"The madness of love is the greatest of heaven's blessings"...
-Plato
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Lightening struck me when I stepped into the class and found Luke Donovan, the devil's incarnate himself, the goofiest mischief-maker of my high school, sitting on the front seat.
I took in a deep breathe, shook my head vigorously and stormed out of the class at once, thinking it must have been a mistake. I checked the Room No. written on my admit card for the 100th time and matched it with the No. written on the class.
It'd have been better if that annoying guy earlier had let me get hit by the car.
I collected all my non-existent strength and walked into the class nervously. Thankfully I found Anna signalling me to come. She had saved me a seat.
"Why the hell are you so late Lucy, the class is about to start." Anna nagged as soon as I approached her.
"Yeah I know.. Just ran into some jackass early in the morning." I stated in a dull tone.
"Hey listen, you won't believe what happened. Remember that humorous hottie from school who used to play the best pranks? HE'S HERE!!" She declared in such an exhilarated tone that it sent shrills down my spine.
"Hmm.. I noticed." I said, trying to sound as calm as I possibly could.
"What?! 'I noticed' is how you're gonna react to this? Lets say hi after class." She chimed. The thought of seeing them again made my skin crawl.
"Hey listen Anna, please I'm literally begging you to keep it down and stay away from those troublesome idiots. Please!" I pleaded. The terror was eminently visible in my voice.
"What happened Anna? Is there something wrong? You seem upset." She gave me a concerned look.
"No.. I just ran into this annoying guy on the way and caused an extremely awkward scene. Guess who this guy turned out to be?" I explained the whole situation.
"Tyler The Nerd..." She answered catching me by surprise. She was looking ahead, dazed for some reason.
"Wait how did you-" My heart must have missed a beat when I looked in Anna's direction and found him making his way into the same class as ours.
"Lucy, pinch me. Hard. My eyes are showing me weird sights today". Anna said rubbing her eyes aggressively.
"There's no use Anna, it's really him. Tyler Smith." I said shaking my head incredulously.
"How can that nerd turn into a hottie, you've got to be kidding me right now. There's no way in hell any of this is happening." She said throwing her hands.
"Seriously Anna? Where are your standards? Tell me from which angle does he look attractive to you... He's just turned into an arrogant, self-satisfied asshole." I said, rolling my eyes.
Tyler seated himself beside Luke. That's when the class started.
"Hello Ladies and Gentlemen! Welcome to the first class of your photography course. I hope y'all avail the most of it and enjoy yourselves". The instructor chirped, giving us a huge grin.
"Photography is a skill which not every person has got, if you guys are having it, you are the lucky ones. Photography is all about focus..." He carried on with his lecture.
I yawned, listening to him inattentively. I should have never proposed the idea of taking this course.
"To start off, I will be dividing you guys in groups of four and then you will be handing in all the assignments of the semester as a group. At the end of the course, you will be tested as an individual. I'm looking forward to your co-operation. Thankyou." The instructor announced.
"So, Luke, Tyler, Lucy and Anna, you guys are one group." He said reading our names from the paper in his hand.
My heart must have skipped a beat when I heard that.
"Yesss! Finally something thrilling." Anna said rubbing her hands in glee.
After a very boring introduction class, the instructor assigned us a task. I walked out of the class dragging Anna out who was utterly eager to say hi to Luke and Tyler. My feet froze and my grip on Anna tightened when I saw them standing in the corridor, seemingly, waiting for us to come out.
I saw Tyler's eyes widen with surprise when he saw me.
"Helloooo ladies. Seems like we're in this together. Lemme introduce myself. I'm Luke and this is Tyler. Wait- I must have seen you guys somewhere". Luke said, rubbing his chin.
"Yes.. We went to school together. I'm Anna and...this is Lucy." Anna said, grinning like a Cheshire cat.
"Oh! Lucy and Anna? The girls who always stuck together?" He said suggestively. "Trust me everyone envied your friendship so much, I even heard someone say that you guys were lesb-"
Before he could utter another word, Tyler cut him off by stepping on his foot.
"I'm sorry, don't mind him. He's always blabbering about useless stuff." Tyler said scratching the back of his neck.
I rolled my eyes. "So you knew how to say sorry all this time."
"Can't we please just forget that!" Tyler said, in a slightly higher tone than earlier.
"Forget that my ass! Do you even realize what you've done? You broke my camera Mister and you have to make up for the damage!" I blurted out.
He snorted before making a come back. He took a step closer towards me. I stumbled backwards, gaining my balance.
"You know what, I could have let that car hit you. I should not have intruded."
"The feeling is mutual sir, I'd have rather gotten hit by the car and ended up in a hospital than being saved by someone like you!" I shouted furiously.
We were so immersed in our argument that we didn't even realize Anna and Luke were standing right there, with their hands folded on their chests. They had an amused grin planted on their faces.
Tyler noticed the tension in the environment and I guess he too, knew that this heated argument wasn't getting us anywhere.
He inhaled a sharp breathe and threw his hands in defeat. "Listen Lucy, hear me out. I, really really, sincerely apologize for your loss, but it really wasn't on intention."
I rolled my eyes, utterly disgusted by him pretending to be innocent.
"It would've been better if you said this earlier." I stated.
"Well.. Now if you guys are done quarreling like an eighty year old couple, shall we decide what we'll be doing for the assignment?!" Luke intruded sounding annoyed.
"Okay then, tell me what's the plan?" I said.
"We'll start working from today. Before you guys ask me what we'll be doing today, do not bother, I got y'all. Now follow me to the car everyone. Let the adventure begin". Luke said triumphantly.