The alarm went off. A loud beep noise emitted by it woke me to a jerk on the bed. I clicked it off. My room was untidy. My clothes being at the most random places in the house, chips packets on the table, crumbs lying around, and a sweat smell in the room Nobody would even dare enter my house. I was never like this. I was a tidy, neat, and clean man. Disciplined right from childhood. It was just due to a lack of time to do it.
It was five oclock in the morning. The sun was still not out. I opened the window and swallowed the fresh air. Then I got ready for work. It has been a month since I joined this school, and it has been a fine experience so far. I could only anticipate the day.
A few hours later, I was in the room at the desk all alone. There was an hour for school to begin. Because of my punctuality, I made a good impression on the people around me. But my concern was to make a good impression on Madhya. Ever since our first conversation, we have barely talked. It was only a "hi and bye" interaction. I hated it. I hated it because I could not speak to her.
An hour had passed, and a teacher came in. The same old grumpy teacher She put her bag down, stretched her hands, and then sat down. I did not look. I just kept staring into the gloom, like I did not give the least care in the world. A few minutes passed, and three teachers came in. But not her. I could not wait any longer because I had a class to take. I went off.
At nine oclock, while I was taking a class, I heard the footsteps. The same heels sound I looked outside through the window. She was running to the class, half an hour late. But I could not see her clearly from the distance. Before I could see anymore, the children started making voices. I had to make them quiet. When I got back, she was not there. This went on for almost a month.
The same day, I was at the canteen, having lunch. It was busy. Prakruthi, a friend of Aadhya, sat down on the seat, which was on the other side of the table facing me. She got her plate of food.
'Hi Akash. How are you? She said.
'Fine. "What about you?" I said.
'Doing great.' She said so and took a bite.
We fell silent for a while and started eating our meal.
'By the way, Founder's Day is coming near.' She said this after a long moment of silence. 'So there will be a music competition.'
'Oh.' I said, I'm not really impressed. 'That's good.'
'Our school celebrated this festival pretty grandly. I thought you'd be interested.' She said.
'Well, there is no option I've got, right? I'll have to make a performance that day.' I said.
'I guess.' She said. "Aadhya's participating in it."
'Really?!' I exclaimed. "Well, that's nice to know."
We continued our small talk for the next ten minutes. Then we went back to our classrooms. She had classes to take, and I was free. So I just went to the music room and closed the door. Then I put on my buds and was swept into music, my paradise.
An hour later, most of the children were departing. All classes were done. It was only the staff that left. I was lying on the clean floor, flat on my back. Unexpectedly, someone came into the room. I looked at that person. It was Adhya. If it were anybody else, I would simply smile and turn back to the ceiling. But it was not some random person.
I sat upright and removed my buds. She smiled and closed the door behind her.
'Listening to music, huh?' She said it gently.
'Yes. I do it whenever I'm free.
"What a coincidence." "I do the same." She said.
'Indeed, I said.
"Mind if I join in?" She asked.
"Not at all." I replied.
She sat right beside me. I shared one of my buds. She put it on. I had Just The Way You Are' playing.
"That's one of my favourite songs." She said.
'Same, I said.
I was surprisingly pleased that we had so much in common. Furthermore, I laid back down on my back, getting back into music. She also did the same. We were lying down on our backs beside each other. I was in bliss that I got to talk to her again. More than that, we were listening in the same room, sharing like couples.