Mom and Dad tell me that they'll miss me. I tell them that I'll miss them even more. While we're having some family time, Dr. Nishan is keeping my bags in his car.
After few minutes, Dr. Nishan comes to me. I look at him with thankful eyes and just smile.
"You ready?" Dr. Nishan asks.
"Yes." I check the time.
Dr. Nishan and my parents exchange byes and he get in the driver seat. I hug my mom and dad and get in the car.
"Let's meet tomorrow." Dad says to Dr. Nishan, surprising me.
"Why? What's tomorrow?" I ask.
"We're going for a morning walk." Mom answers excitedly.
"Without me?" I laugh.
"Yeah! There will be monkeys. So, we won't miss you." Dr. Nishan laughs.
"You'll miss me the most." I say, earning a smirk from Dr. Nishan.
"We'll see! Monkey!" He sticks his tongue out. Damn! He's cute.
After 5 minutes of joking, we leave. The first few minutes of drive is silent. None of us say anything.
"Thank you for everything." I break the silence, looking at him.
"You don't have to." He says, focusing on the road.
"I'm scared." I said out of nowhere.
"You'll be okay. You're brave than you know." He says but I cut him off.
"It's not about the trip." I say, getting irritated.
"What's bugging you?" He asks, looking at me.
"Nothing." I look away, not wanting to talk anymore and he doesn't ask anything.
Once again, the drive is silent. But my mind is loud with thoughts. I look at him, he's driving peacefully, eyes on the road. However, he can sense that I'm looking at him. I'm glad he doesn't say a word and I look outside the window.
What if Dr. Nishan starts hating me after I reject him? What if he breaks our friendship? I don't want to lose a friend like him. If I say no to him, he'll hate me but if we get into a relationship, we'll eventually breakup and he'll hate me even more. Both ways he'll hate me. What should I do? I am stuck.
"Here we are." Dr. Nishan says, startling me. I look up and see my school gate in the front view. I can see my so-called friends inside the gate.
I look at my right and he's already looking on his left. Neither of us look away.
"I'm scared I'll lose you." I wish I could say this.
"You'll never lose me." I can see this in his eyes.
Our eyes communicated without words.
Within seconds Sam is knocking the window of our car. Dr. Nishan smiles and slides down the glass.
"Are we late?" Dr. Nishan asks.
"No. The buses are here. But not everyone has arrived." Sam says, making my heart beat so fast. Now I can see group of women looking towards us.
"There's a vacant seat. Why don't you join us?" Razz arrives out of nowhere.
"Should I go and bring my bags?" Dr. Nishan sarcastically asks.
"Of course." Razz says, making everyone laugh except me.
"Tee, you'll be okay." Razz says. Little does she know; Kabir is the least person I'm thinking about. I'm worried about something else. I just nod.
Sam opens the car's trunk and takes out my bags. Dr. Nishan joins him and helps Sam.
"You don't want to get out of the car?" Razz asks me.
"I don't." I smirk and she opens the door for me. Boys come beside us, holding my bags. I take my bag from Dr. Nishan's hands, surprising him. I don't want him to come inside the school and be the center of the attention.
"We'll see you in a week." Sam forwards his hand towards Dr. Nishan.
"Yes, and then let's plan a trip." Dr. Nishan says and they shake the hands. When did these two get this close? Razz and I share a look.
"Thank you so much for dropping me here." I say, and I'm really thankful.
"Please let me know if any of my patients need me." I say, even though Nepali sim card won't be active there. I can use Wi-Fi though.
"I will." He says.
"Guys can I have a moment with her?" Dr. Nishan looks at Sam and Razz.
"Sure. We'll be inside." Sam says taking the bag from my hand. I let him. My heart starts beating so fast, wondering what Dr. Nishan will say.
"For this one week, just think about yourself. Enjoy the trip to the fullest. Don't worry about work, don't feel down even if you feel left out, don't get sad looking at Kabir and his partner, and don't think about me. I know what's bugging you. I just want to make it clear that nothing will affect our friendship. You don't have to have the pressure of anything." He says, making me feel like I just let go a biggest stone from my chest.
Without thinking anything I throw my arms around him. Those words meant world to me, I needed to hear them. And with that hug I understood how grateful I was to have him as a friend. He patted my back and I let him go. I am grateful he said those, otherwise I'd have wasted the whole trip worrying about losing him as a friend.
"Now go and enjoy. Your friends might get a different idea." He laughs, looking at the group of women who are looking at us. This time I also laugh with him.
"See you soon." I say, smiling.
He smiles back, gets inside the car and within moments he drives away. I walk inside the school gate with an intension to heal my broken heart.
