Koushik was still staring at her in a daze when a palm zoomed before his eyes. He shrank his head back, startled.
"Schedule." Olivia extended her hand before his face.
"Huh?" Koushik blinked in bewilderment.
"Your. Schedule." Olivia uttered.
Koushik still stared at her with a blank look. Olivia also stared back at him. After a moment of silence, Olivia broke the staring contest and sighed.
"I need your schedule to find a time for your training." She clarified.
"Ooohhhh." Koushik dragged out the syllable finally getting her point.
"I don't have anything for the next two months. At least nothing that I know of. So other than my regular schedule comprising of morning and evening walks, meals, bedtimes and school hours, I'm free." He said giving it a thought.
Olivia wriggled her fingers. Koushik touched his watch and his daily schedule popped up on a hologram. Olivia scanned it with her watch.
"Training instead of walks," Olivia stated curtly looking at the chart on the screen.
"Okay." Koushik shrugged.
Olivia plopped on her bed and groaned. Rolling on her side, she hugged her bolster and silently stared ahead. Koushik's teary face flashed before her eyes. His words echoed in her ears. It's my fault for being so worthless. If only I could do things a little more efficiently I wouldn't have constantly caused trouble for others. These words seemed to hit something within her. Something buried deep inside. Something she never wished to uncover.
She turned to the other side as her mind replayed the scene by the stream. Initially, she just wanted to apologise and leave but seeing him break down like that made her feel guilty, so she stayed behind. But the more she stayed behind the more uncomfortable she felt. She did not like those sad tears in his eyes. And before she knew she already made a promise. But she did not feel any regret about it. Rather she felt it was the least she could do for what she did to him.
Olivia sighed and rolled on her back. Hugging her bolster tightly against her chest, she stared at the ceiling. A faint light from outside fell on her blue-green orbs. They seemed spectacular from the outside but upon closer inspection, they were empty, bland and unimpressive. She extended her hand and stretched her fingers, then curled them into a fist, and re-opened them. Lifting her wrist slightly, she made a curve in the air and twirled her fingers like a wave. The movements were graceful but lifeless. Her hand suddenly stopped and dropped on the bed, bouncing a little.
Olivia let out another sigh and hugged the pillow again. She caressed it, feeling the soft fabric under her hands. She brought her nose closer to it and took a whiff of the smell of detergent. It was pleasant. She snuggled her face in the soft pillow and closed her eyes. But sleep seemed to be on vacation. After tossing and turning for several more minutes she sat up. She sighed once more and
ran her fingers through her hair which was nicely braided.
Getting up from the bed, Olivia began to get dressed. Simple shirt and trousers, white hand wraps, a mask and a cap. After that, she stepped out of the dormitories.
Outside the dormitories.
Olivia made her way to the forest. Near the school premises, the trees were scattered, leaving small spaces in between. The moonlight peeked on the ground through the tiny gaps among the leaves, making patterns on the ground. A breeze swung the little twigs, making the patterns dance. Olivia stepped over them and ventured deeper.
Tall trees crowded together. Climbers looped around the branches, hanging from one tree to another like a net. Big bushes grew at the bottom of the trees, digging their thorns into the trunks. Wild creepers coiled on the ground, twisting and turning around the foot of the trees. If one is not careful while walking along this path, tripping on them and falling face first is inevitable. But Olivia navigated her way with expertise.
After walking for a while, she finally reached the other end of the forest. The wind was blowing more strongly on this side of the woods causing a rustle in the leaves. Olivia pushed aside an offshoot and slowly emerged from behind a curtain of leaves.
A mesmerizing view greeted her. The thin curve of the crescent moon played hide and seek with the world, hiding behind a floating cloud and emerging back. Each time it hid behind a cloud, the world became dark, leaving a few twinkling dots on the otherwise tenebrous sky. A few feet from there, the path gave way to a cliff. Olivia went towards the very edge of it. Looking down, she could see the deep gorge and across her was another mountain. Mist-like clouds drifted in the breeze, forming a ring around its peak.
Olivia sat there, dangling her feet, enjoying the cold wind against her face, which was now free from the cap as well as the mask. Her little black curls came undone and swayed freely. Olivia closed her eyes and immersed herself in the tranquillity around her.
Around five in the morning, Koushik came to the field wearing his tracksuit. He wore a hairband to keep his curly locks away from his eyes. May other students were jogging already. He looked around searching for someone when he spotted her, a little away from him, under the shade of a tree.
Olivia was wearing her uniform. With one hand tucked in her pocket, she scrolled through her phone using the other hand. Her head was slightly tilted downwards making her jaw look sharper. The high-neck top gave a slender loom to her neck. Her jet-black hair was neatly tied in a ponytail and perfectly braided, not leaving a single hair loose. One of her legs was straightened out while the other was bent against the tree.
Unbeknownst to him, his eyes were glued to her as he sauntered near her. He found himself staring at her face. His eyes roamed over her defined thin eyebrows, high nose bridge, pale lips pressed in a line that contrasted against her copper-like complexion and chiselled jaws. But what piqued his curiosity was her empty gaze. Like he never saw any emotion in them. He was curious to know how those eyes would be if she was happy, sad or angry. He did not know for how long he stood like a statue before her but his train of thought was stopped by the sound of her fingers snapping.
"Huh?" He looked at the enlarged fingers cluelessly.
Koushik saw her standing before him. He did not realise when she came near him. He wordlessly looked at her staring at him with a raised brow.
"Back?" Olivia asked.
"Oh? Uhm... yeah, yeah." He answered, a bit flabbergasted.
She was not much shorter than him, their eyes were nearly on the same level. He was taken aback when her blank gaze suddenly came into his field of view.
"Come." Olivia pocketed her phone and motioned him to follow.
She stopped after walking some distance and turned to him saying "Jog. Four hundred metres. Five minutes. Start."
She turned on the timer on her watch. Koushik nodded and started jogging.