20-10-2025, 09:56 PM
(This post was last modified: 24-10-2025, 11:05 AM by lee.jae.han. Edited 5 times in total. Edited 5 times in total.)
## Update 15: The Price of "Beta" (Avi and Neha Bua/Komal)
I sat on the sofa, feeling the tension rise in the silent room. Komal and I were in the same class, but she always treated me like air, her eyes flicking past me as if I didn't exist. I knew exactly why: Neha Bua had expressly forbidden her from talking to me because I had repeated a class.
Neha Bua walked in, and my muscles tightened immediately. She was smiling—a wide, unnatural expression—and her voice was saccharine sweet.
Neha Bua leaned in slightly, her voice high and forced. “Avi beta, how are you?”
*What happened to Bua?* The sudden, affectionate address was jarring, setting off an internal alarm. I sat up straighter, wary. “I’m fine, Bua. How are you all?”
“We’re all fine,” Neha Bua chirped, clasping her hands. “You just never come here anymore.”
*You always told me to leave and not come back,* I thought, the bitterness a metallic taste in my mouth. I kept my voice polite. “Well, Bua, I have a lot of studies, so I don’t have time.”
“Yes,” she drawled, her eyes narrowing slightly as she took a seat. “Komal told me you came first in Math and that you’re studying with your Madam.”
“Yes, the Principal asked Madam to help me.”
She leaned in closer, a hint of accusation now threading through her voice. “You don't pay any attention to your sister.”
My voice became immediately defensive. “That’s not true.”
She pulled a report card from behind her back, snapping it open with a sharp sound. “Look. Your sister topped every subject, but in Math, she only got 40 out of 100.” She sighed dramatically, shaking her head. “What am I supposed to do?”
“I can give Komal my notes,” I offered quickly, trying to deflect the true request that I now saw coming.
“She has notes,” Bua dismissed, waving her hand. “But she needs someone to teach her.”
“Yes, that’s true,” I conceded quietly.
Bua continued, her voice now dripping with exaggerated kindness. “Beta, won’t you help your sister? Can’t you teach Komal?”
*I knew it.* The moment of realization was cold and clear, like a switch being flipped. *She wants something, that’s why she’s calling me ‘beta’.* “But Bua, I don’t have time.”
“I’m not asking you to do it now,” she said quickly, waving her hands. “Komal said Madam is leaving next month. You can teach her then.”
I realized there was no easy way out of the trap. I sighed, resigning myself to the task. “Okay, Bua,” I said. “I’ll help Komal with her studies next month. I have to go now.”
“Wait!” she insisted, grabbing my wrist gently. “You came after so long. Have a snack.” She clapped her hands loudly. “Komal made them herself.”
Komal returned to the room with a plate of samosas. Her face was flat, betraying no emotion—not joy, not shame—over having to serve me. “Avi, here,” she said, holding out the plate stiffly.
“Thanks,” I said, taking one quickly.
After the quick, tense snack, I left the house. I walked straight to the field, but my heart wasn't in the game. I knew Mona had probably stopped coming to the storehouse. The secret excitement of watching forbidden acts was over, replaced now by the heavy burden of keeping and managing my own new secrets.
---
I sat on the sofa, feeling the tension rise in the silent room. Komal and I were in the same class, but she always treated me like air, her eyes flicking past me as if I didn't exist. I knew exactly why: Neha Bua had expressly forbidden her from talking to me because I had repeated a class.
Neha Bua walked in, and my muscles tightened immediately. She was smiling—a wide, unnatural expression—and her voice was saccharine sweet.
Neha Bua leaned in slightly, her voice high and forced. “Avi beta, how are you?”
*What happened to Bua?* The sudden, affectionate address was jarring, setting off an internal alarm. I sat up straighter, wary. “I’m fine, Bua. How are you all?”
“We’re all fine,” Neha Bua chirped, clasping her hands. “You just never come here anymore.”
*You always told me to leave and not come back,* I thought, the bitterness a metallic taste in my mouth. I kept my voice polite. “Well, Bua, I have a lot of studies, so I don’t have time.”
“Yes,” she drawled, her eyes narrowing slightly as she took a seat. “Komal told me you came first in Math and that you’re studying with your Madam.”
“Yes, the Principal asked Madam to help me.”
She leaned in closer, a hint of accusation now threading through her voice. “You don't pay any attention to your sister.”
My voice became immediately defensive. “That’s not true.”
She pulled a report card from behind her back, snapping it open with a sharp sound. “Look. Your sister topped every subject, but in Math, she only got 40 out of 100.” She sighed dramatically, shaking her head. “What am I supposed to do?”
“I can give Komal my notes,” I offered quickly, trying to deflect the true request that I now saw coming.
“She has notes,” Bua dismissed, waving her hand. “But she needs someone to teach her.”
“Yes, that’s true,” I conceded quietly.
Bua continued, her voice now dripping with exaggerated kindness. “Beta, won’t you help your sister? Can’t you teach Komal?”
*I knew it.* The moment of realization was cold and clear, like a switch being flipped. *She wants something, that’s why she’s calling me ‘beta’.* “But Bua, I don’t have time.”
“I’m not asking you to do it now,” she said quickly, waving her hands. “Komal said Madam is leaving next month. You can teach her then.”
I realized there was no easy way out of the trap. I sighed, resigning myself to the task. “Okay, Bua,” I said. “I’ll help Komal with her studies next month. I have to go now.”
“Wait!” she insisted, grabbing my wrist gently. “You came after so long. Have a snack.” She clapped her hands loudly. “Komal made them herself.”
Komal returned to the room with a plate of samosas. Her face was flat, betraying no emotion—not joy, not shame—over having to serve me. “Avi, here,” she said, holding out the plate stiffly.
“Thanks,” I said, taking one quickly.
After the quick, tense snack, I left the house. I walked straight to the field, but my heart wasn't in the game. I knew Mona had probably stopped coming to the storehouse. The secret excitement of watching forbidden acts was over, replaced now by the heavy burden of keeping and managing my own new secrets.
---
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