Just a Mark

Ritika struggled to find her seat in the rows spread out in front of her. The crowd and the humidity did nothing to deter her overjoyed mood. She had really proven that excellence was the only constant factor in this ever-changing world.

She finally grabbed her seat, which was right next to Kritika Gupta. Kritika’s gloomy expression soured on seeing her. They had never spoken previously, on account of their rivalry. As she sat down and waited for the Prize Distribution to begin, the teacher in-charge read out the positions and aggregates of the toppers of various classes monotonously but stopped momentarily when she came to class 9. “Ritika Ganguly- 94.9%”. She paused and readjusted her glasses. “Kritika Gupta- 94.8%, Shalini Shekhar-92%,”she finished, her voice full of wonder. She mumbled, “Congratulations”, and went away, which left the students sitting nearby to stare at the two of them for a full minute before they resumed their chatter.

The two girls looked at the floor of the hall, observing its checkered pattern, for a long time. Then, the duo broke into quiet laughter. When they made eye contact at last, Ritika ventured, “It’s just one mark. You know that right?”

“So what?”

“It is just luck. You deserve the first prize as much as I do.”

“Maybe. I did it all in the hopes of getting the best story books. The person who stands first gets the most interesting book. Who knows what it will be this year?” She sighed.

“Are you a bookworm then?”

Kritika sniffed gruffly, obviously hurt at such a misconception about herself. “Of course. Did you think I am the type of person who pores over books all day long? Harry Potter, classics, Jeffrey Archer, you name it.” Ritika brightened up. “I love books too! How about movies?” After discussing their favourite books and films, Kritika said,” Not bad for a newcomer. This was your first year in this school, right? Where did you stay earlier?”

“Dehradun.”

“And before that?”

“Mumbai.”

“You must have topped quite a few schools then,” she said, without an inch of envy.

“Yes”, Ritika admitted, surprised at her counterpart’s behaviour. “But you have been standing first for quite a few years now, and everybody in this school knows you, Ms. Topper Gupta”, using her nickname at school. Kritika laughed, relieved to see a change in attitude both in herself and the girl talking away in front of her.

By this time the ceremony had begun. They clapped perfunctorily whenever some student received a prize, then resumed their first-ever conversation in that same urgent manner. They had realized their folly. It seemed as if one year of hellish competition had prevented them from seeing how compatible the two were. They had the same likes and dislikes as far as anything under the Sun was concerned. They both agreed that Agatha Christie was easily the best writer of all time and that their school’s Head Boy had too many airs and graces. It was interrupted for only a few minutes, when their names were finally called. Kritika clapped hard for her fiercest competitor and Ritika hooted as the person she had once hated the most took to the stage and received the certificate and book. As Kritika stepped down, she said,” Not as good as last year. What did you get?” And they walked away, deep in conversation, in front of the prying eyes of their classmates, whose eyes seemed to be facing a problem remaining in their sockets.

After that day, things changed for the duo. They acted as tutors for each other. Whenever Ritika faltered in English, Kritika would rush to her rescue, while the latter’s abysmal computer programming made Ritika groan in despair. Both kept alive their competitive streak by teasing each other to death if one scored more in a term paper, pushing each other to do better and better.

Soon, the first term results came out. On Report Day, two sets of parents took different seats in the same classroom eyeing the other pair, unaware that their daughters were best friends. Mrs. Ganguly asked her daughter, “Isn’t that tall girl the one who used to be the topper? Stay away from her. She will find about your tuition teachers.” On the other hand, Mr. Gupta whispered into his only daughter’s ear, “Who was that girl who toppled your position? Oh yeah, the one sitting at the first bench, right? I hope you two do not talk to each other. Otherwise, she will find out about your weaknesses.” Kritika caught her friend’s eye across the classroom and they winked at each other. When they got their report cards, both of them rushed to each other to enquire about the other’s aggregate. Ritika said,” 93.5%.”

On hearing this, Kritika started laughing hysterically, leaving her companion baffled. When she did not stop laughing, Ritika snatched the report card from her hand. She quickly scanned the bottom of the card where the aggregate was clearly mentioned- 93.4%. She helplessly joined in her maniacal laughter. Their parents looked on, in a state of complete confusion. The girls hugged each other and turned to their parents, exclaiming at the same time, “It’s just a mark!”