It had been three months since I joined the school, and two months had passed since the last "moment" that me and Aadhya shared. After that moment, all the teachers got busy as the midterm exams were approaching. The syllabus had yet to be completed. So, they were stressed into meeting the curriculum. I was merely a music teacher who gets only eight classes per week, compared to Aadhya, who gets fifteen classes per week. Especially during the exam season, others take my class to finish their subjects.
I was simply sitting on the chair, glooming in the far distance from the window. It opened towards the playground, which was in the rear part of the building. On the field, there were some kids, possibly in third grade.I was getting bored by spending time doing nothing. I had no ideas for writing a new score; I was done playing the instruments. What else was left to do?
The bell rang. All the students ran to their classrooms for lunch. I generally go to the canteen to have lunch. But that day, I had no appetite for it. I continued sitting there, simply glaring at the vast view.
Ten minutes later, someone came into the room. I turned around to look. The least expected person, Prakruthi, came inside.
'I knew you'd be here.' She said it with jollity.
'Yeah.' I replied with no interest in conversing.
'Come on, cheer up. I've got some food for you.' She said so and gave me a box.
"I'm not hungry." I said.
She dragged a chair from the corner of the room, placed it beside me, and sat down.
"What's the matter?" She asked.
"There's nothing to do." I'm bored.' I said.
She nodded, like she understood.
"Did you hear of the day trip?" She said.
"What day trip?"
'The school is organising a day trip to an amusement park. It's not conformed yet, but I think it will be.' She said.
'I did not know.' I said. 'That's good news.'
"Are you interested?" She asked.
'Yes, I replied.
We continued our conversation and had our lunch. Time went on, and a week later, an official circular from the school came in, confirming the day trip. The school was filled with joy, and so was I. It had been ages since I last visited an amusement park.
It was set right after the midterm, just before the Dasara vacations. I was excited for it. The whole school was I was all the more excited because Aadhya was joining us.
We all sat in the bus that was to take us there. Children were seated, and organisers were ready. But we were waiting for one person, Aadhya. As usual, she was late. The bus was full. I was sitting next to the old, grumpy teacher. Whenever I looked in the direction she was going, she would stare back. It seemed like she thought of me as a pervert digging for women. Considering her age, a pervert would have lost his thirst for women. Especially her sitting position, which was clearly indicating, I'll chew your face off.
Prakruthi was sitting on the parallel seat. I exchanged seats with her without difficulty. Then she came. Running to the bus. She was in casuals. Classic blue jeans and a red crop top, upon which she put on a red pullover. She was stunning in that attire. I wore skinny black jeans and a white shirt. I rolled my sleeves to make me look cooler.
She got on the bus and apologised for being late. Then she looked for a seat, and the only available seat was beside me. See, I used strategy because I had brains.
She sat beside me. Took a moment to catch her breath. The bus departed. I was nervous because it had been almost two months since I spoke to her properly. She looked to her left, where I was sitting, and smiled to say hi.
'How are you?' I asked, not knowing what to say. I just wanted to avoid absolute silence.
'Fine, she said.
'Are you excited for this trip?' I asked.
'Yes. It's been ages since I last visited this place.'
What a coincidence it was! I felt the exact same way. That was another common thing I found.
Nostalgia, right?′ I said.
'Very much.' She replied. "I'm going to enjoy this."
'Me too.' I replied. "I do feel nostalgic." It's been a long time since I've been to one.
"That's a nice coincidence." She said.
The bus began catching speed as we hit the main road. We reached it quite quickly because there wasn't much traffic. The amusement park was big. I alighted the bus and stretched. As I laid my eyes on the big wheel, all my memories flooded my mind. I stared in nostalgia.
"Hey, come on." They're leaving.' She said.
I simply followed her. I thought we would spend some quality time, but for half the day, we were busy co-ordinating the students. At lunchtime, the kids were having their lunch. Prakruthi, me, and Aadhya were separately sitting at the table, eating.
'How's the day so far? Prakruthi said.
'Pretty good.' Aadhya replied.
She looked at me.
'Could have gone better, I said.
'Why? "You didn't like it?" Aadhya asked.
"Just forget it." I said.
They both looked at me in pity. I just looked away and took a bite of whatever I had.
'Come with me; I've got something to show you.' Said Aadhya.
She took me over to the giant wheel. We were in the queue waiting for it.
'It's better if we head back, I said.
'Ease up a little. They can manage it.' She said. 'Besides, it wouldn't bchildren, only I enjoyed, right? You were busy with the children and I enjoyed a lot of things. So, let's enjoy now.'
Our turn came. We climbed into the cabin and sat on the seats opposite each other. It had no windows, so there was a cool breeze. I looked outside. We were gradually gaining height as it went up. Then I could see the entire park. Then the big city It was beautiful. The tall buildings in the distance were covered with mist. There were mountains far away. I looked back at her. The gust of wind touched her hair. She looked outside the window, smiling and laughing. I was mesmerised by her beauty. Her smile just brought joy to me at that moment. Her big, beautiful eyes sparkle as ever. I could not help but keep looking at her.
'Akash.' She called my name. 'Akash. Hey, Akash.'
I was just looking at her. She waved her hand in front of my face. I snapped out of it.
"Are you alright?" You're scaring me. She said.
'Yeah. I'm alright.' I replied.
We went back to the bus, which was to depart in another ten minutes. We were casually walking back without much hurry.
"Can I ask you something?" She said.
'Sure, I replied.
'Today was an amazing day. I loved it.' She said. 'I wished if the day was longer.'
I stopped and looked at her. The sun was gradually setting. The orange light shone brightly on us.
"So, if you don't mind, can I sit with you until we reach back?" She said.
'Sure.' I said. 'It was fun for me as well. I'd want to talk until the end of the day.'
We went back to the bus after that moment. I felt myself fall deeper in love with her. We spent another hour on the way back, talking and laughing. It was a day that I will never forget.
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