One week later
"Cheer up!"
I controlled myself from getting angry at Surbhi. Since morning she had been acting like a heartbroken person. Aryan went to Bangalore to meet his parents and she was acting like someone had died.
I even showed her pics of delicious food but she kept sulking. During lunch, I ordered a mega size pizza and her favorite drink. No use.
I met Aryan last Sunday after 6 months. He was a cool guy. I approved him for my best friend. After hanging out with the lovebirds, I went to the park. I read my novel and listened to some relaxing songs. My Sunday was wonderful, in short.
I was still in happy mood but Surbhi spoiled it with all her sulking. I had to drag her through the corridors to reach the class. She wanted to bunk. If she wasn't my best friend, I would have strangled her by now.
We got in the classroom and took our seats. I called up Aryan and gave her the phone. They could talk till the teacher arrived. Surbhi excused herself and went out.
Why didn't she call him herself if she was feeling so low? I shook my head and since I didn't have my phone with me, I began doodling on the margins of my notebook.
"Ouch!" A basketball hit me on the back of my head and rolled down on the side. I looked back and saw Ved faking a guilty look. His friends were laughing.
"Oops. Slipped from my hand," he said and acted like he was really sorry. I got up and picked up the ball.
"You did it on purpose!"
I threw the ball at him but he caught it with one hand.
"Someone is pissed," one of the guys said. I glared at him and he just smirked.
"What you gonna do about that?" Ved asked.
He was returning to his old ways. He is trying to provoke you, Sandhya. Don't give in. Sit back and act like nothing happened. I did as my inner voice told me and got back to my seat.
He came in front of me and closed the book I was doodling in.
"Bullying is not good, Ved," I said in a whisper.
He smirked and gave me the middle finger. How dare he?!
If I punch him, I will get detention right?
Oh heck with it. I was not going to sit back and suffer like I did in elementary school. I swung my hand but he caught my fist before it connected with his face.
"Try that again and I will break your arm," he warned.
"You started it. I told you I don't want to deal with you," I shouted.
"The game has just begun and you are already giving up? Don't be a such a spoil sport."
"This is not funny. We are not kids anymore. Grow up."
"Then why do I find this entertaining? I will give you an advice though. Keep your eyes and ears open. You never know from where the strike will come." He stepped back and swirled the basketball on his index finger.
Was he threatening me? I couldn't believe this. We were in college. Didn't he have other important things to do?
He got back to his seat and I only stared. What could I do? One thing I was confident about Ved was that he never went back on his word. You were either a friend or an enemy for him. Nothing inbetween. And I was surely not on the good side.
I hated him too but I guess his hatred outweighed mine. Just what did I do exactly to make him hate me so much? Well, I was aware of some facts but I couldn't believe even after so many years, we still couldn't tolerate each other.
He bullied me in elementary and middle school and I also pranked him whenever I got the chance but wasn't that common?
I was relieved when dad got transferred to Jammu when I was in 7th grade. Ved was making my life hell by each passing day. We got back in my 12th grade. That's when I met Surbhi.
"Shining in the setting sun like a pearl upon the ocean
Come and feel me
O feel me
Shining in the setting sun like a pearl upon the ocean
Come and heal me
O heal me~~"
I heard her as she came in and sat beside me. Atleast she was happy now. I laughed at her as she began singing loudly. My mood lightened up in a second and I began singing with her.
Luckily, our teacher was absent and we spent the rest of the class playing antakshri (a music game) with some students who sat behind us. Throughout our free class, I could feel Ved staring holes through me.
Look you idiot. I can be happy even if you just threatened me.
I controlled the urge to pull out my tongue at him. What if he punched me? Looking at his built, he can surely send me flying with one hit. The bell rang and we all marched towards our next class.
"Hi Surbhi." Ved came from behind.
"Hi Ved!!!" she greeted him with extra exclamation marks.
"Can I borrow some notes? I didn't get time because of my basketball practice you see," he asked.
"Of course. Why not?" She took out her notebook and gave it to him.
"You can return it whenever you want," she added. I narrowed my eyes at her. Why was she being so friendly with him? She was my best friend.
"Thanks. You are really sweet," he said and smiled more. I was feeling the urge to break his perfect teeth.
"Let's go Surbhi. We are getting late for class," I nudged her. She waved him goodbye and I dragged her away. I should have hit him.
"How can someone be so cute, handsome, nice and hot at the same time?" she asked more to herself.
"Your boyfriend?" I suggested. She twisted her lips and sighed.
"No one compares to Aryan. I shouldn't be thinking about other guys when I am in a relationship," she began mumbling and started hitting her forehead. I stopped her before she bruised herself.
"Don't you feel the same?" she asked. Um, no. I shrugged my shoulders.
"Are you sure your hormones are working properly?" she mocked.
I hit her shoulder and threatened her I would tell Aryan that she was daydreaming about other boys. Her face paled and she pinched me. She tried to reason herself but I reprimanded her. She tried to scare me. Nice try.
Should I tell her about Ved? They only saw his pretty face. What was the use of such outer beauty if you were rotten inside? But I decided against it. Who was I to tarnish someone's image just because of my personal opinion?
