Waiting for You

Chapter 13 (Confessions..)

Maya POV:

I watched Divya scribble away like her life depended on it, her pen flying across the pages with the fury of a thousand neglected assignments. Every time her pen hit the paper, the whole table shook, and my frustration simmered like a pot about to boil over. This was so typical of her—only showing up when she needed something, then disappearing back into her world of friends and social circles the moment her needs were met.

"Best friend." The term felt hollow, like a bad joke nobody laughed at. We'd known each other for years, yet I couldn't shake the feeling that I was just a convenience, a stopgap, a filler friend. It was like being cast in a movie where I didn't even audition, but somehow, I couldn't escape the role.

I glanced over at her, watching as she frantically copied my notes, her brow furrowed in intense concentration. She looked so serious, so focused—what if, just once, she put that much effort into our friendship? What if, instead of copying my notes, she copied a page out of my book and decided to actually care?

But no, that wasn't Divya. And honestly, what was I expecting? A grand gesture? A friendship speech worthy of a teen drama? I shook my head, trying to push the thought away. I couldn't afford to lose another friend, even if this friendship was as flimsy as wet tissue paper. I'd been alone before, and I knew how unbearable that loneliness could be. So, I let it slide, just like I always did. I'd keep playing my part, keep being the dependable one, even if it meant sacrificing a piece of myself in the process.

I had grown used to this dynamic. Each time, a twinge of guilt gnawed at me, but I forgave her anyway. I couldn't bear the thought of being friendless again. I'd be that lone tree in a desert, waving its sad little branches in the wind, pretending it was fine.

Lost in the monotony of our daily grind, I barely registered the commotion near the doorframe. A group of voices rose above the quiet hum of the classroom, their chatter increasingly animated.

Divya, engrossed in her work, didn't even glance up. Her focus was so intense that I half expected the desk to start vibrating like an earthquake warning.

One of the boys from the group called out, "Hey, Div, do you know where Shrey is?"

Div? I'd been friends with her for five years, and I still called her Divya, whereas this guy, who'd probably known her for five minutes, was already on nickname terms. The absurdity of it all made me wonder why I even bothered. Should I start calling her 'D' or just shorten it to a sigh?

Divya glanced at her watch without lifting her eyes, her pen still scribbling. "It's 9:30 now, so he's probably playing basketball on the grounds, but today being Monday, he might be playing badminton in his red sports—"

I couldn't take it any longer. I slammed my hand on the desk, the sharp sound slicing through the room. Divya stopped mid-sentence, her head snapping up in confusion. "Shrey? What Shrey? Wh-whose Shrey? I don't know any Shrey!"

The boys exchanged bewildered looks, clearly confused by the outburst. "Uh, okay, never mind," one of them mumbled before they all shuffled out, their curiosity unfulfilled but their desire to escape unscathed stronger.

As the noise faded, I decided to break the silence. "So, anything you want to talk about?" I asked, my eyes still glued to my screen, pretending to be nonchalant.

"WHAT?! No—I mean, no, nothing..." Divya's voice dropped to a murmur, her fingers trembling slightly as she clutched her pen.

"Sure about that?" I pressed, sensing there was more beneath the surface.

Finally, she turned to face me, her expression serious as she took a deep breath. "Okay, so, I think I'm falling for Shrey."

I nearly dropped my pen. "You're falling for Shrey?"