The ICSE results were out. Her heart thumped like a Yo Yo Honey song. ICSE results seemed to assume Magna Carta-like propotions in a 16-year-old's life. She needed to go online to check her percentage. Online was better than the old system of 'notice board' results. Where everyone could compare.

Anxious parents, antsy students, jumping up and down trying to see the badly typed minuscule marksheets. Celebration and dismay were a public event. Here you could emote in the privacy of your bedroom. She'd slogged for five months. 'Rata lagake' mug mug mug. So much useless information blow torched into her brain — sub sets, the Siege of Troy, the Savanna Grasslands, the Supreme Court and its functions. Peer pressure… Ufff.