Sunday, 8th October 2023
"Hey, what's it called when you look at something with your eyes almost closed?" I asked, squinting to demonstrate.
I was still working on the chapter that covered the previous day's conversation with Sanjana and Naira. I didn't want to forget a single detail, so I had started writing about it right away.
Naira turned around and shrugged, "I don't know."
"Squint," Sanjana J replied without looking up from her phone.
"Squint?" I repeated, just to confirm.
She nodded, finally glancing up.
"I mean when you kind of close your eyes, like a cat trying to see something better. Is that squinting?" I tried to describe.
Sanjana nodded again, pressing her lips together in that way she often did.
I thanked her and typed "squint" into my notes, to use for describing how I'd looked at her phone the previous day while trying to read the timetable.
"What are you writing?" Sanjana asked, noticing my typing.
"I'm working on a book."
Her eyes widened slightly, and she covered her mouth with her hand — a little gasp, as she later called it. It felt more like surprise mixed with a faint smile, so "gasp" didn't really feel perfect, but it fit better than "sigh."
"So, are you going to publish it somewhere?" she asked.
I told her maybe in the future, mentioning the five books I had already written.
"Six books and three girlfriends," I joked. Naira shook her head. "Bad joke."
I went on to tell them about the first one… with whom my current relationship was so bad that we might end up strangling each other if we ever met again. Sanjana laughed and mimicked my words, lightly pointing her pen towards Naira's neck.
"The second one was the spectacled girl, the one I send a chocolate photo to every year on my birthday."
"Why do you send it to her?" one of them interrupted.
"Yeah, why?" the other echoed.
"Because she never sends me one, so I remind her it's my birthday," I explained.
"So are you planning to publish it online now? On Wattpad?" Sanjana asked.
I admitted I was hesitant, because my books used real names, and it was all non-fiction. I was honestly too scared of what could happen if people read them.
"What's the harm in that? …nothing will happen," she reassured. While Naira got busy creating a Wattpad profile, I showed Sanjana the PDF of the first chapter of my first book, First and First.
To my surprise, she started reading it, still shocked I had actually written a whole book. As she read the first page, she asked if I tore out an entire page whenever I made a mistake. I told her no — that I tried to write carefully, framing each line in my head first.
"What's childish about it?" she asked, glancing up from my phone.
I realized she had reached the part where I mentioned the nursery rhymes we had to sing at age ten during morning circle. I found it childish; but eighteen-year-old Sanjana didn't seem to mind singing nursery rhymes, which made Naira laugh.
"Hey, he's even written about us in his book… I mean, mentioned us once or twice," Naira told her.
I chuckled internally, knowing they had no idea just how many times both of them had actually been mentioned.
Later that evening, I texted Naira to correct her: she appeared in my book around a hundred times. Her only reply: "Okay."
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Tuesday, 10th October 2023
"Lizz?" I called out as I walked up to her. She was sitting outside classroom number ten, lost in Subway Surfers.
"Happy Birthday!" I wished her softly.
She placed her hand briefly on mine, "Thank you," she murmured without looking up, her hair covering half her face.
Later, when I returned to the class, Lizz admitted she didn't even remember it was me who had wished her.
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Wednesday, 11th October 2023
Out of nowhere, I got a text from Paresh:
Btw, don't be offended, but I heard you have a crush on someone in B1.
His message startled me. Had someone really guessed it was Naira? Or maybe it wasn't impossible. There were plenty of moments when Naira whispered my name from behind just to ask for my notebook, or a doubt. Sometimes just to gossip. I'd even save her seat if she came in late.
Me:Who?
Paresh:Do you?
Me:I'd love to hear the name. Ruddhima? Kavya? Who else?
If it wasn't Naira, the only other name could be Kavya — she sat beside me often, and sometimes offered me a bite of her tiffin.
Me:I mean, I talk to them the most, so rumors are obvious.
Paresh:Rumors will always be made. Even I had mine. Nvm, leave it.
Me:Tell me.
Paresh:It was Naira, I think. But it wasn't me who started this. I just heard.
One name came to mind who might have spread it: Neill. We weren't enemies, but it had to be him.
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Thursday, 12th October 2023
I reached half an hour early, waiting for Naira. The door opened, and she walked in with her hair tied half-up. I put down my phone and sat straighter.
"Uh, Naira…" I began. She blinked, looking at me from behind her bag.
"I need to tell you something."
She pressed her lips together, nodding.
"I won't tell you who said this, but yesterday someone messaged me on Insta… there's a rumor going around that I have a crush on you."
"So they told you on Insta?" she asked.
"Yeah."
"Forget them, bhai…" she said, turning toward the door. "These people have nothing better to do." But then she giggled a little, stopping at the door. "Even in school, I was teased with a boy's name for years."
"Did you two ever talk?" I asked, curious.
"We sat together for a whole year," she answered before leaving.
That single line stung a bit. Six months of her sitting behind me, and she had only ever sat beside me once. Meanwhile, this guy had a whole year. He must've been so lucky.
When she came back, Rushika had already arrived.
"Rushika, listen…" Naira began, "…Tanish just told me that—"
I turned so quickly both girls looked at me.
"Why are you telling her?" I snapped, irritated.
"Arre, she won't tell anyone," Naira reassured. "Tanish, I won't tell anyone. Do you really think I'd spread it?" Rushika added.
I believed her. Rushika wouldn't.
"She understands the mentality of AOS students," Naira explained, when I asked later why Rushika reacted so calmly.