"Oh my goodness! It looks great, English 98, maths 96..." I exclaimed in joy.
"Calculate it! The percentage," my brother shouted next to me.250Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW00A0vniyr
"Just a second... I'll figure it out."250Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOxwMkaPERv
"Sister, please hurry... please, it has to be above 95," I prayed.250Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsSATrzgnOw
"How did it go?" I asked her, my eyes shut, and my hands trembling.250Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡURvkbf8XAu
"97," she replied.250Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOIBRZxtf1f
"Wow... fantastic, my child. I knew you could do it," my brother praised, patting me on the back.250Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2kIQatAE2l
"97? Is that good enough?" I asked, trying to conceal my excitement.250Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ70RC7EakIW
"Good enough? Are you joking? I only got 88. Well done!" my sister exclaimed, shaking me in excitement.250Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBlTFaBjzGM
"How much did you get?" My mother rushed into my room.250Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6jFXKFjbBh
"97.03," my sister shouted with joy.250Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuvwH2JSH4A
"Oh, it's above 90... now I can proudly show off," my mother said, looking at me.250Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr2exQNWzR4
"This must be the highest in your class, I'm sure of it," my brother commented as I was downloading the result card.250Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJHYPwPqR4P
"My highest score is in social studies, it's a 99," I shared.250Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnRXPSkazxf
"Wow, maybe you should consider arts," my brother suggested straightforwardly.250Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeO01YSbgOF
"Arts? Stick with science, good students choose science," my mother interjected.250Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPSfnLt2Nnr
"You could also consider commerce, like Chartered Accountancy and such. Not everyone in this family is meant for engineering," my sister added.250Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGpf4QWDQmv
"No commerce, no arts, only science. Your father will agree with me, call him," my mother insisted, her gaze fixed on my siblings.250Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY8w4SrrP8G
"I was actually thinking about arts, maybe for UPSC and other options. Arts offer a wider range of opportunities," I pondered aloud.250Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCSomeR77j9
"Didn't I tell you? Take science then, medical..." 250Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2pc7NXNOcn
"But mummy, let her decide!" My sister said to my mother, her voice loud250Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsyYhKliyIH
"Who do you think you're shouting at? My mother directed her voice loudly at my sister."250Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOONt2yGFqY
"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.250Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi4BQmFCk09
"Why...why are you guys fighting....? I said trying to get the situation at hand250Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw0ugFtiYO8
"I am pretty sure, mummy will win", my brother stated sitting on the bed and eating an apple 250Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtzXFSMm8sA
"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.250Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ101lW3umGq
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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.250Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnwgp5ZI5PO
"Shut up. You ruined your own life," my mother retorted sharply.250Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxmwrUBs5eo
"I wanted to study archaeology," Apoorva expressed her frustration.250Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPQPycnuoHj
"But now you are in a good college, what more do you need?" my mother questioned.250Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDRyIeSyvUO
"This is getting intense now," my brother commented, trying to intervene.250Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkJeIHt4rLc
"Go and do your work, rather than complaining," my mother dismissed him as she headed into the kitchen.250Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNqTti7Ngux
"You are so mean sometimes," Apoorva shouted towards the kitchen before retreating to her room.250Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1TW8QqErrN
The tension in the air lingered, leaving a sense of unresolved conflict hanging in the room.250Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIGgWziFV5M
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............... Meanwhile outside..........
"Hello, Amisha."250Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNdMQRiS9Gq
"Vyakhya, I scored 98 per cent, the highest in the school!" she shouted joyfully from the other end.250Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzAnzbIcqkZ
"What?" I responded, my dream of securing the 1st position shattering around me. "Congratulations, well done."250Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4puzXsrcII
"I know, right? I worked too hard for this, and teachers already congratulated me. Did they call you? How much did you get?"250Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrZizGGzKyu
"97..." I replied, a tear escaping my eye.250Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkBErU5OocW
"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.250Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXaWeqvf7Tt
"Did you score so bad?"250Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0CE5D6YS8S
"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.250Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIYq9iBGsnZ
"Are you satisfied?"250Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWnjTOQOUyo
"I don't know, actually I don't care. It's just another mark for another test."250Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBxFvpyG3KF
"Then, why are you crying?"250Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj9K9fTrP1A
"Oh, it's jealousy. You won't understand."250Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfhwcwRA932
"Another human emotion?"250Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxETYQPNOOk
"Kind of..." I replied, heading to my sister's room.250Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMiaySy2GYM
"Didi, what are you doing?"250Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgGzSS26mqY
"Nothing, come in, topper girl," she said with a smile, wiping away the tears from her cheek.250Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKpzeOmnyV1
"Don't lie, you were crying."250Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKrfnlwUtZM
"No, I wasn't. Wait, were you crying too?"250Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGrhkCQvkjg
"No, I wasn't."250Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3cLqG06GCN
"Hmm... Hey, don't listen to mom. Choose whatever you want, okay?250Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKbiq4aHfTU
"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."250Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVoVutZUr4V
"It's nothing... just an older sibling duty," she replied, but her eyes told a different story.250Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSq4ZF0si2L
"Don't cry. I know you never wanted to do engineering-"250Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH96ibZ6OWt
"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.250Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLIX3K63IKC
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?"250Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc1LNiSm6Zp
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