Now a figure of heroine has embodied in Aruna. When it comes to subjects, my peers stop looking for me. Well, they do, but it is to find out where she is and whether I can contact her in seconds. Do they think I'm her manager or body guard? Jeez.
Somehow I feel like we are doing an exchange of friends. Aruna has got closer to my group, and I has been more often with her old pack. Yes. Those social climbers who keep telling me that I always catch everybody's attention. Sorry, what are their names again? Oh, too bad. I don't remember a single name. Well, I might say our relationship is transactional. I give them a bunch of smiles, nods, and other warm gestures. They shower me with admiration and compliments. And it is just enough for me.
But between me and Aruna, something needs to be clear. How close is our degree of closeness? How do you measure it? By frequency of being seen together? By number of text messages sent or calls dialed? She's quite fun to be with, to talk to. But it feels uncomfortable having her around. Like she's a social burden. Like I always need to speak louder and greet more people to be more visible to others whenever both of us are on our way to the class. The noun "friendship" is grammatically uncountable. No wonder it can't be exactly measured.
I'm telling you something. There's one typical activity done by a couple of best friends. There's one thing I never give a try with her. Best friends share secrets. We don't.
[D]
