'Anu was a girl I could never approach. At least not in a romantic way. Everything about her was beautiful, the way she walked, the way she turned back to meet my eyes during math, when she tucked on my arms and asked me to clean the blackboard. Our hands would touch when she handed me the duster. She didn't seem to mind. The entire class knew she was courting me, except for the fact that she wasn't. It was the other way round....'
"Abhi?" Anu stared as Abhi nodded. Henceforth she continued, "I just took a glimpse inside the hall. Mil and Misha? A weird combination but nothing suspicious. What did you see when you dropped by? Don't tell me..." Anu slowed down, moved closer to Abhi's ears and whispered, "Were they kissing?"
Abhi flinched back, his hands covering his ear. He could still feel the tingling from her breath on them. "No." Abhi was curt.
"Did Mil look like she was flirting with Misha?" Anu whispered again.
"I don't know." Abhi couldn't look at the girl seated beside. He only stared front, his hands on his knees.
"What do you know then?"
"That you are pretty."
When Abhi didn't hear Anu reply, he turned towards her. She was staring at him, her mouth shut still. She paused for a second before starting,
"See? this is why I hate you. You're shameless when we are alone but you act like there's no one more innocent than you in front of the others. You bothered me so much when I first rejected you and acted as if I didn't exist in class."
"I just didn't want the entire class to know about our personal life."
"You just didn't want anyone to call you out on your toxic behavior."
"It wasn't toxic behavior." Abhi shaked his head.
"Yeah? Well, I heard your conversation with Mil the other day too. What? Your senior cousin will snitch to your family? I know you don't have any cousins. Or were you lying to me?"
"I wasn't lying to you."
"So, you were lying to Mil." Anu stood up.
Abhi didn't speak. Anu walked up the stairs and entered the hall, leaving Abhi unaccompanied on the stairs.
Maybe Abhi can lie.
Back with Mil, she was still engrossed in the 'wrong answer' game with Misha. The two would occasionally stop to listen to the principal but go back to their own world soon after. Misha thought she made a new close friend today. Mil thought she became closer to her crush.
"What are you doing?"
Mil and Misha turned towards the owner of the voice to discover Anu already sitting behind them, right at the middle. Mil glared at her while Misha was delighted with the new company.
"Just playing some games. Do you want to join?" Misha asked her.
"Sure, what's the rule?"
"Before that, you got caught?" Mil asked.
"What else am I here for, silly?" Anu scoffed.
"You're telling me, YOU got caught? I smell something fishy."
"Fine, I got caught on purpose. What else was I supposed to do? I was getting bored out there. Anyways, what's the game about?"
"So, we ask questions and the other replies with the most random answer." Misha broke the tension.
"Give me an example." Anu said.
"Well, what's the first thing you do when you wake up in the morning?" Misha asked as she turned towards Mil.
"Die." Mil replied.
The two turned towards Anu who looked confused. "So, you just need to speak the truth?"
Anu got beat up that day too.
Meanwhile, Jabira and Keisha sat on the cemented blocks: watching the other girl's play football. Jabira had to run away after Mil was caught as the teachers were sent for inspection. Henceforth, she joined Keisha on the football ground who had been abandoned by Anu herself. Were they now somewhat of a leftover club?
"Should we just get caught too?" Jabira asked.
"Are you crazy? Get caught and do what? Fourth- and fifth-wheel Mil, Misha and Anu? The couple and the nosey?"
Misha was surprised by the fact that Keisha called them a couple but soon realized it wasn't much of a secret. Mil was fairly obvious with her staring at the girl. Anyone who knew her well or knew or knew of her sexuality could figure out this secret crush of hers. However so, no one could figure out Misha's feelings. She appealed as a mixture of book smart and street dumb and a total failure in romance.
"We could help hold back Anu." Jabira said.
"And she wouldn't 'accidentally' hit you face with her elbow? Sure."
"Never mind then..." Jabira's face dropped.
"Do you miss Mil?" Keisha watched as Jabira turned towards her. The questioner smirked.
"I know what that smirk means." Jabira let out a giggle. It sounded more like a sigh.
"What? I didn't say anything." Keisha laughed
"You did, just not with words."
"Is it true though?"
"No. But I'm worried for her."
At this, Keisha's smile dropped, "There's something you both hide from me and Anu." Keisha didn't ask. She emphasized.
"It's not my story to tell." Jabira didn't meet Keisha's eyes. The friend was kept in the dark.
"Do you want to go join the girls for football then?" Jabira changed the subject.
"Yeah, let's go."
If we said that the two, Keisha and Jabira made a fine pair, we would be lying. They didn't have any chemistry, and the only reason they were friends were because of their mutuals. Kept alone and stranded, they could turn even conversation awkward. They would feel embarrassed at everything they said to the other. All while clutching into the thought that the other hated them. Couldn't they just *talk it out*?
They couldn't.
On the football ground, the school team was taking a break. Keisha and Jabira had friends in the circle. So, they merged easily. The team let the two borrow extra sports t-shirts to avoid being caught as an odd pair by the teachers. And hence, the athletic daily chores became theirs as much as it was of the others. Later, Jabira would recall how Keisha met her eyes whenever she scored a goal or how she ran towards her and lifted her up when their team won the practice match. Jabira would realize how much she loved this day.
By the time they had to start heading back to class the two were dripping wet with sweat. So, to wash up early the two started running back to class ten minutes before the principal would finish his motivational talk. They would stop by the washroom where Jabira would spend an eternity inside and eventually get locked up inside by Keisha as a joke.
"Keisha?"
Keisha looked behind her. A group of Anu, Abhi, Mil and Misha approached her.
"Hey! How'd all of you get out early?" Keisha asked moving away from the door she had locked Keisha in.
"We found fire escape stairs. Where's Jabira?" Anu asked her.
"So, you finally found those stairs? I found them like a week ago but didn't tell anyone because I wanted it to be a secret. I bet many others did the same. Also, she's locked inside the bathroom." Keisha's tone was as if the stated was sometimes obvious. It was a jaw-dropping statement for Misha who was new to the group, but for the others it was day to day activity. Abhi left the girls alone as he headed back to the classroom and Misha volunteered to keep him company. Of course, this wasn't without a furious Anu glaring at the guy.
"Can you at least let me out now?" A little squeak filtered through the door keeping the girls apart from their fourth and friendly member. Finally, when she was freed from the smelly bathroom, she did try to beat Keisha up but felt rather awkward doing so. The two odd pair had grown closer to each other.
Nevertheless, it was only Mil who had unlocked the door and freed Jabira.