Week 3 Story: High School Rama Drama
It was a bright, new a day at Panchavati High School. In the distance, a trio was approaching the school: Rama, our good-looking Marty Stu; his sweetheart, Sita; and his faithful, anger-prone brother, Lakshmana. Previously, they had been attending the Adyodhya School for Incredible Individuals, but unfortunate circumstances forced Rama's father, Principal Dasaratha, to transfer Rama and his companions to Panchavati. This day was their first day there.
Immediately, Rama and Sita became heartthrobs for everyone at the school. This was not a problem, as the two were used to this from their previous school, and it made adjustment for the trio a bit easier. However, there was Kamavalli, the queen bee of the school, who was beyond smitten with Rama. One should note that while Kamavalli was outwardly sweet and reasonable, she had a tendency to be devilishly vicious and destructive like her even more fearsome brother, Ravana. This earned her the nickname Shurpanakha.
She was alone the moment she first saw him aloofly leaning against a wall. It was love at first sight. Kamavalli sidled up to him. Rama noticed, checked her out, and then smiled. "Well, hey, there," he said. "I don't think I have met you yet. What's your name?"
"You mean you don't know who I am just by looking at me?" she asked. "I, the queen bee of this school? Sister of our star quarterback, Ravana? That is quite a shame. I am Kamavalli."
Rama blinked. He had not met Ravana either, but he knew from stories others had told him that Ravana was just one big bully who practically dictated the school. "Well, if you are his sister and the queen bee you claim to be, why are you all alone? Where is your posse?"
"Oh, I've gotten tired of hanging out with them. They're all just jerks, and I don't want to be around that toxic atmosphere. I'm just walking around for now trying to clear my head, but seeing you makes that a little difficult." Kamavalli winked at him. "I need a distraction; would you like to go out sometime very soon?" She stepped closer to him.
Rama did not believe her situation, and he looked for a way to get out of his own. "I'm not interested. Honestly, I would not get along with your kind of clique. Besides, I have a-" The bell rang.
With that, Sita appeared and gave Rama a hug in greeting. Kamavalli glared at her feeling her Shurpanakha starting to come out. "Who's this?" she hissed.
"This is my sweetheart, as I was trying to say."
Kamavalli stepped forward making Sita back up towards a wall. "No, no, my dear, he's mine now. So go and get your scrawny tush out of here." Her vicious nature came out; she was in Shurpanakha mode.
Before things could escalate, Rama jumped in. "Oh, no, I don't care who you are. You don't talk to or treat Sita this way. We're done here." He put his arm around Sita and led her away.
Shurpanakha's rage and passion did not subside. In fact, it all grew like a wildfire. Not caring about her other classes for the day, she stormed home. She rolled around and moped on her bed. Eventually, her newfound obsession and "love" for Rama coerced her to look him up and stalk him on social media. "Oh, Rama! Why, oh, why did you have to steal my heart this way?" she lamented as she scrolled through pictures of him. So many had that Sita girl tagged in them as well. She lurked through Sita's pages as well letting the rage build up in her again. "What if I could humiliate her? Maybe then Rama would leave her for me! Yes! I just need to find a way to do so." Shurpanakha continued her scrolling and searching until she found what she was looking for. She wrung her hands and laughed maniacally. "Oh, this will be so perfect!"
The next day she came early to school with a handful of fliers. Lakshmana also happened to be at the school this early. He noticed Shurpanakha, but he did not think much of her being there. That was until he noticed she was pinning humiliating posters of Sita on the walls. He charged towards her, tearing down as many posters as he could along the way, and stopped her in her tracks. "What are you doing?" he roared.
"N-nothing!" she squeaked. Lakshmana yanked the posters out of her hand. Just as he did, Rama and Sita arrived.
"What's happening here?" Rama inquires, concerned over his brother's scorn.
"This devil was pinning these fliers of Sita all over the school!" He showed them to Rama.
Shurpanaka glared at Lakshmana. "I did this for you, Rama! If I could get rid of Sita, then we could be together! You wouldn't have to worry about a thing!"
"You try to bully my dear Sita? Do you really think I would want to be with someone with such an ugly heart as yours?" he raged. "Lakshmana, I think we need to go report this to the principal."
