chapter 17

Part 17: Misunderstood Words, Unspoken HurtIt was a normal Friday morning – or at least it seemed that way.Riya entered the classroom, smiling, with her usual energy. She looked around, looking for the monkey – her Dheeraj. But he didn’t even look at her.He was sitting next to Abhi, unusually quiet, his face unreadable.Riya furrowed her brows.“Monkey?” she said softly as she passed by.No response.No smile.No teasing reply.Nothing.She blinked, confused. Did he not hear me? Or… is something wrong?Later, during lunch, Riya went and sat next to her as usual. But Dhirav stood up and left with Abhi and Kunal without saying anything.Riya’s chest began to ache.Sneha leaned in. “Riya, is everything okay between you two?”“I don’t know,” Riya whispered. “There’s something…”The whole day passed in cold silence between them.No eye contact.No inside jokes.No monkeys.No white crows.It was painful.That night, Riya couldn’t sleep. Her mind was racing. She checked her chats – no new messages. No replies either.What did I do? She kept asking herself.And then, on Saturday morning, the truth came out – accidentally.Pihu was chatting with Abhi near the school gate.  Riya was standing a little distance away, tying her hair, when she heard Abhi say, “I thought you had spoken to Riya. Dheeraj was really hurt when he heard that Riya doesn’t consider him her best friend…”Riya turned around immediately. “What did you say?”Abhi looked guilty. “That… someone told Dheeraj that you were saying that he is just a classmate… and you don’t consider him your best friend.”Riya’s eyes widened. “What? I never said anything like that!”Sneha looked at him. “Have you ever spoken to someone so casually?”Riya tried to remember – and then it hit her.She had once jokingly told someone, “Dheerav is just like that… you know, one of those weird classmates who gets roasted every now and then.” It was meant to be funny. Light-hearted. Fun.But someone had twisted her words.And Dhirav believed her.That broke her down.Without wasting a minute, she typed:Riya (11:07 am):“Please talk to me once. I need to clear something. Please, monkey.”No reply.She sent another one:Riya:“Whatever you heard… it was not true. You mean a lot to me. A lot. And if anyone told you otherwise, they lied. But I should have been careful with my words. I’m sorry.”This time, the reply came five minutes later.Dhirav:“I really felt you didn’t value what we have. That hurt me the most.”Riya:“I was stupid. I was joking. Someone twisted it. But the truth is… you’re not just my best friend. You’re the one I call monkey. And only you can call me white crow. That explains it all, right?”Pause again.Then:Dhirav:“I missed you. But I didn’t know how to ask if it was true now.”Riya:“It’s true. True enough to hurt. And true enough to heal.”They met that evening near the steps of the basketball court.They didn’t talk much at first.Just sat quietly – next to each other.Finally, Riya looked at him. “I’ve hurt you. I admit it. But never assume anything about me unless you ask me first, okay?”She nodded.  “Promise. And I’m sorry too… for keeping quiet instead of asking you.”She smiled with teary eyes. “So friends?”He smiled. “No. The monkey and the white crow.”They shook hands, then bumped shoulders.And just like that, the storm passed.Their bond was stronger than ever.Because the most beautiful relationships aren’t perfect – they’re honest, raw, and built through every misunderstanding they have to fix… together.