Raj was now in boarding school and was doing what he knew best. Studies and books were what fuelled his hunger to know more about the world. However big the book he found in the Military school's library, he managed to read it in a few days.
The librarian spoke to the teachers about Raj coming in every few days and going through all the sections of the library. He loved science and history and would read mostly books in those sections. He was also very good in English and so many of the novels and poetry books also appealed to him.
He missed his family back in Mumbai a lot, but he tried to immerse himself in these words and stories and poems to be able to travel in his mind's eye. He also realised that being too clever was not good for his popularity amongst the other boys. He needed to downplay how he knew several answers in class when the teachers asked.
Unknown to him, one of the school's bullies had been trying to target Raj. Raj had managed to outrun Sanjay a couple of times, but finally was once caught during the school recess. Sanjay was a year older but Raj was nearly as tall as him. Looking him in the eye, Sanjay asked Raj " You think you're very smart, eh?" Raj saw a teacher in eyeshot not very far from where he was standing. Sanjay had his back towards the teacher. That gave Raj some confidence.
"I think it’s you who thinks I'm smart, in fact I'm sure you do!", said Raj. Sanjay visibly didn't like this answer. His jaw looked clenched and he took a step towards Raj. "If you didn't think I was smart, you wouldn't be asking me this question, would you?" Raj continued. Sanjay who wasn't used to his prey speaking to him like this lifted his hand menacingly. "I wouldn't do that if I were you, Mrs. Ramanath is standing just behind you."
Sanjay dropped his hand and turned around and spotted the teacher closing in on them. He looked back at Raj. Raj now had a smirk on his face. Not mocking, but just a small hint of a teasing smile. Unknown to Raj, Sanjay felt a huge relief that he had not landed the shot. He had already been warned about his bullying and he knew he would be expelled if caught. He knew if he was sent back home, his older brothers and his Dad, bullies in their own right, would be on him in a second. Even his mother wouldn't be able to help him then.
He just made a 'hhhh' sound and walked away from Raj. Raj looked at his teacher and smiled his most charming smile, his eyes lighting up and dimple deepening. There was satisfaction written all over his face as he dusted off the incident and walked back to the library.
#thechroniclesoftheyoungestchild #olderbrother #largefamilies #olderparents
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