Signed, Gaius

Chapter 7

★ Seven ★

"Either she's extremely shy, or she's afraid of me... or she just doesn't want to befriend me at all," Gaius thought of her peculiar behavior as he stood in front of his locker, arranging it. Ophelia was just to his right and she bolted as soon as she could without a word.

She puzzled him. An entire week had gone by and she'd never once initiated a conversation. They met daily at the locker area after school and she seemed to hide behind the locker door everyday. Even when he did attempted conversation, she'd barely met his eyes and she always seemed lost for words like the coordination between her brain and her tongue had been disconnected.

Yet, she seemed perfectly at ease and chatted freely with others. Everyone was new to her, just like him, yet he seemed to trouble her somehow. He wondered what wrong he did to her. After a few unsuccessful attempts, he decided to let her be. He went about his business. He let her have her peace. Or so he thought.

However, there were things he was oblivious to, like being oblivious to the fact that Ophelia eagerly anticipated speaking to him each day. She wanted to tell him, but opportunities eluded her. He was always in the company of someone else, often with his entire gang or with Korong. And Ophelia found it challenging to express herself with others around; she believed it should be a conversation solely between her and Gaius.

It wasn't until the end of the second week that they had another chance encounter. The week had been busy with students required to join at least one school club. Club organizers had been busy campaigning for their own clubs, wrecking their brains to make their advertisements more creative. The football ground transformed into a carnival for three days, with clubs opening booths, raising flyers, flags, danced, sang, held short demos in hopes of attracting new members. Meanwhile, other students juggled options, contemplating their choices.

Gaius didn't have to face the dilemma of choosing. He had been a part of the Chess club for two consecutive years, and now he was actively involved in promoting it as a part of the core team. Ophelia had seen him hosting small tournaments at their booth, distributing sweets and prizes. Korong would add background music with his trumpet to make the games more entertaining.

Sir Surjit, who also served as the guide of the Chess club, had asked Gaius to go fetch some books for the young entrants. Long queues of boys and girls awaited outside the library, as it was the final day for students to choose their clubs

Past the wide library lobby, he ran into Ophelia in the first room on the left. They met among the shelves, finding her alone, seemingly looking for something out of the box to read.

He said, "Hi."

Catching her off guard in her quiet time, she looked up surprised. "Hi," she replied and turned, hardly making a sound on the polished oak floor as she moved, leisurely shifting through the books.

He retrieved three copies of Chess for Beginners from the shelf. Then he turned to go, only to be surprised to find her still there.

"Couldn't find anything interesting?" He asked, his tone hushed, accompanied by a small smile.

"Oh, I'm not looking for anything in particular. I'm just checking out... Killing time." She seemed a bit dazed but managed to reciprocate the smile.

Alright. He should go. There's nothing left to talk about. He thought but he found himself moving towards her.

"Do you speak Manipuri?" He asked again in English, as always. All of their limited conversations so far had consistently been in English. While Manipuri was theoretically the common language of the state, most tribals rarely spoke it, and when they did, it was often heavily accented.