The Wrong Right One!

It's not Damon?

August 2015

Though we decide everything for a wedding many years before it actually happens, one tough decision that has to be made at the time of the wedding is choosing the maid of honor. What's more pathetic is I've promised more than a couple of my friends that they will be my maid of honor and I can't decide who I love the most. Rachel from the school, Clara from the neighborhood, Julia from the college and Amy from my first job. A single description will suit them all - Extroverts, great fashion sense, gossip queens who always have all the news, have stood by me like a rock from the time I've known them. While I badly hope someone else could make the decision for me, Mike walks in.

October 2005

I reach the basketball court and I'm doing a quick scan to find Damon. Few months back if I had to find him amidst these many guys I would have not even bothered to give it a chance. But now I'm in a phase where I can find him even if there are a thousand people around. While I gloat on this sense of overconfidence and pride , I find him. I sit to watch him play with a teeny tiny hope that he'd notice me but I don't think that's going to happen any time sooner. I'm annoyed as I think why do boys get so involved when it comes to games, why do they push us to second priority when their game mood is on. I sit there cursing all the games in the world and hoping if telepathy could be an option, I suddenly catch his eyes hover over me. It was only for a fraction of second but I definitely know that he saw me and now I'm greedily waiting for his wink.

He dodges the ball and manages to put it inside the basket. I'm not quite sure if practice matches have goal points but I know for sure that he scored. While I'm trying to decide whether to stay or leave he looks at me and winks, and he is walking towards me.

"Don't tell me you wanna compete with me in basketball", he says mockingly.

"No , I don't. But you do play well", I say, with an increased heartbeat. I don't know what is the matter with my heart. It always beats heavily when I interact with him and my brain stops working.

"Thanks...", he says looking deep into my eyes, "Can... I ask you out on a date? If you don't mind?".

Finally, I think to myself. I'm not sure if this is too soon to go out or if it's too late, it's my first love after all. I want to say yes. It may sound dumb but I really don't know how to say yes at this moment. Also, I genuinely don't want to sound so swept off already.

"I guess so", I say trying to make it look really casual.

"Great. Give me your number, I'll call you", he says with a smile.

"My what ? ", I ask, judging his extremely poor humor sense.

"Mobile number. See, that's important for people to call ", he's still smiling while he raises both his eyebrows simultaneously. And I can sense that he's serious.

"But ..... don't you have my number already?", I ask, now in a surprised-shocked tone.

"Nope ! ", he says confidently. I quickly share my number with him and he gives me a call. The phone screen shows a 11-digit phone number and not as PRIVATE NUMBER, and he says, "Save it", with a wink as he leaves.

I'm breathing heavily and I call the number that I already thought to be Damon, badly hoping his phone to ring but it doesn't. The call gets cut and I receive a message from that number.

PRIVATE NUMBER

Yes, baby?

OH. MY. GOD.

PRIVATE NUMBER

Is Damon bothering you?

There are thousands of emotions rushing in my brain that I cannot explain and I sit to absorb what was happening. The one who is messaging is not Damon and I have no idea who it is. I've fallen in love with two different persons at the same time, I feel terrible. I'm already scared of the slut-shaming that could happen if this news gets out. Above all, I want to know who the actual person is immediately. If he knows that Damon talked to me now, he has to be somewhere here. Of course he is here, when I messaged him that I'm coming to the basketball court he replied affirmatively, all just a few minutes ago. I quickly make another call nervously. My hands are trembling and I feel like I want to cry. It's ringing and I'm searching the entire place to see who has the phone that rings. My heart beats so heavily that I might faint anytime now and the call is received at the other end.

"Hello ?", I say with my eyes still searching for the person.

"Yes, baby?", says the other person. He is THE person, who thinks that I'm chatting with him for the past two months knowing who he is, who thinks I've fallen for him already, which is also technically very true, except the fact I didn't know who it is. I suddenly look at this boy near the right corner, creepily looking at me with a phone in his hand. My brain is taking forever to process the last five minutes.

Michael Sinclair. It's him. The guy who is also my classmate , who also plays basketball, who sits in the front row, always has a serious look on his face, who has the most neat hair and wears steamed clothes all the time. Now that I think, I remember catching him looking at me many times while I was sending messages. 

"What? What happened... ? Why do you look so horrified?" , he's asking with so much concern in his voice that I can sense even though I'm not in the state to. 

"Nothing. Just... not well. Talk to you later.", I say ,ending the call and I move out of the place as fast as I can.