The Mafia King In Exile

________________________ . . . "Please don't bother submitting your assignments if you have just copy-pasted it from your friends or the internet." I said, bored. I know I know! I am supposed to be this peppy happy sunshine-y teacher because that's what fits the usual middle school English teacher stereotype but honestly, I couldn't care any less. 'There she goes... Breaking stereotypes!' I sang in my head. Of course, I know it doesn't rhyme. But who cares? I am tone-deaf anyway. I looked up at my students who stared back at me as if someone had hit the pause button on them. Jeez, these kids! I sighed and said, "How many of you have original content?" They all seemed to look anywhere but at my face. These annoying elfins knw very well that they could not cheat their way through my class but why do they still try? "I will be making a call to every single one of your parents and I will talk to the school-bus driver. Everybody is staying here till five in the evening to write down a fresh assignment." I smiled evilly at them and they just nodded, though I knew they wanted to whine and complain about this arrangement. "Off you go for lunch." I said before picking up my laptop and walking out the door. "Al, I was hoping we could grab lunch together." Sean Fernandez, one of my fellow colleagues asked as he joined me. "I was hoping to skip lunch." I shrugged and speed-walked so that I can lose him but no, he was persistent. And the dude had a few extra inches on his legs so catching up with me wasn't the toughest task for him. "You never eat lunch. It's not good for you." He said. "I have my Mom to pester me with these kinds of s**t bro." I rolled my eyes. Yes, I bro-zoned him. That's what I do. "You should just go grab lunch instead of trying to convince me because it is as useless as expecting a fish to climb a tree." I finally lost him as I took my seat in the teacher's lounge. I needed some peace and quiet and for that, I had to wait until three. Oh wait, five, now that my stupid pupils ruined it for me. I quickly made the necessary calls for the kids to stay back and work on their assignments. And then I had time to work on my book. But as soon as I opened my laptop, I was hit with thirty-seven - THIRTY-SEVEN - missed zoom calls from my best friend from India, Drishti Raj. What is it??? I texted her hoping that she was not awake right now, given the time. I absolutely adored my best friend but right now, I was not in the mood for any kind of socialization and she was not an exception. I stared at the screen for about a minute waiting for a reply and put my phone down after I was done counting to sixty. Now I need not reply quickly or take her calls. That's how I functioned. So I finally opened my writing app and resumed with the book that I was working on. No, I am not a professional when it comes to writing though I do have a masters in English Literature. I used to be an online blogger and now I just want to work on my books to be happy. It's the little things in life, I guess. My phone buzzed just then and I looked over at it hoping it wasn't Drishti. And thankfully, it wasn't. It was my Mom. Which was even worse because I knew exactly what she had sent to my w******p messenger. I was not going to check that anytime soon. "Ms. Gill, I made macaroons. Would you like to try some?" Stella Adams, the art teacher came forward with a Tupperware stuffed with the colorful goodies. This woman fitted the art teacher stereotype so well that I was convinced I was in some kind of a simulation and she was an NPC. "I would like some." I shrugged and took two, raising it while I said, "Thanks." Stella smiled gladly and walked away to distribute the dessert among others while I munched on mine. It really was way too good. I sighed. I just wanna go home. . . . "See, now that wasn't so hard right?" I said sarcastically as I placed the assignments I had collected on my table and turned to my students, my eyes darting to the clock which said four fifty-five. "Now form two lines and get into the school bus." I clapped. The kids quickly did as was told and I saw to it that everyone had entered the bus. "Have a good day, Ms. Gill." The bus driver Sebastian said before pulling the bus out of the parking lot. I just gave him a quick nod before I made my way back to the classroom; I had to get my stuff and the assignments. When I was sure I had everything, I got into my black SUV and made my way home. Finally, I am free and alone. . . . There are three types of people who I hate. 1. People who walk slowly. 2. People who talk with their mouths full. 3. AND PEOPLE WHO PARK IN MY SPOT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I had half a thought to just ram my car into whoever's car it was. But it looked pretty expensive and I didn't want to have to pay for its repair. So I did what any sensible person might do - block the path for the car and hope that he or she was stupid enough to get angry and ram their car onto mine so that I can sue them for the money. I hummed to myself as I made my way to the elevator. I lived in a pretty decent apartment, in a pretty decent part of the city. Where did the money come from? The rich father of mine. I am not a Miss-I-don't-need-anyone person. I like money. I know how much I should take from my extended family. It's all chill with me. P.S. Indian culture demands that we smooch off our parents. I hated elevators. I hated the feeling in my stomach when I rode in it. I wasn't exactly claustrophobic but I wasn't exactly sane when I was stuck in a small metallic box either. The ding of the elevator was music to my ears. Finally, I have reached my own lair. And now I may chill in peace without any interruption. I had already put my phone on DND because I knew that after the text she had sent me, my mother would try to call me a hundred million times to make sure that I went through and gave her an opinion so that she could give the 'marriage broker' an opinion. I stepped out of the elevator and my eyes narrowed immediately at the sight in front of me. Moving cartons were everywhere in the corridor, it looked like an entire circus was moving there. "Oh, are you the resident of 4902?" One of the older moving men asked me as soon as he saw me. I wanted to retort rudely but the Indian sanskaar (culture) instilled in me, without even me wanting, did not let me do that so I simply nodded my head. "Right. You have a new neighbor." He grinned. I don't know what kind of masochist gets happy to know that they have neighbors but I did know that I was not one of them. I was living a peaceful life being the only occupant of this floor and all of a sudden, I had neighbors? And by the look of all the boxes which were being moved, it seemed to be quite a big family. I did NOT want to hear kids stampeding about because I had enough of that at school! Well, not everyone likes to live in a four-bedroom apartment alone I guess. "Cool." I shrugged and made my way to my haven. I did not care about the new neighbors. As long as they did not disturb me, we could happily co-exist. I wish. . . . ______________________