March
Prathibha was never the kind of girl who could stay devoted for too long. She never mastered the art of loving someone so intensely that it blinded her from the trickles of lust that consumed her.
There would always be someone more interesting, more smart or more handsome than the next.
She'd often find herself bored and so she'd take her chances when running from guy to guy. She never worried about heartbreak, the thought of it was never even too hard for her to digest. It was easy enough for her to leave. And maybe she owed this insensitivity to the fact that she'd never actually found someone that made her want to stay.
But fate had other plans.
Often, the students of class 12 A would find themselves wondering if a normal day was really 24 hours long. Because 1 hour of physics started to seem like 10. But then again, time is relative; a rule that seemed to apply to their Physics teacher who didn't mind the ringing of the bell and continued to ramble on for another five minute about a million other principles and laws before Arya Agarwal graciously interrupted, "ma'am, we've got our break now."
Much to the class's relief, their teacher did not chide them or threaten to take more of their time and simply looked at her watch before nodding in acknowledgement. Devi Aruketty sighed as she watched the teacher take her leave.
"Hey, let's head down then?" came Prathibha's voice from the seat in front of Devi. She smiled. "Yeah sure. Sana, you coming?"
The bubbly girl in front of them turned, "Yeah, I'll be down in a minute. Wait for me, won't you?" she asked, her face buried in what was definitely another Harry Potter book. Such was Sana. You could always count on her to put her fictional worlds before the people who actually wanted to spend time with her.
Devi thought profusely to herself. Reality had never been tame for her. She enjoyed reading as much as the next person but she'd never found herself quite content with the idea of having to live in imaginary places: only to come back to a world to obsolete and devoid of love. And Devi yearned for it. Devi yearned for love and comfort. Not just the one Sana created in that vividly imaginative mind of hers, but one that she could hold and feel.
"You've got to stop reading so much. Please put the book down and come." Prathibha compelled, now in front of Sana's desk. She didn't budge and her eyes stayed glued to the words on the page. "I said I'll be down in a minute. Besides, what's the rush? we've got a good 25 minutes before the bell." she suggested.
But Prathibha was impatient. She hated the idea of staying cooped up indoors more than she had to. Unlike her friend who wouldn't step outside if she couldn't help it. "Fine then. We're leaving. Come when you want to." she finally said, annoyance laced in her voice. Sana merely shrugged.
"Okay then, head downstairs and gawk over those hormone struck teenage boys. Don't see how I could help with that." smirked Sana. Prathibha slammed her hand on the table. Sana however, stayed fixated to her spot and simply turned a page.
"At least the boys I like are real. At least they aren't covered in scars." Prathibha mused, much to Sana's dismay. She finally managed to look up from her book, "you didn't!" she gasped dramatically.
"Very much so. Devi, let's go." Prathibha said with a satisfied undertone, gesturing the tall girl to join her. Devi, who had been engaged in a very interesting conversation with Swanazel Anrea, promptly turned and obliged.
Both of them walked down the musty blue corridors of the school.
"God! She annoys me." Prathibha complained as they descended the stairs down to the ground.
Devi merely chuckled. "Sana?' she asked knowingly.
"No one but her." Prathibha replied with a grin.
