The Boxes We Are Put In

Chapter 11

I sat and watched the mime show alone. It was boring. I did not particularly care about the show. I was thinking about Nikhil. I felt irritated because I still was worrying about him, wondering if he got his hand dressed or not.

I saw Shruthi giggling with Darshan. My eyes met with Darshan for a second, he smiled at me, tentatively. But I looked away. I did not want to mess my mood up further.

A while later, I went and had lunch all alone. The biriyani at the food stall was good. I was perfectly fine all alone. Why did I think I need someone else to escape from my problems? Why did I ever let him get so close to me? People just hurt you...and leave.

Instead of focusing on a guy, I should have just studied more. I am not a bad student. Just that I did not have an inborn passion for engineering or programming. I wanted to study English MA. But...English don't give you as much money or status as B-tech. My father was sure of that.

In a couple of months, the campus recruitment process was starting. If I manage to secure a job in the major companies which give training in Bangalore, I may even be able to escape the immediate marriage situation. I can argue with my parents that the job is too good to give up.

I wondered if the college library was open. It may not be since the college fest is going on. I love going to the library. It was quiet, and it contained fiction books also.

I spotted the teachers going to the canteen. The librarian Meena miss was among them. I walked to them. Alex sir and Rekha miss were also in the group. They were about to have lunch. "Meena, miss..." I asked. She looked up, "is the library open?"

"No." She said, "It's the fest, right? I did not open it." she said. "But you will be the only one who wants to go to the library on a festival day, Arya." She said.

"Oh... I needed a book." I said.

"Why don't you just enjoy the fest, Arya?" Rekha miss said. "You can get your book on Monday."

Hm... I really wanted to just read quietly. Meena miss may have seen my disappointment. "Okay, do one thing..." Meena miss said. "It will take me an hour to have lunch. But you can unlock the library yourself, right?" She opened her purse and took out the key. The other teachers looked at her as if she has gone crazy. "Oh, it's just Arya," Meena miss said. "I know her so well. She spent most of the last four years in the library. I can trust her with it." She turned to me, "Go ahead and open it. I will come in an hour. Or if you choose to lock it, then keep the key with you. I will get it from you later."

"Okay," I said, taking the key.

I walked out of the canteen and bumped into Adwaith. "Sorry," I said.

"Arya. You are here. Then where is he?" He asked, looking at me with doubt.

"Who?" Who else, my mind yelled.

"Eh... Did you see Nikhil?" Adwaith asked. "We can't find him. He is supposed to be in charge of the Group Song event."

"I don't know. I did not see him." I said. "I mean, we argued. So..."

"Was it bad? The argument?

"Kind of... I..." I felt a bit conscious. I was the reason Nikhil abandoned his duties yesterday as well.

"Great. He might have taken off again." Adwaith said. "Can't you two have saved all this for later? Yesterday he made all that mess and now?"

"He...messed up yesterday?" I asked.