Last days

Chapter 9

For the last 20 days, I have run every alley and plaza in my neighbourhood. It's 5 AM, and it's still dark. Dogs are barking and I slow down as I approach any, dogs in the morning are grumpy as hell. I usually take some biscuits with me, to bribe them.

For the last few days, I have been coming to this small children's park. Which has a nice running ring encircling it. It's a 20-minute walk from my home. I do 8-9 laps of the circuit and head home.

One more lap! I thought as I complete the 8th lap. I saw a girl entering, Through the park's only entrance and exit. After My last lap, I sat down on a bench, next to the exit. I lost myself in contemplating as I watched the moon.

"You are Rishabh, right?" the girl who I saw enter the park, pulls me out of my thoughts. She is about the same height as Ananya, she has dark black straight hair, and dark brown eyes. She was taking deep breaths.

"Yes! Do I know you?"

"Yes, I suppose. We were in the same class, grade 9." She said. "Avani Singh"

"Oh!" I tried to remember, "Of course!" I said she was in my class alright. She was the class representative; that explains why she remembers me. "How have you been? I haven't seen you since grade 9." I said.

"I have been good, moved to Chandigarh to stay with my grandma. I am studying there, here to visit my parents." That sounds odd, and the territory I should be careful to walk upon.

"That's cool! Chandigarh!"

"Yeah," she said without much enthusiasm. "How's your life going? And what are you doing here?"

I explained to her why I was here at 5 in the morning, excluding the part about my love-interest-best friend breaking my heart. She seemed shocked that I have been staying up all night reading books.

"I am sure it is not that unbelievable! Many people do stay up all night." I said.

"Yeah, but they don't read textbooks."

"Well, I had nothing else to do."

"Why not watch movies or some web series?"

"I don't know, I am staying away from the internet for a while." She seemed to get that part.

"So what did you read tonight?"

I explained velocity, acceleration, friction and all those things that I found out about a few hours ago. She laughed when I said I dig up to the point of why each of those was named that name specifically.

"So how's your school life, in Chandigarh?" I asked.

"It's okay, I guess."

"You are in science right? I remember back in 9th grade, you won first place in the Science Competition. What did you made, I forgot?" I said, trying hard to remember.

"Photo-electric model, you shoot light on the plate and it generates electricity." She said laughing. "And I am in Commerce."

"Why?! It doesn't make sense."

"It's a long story."

I nodded, and I realized she was probably the first girl I had been comfortable talking with other than Ananya. It felt easy, somehow. I don't know why, but my mind just asked, "So, do you have a boyfriend?" She looked a bit surprised. "No, I don't," she said looking down at her candy-pink shoes. I kept myself from asking, Then do you have two?

"Do you?" she asked. "What have a boyfriend?" I said to make the mood lighter. She laughed, "No! I meant girlfriend. But yeah do you have a boyfriend or girlfriend?" I laughed, shaking my head. "No! Neither."

That day, I had a physics test. I blew it. I was acing chemistry, even better than before. But Physics and Maths were still french to me. Krish was doing great in everything, almost hitting 75s in each. Enough for him to brag about it to everyone he met. Even to the school toppers.

-----