Family Matters by Rohinton Mistry

Author:Rohinton Mistry
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: Fiction
ISBN: 9780375703423
Publisher: Vintage
Published: 2002-01-02T00:00:00+00:00

From then on, along with Ashok and Vijay, Rajesh made up the trio that supplied him with sixty rupees each week. This ability to get money without effort, something for nothing, filled him with wonder, and a sense of power.

Before long, he took it for granted: his due. He resented it if one of the three got the homework right (usually Rajesh, who worked harder and was not rich like the others). And when he slipped the smaller amount in his mother’s envelopes, he felt he was letting her down.

Then he found a way to control the outcome. Miss Alvarez gave the Homework Monitors a suggested list of questions for each assignment, but they were free to make up their own. She trusted their good judgement, she reminded them.

In geography, he first asked Rajesh from Miss Alvarez’s list, but they were too easy and he got them right. Time to bowl a googly. He combed the textbook for obscure facts: “State the total annual volume of flow from all the rivers in India.”

“What?” said Rajesh, incredulous. “That’s not a fair question!”

Jehangir dismissed the protest with a cold silence, and revealed the answer. “1,680,000,000,000 cubic metres per year.”

“Bastard.”

Fishing for two more errors, Jehangir assaulted him with similar questions of a numerical nature.

“This is supposed to be geography homework, not arithmetic!” sputtered Rajesh. He glared at him with hatred and handed over twenty rupees. “Just wait, I’ll show you.”

Smiling, Jehangir pocketed the money and continued down the row to the next boy.

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