A Conspiracy

Harsha sat with his head buried in his hands. He looked up every few minutes to see what was happening around him. His mother was busy in the kitchen and his dad hadnt yet returned home...The headlines blared from the TV..Harsha looked away and in a fit of desperation, jammed the remote control to switch the TV off..He went back to his reverie.

'Hi da Harsha!' I called out as I entered. He looked up and nodded. 'Not well or something?' Again a nod, indicating a 'no'! I walked upto the kitchen..'Chithi,(Aunty), what's wrong with that fellow?!' I asked her...'He's not telling me anything..You ask him..' So, I went back to where he was sitting...'What's the problem da?'

He got up, scratched his chin and took long strides towards the other room. 'I dont know how it happened!', he said in a sad tone...'It'll be a great help if you told me WHAT!' He looked at me with scorn in his eyes..'You wont understand! Surely not! After all, you've never been in my situation..' 'Ok...so what are you talking about?'...'You'll know soon..if you stop interrupting me!' 'Alright..go ahead!'

'See Anu, I didnt know they'd ditch me like they did! It's soooo unfair..' he said with feeling. 'oh! kids' stuff' I was about to say, but checked myself! 'I mean, it's not like I expected too much, but atleast something for my contribution...' 'Like?!' I asked. He turned suddenly and glared at me, like the villains do in movies! 'You and your antics!' I thought..! He grabbed the newspaper and pored over some article...'Tooo bad..' he said.. 'Teenage blues...' I thought and chuckled! 'Stop giggling!' that was an order! 'I am going to tell you something serious!' 'How would you feel if you worked really hard on a project..and in the end, the others didnt even mention your name..!! I did the ground work for them..and today, they get all the top honours..' He was pointing to the paper..I took it from his hand and scanned the whole page. No mention of any school competition or anything like that...'Which article is it?' I asked...'Dont tell me you're so dumb...' he chided.. 'It's the only article in that page...' I turned the page..It had a detailed description of the Nobel Prize winners' work and the significance of their contributions to modern science. 'You mean THIS?!' He nodded...not a slight change in his expressions...'I see...'I played his game..'It's an international conspiracy..am telling you...!' I burst out laughing...'Please stop this nonsense and go and study...Do I have to tell you that the board exams are just around the corner?!', chithi exploded. 'I knew it...it's a conspiracy..everywhere!!', Harsha mumbled as he went to his study...'What a build-up!! I thought there was really a problem or some such thing!',said chithi, with a look of disbelief!