My classmates were a heterogeneous group. We never hung out together, considering the fact that we were 15 in all (11 girls, 4 boys). The girls had their groups and had earmarked their spots in the class which hadn't changed from 11th. So we boys occupied the remaining seats. I sat alone in the back seat of the first row. I did so in 11th too because I thought there wasn't anyone on my wavelength, so I chose to sit alone..
Of the girls the chatterboxes and the loudest ones occupied the third row. They were Ena, Rini,
Shagun was the second loudest of all after Ena. She would scream, shout, and laugh loudly, which I thought was very infectious. The prominent thing about her which I remember were her pearl earrings (fake or real, don't know). They were really big and I simply adored them. Even now when I see someone with pearl earrings, it reminds me of Shagun.
Next to her was
Behind them was Rini. The princy’s daughter. I found out this little fact when I was hanging a chart made by her which had her full name 'Rini Templeton'. She didn't have any airs about being the princy's daughter, but sometimes received some extra care from the teachers. This angered some of my female classmates, though they didn't show it. She was skinny and tall with cat-like eyes, which I thought (and still do) to be among the most beautiful I’ve ever seen. She was an ace sportswoman and gifted with a deep slightly husky voice. She claims that I'm her first 'guy friend' and she's the only one with whom I enjoy a prolonged friendship till date. Once again I never hit on her even though my friends said I should.
Ena was the last one. She had the most unique name and personality in the whole class and probably in the whole school. She was a chatterbox and loudspeaker packed into one. She would laugh out loud even at silly jokes which was irritating at times. She used to indulge in some harmless flirting with me at times but apart from that no serious romantic vibes were ever exchanged. On the whole, she was a fun girl to hang out with.
The middle row was once again occupied by girls. These girls included Deboshree, Chhaya, Shilpy and Subuhi ( I'm not mentioning Prajna because she was there only for a year). Of the four, except Deboshree (Debosh to me) all the other girls were new to the school, joining in 11th class. They were good at studies and the teachers liked them. Apart from this one other thing that united them was Achaar (pickle)!! They could gorge on it endlessly if they had the chance.
Of the four, I mostly talked to Chhaya and Debosh, occasionally to Shilpy and rarely to Subuhi. Debosh was an easy person to talk to. She was a patient listener and someone with whom you could talk for a long time without getting bored. A very kind soul, she possessed all the qualities you would normally attribute to nice girl. In 12th, however she developed this weird habit of asking me for spare sheets to write on almost daily. She'd take them with a promise of returning them to me the next day. But unfortunately, the day never came. To this day, I wait in hope of getting my sheets back!! Sigh!
Chhaya had a brilliant mind but she wasn't quick-witted as Shilpy or Ena. This meant you could poke fun at her and she wouldn't retaliate with a smart one-liner; instead she would just avoid you or simply say 'Chup Reh' (keep quiet). My ridiculing her almost stopped in 12th, but I would pull her leg every time she brought her King- sized umbrella to class which looked like it could shelter 10 people under it easily!! Apart from this, we shared a good friendship till the end.
Shilpy and Subuhi were both beautiful girls but completely different from each other. Shilpy was tall and slightly dark, while Subuhi was short and and very fair. Shilpy was a very charming girl, with a great smile and a endearing personality. Boys wanted to be with her, but she chose to steer away from them, which according to me made her more appealing to the guys. A great person nonetheless.
My memory of Subuhi is very bleak, maybe because we interacted very less, but when we did she came across as a nice person with a gentle and soothing voice. Also she had this sad face which according to me added to her beauty.
The first row housed Malay, Rohit, Joshin, Priyanka, Isha and of course ME!!. This was probably the only row which had the least fun in the whole class.
Malay is the kind of person you could dislike within 5 minutes of meeting him. He is a faker in every sense of the term. His 'Wannabe' attitude was more funny than irritating. The guy posed as this 'Super Stud' who could wrap girls around his index finger and play with them. But the poor chap didn't realise that his zero personality, bad looks and a weird addiction to Protex chewing gum was more of a turnoff than anything else!! On the whole, a completely avoidable person.
Rohit was our resident fat guy. He changed his hairstyles like a Bollywood heroine would change her saris in a song. From Salman Khan's 'Tere Naam' look to really spiky hair, he did it all. He was a serial boaster, boasting about everything and anything. But deep down, he was nice person. I will forever be grateful to him for providing me with 'Harry Potter and the Half- Blood Prince' to read as soon as it came out. Hope he does well!!
Joshin had this uncanny ability to make you laugh even when he doesn't mean to. The guy was simple, down -to- earth and very helpful. A great artist, he would draw amazing pictures for our bulletin board. Joshin was a shy person when it came to girls which meant that the girls would poke fun at him endlessly. But we all loved him and the class seemed incomplete without Joshin and his crazy antics.
Isha and Priyanka were the only girls I talked to on a daily basis, mainly because they sat bang in front of me. They claimed to be good friends but they had nothing in common between them. Priyanka was this beautiful girl who wore dangerously low skirts to school and believed for two whole years that I was somehow trying to win her 'Love'!! That, of course, was a load of CRAP because: (a) She was already seeing someone and (b) She was an airhead, busy most of the time preening herself to perfection. After school ended, we rarely talked and now I think she's in
Isha was an ordinary girl who did all the things girly and was no different from your average 12th class student. Not very bright in studies, she was good at creative stuff and took to decorating the boards with great interest. Towards the end of school, her friendship with Priyanka broke down because I think Priyanka accused her of 'stealing her man' or whatever. We haven't talked for a while now but I heard she was doing okay
As for me it is, for my classmates to decide what I was like in their experience. Leave your comments with your name for me to read them. Thanks for reading. Cheers!!!!
