"Oh my goodness! It looks great, English 98, maths 96..." I exclaimed in joy.
"Calculate it! The percentage," my brother shouted next to me.343Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡavn263vU7b
"Just a second... I'll figure it out."343Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIn0bELAold
"Sister, please hurry... please, it has to be above 95," I prayed.343Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnXOyOdAGzc
"How did it go?" I asked her, my eyes shut, and my hands trembling.343Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4Q4p672cdM
"97," she replied.343Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1pskvFisyG
"Wow... fantastic, my child. I knew you could do it," my brother praised, patting me on the back.343Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjqWLqIveA8
"97? Is that good enough?" I asked, trying to conceal my excitement.343Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeDIwDh7pZ4
"Good enough? Are you joking? I only got 88. Well done!" my sister exclaimed, shaking me in excitement.343Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWycLLblyzM
"How much did you get?" My mother rushed into my room.343Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZNNoZOOPwP
"97.03," my sister shouted with joy.343Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpjrnhy1v0G
"Oh, it's above 90... now I can proudly show off," my mother said, looking at me.343Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjFkbMCqG5c
"This must be the highest in your class, I'm sure of it," my brother commented as I was downloading the result card.343Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwvpZbL8Jdq
"My highest score is in social studies, it's a 99," I shared.343Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3QSmGyD51Y
"Wow, maybe you should consider arts," my brother suggested straightforwardly.343Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLTJrP5dqba
"Arts? Stick with science, good students choose science," my mother interjected.343Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMFMDZ7ugm3
"You could also consider commerce, like Chartered Accountancy and such. Not everyone in this family is meant for engineering," my sister added.343Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡntAxvJyvQY
"No commerce, no arts, only science. Your father will agree with me, call him," my mother insisted, her gaze fixed on my siblings.343Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnezkzXiug8
"I was actually thinking about arts, maybe for UPSC and other options. Arts offer a wider range of opportunities," I pondered aloud.343Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmNPfKQVu3N
"Didn't I tell you? Take science then, medical..." 343Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGlL4wF1HS3
"But mummy, let her decide!" My sister said to my mother, her voice loud343Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgelgCaFeyo
"Who do you think you're shouting at? My mother directed her voice loudly at my sister."343Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡauvAGLC6fM
"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.343Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1EOMDetl0d
"Why...why are you guys fighting....? I said trying to get the situation at hand343Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWmwnX3gQiu
"I am pretty sure, mummy will win", my brother stated sitting on the bed and eating an apple 343Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzfhGpXsIbw
"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.343Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL7JtRfYjRv
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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.343Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGExxZob6XU
"Shut up. You ruined your own life," my mother retorted sharply.343Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmfMkBWoQTo
"I wanted to study archaeology," Apoorva expressed her frustration.343Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfrQystplDI
"But now you are in a good college, what more do you need?" my mother questioned.343Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9mN5NIiVQ9
"This is getting intense now," my brother commented, trying to intervene.343Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb4ubh64kt1
"Go and do your work, rather than complaining," my mother dismissed him as she headed into the kitchen.343Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwPkNYBnz1P
"You are so mean sometimes," Apoorva shouted towards the kitchen before retreating to her room.343Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYj6slVqg7O
The tension in the air lingered, leaving a sense of unresolved conflict hanging in the room.343Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNek04utTC5
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............... Meanwhile outside..........
"Hello, Amisha."343Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo4DXcnNclY
"Vyakhya, I scored 98 per cent, the highest in the school!" she shouted joyfully from the other end.343Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlesRqSLOme
"What?" I responded, my dream of securing the 1st position shattering around me. "Congratulations, well done."343Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnB1O0syRvD
"I know, right? I worked too hard for this, and teachers already congratulated me. Did they call you? How much did you get?"343Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLrhOhWYGYf
"97..." I replied, a tear escaping my eye.343Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡisSlIR3D6T
"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.343Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWPC26kdSw7
"Did you score so bad?"343Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkEXFXFRZLx
"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.343Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGz1pF0CZJ5
"Are you satisfied?"343Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZky30QroIp
"I don't know, actually I don't care. It's just another mark for another test."343Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡabafISfc2s
"Then, why are you crying?"343Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBtc8tf9xwJ
"Oh, it's jealousy. You won't understand."343Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg8OsdoMfxK
"Another human emotion?"343Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrAfXycDdHW
"Kind of..." I replied, heading to my sister's room.343Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOCaV783YtR
"Didi, what are you doing?"343Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp9iLA3klwE
"Nothing, come in, topper girl," she said with a smile, wiping away the tears from her cheek.343Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡv3HKsnhQj8
"Don't lie, you were crying."343Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4xjsLmm1jn
"No, I wasn't. Wait, were you crying too?"343Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9OkeqCHq3G
"No, I wasn't."343Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBu12zMihLz
"Hmm... Hey, don't listen to mom. Choose whatever you want, okay?343Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSgZVeeqhF7
"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."343Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOZk71Acszx
"It's nothing... just an older sibling duty," she replied, but her eyes told a different story.343Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaXRjD2ZlNa
"Don't cry. I know you never wanted to do engineering-"343Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡE4aHZfNTOV
"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.343Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsQn4f9yf2q
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?"343Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHIy628W3dD
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