From Noida to Hill School: Ayesha’s Unspoken Truth
Character Analysis
Novel: Secrets by A. Coven
Ayesha’s parents were worried and concerned about the privacy, safety and deleterious effects of her online fame. After her song “Skeletons in the Cupboard” went viral, Ayesha felt very guilty and regretted her choices. When she was studying Class VII at Noida International, she composed a song on her geography teacher, Charu Mehra. Then she did the worst thing: sending that video to a friend, who eventually made it viral. She was immediately pulled out from that school and sent to a far away boarding school called Hill School for Holistic Learning.
Ayesha didn’t immediately reveal why she was kicked out of her previous school, as she thought her new friends wouldn’t be able to understand her predicament. Ayesha worried a lot about what her friends would think about this. Whenever asked about switching schools, she would sidestep the question or ignore it.
Ayesha loved music a lot and believed that songs, especially rap, are pure representations of what people cannot directly say to someone’s face. She urges everyone to think about what they want and not blindly conform to someone’s decisions. But she doesn’t express herself when she was with her friends.
At some point in the novel, Ayesha finally reveals the secret. She learns that opening up about something private makes her anxious. However, sharing with her friends calms her nerves and she is no longer carrying the burden alone. She realizes that she should not store her pent-up feelings away like a hard little knot inside her. If she was worried about others’ opinions earlier in the novel, by the end she has become impervious to their judgments.
August, 2024
