Chapter 36: I’ll Do It!

“Oh!” Harshil pretended to be surprised as if seeing the stopped bottle for the first time, “The bottle’s stopped. And…hmm,” He stroked his chin, “I’m the one who gets to ask a question or give the dare. And the person who has to choose is…ah.”

This time, the spiky-haired boy seemed to be honestly surprised as the fake smile was replaced by a fractional widening of the eyes.

“It’s you, sir! Truth or dare? What do you choose, sir?”

He scratched his head with a small grin on his face, meeting the burning gaze of his teacher.

“You…dare…” Mr. Kamal growled from between tightly clenched teeth.

“Oh, dare. Sir? Then…” Harshil caught Aakash’s eye who was frantically mouthing, “Shut up!” at him.

Seeing the veins bulging out of the teacher’s forehead, Harshil finally decided not to push his luck and laughing weakly said, “Um…I don’t think sir wants to play…haha…um…here goes,” and spun the bottle.

While watching the bottle spin, something suddenly struck him and he unconsciously spoke out, “Sir, by the way, you never answered me back then when I asked whether you would actually ever take us to Goa. Have you ever put the proposal in front of Vice-Principal Ma’am? I mean everyone thinks you haven’t and that’s why they call you a braggar…oops.”

He realised what he had just said and bit down on his tongue. Raising his eyes, he saw the same stricken expression on his friends’ faces. He didn’t dare turn his gaze towards Kamal sir.

“Haha…I was just...haha…” He trailed off and fervently prayed for the bottle to stop so that he could break the awkwardness.

As the bottle finally came to a stop, he breathed a sigh of relief and said, “Well, it’s my turn to choose. I choose a dare, gotcha? Well, the person who’s going to give it to me is…oh, heck.”

He slowly raised his head and met the darkened gaze of his teacher. Waving his hands frantically, the spiky-haired boy said, “I know, I know, you aren’t playing sir…so, let’s spin again…” before quickly redirecting his focus towards the bottle.

“Did I allow you to play?”

The voice suffused with anger froze him in his tracks and Harshil swiftly straightened.

“Are you done going on and on?” The man continued.

The spiky-haired boy stood stiffly, not answering. It was evident from his facial expression that he had more to say but was reigning in his temper.

“You have no idea about how difficult it would be to get such a proposal accepted by the Vice-Principal! Since when has our school ever allowed overnight co-ed trips? And you all go harping on about a joke!”

Breathing heavily, he continued, “And don’t go acting like a victim about your marks. You went behind my back to ask another teacher! Have you no respect? You didn’t inform me at all! Not only that, just a minority of you got good marks. How pathetic!”

Harshil’s eyebrows twitched but still didn’t say a word.

Kamal sir waved at the bottle, “Don’t you dare take that cocky tone with me again, boy! And as for this game, wrap it up and get to study-”

Suddenly, his eyes lit up and he smiled sinisterly, “Oh, no. You love playing, right…you want a dare? How about this? You make a proposal for the Goa trip, get it signed by all the students in the class and put it in the suggestion box outside Vice Principal Ma’am’s room!”

Harshil’s eyes widened and he furrowed his brows.

“What? You can’t say ‘yes’ to a ‘braggart’?” Scoffing, he turned away and began heading to his desk.

Harshil narrowed his eyes, glaring daggers into his back. Suddenly, he stiffened, as if struck by lightning.

Snorting softly, he opened his mouth but just as he was about to speak, Jatin grabbed his hand, “Harshil, don’t!”

The boy shook him off, his face breaking into a grin, “Don’t worry, I’ve got a plan!”

With that, he raised his voice, “I’ll do it!”

The man who was sauntering back, stopped, his posture rigid. Without turning around, he asked, “What did you just say?”

“I said that I’ll do it, sir! But…”

“But?” Kamal sir turned around.

“Since it’s a game, you have to play by the rules. Meaning, we can’t skip rounds. You have to complete your dare too, sir!”

A carefree smile was plastered on Harshil’s face, “So, it’s not that I can’t say yes to a br-uh, you, sir…rather, I don’t think it’s fair if only I do it.”

Mr. Kamal’s brows furrowed, but after considering something, he too let out a smile…albeit full of mockery, “Why not? I’ll play along.”

“Well, how about both of u-”

The loud ringing of the school bell interrupted him.

Within seconds, a smirk appeared on Harshil’s face.

“He’s up to something worse than what he just called his ‘plan’.” Aakash whispered to Cabir at the same time Cabir whispered to him, “He’s cooked something up in there,” pointing at his head.

“Hey, guys! What’s the day today?” Harshil threw out the question.

Cabir: “Huh? F-Friday.”

Aakash: “It’s Friday.”

Jatin: “Friday.”

Jeet shrugged.

“Ah, so it is Friday, today, huh?” Harshil murmured to himself, “Perfect.”