A Tale of two people
Lunch break seems always short. The class could officially accommodate 120 students, there were approx. 200 students sitting closely, each one attempting not to stomp the bag at their feet. Generally the lectures were held as scheduled, but that day they weren't.
Aradhya finished his lunch and continued watching the Netflix show. Apparently the best show as per his close friend, Harshad. The faculty stage wasn't too wide in breadth and there wasn't any space between first row and the stage but he could comfortably spread his legs on it, so he did. Suddenly a girl came from her third row bench and stood right in front of him. She had an exam pad and rough notebook in her left hand and a pen, calculator in the other. He wasn't vary of her presence, since he was totally goofed up. She lightly touched his mobile with her her knuckles and indicated him by pointing the index finger of her right hand and gradual lowering of her eyes that she wanted to sit down on the floor right in front of him. It was common student practice to do so & so wasn't surprising that she intended to comfortably sit down on the floor. He took out one of his earphone and catching his phone in one hand and the arm rest of the chair in the other pulled up himself and folded his legs. She placed her things on the stage. She rollover her left hand over her left ear, pushing her long silky hair behind which were flocking her eyes and sat down exactly opposite to him. He abruptly put on his earphones & began watching the series again..
They were together in the same batch for almost 6 months now and sat just two bench apart but had never spoken. It's like they were familiar strangers.. Each one there has their separate benches and groups. Like there are 20 different groups in between 200 of them. Everyone in those small group seems familiar to each other but the rest 180 seem to be familiar strangers. They know or have a brief idea about the person but haven't actually talked. Even if they are regular, at least in the beginning, when you see them you wonder, what to talk about. Besides the small gesturally talk sometimes needing words i.e., when you end up accidently dropping your pen/pencil just when such familiar stranger is walking down the aisle next to you. He/She in most cases takes the effort to return it back to you and it finally ends up you saying or are in the process of saying "Thank You" until that person moves on. You don't feel strange but you definitely remember it for a while.
She took out a problem book and calmly began to solve. Eventually his friends came up and got into their respective seats. Before she got uncomfortable she went back to her bench.
"Who's she?" Harshad asked, getting into his seat next to Aradhya.
"I don't know, how'd I know? She just came here to sit." he replied, frowned.
"Okay, I just asked casually." he replied with a lucid smile.
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She always came early like many other in the class. It was surprising but Aradhya too decided to be early by an hour since it was a test day. Class was mostly deserted as the parking lot, with few sticking to their bench. He directly went for their chairs in the first row and kept his bag on one and sat on the third chair from the wall and as usual spreading his legs outright. He opened his phone and began scrolling through it after setting a five minute timer in his head after which he'd start studying. Just as he was about to put his mobile on airplane mode to put it in his bag on his left, he heard someone climb the stage from his right. It was her. Again. He instantly folded his legs. She sat adjacent to him even though the chairs besides him and the bench behind him were empty.
He kept his bag next to her leaning to the wall trying not to act weird.
"Sshh", uttered, someone from the back. He was solving his third sum, and ignored the sound, thinking someone was calling some other person not him.
As he turned his page, the girl sitting in the front patted his right knee. Aradhya raised his head in a sudden move and looked in her eyes, she had a slight unnoticeable smile on her face. He didn't smile back. She lifted her hand to point in the direction behind where he was sitting. She wore a fine bracelet made up of black beads and had sleek nails. She shook her hand mid air, to remind him that she was pointing behind him. Aradhya turned backwards sitting on the chair and saw her friend who was sitting one bench behind his, stretching her hand way forward in his direction holding a pen. Apparently this time when the girl came to sit, she had forgotten her pen and now after five minutes her friend reminded her of the same. Aradhya raised his right hand to get the pen and he noticed that the friend who was passing the pen was also smiling but more evidently. He didn't smiled back to her too, wondering, is he part of a prank and now at any moment the cameras would pop up. He passed the pen onto the girl in front of him. He heard her say "Thank You" but had already found himself looking for his next question.
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"I'm telling you she would've really forgot her pen. There's nothing 'suspicious' or indicative about it." Aradhya reiterated his point, as he and Harshad were getting down the stairs of their class.
"Of course, she came just to study sitting exactly in front of you. She didn't saw the empty chairs besides and benches behind you. She didn't deliberately forgot her pen to make you give it to her which wasn't evident from her and her friends smile. She's definitely not smitten by you. She's not trying to make contact with you, talk to you." - Harshad
"Yep!"
