As the students started leaving the classroom, I was waiting for Sneha at the door while she packed her bag.
"Come fast!", I yelled from a distance.
She pulled out her summer scarf, forced her notebook into the bag and zipped it up. As we quickly headed towards the staircase, a loud thumping noise forced us to stop. We turned around and saw a guy lying flat on the floor, rubbing his back. I ran in that direction and Sneha came following me. The guy was moaning in pain but went mute as soon as he saw the two of us coming towards him. Well, the embarrassment of falling down to your ass is real, more so if you get seen by a girl.
The guy was back on his feet before Sneha and I reached there and was pretending like nothing happened.
"Hey, are you okay? What happened?", I pretended to be concerned.
"Yeah absolutely! Just slipped off. The floor was wet, I guess.", he said, sounding embarrassed.
He started walking along with us towards the staircase and was clearly limping. As Sneha struggled to tone down her giggles, I tried to act compassionate towards the guy by helping him divert his mind from what just happened.
"Are you our classmate? B. Com. (Honors), first year?", I asked.
"Yes. I saw you in the class. I'm Dheeraj.", he said.
"Great! I'm Aasma."
"Hi! I'm Sneha.", Sneha introduced herself, still laughing at the incidence.
The three of us walked together towards the college gate.
"Okay then! See you, girls!", uttered Dheeraj, as he pulled out his right hand towards me.
He shook hands with me followed by Sneha, then waved at the two of us before heading towards his bike which was parked far under a tree. On his way, he suddenly stopped and turned back.
"Hey guys! Shall I drop you to the metro station, or the bus stop?", he asked from a distance.
"Threesome on a bike? Sure, if you've got money to pay to the traffic police.", I laughed.
Dheeraj laughed too as he nodded in agreement and started walking back towards his bike. Sneha and I left for the bus stop, which was barely 100 metres away from the college.
"You don't look to me a Delhiite.", I tried to break the silence.
"What is that supposed to mean?", Sneha asked looking a bit shocked.
"No, I don't mean to judge. I really don't. I'm a Delhiite too. I just mean to say that unlike the other Delhiites, you chose me to be your friend."
"Well, what makes you think that the rest of them won't accept you as a friend?"
Oops! I never intended for Sneha to know that I was the most under-confident girl she would ever meet in her life. She had found out that I didn't find myself worthy enough to be friends with those cool Delhiites. But now that I had given myself away, I had to answer her question in the fairest possible manner. And I hated to be doing that.