The address was a tea shop near the Osho International Foundation — small, independent, the kind of place that served good chai and asked no questions. Dev was already there when Naina arrived, at a table in the back, with a glass of chai he had not touched. He was in his school uniform still, his bag at his feet, and he looked both older and younger than he did in class — older because the managed composure was gone, and younger because what was under it was just a thirteen-year-old boy who had been holding something too heavy for too long.
Naina ordered chai and sat across from him and did not say anything. She waited. Waiting was usually the right choice when someone had decided to tell you something — the decision was already made, and the only thing that could derail it was impatience.
He started slowly.
"Ms. Rao used to mark papers after school," he said. "She'd stay in the classroom. Some of us would study there too — in the free period after last class. It was a Thursday. Five weeks ago. Three of us were there — me, Rohan, and Ananya. Ms. Rao was at the front, marking our essays. And Mr. Iyer came in."
He wrapped his hands around the chai glass. Continued.
"He came in and said he needed to speak to her. She said whatever it was could be said in front of us — she always said that. She didn't believe in private conversations with admin during student time. He looked — he was unhappy about it. But he said it anyway." Dev looked at the table. "He said he had reviewed her assessment marks for the upcoming board exam and she needed to make adjustments. He gave her a list. Six names."
Naina did not move. "What kind of adjustments?"
"Upward. All upward. He said the marks she had submitted for internal assessments — the ones that count toward the board exam total — were not 'reflective of the students' full potential.' He said she should review them and resubmit." Dev's voice was steady, which told Naina how many times he had gone over this in his head. "Ms. Rao asked him to be specific. He was very uncomfortable — we were there, which he hadn't wanted. And she kept asking very specific questions. What evidence of full potential? What criteria? Who had reviewed the marks? And finally—" He paused. "Finally she asked: 'Did these families request this review?'"
"What did he say?"
