International loveship and friendship

Chapter:2

-Darika

I arrived home, the familiar scent of spices wafting from the kitchen. My stepmother was busy cooking, so I quietly slipped to my room, grabbed my towel, and went straight to the shower. The warm water washed away the day's weariness.

Afterward, I selected a casual T-shirt and short jeans from my cupboard, dressed, and headed to the hall. My stepmom was waiting with a fresh cup of coffee in her hand. I accepted it with a nod, quietly sitting on the couch. The coffee warmed me from within as I sipped slowly. She handed me some snacks as well, which I finished gratefully.

Once I was done, I went back to my room, picked up my bag, and left home. I walked down the familiar path, each step taking me closer to my training class. When I arrived, I entered the small house where classes were held, finding my tutor—my elder sister—sitting on a chair, waiting. I greeted her respectfully and took my usual spot on the bare floor, placing my bag beside me.

I pulled out my book and started studying. Soon after, Pooja arrived and settled beside me. We often studied together, sharing notes and helping each other grasp tougher topics. The other students in our tuition class were from primary and middle school, leaving Pooja and me as the only high school students. It felt like we were a team, bound by shared struggles and ambitions.

At one point, I raised a hand, seeking help with a physics equation. As my tutor came over to explain, a tall boy walked in. I’d seen him before but couldn’t recall where. The tutor introduced him, saying, "This is Sidh, your new classmate and study partner. Darika, you and Pooja will help him catch up; he’s struggling in some subjects."

Pooja and I nodded. Sidh sat down next to me, and, leaning closer, Pooja whispered, "He’s from our school, you know!"

"Really?" I whispered back.

She rolled her eyes, chuckling. "Come on, Goldy, you’re the class leader! How could you not know him?"

"I'm not exactly focused on finding out who the boys in our class are," I said, feigning indifference. But as I glanced at him, he gave me an easy smile, one that seemed to linger, almost mischievously, on his lips.

"Hi, I’m Sidh. So, you do remember me now, right?" he asked, nudging me.

Ugh, I could already tell he was going to be a distraction. I forced myself to focus on my book, hoping he’d get the hint and stay quiet. But he kept trying to get my attention, talking and asking random questions. I had to bite my lip to keep from snapping.

“I want to study, so please, be quiet,” I finally whispered. He grinned, but thankfully, he stopped bothering me—though now, I could feel his eyes on me, observing me too closely for comfort.

Hours passed, and when the clock struck 10, our tutor dismissed us. I packed my bag quickly and hurried outside. I spotted Pooja’s dad waiting for her in an auto, and he gave me a warm smile, which I returned.

Pooja called out, “Want a ride?”

I shook my head, “No, thanks, I’ll walk.”

“Alright, see you at school tomorrow!” she said, waving as she got into the auto.

I waved back, turning to leave, but then someone tugged on my bag. I turned around to find Sidh standing there, looking somewhat shy.

“Hey, Darika.”

I raised an eyebrow. “What do you want?”

He hesitated a moment, then said, “I want to be friends with you.”

I blinked in surprise. “I already have friends,” I replied coolly, brushing him off.

He grinned, almost defiantly. “Well, I like you.”

“What?” I felt my eyes widen in shock.

“I said I like you,” he repeated, his tone a little softer this time.

For a second, I was speechless. No one had ever said something like that to me before. My heart raced unexpectedly, though I couldn’t understand why.

"Hey, Darika!" His voice snapped me back to the moment.

“Uh, yes?” I stammered.

He laughed, seemingly amused by my reaction. “I mean, as a friend,” he added quickly.

Oh, a friend! I nodded, maybe a bit too eagerly. “Right, friends.” But as I walked home, my mind replayed his words, feeling a confusing swirl of emotions I couldn’t name.

That night, I lay in bed, unable to shake off what he’d said. My stepmom’s call for dinner went unanswered as I tried to sort through my feelings, eventually falling asleep with a faint smile on my lips.

---

The next morning at school, my gaze drifted to Sidh as soon as I entered the classroom. There he was, sitting in the middle row, casually chatting with his friends. For the first time, I felt an odd curiosity about him, an unfamiliar pull. But I shook it off. I couldn’t possibly have a crush on him. Could I?

During lunch, I opened my box, only to have Sidh wave at me from across the room. I found myself smiling back without thinking.

“What’s going on with you, Darika?” Pooja asked, raising an eyebrow suspiciously.

“Nothing, really. He’s just… well, he’s our classmate now and asked to be friends. That’s all.”

Pooja didn’t look convinced, but Sarah, who was seated next to me, offered me a bite of her food. “Here, try this!”

Pooja followed suit, playfully feeding me as well. I rolled my eyes but took a bite, feeling grateful to have such friends. Pooja had known me forever, practically part of my family’s life since childhood. Sarah, though newer, had become just as close over the past six months.

But things were changing. And for the first time, I wondered how much of it was because of Sidh.

Then, one day at tuition, Pooja was absent, having gone to visit her grandmother. Sidh arrived late, and we worked together on some math problems my tutor had given us. As I explained the steps to him, he looked at me intently and suddenly said, “Darika… I love you.”

I froze, blinking. “What?” I asked, barely able to believe what I’d heard.

“I love you,” he repeated, his voice steady.

I didn’t know how to respond. My heart raced, words escaping me. “I… I… I like you, too,” I finally managed to whisper, feeling my face heat up.

He grinned, clearly pleased, and asked for my number. I mumbled, “I don’t have a smartphone, just an old model.”

“Doesn’t matter,” he chuckled. “Just give me the number—I’ll call you.”

After that, we left together, and as I got home, I couldn’t help but smile, looking at my reflection in the mirror. He’d confessed, and I’d confessed. It was all so new, so surreal. My heart felt light, and I felt… happy.

---

At school the next day, I introduced Sidh to Sarah. She blushed, her face turning an adorable shade of pink as they exchanged shy hellos. I raised an eyebrow, wondering if something might be blooming there too.

The four of us became inseparable over the next couple of months. But I noticed that Pooja kept a wary distance from Sidh, a silent tension lingering between them. I wondered if she knew something about him that I didn’t.

Yet, for now, I was just happy to have Sidh as a friend—and maybe even something more. The future felt uncertain, but it was the happiest I’d been in a long time.