Now many people's eyes were on us. "You…" Shaista started to say, but she didn't want to create a scene there, so she pressed herself against me. "Please start the bike now," she pleaded with me.
"Good girl," I said, and started the bike while looking at Vinay. "She's mine, so keep your distance." Then I drove off from there.
"Look, Shaista, I don't want you talking to any man other than me. Next time, I don't want to see this again," I ordered her.
But Shaista was angry. First because I had called her "mine," and now because I was telling her not to talk to any other man.
"Tell me one thing — who am I to you that you're claiming rights over me? We're not even special friends. It hasn't even been four days since we met each other," she started asking me.
"I told you yesterday that I like you, and you didn't deny it, did you? So what does that mean? It means you like me too," I told her.
Shaista was completely shocked. "When did I say that? And back then you were upset, so I just said we could be friends." She tried to defend herself.
"Friends? Is this some joke? You're not my friend — you're my property. Remember that," I said.
"What are you even saying? Are you feeling okay?" Shaista said. She was getting scared hearing my words.
We had reached near her house by then.
She got off the bike.
"You think I'm not okay just because you consider me a friend?" I asked. I had also gotten off the bike.
"Yes, I think of you as a good friend and nothing more. Don't claim so much right over me," she said.
I saw a woman coming out of Shaista's house on a scooty, carrying a bag in her hand — probably going to the market.
"Who is that?" I asked Shaista.
"That's my mom," Shaista said.
"Okay," I said. And before Shaista could even understand what was happening, I pulled her into my arms, placed my lips on hers, and tried to push my tongue into her mouth.
She was completely stunned by what I had just done. By the time she could react, I had already slipped my tongue into her mouth.
A few moments later, I pulled away from her. "From now on, remember — I have full rights over you." Then, before she could ask anything, I started the bike and left.
"Who was that, beta? Such a rude boy — and why didn't you say anything when he was kissing you and claiming you as his wife?" Shaista's mother said. Mothers are usually very cautious about their daughters. If they see their daughter even talking to a boy, they either scold her or explain things lovingly.
But Shaista's mother was a calm, easygoing woman, and she had complete trust in Shaista. Because while living in Calcutta, Shaista had never made friends with any boy. So in the village, it was impossible anyway. She thought I had troubled her daughter — which was completely true.
Shaista stood quietly for a moment, then looked at her mother and said, "Your friend's son."
"That was Arahan?" her mother asked.
"Yes, who else would I talk to? He's five years younger than me, but he's claiming rights over me like I'm his wife. We've barely known each other for four days, and he deliberately kissed me in front of you before leaving."
"You yourself said, didn't you, that Arahan is a good boy — that if I met him I'd like him and even marry him. And because of you, I even took the teaching job at his school. See what kind of boy he is. Forget marriage for now — it's possible that in a few days he'll make you a grandmother," Shaista said.
"I should talk to Arahan's mother? And tell her to get the marriage done right away," Shaista's mother said.
Shaista thought for a moment, "Leave it, Mom. I'll handle it myself."
"Okay then, I'm going to the market to get some things," Shaista's mother said and left. She never interfered much in her daughter's life. She had full trust that whatever her daughter decided would be right.
"What did Auntie say?" I messaged Shaista.
"I don't want to talk to you," Shaista replied.
I called her 4–5 times, but she didn't pick up.
"Shaista, you're making me angry," I messaged her.
"Okay, so your anger is valid anger, but what about what you did to me today? You kissed me in front of my mom. You claimed rights over me in front of the whole school. What will people think about me? Do you even care a little?" Shaista replied.
"Call me. I want to talk to you," I told her again.
A little while later, her call came. "Speak, what do you want to say?" Shaista said.
"Have you ever spoken to any other boy using 'aap' (formal 'you') before?" I asked.
"I've never even talked to any boy except you," she replied.
"Then you must know—girls use 'aap' when talking to their husbands. And even when you're so angry, you're still using 'aap' with me… that clearly means you consider me your husband."
"You…" she said furiously, "what kind of logic are you using? I'm in the habit of speaking respectfully, that's why I use 'aap' with you."
"See, even now you're treating me like your husband," I said, laughing.
"I don't want to talk to you at all!" Saying that, she hung up.
I tried calling 2–3 more times. She didn't pick up.
"You're not picking up my calls, right? Then tomorrow you'll face my anger," I messaged her, and then I went to sleep.
The next day, when I reached near her house: "Shaista, come out!"
In a little while Shaista came out—but with her scooty. "I'm not going on your bike. I'll go on my own scooty," she said.
I drove my bike straight inside her house.
"What are you doing?" she asked, completely confused about what I was going to do next.