"No!" Shurpanaka screamed. She tried to yank the fliers back from Lakshmana but ended up pushed onto the floor in the process. She sat in shock for a moment. Then the flames reignited in her eyes. "You're going to pay for doing that! I'm going to get my brother and take you down! You'll see!" She stormed away.
She found her brother hanging out near his locker. "Ravana, some losers just pushed me down in front of all of these people!" Shurpanakha lied. "I need you to go beat them up!" Ravana looked at her in shock. Before he could open his mouth she showed him Sita's social media page. "If you do, you can steal this girl's heart away from them."
He stared at the pictures, instantly struck with love. He simply said, "Okay."
To be continued...(maybe)
Author's Note. This story was based on the part of the Ramayana where Rama encounters Kamavalli near Panchavati. At first, Rama is interested in the beautiful woman but became more and more repulsed as she reveals more of her true rakhshasa nature. Desiring Rama for herself, Kamavalli, now called Shurpanakha, stalks Sita while Rama is away. Lakshmana catches her before she can hurt Sita and cuts off her ears, nose, and breasts. When Rama denies her in this state, she goes to Kasa and her demon army to try to take Rama by force. The army is defeated by Rama and Lakshmana, so she goes to seek help from her brother, Ravana. Shurpanakha convinces him with the promise of the beautiful Sita, and he sends his uncle to deal with the trio.
Hopefully, it came across that the setting was changed to a place where the cities in the original stories are now high schools, and almost every thing and one were adapted to a modern high school setting. While reading through the first two parts of the epic, I felt that all of the "falling in love" and how the characters dealt with that and jealousy seemed like petty high school drama, hence the general idea of this story.
Bibliography. Narayan's Ramayana, Reading Guide B
Image of Rama spurning Shurpanakha. Web Source: Wikimedia Commons
Image of Ravana in Lanka. Web Source: Wikimedia Commons
Immediately, Rama and Sita became heartthrobs for everyone at the school. This was not a problem, as the two were used to this from their previous school, and it made adjustment for the trio a bit easier. However, there was Kamavalli, the queen bee of the school, who was beyond smitten with Rama. One should note that while Kamavalli was outwardly sweet and reasonable, she had a tendency to be devilishly vicious and destructive like her even more fearsome brother, Ravana. This earned her the nickname Shurpanakha.
She was alone the moment she first saw him aloofly leaning against a wall. It was love at first sight. Kamavalli sidled up to him. Rama noticed, checked her out, and then smiled. "Well, hey, there," he said. "I don't think I have met you yet. What's your name?"
"You mean you don't know who I am just by looking at me?" she asked. "I, the queen bee of this school? Sister of our star quarterback, Ravana? That is quite a shame. I am Kamavalli."
Rama blinked. He had not met Ravana either, but he knew from stories others had told him that Ravana was just one big bully who practically dictated the school. "Well, if you are his sister and the queen bee you claim to be, why are you all alone? Where is your posse?"
"Oh, I've gotten tired of hanging out with them. They're all just jerks, and I don't want to be around that toxic atmosphere. I'm just walking around for now trying to clear my head, but seeing you makes that a little difficult." Kamavalli winked at him. "I need a distraction; would you like to go out sometime very soon?" She stepped closer to him.
Rama did not believe her situation, and he looked for a way to get out of his own. "I'm not interested. Honestly, I would not get along with your kind of clique. Besides, I have a-" The bell rang.
With that, Sita appeared and gave Rama a hug in greeting. Kamavalli glared at her feeling her Shurpanakha starting to come out. "Who's this?" she hissed.
"This is my sweetheart, as I was trying to say."
Kamavalli stepped forward making Sita back up towards a wall. "No, no, my dear, he's mine now. So go and get your scrawny tush out of here." Her vicious nature came out; she was in Shurpanakha mode.
Before things could escalate, Rama jumped in. "Oh, no, I don't care who you are. You don't talk to or treat Sita this way. We're done here." He put his arm around Sita and led her away.
Shurpanakha's rage and passion did not subside. In fact, it all grew like a wildfire. Not caring about her other classes for the day, she stormed home. She rolled around and moped on her bed. Eventually, her newfound obsession and "love" for Rama coerced her to look him up and stalk him on social media. "Oh, Rama! Why, oh, why did you have to steal my heart this way?" she lamented as she scrolled through pictures of him. So many had that Sita girl tagged in them as well. She lurked through Sita's pages as well letting the rage build up in her again. "What if I could humiliate her? Maybe then Rama would leave her for me! Yes! I just need to find a way to do so." Shurpanakha continued her scrolling and searching until she found what she was looking for. She wrung her hands and laughed maniacally. "Oh, this will be so perfect!"
