IN LOVE WITH YOU [SLOW UPDATES]

2

NAINA's POV

His name was Phi.

He went up to the podium and greeted us with folded hands and 'Sawasdee Krub' which means Hello in Thai.

So he's from Thailand, but what kind of name is that?

This would have been my first thought if I hadn't watched some Thai series. He looked like one of the guys from their TV shows but without the makeup and extra lip colour. Oh, wait! There's no lip colour, they have lips that are pinker than my lips coated with pink colour.

He had the kind of skin that girls would kill for, the kind of skin which can brighten a dark room with its glow and aura. And here I was trying to remove acne scars and oil from my nose tip.

Can my skin turn that good, ever? Looks like this isn't gonna happen even in my dreams. I was pissed for a second. Even boys are beautiful than me and have better skin.

"Okay, get over your cribbing now. This is not the time!" I thought trying to pull myself back in reality.

The handsome guy sitting next to me had brown eyes, tanned skin, brown curled hair and a sturdy body. He introduced himself as Omer and he was from Turkey. I was wondering why on Earth is this replica of a greek god sitting next to me? Anyway, we were having a good laugh. We watched a few videos of Anwar Jiwabi together.

Everyone introduced themselves and greeted others in their native language. I think this was a good step by the professor to ease our tensions and get to know each other's culture better.

The professor started with the lecture outline for our course. We had our weekly assignments and assessments already scheduled and a surprise quiz may knock on our door anytime as quoted by the Professor.

After the lecture ended, all of us checked out the library for a few books. I was with Omer and Lisa had joined us. She was from Texas and because her best friend from high school was an Indian- American, she was so excited to talk to me! We instantly connected with chatting about Indian food and movies and surprisingly she knew a lot about India.

The library was huge with long study tables in the centre and small cubicles on the sides. It also had a digital library section with computer systems and headsets.

There were a plethora of books and I drifted from the economics section to the literature section soon. There were some works of Dostoevsky, and I planned to read them whenever I got time in midst of the upcoming busy schedule. 

I turned around to leave but stopped at the poetry section. Phi was looking at a poetry collection from Robert Frost. He was tall, black-haired, his lean body covered with a large black tee paired with olive green pants. His eyes were the ones that awed me the most, they were big, black coloured with absolutely creaseless eyelids resembling a baby's eyes.

He seemed like a private person, maybe he was a complete introvert. But his skin...

Why can't I stop thinking about his skin??

He looked up and saw me staring at him.

"Uh, hi! I was looking at the book in your hand," I blurted out like a thief caught when stealing.

"Do you read poetry?"

I was expecting a 'Hi' in response, but alright, this will work too. He seems like a peculiar guy.

"Not much, I'm more into stories. But I write sometimes, just a hobby." I said with an awkward smile.

"I would like to read your poems someday," he said and walked away with the book in his hand.

That was kind of rude. He just walked away like that and didn't even bother to listen to my reply. At least he could have smiled. He won't be taxed for it!!

I walked to the cafeteria to satiate my grumbling stomach. The only thing exciting about the bland food was the chocolate brownie. I was sitting with Lisa and she narrated some funny moments of her life. She was a sweet girl and I got surprisingly quite comfortable with her in such a short span.

Phi was sitting diagonally, two seats away from my seat. Pam was sitting at the same table, facing him while I could see his back.

Pam was short, with small almond-shaped eyes, supple pink lips, long black hair extending to her waist and of course glowing skin. She was Chinese and she seemed quite fashionable too with her leopard print jacket and fancy sneakers.

"I can feel my skin-related insecurities increasing!" I thought looking at them.

She seemed kind of a chatterbox. Phi was listening to her while eating his food, speaking occasionally. Maybe he needed time to get comfortable with people. From my interaction in the library, I could speculate that he was either cold to everyone or he needed some time to open up.

We had the rest of the lectures with more sets of introductions, subject outlines and talks about deadly examinations.

By evening, I was in my room tired from all the small talks that I had to do today. Lisa wanted to explore the city after college and asked me to come along but I declined politely, I was not in a mood to go out. Fundamentally, I consider myself an introvert- although now I'm commendably good at small talks- only because I need some alone time to recharge myself after an exhausting day. Plus the weather was all dull and depressing. I'd rather stay indoors and sleep. Or maybe crib over my looks again!

I had rented a small room near the campus owned by an Indian family. They were good people and they assured me that it will feel like home with them. But it doesn't feel like home anywhere you go, whatever you do, does it?

Tell me in the comments, who do you like more? Phi or Naina??