"Parking my bike. I'm going with you too," I said, and parked my bike right there in her house.
She just stared at me. "You ride the scooty," she said, handing me the keys.
"I don't know how to ride it. You ride," I replied.
She sat on the scooty. I sat behind her.
"You're such a shameless man. I don't want to go with you, yet you're still clinging to me," Shaista said. She started the scooty.
"How can one feel shy with his own wife?" I said, grabbing her waist and pulling her tightly against my body.
"Ah! What are you doing?" She was startled; her balance almost slipped.
"I'm your husband. I can do anything. Just focus on the road," I said.
Once she regained balance, my hands moved up from her waist to her chest. I grabbed her breasts over her clothes.
"Ah… remove your hands! Otherwise I'll tell Khala (Auntie)," she said angrily.
"You mean my mother?" I asked, still caressing her breasts. "Go ahead and tell her. What will happen after that? At most, your marriage will happen with me. And about the age difference—I don't care about that anymore."
She was stunned by all this. And then she said nothing.
The entire way, I kept playing with her body, and we were about to enter the school gate.
"Please… take your hands off here," Shaista whispered.
I removed my hands. Then we went inside the gate.
Many people saw me and Shaista.
---
"Then Shaista, I've been hearing rumors that you're having an affair with a tenth-class boy," Nazia asked. She was another teacher.
"Nazia, he's just a friend. My mom and his mom are old friends, and we're from the same village. That's how we became friends too," Shaista replied calmly.
"'Just a friend,' huh? You're already calling him 'he' like that… sounds like the friendship is a little more than friendly," Nazia teased with a smirk. Before Shaista could explain further, Nazia walked away.
Slowly, the whispers spread. Because of what I had boldly told Vinay sir—"She's mine"—every kind of rumor started flying. The talk even reached the principal.
The principal called a meeting with the teachers and strictly warned everyone not to discuss it. Then he summoned Shaista privately.
"Beta Shaista, I've heard all these things going around. Your father is a good friend of mine, so I've suppressed the matter. But it would be best if you stay away from Arahan. People won't blame him—they'll blame you. You're quite a bit older than him. If you want, I can expel him from the school right now."
"No, Uncle, please don't. I'll make sure to keep my distance. Expelling him would ruin his entire year," Shaista said softly. The principal reluctantly agreed.
---
After school ended, Shaista handed me the scooty keys and said, "You take this and go home. I'll come by bus."
"What happened? You were fine this morning," I asked, confused.
"If we keep going together like this, everyone in school will start looking at us differently. Our names will get ruined—and I don't want that," she explained, voice low but firm.
"Differently how? That you're my girlfriend? Let them look. What's the harm in that?" I said, pushing the keys back into her hand.
Shaista started the scooty. We left the school premises.
A little distance away, once we were out of the school area, she suddenly stopped the scooty.
"Why don't you understand? Doesn't it feel wrong to you that people are talking about us? A teacher and a student… it's not supposed to happen. And on top of that, you're only in tenth right now," she said, turning to look at me with a mix of frustration and worry.
I stared at her for a long moment, then pulled her into my arms.
"I told you from the beginning—you're much older than me, nothing can happen between us. You said, 'What's wrong with just being friends?' But you don't get it… a boy and a girl who are strangers can only be husband and wife. There's no such thing as 'just friends' in this."
"And that age gap you kept bringing up? You destroyed it yourself. So now, in my eyes, you're only mine."
I leaned in and kissed her deeply.
After a few moments, she pulled back slightly, breathing hard. "Why do you enjoy troubling me so much?"
"Troubling you? Wrong. From the day you sat on my bike, you became mine. I'm not troubling you—I'm claiming what's already mine," I replied. "Come on, let's go home."
She started the scooty again. This time I sat right behind her, pulling her into my lap.
"So many girls have sat on your bike before. Does that mean they all became yours too?" she asked, half-teasing, half-serious.
"No. The girls who sat before knew me—they're from my village. But you… you were a complete stranger. You sat on my bike without a second thought. At first I thought you were a proper, cultured girl. But then you pressed your breasts against my back on purpose. What does that mean? It means you had no problem with me. You were ready—completely ready—to become mine."
"And about the village girls? I always kept distance. I kept my bag between us as a barrier." Saying that, I slid my hand inside her clothes, feeling her warm skin.
"And as for the girls in my village, I've fucked half of them, the ones who clung to me the most." He said this, and with that, he put his hand inside Shaista's clothes.
Shaista's breath hitched, but she didn't stop me. She just kept driving, the scooty humming beneath us, while the tension between us grew thicker with every passing kilometer.