It was late at night. The day trip was over. I was struggling to get sleep but could not. I was simply unable to get sleep like I usually do. Whenever I closed my eyes, I only imagined the brief moment I had at the amusement park. I remembered every word I uttered, every syllable of it, and all those words that she spoke. The words that I should have used and those I shouldn't have That was all I imagined. Then I remembered a quote.
"You know when you are in love when you can't fall asleep because reality is finally better than your teams."
I was seriously in love with Aadhya. I could feel it. Now what? I just know that I am in love, but is she? That was what I thought through the entire night.
The next day, I was tired at the beginning of the day. I was too lazy to even get up from my chair. Unexpectedly, the principal called me. I ran down to his cabin. Outside the cabin, I saw two people carrying cameras and lights, like they were coming from a photoshoot. Then I went in.
'Good morning, sir. Did you call me?' I said.
'Yes. Have a seat.' He offered. I sat down.
'You must know that the founders' day is coming, right? In twenty days, we will have it, and it will be massive like usual. He said. 'Every year there are competitions among different schools in this city that compete with us, and never have we gotten first place. This time, I want my school to secure first place in the singing competition. So I want you to come up with the best of what you can do. Can you do it?'
'Yes sir. But I feel twenty days are less. I said
He sat quietly in disappointment.
'I guess I can do it.' I said it optimistically.
'Then you, Akash.' He said.
It was quite an irony. The past few months I was free and the teachers were busy, and now I am busy while the teachers are free. I got on with my work immediately because there was no time to waste. That day, I started working on the music that I would be presenting. Though I did not have a clear idea for it, I just kept working.
Days passed by, and there was only a week left for it. The other competition's participants were already rehearsing while I was still working. My condition was getting tighter. I used to come the earliest to school, go to my room, and start my work, and until the last person left, I did not come out. No lunch, no break, no nothing. Just work.
Just a week before, it was ready. I had composed a new score. Then I began arranging them. That very evening, Prakruthi came into the room while I was practising on the keyboard. She looked at me, working tirelessly. She sat on the seat right beside me while I was playing.
'Hey, Akash.' She said. 'You've been working for a long time, you know?'
'Yes, I said.
There was a moment of silence.
'Can I ask you something?' She said. I nodded.
"Do you like Aadhya?" She said.
I stopped playing and looked at her. She looked at me with a concerned expression. There was a moment of silence. The sun began to set. The staff began to depart.
'I'm not sure.' I said. 'I guess I might.'
Shea backed herself. The silence continued and was getting worse. She got up and walked towards the door without saying a word.
"Are you okay?" I asked.
There was no response. She just walked to the door and opened it wide. Then she turned around.
'I wish the best for you.' She said it with tear-filled eyes.
Before I could say anything, she left. I did not know what had happened. Or I did know what had happened. In the past few months, she was the only one who voluntarily spoke to me, unlike others who never spoke unless I did. Maybe she, as I guessed, liked me. Maybe she had the same feelings for me that I had for Aadhya.
A week had passed. Prakruthi did not speak to me like she usually did. She was not even coming to my room like she usually does.
The day had come. There was plenty of excitement in the air. The dance competition and singing competition were ready. I selected some students for my performance. The function was held in a large auditorium. Children from various schools, their teachers, and their parents were all seated. I was in the backstage area, waiting for our time. The function commenced. There were a total of 25 schools competing, and we were one of them. All the students displayed their talent and hard work in their dance performance.
Four hours later, all the dance competitions were over. Everyone was taking a forty-five-minute break, after which singing and music competitions would be held. Time passed. I could hear the anchor speaking of our school. Finally, he called us out.
We went out on stage. The whole auditorium was packed with enthusiastic audiences waiting for it. We got the keyboard set, then the guitar, the drum set, the bassists, and me with a lead guitar. The drummer hit on the drum sticks, indicating a countdown. One, two, three, and then the four We all began playing our pieces. It was a five-minute song. But through it, the audience was completely into it. Even the judges were vibrating with it. It was as if they did not expect anything like it. We rocked the stage, and they stole the entire show.
A few hours later, after all the performances, the results were announced. We could not secure any prizes for the dance performance. Then it was a music competition. The first award goes to... yes, you guessed it. It was us. We secured the first ever "first prize" in this event. It was all because of me. Us.
This boosted my reputation at the school. For the first time, the grumpy woman spoke to me. Everybody congratulated me. The last was Aadhya. I was teeming with joy and happiness. A blissful day. But I guessed it was not the same for Prakruthi. After that, she did not speak much to me.
Time went on. Eventually they forgot about the achievement, and things went back to normal. It was February. Valentine's Day. I felt it was time. It was time to tell her about it.