She stood, a small figure in front of the school notice board. With anxious eyes she searched for her number. It wasn't there. The girls around her jostled and pushed. There were screams of delight and shrieks of ecstasy. She turned away from the sounds of laughter, tears, streaming down her face.
Far away she heard the same laughter turning into jeers. Suddenly she felt imaginary eyes on her back and voices. "She's dumb. She failed." " She was never any good." "Remember in class, she sat with that stupid look."
She turned and walked the stairs to her now empty class. In the eerie silence she heard the laughter of clasmates and then her teacher's voice, " Can't you do your homework like the others do, you'll fail if you go on like this." How was she to tell the teacher that she had not understood a thing the day before to have been able to do her work at home.
" Stand outside the class will you, let the whole school know what an idiot you are." She had stood outside her class and watched the juniors laughing as they walked past. The teacher had called her in after sonetime. " I hope you are going to concentrate now, otherwise you'll have to go back outside." There were sniggers from the other girls as she sat on her bench. "Dumb", they all seemed to say. " She's just plain dumb".
There were no tears to wash away the heaviness in her heart. She sat on her bench in the empty classroom and her thoughts went home. A shiver ran down her spine. She saw her father tall and menacing standing in front of her. " You better pass, okay, we don't want the neighbours laughing at us."
An uncle had sniggered, " She's got her brains from her mother's side." " Oh no" shouted her mother , " It's her father who's bequeathed her with his dopey mind." " I don't care where you've got your brains from," her father had shouted, " but if you fail, you've had it." " Atleast pass your school, so we can marry you off," her mother had piped in. Voices, laughter, shouting, sniggering in the empty classroom. Voices chasing each other round and round her head.
Laughter, cruel and brutal, sniggers, sharp and merciless, echoed louder and louder in her little mind, till suddenly she felt herself shudder involuntarily. "Stupid," they shouted. " Idiot," they yelled. " Failure," they cried.
Like a zombie she climbed the steps one by one, the tears, no more there. She walked as though pushed by some invisible force. She smiled as she heard the taunts and jeers grow less in her mind. She smiled as she calmly climbed the parapet wall. She heard the screaming of her classmates below and she joyously threw herself down into their midst.
" Why did she do it?" cried her classmates, her teachers, her father and her mother. Suicide was what the police report said, but murder it was.... most foul !
Far away she heard the same laughter turning into jeers. Suddenly she felt imaginary eyes on her back and voices. "She's dumb. She failed." " She was never any good." "Remember in class, she sat with that stupid look."
She turned and walked the stairs to her now empty class. In the eerie silence she heard the laughter of clasmates and then her teacher's voice, " Can't you do your homework like the others do, you'll fail if you go on like this." How was she to tell the teacher that she had not understood a thing the day before to have been able to do her work at home.
" Stand outside the class will you, let the whole school know what an idiot you are." She had stood outside her class and watched the juniors laughing as they walked past. The teacher had called her in after sonetime. " I hope you are going to concentrate now, otherwise you'll have to go back outside." There were sniggers from the other girls as she sat on her bench. "Dumb", they all seemed to say. " She's just plain dumb".
There were no tears to wash away the heaviness in her heart. She sat on her bench in the empty classroom and her thoughts went home. A shiver ran down her spine. She saw her father tall and menacing standing in front of her. " You better pass, okay, we don't want the neighbours laughing at us."
An uncle had sniggered, " She's got her brains from her mother's side." " Oh no" shouted her mother , " It's her father who's bequeathed her with his dopey mind." " I don't care where you've got your brains from," her father had shouted, " but if you fail, you've had it." " Atleast pass your school, so we can marry you off," her mother had piped in. Voices, laughter, shouting, sniggering in the empty classroom. Voices chasing each other round and round her head.
Laughter, cruel and brutal, sniggers, sharp and merciless, echoed louder and louder in her little mind, till suddenly she felt herself shudder involuntarily. "Stupid," they shouted. " Idiot," they yelled. " Failure," they cried.
Like a zombie she climbed the steps one by one, the tears, no more there. She walked as though pushed by some invisible force. She smiled as she heard the taunts and jeers grow less in her mind. She smiled as she calmly climbed the parapet wall. She heard the screaming of her classmates below and she joyously threw herself down into their midst.
" Why did she do it?" cried her classmates, her teachers, her father and her mother. Suicide was what the police report said, but murder it was.... most foul !
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