Unwritten Chords

Chapter 8: In his orbit.

Anya's POV 

I entered the English class. The faint conversation from the hallway dying down as I walked in replaced by glances I was getting from the classroom. My gaze fell on Amy and her 'dogs' (hazel's words not mine),They were murmuring, eyeing me from head to toe,their muted laughters made my nerve buzz slightly but I looked away,keeping my calm.

Taking a deep breath,I walked to my desk which was again, besides no other than 'Adrian Marshall'.

 I hate proffesor James for this...

My kurti hugged around me as I made my way through the row.It was a stark contrast to hoodies,jeans and crop top with mostly either black or any other neutral colours that everyone wore.  I could feel the weight of their stares again,some curious,some amused.

He was already there, leaning back on his chair with lazy confidence,his hair slightly messy. He was looking out of the window but the moment i pulled out my chair, His composure shifted, he now looked at his hand which was lazily twirling the pen between his fingers with almost a practised ease. Tyler sat behind him while hazel was diagonally in front of me on the other row. Her head turned to me, admiring me with eye-to-eye grin. I shook my head amused and she finally turned back to the front with shrug.

Hushh...less attention now.

I ignored them,pulling my notebook and other reference books from the bag. My bangles jingled softly but it felt loud cuz of my hyper awareness.I glanced to the side, Adrian's eyes flickered down to his hands,looking away,uninterested. But I couldn't quite catch where he was looking before.

"Morning" he said lazily. His voice so casual it almost sounded like a insult.

"Morning" i replied curtly, my tone clipped. Short and distant.

The class began, I was focusing on miss. Hannah's scribbling,trying to puzzle out what the hell she was writing with that amazingly annoying handwriting as soon as she entered the class.

"Nice choice" Adrian suddenly said,so low that only I could hear.

I turned to him,narrowing my eyes,it held anger "excuse me?"

"Your outfit"he clarified,not looking at me as he scribbled down something on his book."breaking the norm."

Was he mocking me? Complimenting me?

Ahh!! Irritating! Dimaag kha raha hai ye!(He's eating my head!)

"Thanks" I muttered. My tone sharp as if he would be the last person I'd care about.

"Don't mention it" he replied finally looking at me with a faint smirk,more like his signature smirk,Annoying and my stomach flipped-annoyance for sure. 

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The cafeteria buzzed with the chatter of students and the clink of utensils added as the background noise. Students relaxing in the cafeteria,taking strolls,some having lunch while the other lounging as if it was their second home.

We sat on one of the tables,hazel eating her cheesy bland sandwich. Yes,their spice never 'spices' enough. Meanwhile I was picking at my green salad and fries. 

I want to eat a hot spicy plate of panipuri(Indian Street snack)  right now!...Ghar ki yaad aa rahi hai.(I miss my home)

"You know" Hazel started after gulping down a huge bite of her so called spicy sandwich. She nodded me to somewhere and I did so, my eyes landing on Adrian passing by with Tyler,"Adrian is kind of a big deal here."

My brows raised "Big deal? Please, he's just a guy with a few teeny tiny talents and a lot 'lottt' of ego along with that annoying smirk."

Hazel chuckled "teeny tiny huh? Alright. I can see the change" she shrugged teasingly and added "i mean, you are not about the smirk though. But there's more to him than you know. He's the principal's son."

Wha-?

I froze up. The fork in my hand stopped somewhere on my plate among the green leaves."what?"

"Yep" her voice too casual for the piece of information she had just blurted out. "Adrian Marshall, son of Mr. Edward Marshall,didn't you notice the last name?"

My mind raced,connecting dots..the principal office's board saying Marshall. Adrian's notes which I had in my bag had his name. I started connecting the dots. His aloof confidence,the way people seemed to stare or steer glances,the way teachers respected him through their 'tone'-ofcourse he was the Adrian Marshall.

"Great" my sarcasm said "so it's not just annoying, it's untouchable annoying. The principal's son. Just wow!"

Hazel grinned,"relax Anya,he's not that bad...infact he's not bad at all actually if you get to know him better."

"Yeah,well I don't plan to know him." I internally rolled my eyes. Crossing my arms "I don't understand his obsession" i muttered under my breath glancing to the direction where I had seen him last.

Hazel shrugged her voice teasing "I hope you don't end up somewhat 'obsessing' Anya cuz you know, people who get under your skin are most likely to surprise you." 

I rolled my eyes and focused on my salad.

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Author's POV

The hallway was crowded,students moving in a chaotic flow. Anya shouldered through the crowd,her hands clutching the book in her hand tightly . Her steps purposeful and she scanned the area from face to face until her gaze landed on him-Adrian Marshall,leaning on one of the lockers with Tyler in front,talking something. His usual laid back attitude on as if the chaos didn't exist for him.

Anya tried to keep her frustration in check. "Hand him the notes and done!" She said to herself.

"Adrian" she called out,her voice firm enough to cut through the noise.

Adrian's gaze shifted lazily towards her,his sage green eyes locking onto hers. It was the first time she had called him by his name-sharp,firm and laced with irritation. Adrian had a flicker of something in his gaze, unreadable. Adrian's gaze wandered around her face as she approached, her peachy pink kurti on display yet again, her jhumkas jingling softly and the small bindi between her brows giving her a soft elegant look. His eyes locked with hers again and that signature smirk appeared.

Tyler raised and brow,"Look who's come running.." Tyler teased Adrian but he said nothing. His gaze fixed on her as she finally stood in front of them.

Anya stretched out the notes "you physics notes. Thanks for lending them, but I won't be needing them anymore."

Adrian didn't take the notes immediately,instead stared at her with an amused expression "you tracked me down in the chaos just to return me the notes? I'm honoured."

Anya's jaw cleanched,"don't flatter yourself, Marshall. I just didn't want to be responsible for your grades crashing." 

Tyler let out a laugh, clapping Adrian on shoulder. "Man she's got a sharper wit than you do." 

Adrian's smirk deepened, his gaze still fixed on Anya. Finally, he reached out and took the notes, his fingers brushing hers briefly. Anya pulled her hand quickly, as if burned.

"Thanks" he said,his tone softer than usual. Almost....almost sincere. She didn't buy his words even for a moment.

"Whatever" she muttered, already turning to leave.

But of course,he wasn't about to let it slide.

"Hey,Anya"he called after her,his voice reflected his smirk. It was the first time her name rolled off his tongue. She froze mid-step but didn't turn around. The way he said out her name was surprisingly fluent. Her name was foreign for him. 

"Next time,just as for my help. Saves you the trouble of playing Sherlock."

She didn't bother responding and walked away quickly,fading into the crowd. Tyler's laugh echoed.