Cupid is Stupid

01

I forgot to brush my teeth and take a bath. I realized it when I was changing into my uniform.

The message was sent at 7:51.

As Nidhi continued to stare at the screen of her hand-me-down iPhone, a message popped up.

How do u even do that!? Forgot to brush ur teeth? God, hats off to u, Nidhi.

Nidhi grinned a sheepish smile at the Screen.

Hehe. Thank u. So, tell me, what should I do at this moment?

The response came back to her in less than a second after she sent it.

I mean, what more is there to say? Grab some mint-flavored gum.

Luckily, yesterday on her way home from the nearby park, she had stopped to buy a big packet of gum.

Great idea. I have no idea why this didn't occur to me sooner.

She tore open the wrapper and popped the gum into her mouth. She chewed it for a while and then checked her breath by blowing on her hand.

That's cuz u tend to leave ur brain in the refrigerator most of the time.

Though they had known one other for two years, Nidhi and Kriti had only been friends for a year.

Gee, thanks. So how's ur trip going?

Horrible. Miserable. Terrible. A complete list of negative adjectives. Kriti texted.

Kriti and her family were recently in Delhi, where her uncle and paternal grandparents reside. When Kriti's grandmother became ill, she and her family made the trip to see her.

Trust me, I really want to know what's so bad, but I'm getting late for school. I'll text you in the evening, okay?

Nidhi didn't wait for a reply before she walked into the unremarkable living room, putting her phone away.

Nidhi plopped herself on the couch and started scrolling through Pinterest. Seeing as how it was only 8:10 at the time, there was still a good while to go until the bus showed up.

When she heard the sound of a familiar honk, she shouted "bye" to her mom and got on her bus. She settled into her normal seat, the third to last one, next to her 6-year-old cousin, and propped her head on the seat in front of her. This was her routine on the bus: sleep, sleep, and sleep. as she knew she wouldn't get any at home.

However, we can't escape the problems caused by cousins.

Six-year-old Isha said, "Nidhi vadina" to her. She murmured, her bottom lip quivering, "I didn't do the homework."

Nidhi let out a long sigh. Isha, or Ishu as she was known throughout the household, had been attending the same school for quite some time, so this was also a regular occurrence. When it was time to go to school, she'd find some excuse to bawl her eyes out. Sometimes the reason was her mom not signing her school diary; sometimes, like now, it was her not writing her homework; and sometimes it was her mom keeping too much rice. Nidhi would've felt terrible seeing Ishu cry like that if it hadn't been so frequent, but now... it was a daily occurrence.

***

Even though Nidhi's bus had arrived at school after the morning assembly had ended, she didn't seem to mind missing out. The opposite was true; she was relieved it was finished since she had been too slothful to extend her hand for the whole minute.

By the time she entered her class, which was located on the second floor, she was panting heavily.

"Water," she said, tapping her friend's bench. Even though she had her own water bottle, she chose to ask her friend instead, as her bottle was inside her bag.

Her friend Sahasra chuckled at her situation. "Not even my grandmother pants this much after climbing the stairs."

Nidhi grabbed the water bottle out of her friend's hand and drank three large swigs.

"You do know that you shouldn't drink while your heart is racing rapidly, right?"  Sahasra asked.

"You're gonna have a blast today.
I heard approximately twenty different pick-up lines last night,"she pushed aside Sahasra's objections and continued, causing the latter to groan. Everything corny and flirtatious Nidhi said or did to Sahasra, she had to put up with.

Komali Ma'am, their classroom teacher, had just walked into the room when someone on the third-to-last bench let out a squeaky yelp. Everyone, save Nidhi, who was busy making notes, turned to investigate the source of the noise.

Her attention was piqued, though, when she heard Komali ma'am scream out his name. Subtly, she turned around to find him standing there, awkwardly.

"Can I know why you yelped all of a sudden, Tej?" Asked Komali ma'am.

He rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly and said, "Ma'am, Varun pinched me."

Nidhi snorted incredulously at the ridiculous excuse. She didn't know how loud her snort was, but it caught the attention of most of the students in the room. She glanced at Komali ma'am and saw that she, too, was fighting to suppress a grin; Tej, standing close by, gave her a quizzical look. She jerked her head back and carried on taking notes.

"How old are you, Tej? Nine?"

"But, ma'am, he really-" Tej tried to defend himself.

"You are sitting on the second bench from now on. You are getting more and more spoiled as you sit on the last bench," declared Komali ma'am.

Nidhi's pulse quickened. What second bench is she talking about? Is it behind me? she thought.

Eventually, Tej spoke her mind. '' "Which second bench, ma'am?"

"The one behind Nidhi,"

Considering her lack of social skills, the response made her want to squeal like a baby and also make her want to jump off the school's roof. In her awkwardness and shyness, she was certain she wouldn't dare attempt to strike up a conversation with him.

"Which Nidhi, ma'am?"

That made the happy bubble she was in pop.

The teacher said, "You don't know who your class leader is?" Asked Komali ma'am.

He oh'd in realization. "I thought her name was Ridhi, and she doesn't even talk with us, how can I know her?" Tej finished speaking in a mumble, but Komali ma'am still heard him.

"That's enough, Tej," she reprimanded him.

She then felt Tej sit, or rather, leap, onto the bench behind her.

She was right; the whole day was silent until for the first period when Tej was instructed to switch desks. Throughout the day, though, she couldn't help but worry whether any of her students had the impression that she didn't enjoy chatting with them.