The next day she came early to school with a handful of fliers. Lakshmana also happened to be at the school this early. He noticed Shurpanakha, but he did not think much of her being there. That was until he noticed she was pinning humiliating posters of Sita on the walls. He charged towards her, tearing down as many posters as he could along the way, and stopped her in her tracks. "What are you doing?" he roared.
"N-nothing!" she squeaked. Lakshmana yanked the posters out of her hand. Just as he did, Rama and Sita arrived.
"What's happening here?" Rama inquires, concerned over his brother's scorn.
"This devil was pinning these fliers of Sita all over the school!" He showed them to Rama.
Shurpanaka glared at Lakshmana. "I did this for you, Rama! If I could get rid of Sita, then we could be together! You wouldn't have to worry about a thing!"
"You try to bully my dear Sita? Do you really think I would want to be with someone with such an ugly heart as yours?" he raged. "Lakshmana, I think we need to go report this to the principal."
"No!" Shurpanaka screamed. She tried to yank the fliers back from Lakshmana but ended up pushed onto the floor in the process. She sat in shock for a moment. Then the flames reignited in her eyes. "You're going to pay for doing that! I'm going to get my brother and take you down! You'll see!" She stormed away.
She found her brother hanging out near his locker. "Ravana, some losers just pushed me down in front of all of these people!" Shurpanakha lied. "I need you to go beat them up!" Ravana looked at her in shock. Before he could open his mouth she showed him Sita's social media page. "If you do, you can steal this girl's heart away from them."
He stared at the pictures, instantly struck with love. He simply said, "Okay."
To be continued...(maybe)
Author's Note. This story was based on the part of the Ramayana where Rama encounters Kamavalli near Panchavati. At first, Rama is interested in the beautiful woman but became more and more repulsed as she reveals more of her true rakhshasa nature. Desiring Rama for herself, Kamavalli, now called Shurpanakha, stalks Sita while Rama is away. Lakshmana catches her before she can hurt Sita and cuts off her ears, nose, and breasts. When Rama denies her in this state, she goes to Kasa and her demon army to try to take Rama by force. The army is defeated by Rama and Lakshmana, so she goes to seek help from her brother, Ravana. Shurpanakha convinces him with the promise of the beautiful Sita, and he sends his uncle to deal with the trio.
Hopefully, it came across that the setting was changed to a place where the cities in the original stories are now high schools, and almost every thing and one were adapted to a modern high school setting. While reading through the first two parts of the epic, I felt that all of the "falling in love" and how the characters dealt with that and jealousy seemed like petty high school drama, hence the general idea of this story.
Bibliography. Narayan's Ramayana, Reading Guide B
Image of Rama spurning Shurpanakha. Web Source: Wikimedia Commons
Image of Ravana in Lanka. Web Source: Wikimedia Commons
Hi, Molly!
ReplyDeleteYou are so creative in the way you connected the “fall in love” and “jealousy” themes to high school drama. I like how you changed the setting to a high school while keep everything else the same. Reading your story is like watching a high school drama show. I chose to read the Public Domain option, which is a lot harder to read than yours. Also, you explained things well, like how Shurpanakha got her name, how she made a deal with Ravana, etc.
Molly,
ReplyDeleteOut of all the stories I have read, I feel like this one is one of my favorites so far!! The story of Rama and Sita in high school is so clever and creative. This plot line is relevant to the original story and the setting makes the characters much more relatable than in the Ramayana. I felt in-tune with the characters, and it reminded me of my time in high school with the unnecessary drama! Also, the title was so cute; the rhyme made this story stick out to me when I was scrolling through your blog. Great work!
Molly, I really enjoyed the liberties that you took with this tale! It was a good idea to set the tale in a high school, as we can all relate to what goes on there, including all of the gossip and who is popular or not! I think that it was very fitting that Rama and Sita are the heartthrobs of the school. I immediately did not like the character Kamavalli, but I'm guessing that was the point! We all know someone who acts nicely to certain people to get what they want but is really just a mean person. Good job on this story!
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