LEECH

CHAPTER NINETEEN - VAANI (NOW)

I'm standing here a bit awkwardly holding a bouquet in my hands.

It's recess, so me and Aisha came out of the stuffy classrooms to get a bit of fresh air, but now I'm standing in front of a tenth grader holding a darn collection of roses in my hands. They are so pretty that I don't have the heart to throw them away. After all, it's not the flowers' fault that they ended up in my hands.

"What does this mean?" I laugh nervously. I haven't dealt with many of such extravagant proposals, so I don't know how to respond without breaking the light of hope in the kid's eyes.

"I wanted to say that you're really pretty, didi." He murmurs, a soft blush colouring his cheeks. Aisha crosses her arms beside me.

"Just that much? Nothing else?"

"Nothing else." The boy smiles. "She's way out of my league, I know as much." He replies, and I can't help but be touched. The fact that he can appreciate someone without invading their personal space and also be so respectful at the same time is commendable.

Patting him on his shoulders, I say, "You are going places, kid. Thank you for the compliment. I'll try to make good use of these." I say, gesturing to the flowers.

He grins, rubbing his elbow.

"You should be careful, though. She's already taken." Aisha whispers, an evil teasing note in her voice. I gasp, horrified. Is she trying to start a wildfire of rumours in school?

"What are you saying?" I grit my teeth in frustration.

"What?" She shrugs like an innocent baby.

"I'm not surprised." The guy says, shaking his head.

"I'm not in a relationship." I say in a small voice.

"Do you know the guy is actually super cute? He's tall, plays football, is kinda good looking and loves her a lot. He — mmph!"

I slap my hand over her mouth and drag her away, waving to the kid. Aisha is squirming under my grip, letting out muffled screams as she fights me off of her, but I'm taller, so I have more control.

"What the hell were you babbling about?" I glare at her.

"Telling him about your late night shenanigans. The kid shouldn't thirst after committed girls. That's rude." She retorts.

"I'm not committed. You don't know what you're saying —"

"Oh really? That didn't seem to be the case when you were all cozied up with him in the car yesterday." She smirks, doing a pirouette as if to make her point. I groan, throwing back my head. Yesterday was a disaster if I'd ever known one. I can't believe I was so impulsive and irrational. God only knows what was wrong with me!

"Look. That was a mistake which I won't repeat anymore —" I begin, but a high pitched squeal cuts me off, followed by the sound of footsteps against the tiled floor of the canopy.

"Aisha!" The voice says, and in a flash of a moment, she's stumbling forward, almost knocked down by the force of another figure colliding with her.

A short, petite girl with her hair in a ponytail beams at my friend, eyes gleaming with glee. Beside her is another taller girl, but she definitely doesn't look as happy to see Aisha. Her mouth is twisted into a smile which looks more like a grimace, but her eyes are laser focused on Ash, as if she were waiting for her to strike like a viper.

I frown. Aisha smiles, returning the shorter one's hug. "Hey, Bhavna! Long time no see."

Oh. So that's Bhavna.