Ved was nice to her and I didn't want to ruin their friendship because of my jealousy. Wow. Wasn't I such a mature person unlike someone I know?
Ã~Ã
"Sandhya!"
"Tanya!"
We hugged each other. Surbhi looked between us and raised her eyebrows. Tanya was taking this extra class like us.
"Why didn't you come for the past two days?" I asked.
"Family problem," she said.
"Oh okay. Hope everything is fine now?" I asked and she nodded.
"Surbhi, meet my friend Tanya." Surbhi nodded her head at her.
"Tanya, meet my best friend Surbhi," I said proudly. Surbhi gave me a 100 watt smile.
"Nice to meet you Tanya," she said. Tanya nodded. We took our seats and that's how Surbhi made one more friend thanks to me. Surbhi bunked on some days this week too so they didn't get to meet each other earlier.
I was surprised that Tanya wasn't exhausted after meeting her like Parth. Instead they got along really well. Both loved talking and gossiping.
When the hot topic aka Ved Rajput came along they both squealed. I glared at them and plugged in my earphones to avoid listening to their fangirling.
I noticed that while Surbhi was talking about him non-stop, Tanya was blushing hard. That could mean only two things.
One, she liked him. And two, she must be insane. Why was everyone in his favour? I pouted and mentally cursed him.
But, why was I angry at him? It wasn't his fault that everyone admired him. He was a sport celebrity afterall. Our college's reputation increased 100 folds after he joined. He was an idol for people of all ages.
Should I hate him or not? If I still hated him that meant I was holding a grudge too. He was nice to others but he was being a douche bag to me though. I guess everybody had some exceptions.
Our lecturer came and tortured us for whole two hours. It wasn't that she was bad at teaching. It was her voice that sounded like nails being dragged on the board. To avoid it, I kept one earphone bud in my ear and listened to songs as she lectured us.
"I think my ears are bleeding." Surbhi put her index finger in her right ear to check. We laughed.
"Doesn't she get annoyed by her own voice?" Tanya asked.
"Actually, our voice sounds different to ourselves than how it sounds to others," I explained.
"Maybe she thinks she is Madonna," Surbhi added and we began laughing again.
We parted ways in the main hallway. Tanya and Surbhi went to their drama club while I went towards mine. Club activities had finally started and since my stupid ass had joined 6 of them, I needed to put in extra effort.
"Today we are going to introduce ourselves and then decide upon a topic which is going to be our study material for the week," our science club manager said.
After the introductions, we decided to research on Dark matter. Interesting. We had one week's time to submit our reports and the winner would get a special prize. Yay! I love the competition.
After the club, I quickly went to the library to borrow some books. I got five of them and took a seat. I was flipping through two books at a time, when I heard a sweet deep voice.
Was someone singing? In the library? Whoever it was, he had an amazing voice. I enjoyed it as I kept reading. The voice started getting distant and soon faded away. I missed it already. I wish I could sing that good.
Brrrring!
The bell rang. I got up and grabbed my books. I stopped when I realized that I had stepped on something. I looked down and my eyes widened in horror. I stepped on a notebook! I quickly picked it up and dusted it. It seemed really old.
I realized that it was a diary. The cover looked worn out and some pages were coming out partially. They had turned yellow but the smell was so nice. Should I open it? A sneak peek won't hurt. I began opening it. Wait!
What if it was a personal diary? It didn't have any name on it. I noticed some alphabets on the right hand corner of the cover. I narrowed my eyes to read them since they were too small. S.... Y....R....A.....
Ugh! Couldn't make out what was written.
I asked the librarian if someone had lost their diary. She asked the few students present but everyone shook their heads. Maybe the owner had already left.
I told her to keep it if he or she comes back to retrieve it. She told me to deposit it in the clerk's office instead. They would make an announcement.
Cool. I made my way towards the office but it was closed. Okay.... so, what was I supposed to do now?
The diary was feeling heavy in my hands despite its fragile appearance. I had this feeling that if I didn't return it as soon as possible, there would be a very big problem. Why was I feeling like that? So I put the diary in my bag for safety purposes.
"Excuse me. Could you please move aside?" I hardly heard the guy when he asked me. I moved aside but stopped him.
"Oye! Why are you wearing a hoodie? It's so hot here," I asked. He blinked.
"Who are you?" he asked.
"I am the prime minister of Sri Lanka. Don't you know me?" I asked and he narrowed his eyes.
You thought only you could joke around? He glanced around and backed away. Why was he acting like I would murder him?
Before I could stop him, he ran away. Weird. I turned around and almost cursed when I saw Ved walking in my direction with his friends. His eyes landed on me and he smiled mischievously.
I started walking and when I was about to move past him, he faked throwing the ball at me. I flinched and his friends started laughing.
"Did you record it, Nikhil?" Ved asked the guy beside him who handed him his phone. Ved looked at the recording and laughed. He turned the phone towards me. He had also recorded the incident from the morning.
So immature. I ignored them and continued on my path. He and his friends could rot in hell. One day, I will replace his head with that ball.