Chasing Dreams

"How can I get a second rank again even after studying so hard? Ughhh!!!" roars an unhappy 14 year old Nilesh while sitting in his study table at home.

He sighs and encourages himself to not be disappointed in himself. He knows that giving up on himself is the biggest mistake he could have done. So, he will not make such a grave mistake.

"It's okay Babu, don't be so discouraged. Keep trying and I believe you will soon snatch back the first position from Abhimanyu. It's good to have a positive competitor." consoles Nilesh's mother.

"Let's see!" replies Nilesh.

"By the way I see that you have been given quite a lot of chocolates. Are those girls interested in you?" teases Nilesh's cousin, who was sitting with him, to distract his attention from his marksheet.

"Might be. But, I don't care about them. I am not interested." replied Nilesh flatly, his mind still on his results.

"Mom, let's have a look. I secured the first position in class again this exam." 14 year old Akangkhya grins, storming into her house.

"That's good. But, you shouldn't be too complacent and proud, okay?" smiles Akangkhya's mother sweetly, happy with her daughter's results in the last exam.

"How about you, Babu?" Akangkhya's mother asks her younger brother.

"Well! I am just stuck in the third position, as usual. My classmates are too intelligent. I feel that there is a very small possibility of me getting the first position or even the second position. I can't score marks in Assamese. Can't help it." shrugs Akangkhya's brother.

"It's fine but you cannot give up on yourself this way. Keep trying and working hard. Reduce your TV watching time. I believe it would be helpful for you." said Akangkhya's mother.

A few days later, after having their lunch, Akangkhya's mother calls her into their parents' bedroom. A confused and nervous Akangkhya looks at her mother thinking if her mother have discovered her relationship with her boyfriend.

Her guess seems to be correct as her mother looks at her sternly.

"What are these?" Akangkhya's mother throws the love letters from her boyfriend, which she kept in a hidden compartment of her tuition bag.

Akangkhya remained silent without replying to her mother's question.

"Can you swear upon God that there is nothing between you and this boy who seems to be your senior at school?" Akangkhya's mother asks again, knowing well that Akangkhya has a lot of superstitions regarding her studies and she will not swear upon God if she is not speaking the truth.

As expected, Akangkhya replied with a slow "Yes."

"Whatever it is between you and this guy, it has to end. Don't even think about such things. I am giving you a warning this time. If I find out that you have not ended your relationship with that guy, I will inform your father and it will neither be good for you nor that guy." roared Akangkhya's mother furiously.

"Moreover, do you think this is the age to fall in love? Let me correct, it's not even love. You guys are just attracted to each other because of your teenage hormones. Also, don't be proud that you get the first rank in your school. Do you know Chetri Sir's son secures more percentage than you and in his entire school he is one of the few guys who has no scandals?" Akangkhya's mother replies furiously.

"Remember, you will competing with hundreds of thousands of students all over the state, not just your school and in our town, Chetri Sir's son is definitely a top ranker." says Akangkhya's mother again and storms out of the room, leaving a crying Akangkhya.

....A few months later, a new year begins and it is also the most important year in Nilesh and Akangkhya's school life as they would be appearing for their Board Exams for the first time in life which would mark an end to their school life.

"Mom, today our social science tuition teacher talked about the toppers of St. Mary's School. He said these two names - Abhimanyu Giri who is the current topper and Nilesh Bhandari who was the former topper and currently ranked second. Although Sir didn't say it explicitly but I believe they will definitely be the top rankers of our town. But, Sir said that there are more hidden tigers who will be silent now and roar in the Board Exams." said Akangkhya to her mom seriously after coming back from her tuition classes.

"Oh, you do have some tough competitors. By the way, Nilesh Bhandari is Chetri uncle's son. You have met him before while you guys were young. Do you remember?" asks Akangkhya's mother.

Akangkhya's mind goes back to the young boy wearing a bluish purple stripped white shirt looking at the sunset with a majestic purple butterfly on his shoulder.

"No. How can I remember the people from my childhood who were not even my close friends back then?" Akangkhya shakes her head.

Nilesh was listening to his science tuition teacher attentively, wanting to grab every bit of knowledge. As their tuition class was about to end, their tuition teacher started talking about their Board Exams.

"This time, I guess there will be many from our town in the top 20 rankers position of the entire state. Except Nilesh and Abhimanyu present here, I know a Akangkhya from Brookfield School who has the highest chance to be in top 20." the science teacher was continuing but Nilesh remembered the name Akangkhya, thinking about Sangeeta Ma'am's daughter.

"I heard that Jyotisikha and Sanskrita had a huge fight over Nilesh. But, ultimately Nilesh chose Sanskrita. I heard they are in a relationship now. And Jyotisikha broke up with her previous boyfriend to be with Abhimanyu. I guess this is a revenge to break up Nilesh and Abhimanyu's friendship." Nilesh's mood turned sour as he heard such gossips.

At that same time, Akangkhya too heard the same gossip from her tuition friends who are Nilesh's classmates.

"Is Nilesh really that arrogant and black hearted as you say?" Akangkhya asks curiously to one of her tuition friends.

"Quite the arrogant one. Abhimanyu might be a topper but he is kinda okay. But, Nilesh is very haughty and too proud of his achievements." replied her friend.

Next day, Akangkhya receives a letter from her boyfriend. Though she feels guilty for not calling him for around 3 months, she still feels that her studies and are far more important. Moreover, last year, her mother said that she should stay away from that guy and she didn't want to be caught by her mother again. As she unfolds the letter which was delivered by one of her classmates, she is shocked by the contents of the letter. Her boyfriend breaks up with her citing that since the beginning of their relationship, she has always put her career first and many times, she has not called him even once for months. He reminds her that last year, she even went on for 6 months without contacting him. Devasted, she tried her best to make up but there was no response from the other side.

Her academics, that she worked so hard for, went downhill and continued worsening. Diagnosed with severe depression, she didn't even attend school for three months straight, not even appearing for a selection test. Thankfully, her school considered her medical condition and she had such good results in the first 7 months of her grade year that it made up more than enough to pass the selection test.

On the other hand, inside the classroom of Grade 10, St. Mary's High School —

"Sanskrita, let's break up peacefully. We are at the final stage of Board Exams preparation and I don't have time for relationship. Moreover, I don't want to be distracted from my studies. There are enough rumours about me and now I want to leave those behind and focus on my studies." Nilesh said calmly to his girlfriend Sanskrita.

"Okay, fine." replied his girlfriend, without making much fuss, unlike Akangkhya who went through so much just because of a breakup.

"Thank you. I am sorry but I just want to focus on my academics and chase my dreams now." Nilesh left resolutely, without waiting for his now ex girlfriend's reply.