The 3G Life

November 5 Monday 2018

Today is an ultimate test for me. I want to see who wins, Athena or Aphrodite. In other words I want to see if Aayan chooses me over Zara. And according to the plan I keep a seat for him beside me and ask Saeed to sit directly behind me. I ask the new boy Aamir to sit with him too.

"Maybe I should call Aayan and ask him not to come," suggests Saeed.

"Do that and I will kill you," I reply.

"Relax, I am not so bad."

"This is a test. And this would be the first and last time."

"Okay, he would gain nothing if he sits with Zara."

Which is true because Zara has already found a boyfriend for herself. Talk of the devil and here she is. I ask Zara to sit on the bench across and keep the seat empty beside her. Then I start praying to God that I win. Because if I do not, I will probably die from depression.

But God actually listens to our prayers. Aayan comes and I close my eyes. Okay. Deep breath. Aayan sits with me. And moreover, he does not hesitate. I look behind at Saeed and mouth him "I WON". He returns my smile and I cannot help the shaking of my body. Besides I can feel Aayan's warmth.

"Are you alright Amber? You are smiling a lot," says Zara.

"What? Stop laughing, okay? I am fine," I reply.

"You won and you look extremely happy."

"What are you talking about?"

"You perfectly know well what I am talking about."

I look at Aayan to see his reaction which is perfectly neutral. Okay, does he smile a little? I just want to kill Zara at that point. Okay, maybe she is just trying to help. Aayan smiles and I cannot hold back anymore and I laugh. And Mohammed sir scolds me and I have to stop.

Aayan is silently doing his math when this accident happens. It does not kill me but it better has. His elbow bumps with mine and alternate electricity courses up to my neck. And next his arms touch with my shoulder and I just have to hold myself still. And then his knees bump with mine.

Not once he says sorry. I mean of course he does not have to apologize but there is something called etiquette. But it is okay, maybe he likes those accidents as much as I do. Why do I feel that he is smiling to himself? He passes the test of choosing, now all he has to do is blurt out his feelings.

Mohammed sir comes over to help with our Math. We both have problems but I ask sir to solve his one first. And honestly that sum is so easy Aayan could have instead given it to me. Is he doing this on purpose? So that he can strain his neck and I have to fight the urge not to bite it.

Then he does something which is so uncomfortable for me. He asks Saeed to switch on the AC and to direct it towards him. As I am sitting beside him, the cold air directly beats me on my back. I am feeling so cold that I square my shoulders and drape my hijab double over.

"Are you feeling really cold?" asks Aayan.

"Yeah, I am completely freezing," I reply.

"Don't worry, you would heat up after a while."

"WHAT? What do you mean by that?"

"You'll see. Your body had already started working."

Okay, what the hell is he talking about? How does he know that I feel heated up whenever he is nearby? Or is that just a casual comment? How can I not know what is going on in his mind? Why is it being so impossible to solve his riddles? Maybe I should concentrate on doing math.

Suddenly I notice Zara's phone on eye level. What the heck? Is she taking our pictures? This is way too much. If this goes viral, I will be so ashamed. And besides Aayan may not even take it so well. She has to delete that photo, like at this instant. How dare she take our photos without our permission?

I ask her to show me the photos but she just giggles and keeps the phone at a distance where I cannot get hold of it. Aayan suddenly looks up and sees the photo before Zara can turn the phone away from him. I blush up to my forehead and just cannot meet his eyes.

The class almost comes to an end. I get up stumbling my chair but it does not have much effect. Aayan gets up and gives me space to get out of the bench. I shoulder my bag and wait for him to finish his pack up. And then I ask him something that I probably should not have.

"Could we walk down the stairs together?" I ask.

"Sorry, I have to use the washroom," Aayan replies.

"Okay, I am waiting for you downstairs."

"Why? What do you want to talk about?"

"I just have something to tell you."

I wait and he comes down after a few minutes. Then I ask him what I am planning to ask him from the very first day. I ask him to sit with me for the rest of month. He looks a bit taken back but controls himself and replies that he will let me know later.

I am a bit disappointed but I am willing towait. I run across the road and put my hand on my chest to steady my heartbeat.I am happy. I am totally happy. I hope his answer will be yes, otherwise myheart will be broken twice. Dear 3G, please let him say yes.