The girls had just finished their breakfast. A January winter in Budhanilkantha is cruel, so they took their time in the journey between the dining hall and their houses. There was too much Sun too be missed, and there was no need to hurry-- house assemblies are not too difficult to skip, provided you know the optimum girls-to-toilet-stall ratio. Too many people hiding in the same stall and there was bound to be noise, not many girls and someone who had been left out would rat everyone out. S was bored. She needed excitement. She knew exactly where she would get it. 'Jo last tyo Shirish!!!' She shouted. Twenty pairs of fifteen and sixteen year-old feet started running, and three pairs of hands pulled her sweater back, trying to get a lead over her.
Z came the last. She had had too many breads, in addition to the triple eggs she usually had. It was easy to cheat once you were the senior.
It was the fourth time Z had become Shirish that week. Well-- not technically. She was still Z, but the fact that she had come last whenever anyone had called jo last tyo Shirish for FOUR times was not something she was not proud of. She didn't want to be Z. She wanted to be the sparkly Edward, or the kissy Peter Parker from Spiderman, or that new Hindi hero with big... muscles. She knew there was only one way out: She would have to accept her designation as Shirish of the Week. If she went into the crevasse willingly, she knew a lot of girls would not tease her. The fun in teasing was the irritation, and she was going to give people what they were looking for. After the head of house had gone to bed, the girls congregated and she danced to several songs that had Shirish in it. One of them was, notably, about a really pretty girl who looked like Shirish. It was funny. Shirish was apparently an effeminate adjective-- you would never describe a guy as being too Shirish, but being told that she had face like Shirish's was a really big compliment to a girl. Anyway, she accepted her position as Shirish, and from the following day, she was the de-facto shirish, and Jo Last Tyo Shirish competitions would be held to choose only the temporary Shirish. Well done Z.
My first and last inside joke here. It's okay if you don't get this one; you're not supposed to.