"Just tell me one thing. The other day when we were collecting answer sheets, after the test, I was standing there next to you. All the students behind us were passing sheets to us -first benchers. There were hardly any in my hand, so I was looking for anyone to pass it to me. You, on the other hand had a bunch which you're putting together. She waited till you turned back & as soon as you did, that girl passed it on to you, specifically, that to with a radiant smile. You want to tell me, all this combined, still doesn't ring a bell for you?" Harshad said, almost in one breath.
"Look Harshad, lets not jump to conclusions. Don't you think you're being presumptuous? You know me. Look at me and then look at her. Are we even a remote match? Forget it man, just forget it.".
"This is as far as a girl goes man. You'll blame yourself for not seeing this through but definitely thank me later."
"We'll see, meet you tomorrow. Bye"
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After a couple of weeks, after the class, Aradhya was talking to his friends. It was almost 1 hr after the class and noticing this he hurriedly bid adieu to his friends. As he was getting to his basement he felt someone was walking behind him. He continued and as he went to his bicycle, he heard someone say
"Wait! you Dumbo"
He looked back and it was the same girl. In a complete state of disarray, shocked, as someone (especially a girl) might call him 'dumbo' he looked around to see whether any other person heard that. No one was present there.
"I had read and heard 'Men are stupid, but this time thoroughly experienced it too. What do you think of yourself, you're the most sincere kid in the class, who couldn't care less about anything but studies? One who prides himself being alone and would draw away any girl trying to catch your attention?"
She walked a couple of steps towards him.
" For the past many weeks I tried to make you notice me. Tried to start a conversation. Made lame excuses and you wouldn't, for a minute cared to respond? I wouldn't say I directly talked to you before this, but what does a girl has to do more to convey to the boy she's interested?"
Tucking her hair behind her left ear, with a trembling voice she continued, " After I told my friends I liked you, everyone said you could do better, don't go for it. But I persisted. I thought they definitely didn't knew anything about you made a guess based only on your outlook. Something about you always intrigued me."
Hearing this he acted a bit relaxed and placed his bag on his bicycle.
"Would you care to say anything after I had said so much or continue to do what you always do, IGNORE?"
She took a deep breath and folded her hands in an anticipation of an answer.
This time he walked towards her. Now there was hardly any distance between them.
He initiated to lift her heavy bag which she was carrying only on her left shoulder. She let it go and he placed it on the ground.
" I know your name is Apurva Shlok. You study at Martinez College, 2nd yr. You sit on the third bench along with three other of your close friends. Your are very much regular and spend most your time here, more than me. You are academically very sound but won't answer much in the class. Though you like to try different outfits, you look best wearing your black-red laced top and a blue jeans. You are not at all shy, rather I would say decently extrovert in terms of making friends even from a different batch. I seldom saw your father come pick you up."
Hearing this her she was a bit baffled.
" I noticed all your advances as you claim." With assuring tone he continued, "be it coming and sitting right next to me, pass on the pad/answer sheet, etc. But I think you yourself had the answer all along. Didn't your friends said you could do better. You really think a boy like me coming from fairly decent background, uses a bicycle, introvert, medium height, dark skinned, average build could try to believe, based on completely non-verbal gestures, that a girl smart, talented & beautiful as you would make a move on me. At best I would term it loose fiction."
He cleared his throat.
" Do you know what would hurt the most to a boy like me?" he took a pause.
She was overwhelmed by his words, not in a state to answer, she nodded to imply no answer.
"It is not a 'NO' from a girl I liked, I would definitely get over it, but the bursting of perception that a girl I like, also likes me. I would start imagining things when I shouldn't, build images that would be difficult to erase. I would try to look up to another day expecting something, where there wasn't anything to look up to. It is, what I fear, is more grueling which would get into my brain and sub consciously distort my perception of life for a quiet some time."
By now she was wiping her tears. He took her right hand and placed his handkerchief.
"So it was better for me to reinforce the belief that, nothing is special about this. You're just a familiar stranger. Just keep quiet and get going."
He took out the bottle from her bag to give it to her, while she used his handkerchief to wipe her face.
"But now... now I definitely know what you actually meant. Being an introvert I wouldn't jump in the air to show my unfathomable excitement but I would say : This moment is the highlight moment of my life to date. It will be my reason to cherish the feeling of being alive hereon."
She hugged him with immense happiness. Both seemed overjoyed and came out on the footpath to ready to depart.
"So?" she asked.
"We can start by exchanging numbers." he said pausing at each word.
"What next, you Dumbo?"
"With our combined maturity we can definitely figure it out. But by the likes of it, I believe, we will make it to the end."
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Later in the evening, Aradhya texted Harshad-
"YOU WERE FXXKING RIGHT. THANKS!"
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MEME -
- 'Dedicated to everyone who wonders if I'm writing about them. I am.'
