Arrival
After BLE, I was transferred into a new school. When I entered the school on the first day, of course, it was awkward. The new air got to me, and it made me nervous. It was a new place where many memories, whether good or bad, were going to be made.
I saw my old friends who also got transferred to the same school. It was a meet after two whole months. We greeted each other excitedly.
"Bro! It's been so long. How have you been?" one of them asked.
"Same here, man. This place looks different," I replied, glancing around nervously.
Suddenly, the sky opened up.
"Oh no, it's raining so hard!" my friend exclaimed.
The school in charge quickly called us, "Come on, let's head inside."
We rushed to our new class. All the students from my old school were in the same class. That day, new teachers came in, took our introductions, and left. The whole day passed like minutes. During breaks, my friends and I took a tour of the school.
As we walked through the wide hallways, I turned to Pratik and said, "Bro, this school is huge compared to our old one. How will we ever find our classes on time?"
Pratik laughed, "I know, right? It's like a maze here. But don't worry; after a few days, we'll know every corner like the back of our hands."
I shook my head. "Hope so. Otherwise, I'll be late every single day."
He grinned. "Same here, man. Let's survive this together."
The next day, we were transferred to a new class mixed with other students. And of course, I was placed in the talented class due to my excellent grades. That classroom had many new faces.
I stood up and introduced myself, trying to sound confident. "Hi, I'm Aayush. Just transferred here. Looking forward to studying and making friends."
From the corner of the room, I noticed a girl staring at me nonstop.
"Hey, do you know who that girl is? She won't stop looking at me," I whispered to Pratik.
Pratik smirked, "That's Monika. She's the second topper here. Probably analyzing you like a competitor."
"Great," I muttered. "Just what I needed."
I made some new friends, mostly boys who shared my vision. Days passed. Teachers came and taught us, we laughed at each other's jokes, and we got scolded by teachers, and that was how the days kept going.
Attraction and Fear
One peculiar day, I noticed a girl. Her name was Radhika.
She had this calm presence, was always composed, and somehow always stood out without trying. Her hair was always tied perfectly, her handwriting flawless. There was something about the way she carried herself that made you respect her instantly. She had this aura of discipline, and yet... a hint of softness in her smile.
She was the previous year's school topper. My eyes couldn't stop tracing her through the corners of the classroom. I didn't understand what was happening to me. I had promised myself never to fall again. But there I was.
Later that week, I was chatting with Sarthak.
"Guess what?" he said, grinning.
"What?"
"I proposed to Radhika last year."
"What?! You're kidding!"
"Nope," he said proudly. "I even bought her a whole KitKat and a bouquet."
I burst out laughing. "What happened then?"
"She ate the KitKat in front of me, threw the flowers away, and slapped me."
"Are you serious?"
"Dead serious. Still got the emotional scar and the leftover petals."
We laughed so hard, people in the corridor stared at us.
That night, Sarthak gave me her social media handle, and I started texting her casually. Slowly, conversations turned from formal to friendly. One day, I asked,
"Hey Radhika, How's your day?"
She replied, "Hey! Pretty good. You?"
"Not bad, just trying to keep up with classes."
Our chats became a part of my daily routine. We began to talk in school too, and smiles were exchanged and small jokes shared.
But the closer I got to her, the more distant I felt from myself. My grades dropped. My motivation dimmed. First terminal exams came, and I failed.
I, the former topper, had failed.
I sat there with the results in my hand, staring blankly. Pratik placed his hand on my shoulder.
"Bro, you'll bounce back. Don't let one exam bring you down."
I shook my head. "I was the topper before... now I've failed. Feels awful."
"You just need to focus again. You know what you're capable of."
Maybe he was right. But I was drifting, and I knew it.
Dashain Incident
Then the month of Dashain came. I don't know what it is, but why do so many incidents happen to me only during Dashain?"
One morning, while chatting with Radhika, she suddenly sent me a screenshot.
"What's this?" I asked.
She replied, "Please don't tell anyone. My account was hacked. That message wasn't from me."
I looked closely at the username. It said 'Boifii.' And the profile picture... that was Sulav. My friend.
I didn't confront her about it then. I just replied, "Oh, okay. That's crazy."
But my heart was racing. My head kept repeating one thing:
Sulav?
My friend Sulav?
I couldn't bear it. That same day, I pulled Sulav aside during lunch.
"Bro, can I ask something straight?"
"Yeah, what's up?"
"Did you and Radhika... ever talk like that? Anything between you two?"
He looked away.
"Look, man," he said, "I didn't mean for it to happen. It just kind of... did."
I nodded. Didn't say anything more.
That was the moment I broke. I sat in class afterward, silent. I felt heavy. I stared at the wall, unable to focus on the lecture. I felt the tears prickling in my eyes but tried to blink them away. I was surrounded by people, yet so completely alone.
I didn't know what hurt more, losing her before I even had her or losing trust in a friend.
Dashain came like a little break from the heartbreak I had just a few days before. I spent it with my family, laughed a lot, ate a ton, and just enjoyed myself. But the thing was, I knew I still wouldn't be able to face Radhika once school started again. The vacation lasted a whole month, but she still lingered in my mind. I guess I needed a change, but I didn't really know what. Still, celebrating Dashain with my family helped me feel a bit better.
A Prank to Move Me On
As the vacation was ending, I got a message from someone I didn't know on Facebook.
"Hi, I think you're interesting," it said.
There were no mutual friends, so I replied, "Uh… who is this?"
"My name's Sushma. I just stumbled upon your profile," she typed.
I raised an eyebrow. Stumbled upon my profile? Really? "Okay… so what do you want?"
She laughed. "Nothing much. Just thought I'd say hi. I liked your posts, by the way."
I shrugged. "Thanks, I guess. You don't even know me."
"I know enough," she said mysteriously. "So… what do you do for fun?"
"Well, I hang out with friends, study sometimes… mostly survive school," I replied.
She sent a laughing emoji. "Survive school? Same here. I feel like life's just a test after test."
I smiled at my phone. "Yeah, tell me about it. Any hobbies or secret talents?"
"Hmm… I'm really good at finding memes," she said proudly.
I laughed. "Impressive. That's definitely a talent."
Then, out of nowhere, she typed, "So… would you be my boyfriend?"
I stared at my phone. "Wait… what? We literally just started talking."
She typed quickly: "I know, I know, but I like you already. You seem fun."
I shook my head. Nope. Definitely not going into a relationship with a stranger. "Sorry, I can't. I barely know you."
She paused for a moment, then wrote, "Oh… okay. I guess that's fair."
I blocked her and thought, thank god. That would've been a disaster.
Later, when school reopened, I found out the truth. Sushma wasn't even real. Pratik had made a fake account and pulled off the ultimate prank. Honestly, it made us laugh so much and probably made our friendship stronger.
After that, things went back to normal. I went to school, did my work, hung out with my friends, and went home. The same old routine. But seeing Sulav and Radhika getting close in class really pissed me off.
One month passed, then another. Nothing romantic happened for me, and it felt like maybe it never would. My studies sometimes slipped too, but I didn't really care.
Even with the heartbreak and frustration, life kept moving. And I knew there were still memories waiting to be made in the months and years ahead.