Bullying Becomes Habit

Chapter 5 —

By the time Meera and Aarav reached middle school, their roles in class were already decided.

If someone said first rank, everyone thought of Meera.

If someone said second rank, everyone thought of Aarav.

If someone said trouble, everyone again thought of Aarav.

It had become a pattern.

Results came.

Meera first.

Aarav second.

Aarav angry.

Meera silent.

Aarav bullied.

Class laughed.

Meera ignored.

At first, Aarav bullied her because of anger and ego.

But after some years, it became habit.

He didn’t even need a reason anymore.

If she answered a question, he passed a comment.

If she walked into class, he said something sarcastic.

If she dropped a pen, he kicked it away.

If she sat somewhere, he told others not to sit there.

His friends laughed, teachers scolded him, but nothing changed.

One day during lunch break, Meera was sitting alone and eating a simple lunch — just two rotis and some salt and chili. She was eating quietly and reading a book at the same time.

Aarav and his friends were sitting nearby with burgers, cold drinks, and chips. They were laughing loudly.

Kabir looked at Meera and then at Aarav. “Why do you trouble her so much? She doesn’t even talk to anyone.”

Aarav leaned back in his chair and said casually, “Because she thinks she is better than everyone.”

Kabir frowned. “She never talks. How do you know what she thinks?”

Aarav didn’t answer immediately. He just looked at Meera for a few seconds and then said,

“She comes first every time. Teachers praise her like she is some queen. Everyone talks about her. I am tired of hearing her name everywhere.”

Kabir laughed. “So your problem is not that she is arrogant. Your problem is that she is first and you are second.”

Aarav glared at him. “Shut up.”

But Kabir was right.

Aarav didn’t hate Meera because she was rude.

He didn’t hate her because she did something wrong.

He hated her because she was always ahead of him.

And Aarav Malhotra was not used to being second in anything.

Not in sports.

Not in looks.

Not in popularity.

Not in money.

Not in confidence.

But in studies, no matter how much he tried, Meera always scored a little more.

And that “little more” hurt his ego a lot.

So he did the only thing his ego allowed him to do.

If he couldn’t defeat her in marks,

he would defeat her in confidence.

From that day, bullying became more regular and more personal.

He started calling her:

Scholarship Girl

Topper Machine

First Rank Robot

Silent Witch

One day after class, he stopped her again in the corridor and said,

“Why don’t you ever talk? Are you mute or something?”

Meera replied softly, “I don’t talk because I don’t have anything to say to you.”

That small sentence hurt his ego again.

So he smiled and said slowly,

“Don’t worry. One day you will talk to me a lot. And that day, you won’t be able to ignore me.”

Meera didn’t reply. She just walked away.

Aarav watched her go and didn’t know why, but he said something in his mind that even he didn’t understand at that time.

“One day, your life will be connected to mine whether you like it or not.”

He didn’t know then how true that sentence would become.

Because the girl he bullied for years…

Would one day become the mother of his seven children.

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