Young Writers Society

Chapter 5

Ruth shot at an exasperated look at Talmeer as he whispered for the umpteenth time that he was bored. Unfortunately for him, their Biology teacher, Ms. Soem also heard this eloquently-worded comment.

"Talmeer, allow me to make things a little more, hmm, interesting. Answer this question for me, won't you?" Ms. Soem intervened sarcastically.

"Now, tell me Talmeer, what are proteins made up of?" she continued, obviously considering the last part of her question purely rhetorical.

Ruth tried to bail him out, and whispered, "Amino acids, Tal."

"Mean old acids, Ms. Soem," Talmeer answered without missing a beat.

"I asked you to explain the composition of a protein, not define your opinion of yourself Talmeer," Ms. Soem replied with a smirk.

Talmeer's ears turned a violent shade of pink, and Ruth tried unsuccessfully to not laugh. He sat down in a huff, strategically placing his foot on Ruth's in what can be described as a "playful kick."

Ruth did not provide him with a verbal response. Instead, she chose to hold her peace. For the time being, that is.

As soon as the bell rang, she deposited a neatly written note in his lap.

"This is to inform you that you are hereby relieved of the homework and study-buddy services of Ruth Gracie Mathew. The Nerd Agency has found you to be a displeasing customer, and hence recommends that you do not show your face in front of the Agency again. Disregard to this note shall be a grievous error on your part, and shall not be taken lightly by the Agency. All work that is due anytime after today will be transferred back to you without completion. The Agency hereby notes that if you attempt to renew your package, you shall be rewarded with a stamp on your enormous foot," Talmeer read out loud, his eyebrows raising themselves higher by the minute.

He looked up to see Ruth looking down at him with a self-satisfied smile on her smile. He remembered her saying that physical intimidation was a very big determining factor in any argument.

He raised himself to his full height, saying, "Well, two can play at that game."

Ruth's smile turned upside down, as she pursued her lips and protested, "Hey! No fair!"

"All is fair in love and war, milady," Talmeer said with a mock bow.

"And I consider this letter a declaration of war. So, everything is fair. Watch your back Ruth," he continued, drawing himself to his full height of five foot five, thereby dwarfing the Ruth's extremely short stature of four foot six. 

Ruth stared at him open-mouthed as he bowed deeply once again, and made his way out of the room with a majestic stance that would have done real knights proud. The only thing lacking was a sword that he could swing around in a flourishing motion and tuck safely in his hilt.

"Well, my gallant knight, may I remind thee that thy hast a twenty page folio on the character analysis of Shylock in the Merchant of Venice due tomorrow for the class conducted by the crone D'Souza," Ruth shouted after him, just as he was about to close the door behind him.

Talmeer turned around dramatically, as if he was about to wield his fictional sword. In an almost anti-climatic moment, he changed his stance, falling to his knees with his hands folded in front of him in a gesture that exuded a plea for mercy.

"Milady knows that I know and mean nothing. I am but a fool in the face of thine renowned wits. To even attempt the perilous endeavor of creating a folio for the crone D'Souza while thou art applying thine nimble wits to the task would be folly itself! I entreat thee to take pity on this hapless knight, and aid him in the creation of this folio," Talmeer paused to look up at Ruth's expression.

On seeing her expressionless poker face, he gave up.

"Ruth, I was kidding with a capital K. Please don't kick me out from the Nerd Agency. I've been a patron for so long..." his voice faded out, as he looked at her with a fear of impending doom in his eyes. 

Ruth raised an eyebrow slowly, taking her own sweet time with it. Then she burst out laughing. 

"Oh gosh! You should have seen your face, Tal!" Ruth exclaimed, her laughter subsiding as she fell into a coughing fit.

Talmeer looked at her, his face an epitome of concern.

"Ruth, you sound pretty horrible. Are you sure you're going to be okay? D'you want to pop over to the nurse's?" he asked, concern dripping from his every word.

Ruth shook her head violently, and the nearly subdued coughs returned more powerfully than before.

"Don't bother. It's not too bad," she eventually managed.

"Hey Ruth, quick question. Do we really have to submit a report on Shylock tomorrow?" Talmeer demanded, once he was certain that she had recovered.

"You got me there Ruth," he said, throwing his arms up in mock surrender as a he saw the surprisingly innocent look on her face, and realized that she had been having him the whole while.

"As thee mentioned, my gallant knight, thou art but a fool in the face of my renowned wits. Fooling thee is child's play to mine mind. Thou art but a coxcomb with naught in thy head," Ruth said sweetly, folding her arms together in front with a satisfied smile.

"You really do have a great opinion of yourself, don't you?" Talmeer retorted, smiling despite of himself.

Ruth didn't get a chance to reply, as a highly excitable looking woman walked in, talking on her phone in a shrill, high pitched voice.

"Children! Give me your physics notebooks. Come on children, why are you making me wait like this? Hand me the books, children! I have thousands of other things to do! Do you think I have all the time in the world to sit here and chat with you? I have to do this, I have to do that, I only have to do everything around here! If I wasn't here, no, this place would fall into bits and pieces! Nothing will ever go right if I left Oh, did you hear that? Right and left! I'm hilarious! And where exactly are your notebooks? I can't wait around here for you silly little children to fetch your books. You, tiny girl, and you, baggy trousers, bring the notebooks to the staff room on the second floor by the next break," she said, pointing to Ruth and Anna.

If anyone in the class had assumed that the crazy lady's little show was over, they were proved wrong when she whipped out a bright pink lipstick and proceeded to apply it over her lips sloppily. When she was done, she surveyed her reflection in one of the not-so clean windows, and smacked her lips in satisfaction. 

Then, she sashayed out of the room, leaving behind a group of dumbstruck students.

Ruth and Anna exchanged glances, and went about collecting notebooks. Obviously, Ananya and Vivek, two over-achieving and overly competitive individuals, had to turn that into a competition, insisting that their own books be placed right on top of the pile. Finally, an infuriated Ruth placed her own book on top, silencing both of them with a look. 

"Whew! If looks could kill," Talmeer whistled, and received one of those glances from Ruth for his carefully considered little tune. 

Anna and Ruth then went out, Ruth slamming the door behind her.