good part of her) said, “Save some for a rainy day Pooja.....”

Viper (her evil alter ego) said, “Spend it all Po, buy some nice costly thing so that he would be really impressed and maybe he might even buy you a more expensive gift.”

She thought for a while and said, “Viper, this time I am going to listen to you.”

Then Pooja went near her school and found Rose already waiting for her there.