"Oh my goodness! It looks great, English 98, maths 96..." I exclaimed in joy.
"Calculate it! The percentage," my brother shouted next to me.202Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡK0IAdl0PN9
"Just a second... I'll figure it out."202Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg0gKbnqHvy
"Sister, please hurry... please, it has to be above 95," I prayed.202Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAUhHN0vbrG
"How did it go?" I asked her, my eyes shut, and my hands trembling.202Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡravAnMeqFu
"97," she replied.202Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5J9m5b16oK
"Wow... fantastic, my child. I knew you could do it," my brother praised, patting me on the back.202Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGFVlBbU9EL
"97? Is that good enough?" I asked, trying to conceal my excitement.202Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOlSbnHZVt3
"Good enough? Are you joking? I only got 88. Well done!" my sister exclaimed, shaking me in excitement.202Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaCpgu70Hba
"How much did you get?" My mother rushed into my room.202Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7nrP2KxceS
"97.03," my sister shouted with joy.202Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVnNfHz4JTk
"Oh, it's above 90... now I can proudly show off," my mother said, looking at me.202Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZkvqPYPPC0
"This must be the highest in your class, I'm sure of it," my brother commented as I was downloading the result card.202Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPAsCVQ6dba
"My highest score is in social studies, it's a 99," I shared.202Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkVy7iGQTYa
"Wow, maybe you should consider arts," my brother suggested straightforwardly.202Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgkPWOpdaHA
"Arts? Stick with science, good students choose science," my mother interjected.202Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRXlDw25A5C
"You could also consider commerce, like Chartered Accountancy and such. Not everyone in this family is meant for engineering," my sister added.202Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpTZm65ufNf
"No commerce, no arts, only science. Your father will agree with me, call him," my mother insisted, her gaze fixed on my siblings.202Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwnaVYKKgJB
"I was actually thinking about arts, maybe for UPSC and other options. Arts offer a wider range of opportunities," I pondered aloud.202Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2KDLj8qR1g
"Didn't I tell you? Take science then, medical..." 202Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG929NHGeTm
"But mummy, let her decide!" My sister said to my mother, her voice loud202Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfnR2rEN4Ub
"Who do you think you're shouting at? My mother directed her voice loudly at my sister."202Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWLRiWmlygE
"No isn't it crazy I am also doing engineering, because you told me so, she has good scores she can keep it up and be something she wants" My sister shouted back standing up for me.202Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyQJ6zvNUp3
"Why...why are you guys fighting....? I said trying to get the situation at hand202Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn2bzG7UkGx
"I am pretty sure, mummy will win", my brother stated sitting on the bed and eating an apple 202Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡu1pORKi8Xw
"Shut up" I said to my brother....ohh Amisha is calling.....as I went out with the phone looking at my sister who was fighting for me inside the room, I knew she went through the same things that I did or maybe worse, we all are the rotten fruits from the same basket after all.202Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgE1yneDVSq
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.........In the room............
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"Appu (Apoorva), you don't have a say in it, got it?" my mother asserted.
"But mummy, how can you decide her life when your decision already ruined mine?" Apoorva (Vyani's sister) shouted back at our mother.202Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPGRW87qD94
"Shut up. You ruined your own life," my mother retorted sharply.202Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpfIJ7GurrR
"I wanted to study archaeology," Apoorva expressed her frustration.202Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8NcTHEEALR
"But now you are in a good college, what more do you need?" my mother questioned.202Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxZfi0pix1b
"This is getting intense now," my brother commented, trying to intervene.202Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJNHYfxgpn7
"Go and do your work, rather than complaining," my mother dismissed him as she headed into the kitchen.202Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdLnljwqEi1
"You are so mean sometimes," Apoorva shouted towards the kitchen before retreating to her room.202Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBB7lJb6Rez
The tension in the air lingered, leaving a sense of unresolved conflict hanging in the room.202Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX2iCoR5DDZ
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............... Meanwhile outside..........
"Hello, Amisha."202Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNzG8Suhzmq
"Vyakhya, I scored 98 per cent, the highest in the school!" she shouted joyfully from the other end.202Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcuLOho9dZ3
"What?" I responded, my dream of securing the 1st position shattering around me. "Congratulations, well done."202Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAEmzMtpT2U
"I know, right? I worked too hard for this, and teachers already congratulated me. Did they call you? How much did you get?"202Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGNsnL0bc8s
"97..." I replied, a tear escaping my eye.202Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf1W7JK42v6
"97? Oh, it's also good... you just needed two per cent to surpass me. It's also good. Well done to you too. Oh, Mihika mam is calling me, let's talk later," she said, ending the call abruptly.202Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRe9oxZsP5y
"Did you score so bad?"202Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9cJ5VMWAit
"No, it isn't bad, until my father compares it to Amisha's score," I explained to Tis, who had approached me from behind as I spoke to Amisha.202Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6bh63rkeqA
"Are you satisfied?"202Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPiTNWZCIMb
"I don't know, actually I don't care. It's just another mark for another test."202Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtokdZ6hjKF
"Then, why are you crying?"202Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPTya3B5ZNA
"Oh, it's jealousy. You won't understand."202Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDbwSehXeMa
"Another human emotion?"202Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWVbc9lDx4D
"Kind of..." I replied, heading to my sister's room.202Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAcQSkjbNF4
"Didi, what are you doing?"202Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgEdBnIeFhv
"Nothing, come in, topper girl," she said with a smile, wiping away the tears from her cheek.202Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeyo1b0F0lq
"Don't lie, you were crying."202Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3JYg4PCCiY
"No, I wasn't. Wait, were you crying too?"202Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8W9BwIJxbx
"No, I wasn't."202Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHGlFkoLRRf
"Hmm... Hey, don't listen to mom. Choose whatever you want, okay?202Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAlCAM4eepS
"Yeah, I'll decide for myself," I replied. After that, an awkward silence followed. She wanted to say a lot, and I did too. In brown families, they might teach you to talk but not really communicate. I looked into her eyes, still wet. I wanted to thank her for standing up for me, but the words just wouldn't come. She sat there, staring at her books, which I knew she wasn't really reading. Gathering courage, I said, "Didi, thank you for standing up for me."202Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA2dXQBNoJA
"It's nothing... just an older sibling duty," she replied, but her eyes told a different story.202Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYBPhSKMRl7
"Don't cry. I know you never wanted to do engineering-"202Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFcZiC8S7Sp
"It's okay. I can't fix a broken glass. I have to throw it away eventually," she said, her eyes filling with tears again.202Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJdH4xjiHZw
I wanted to share Amisha's score with her, but it didn't feel like the right time. She was crying because she saw a vulnerable side of herself in me. I couldn't think of anything else to say as I hugged her while she cried on my shoulder. Tis was there, staring at us in disgust. I guess he hates human emotions. But how could I hate them when I'm drowning in them?"202Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpqHUu0B1ch
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