The First Fall

Chapter 2

Nina. So that was her name. So sweet and simple. I got the information from my friend who had just delivered his speech and had asked the information to one of her teachers. She was not breathtakingly beautiful but there was something subtle about her which had caught my attention. Her sad smile seemed to say that she didn’t care and that happened to her every time. It made me smile in turn. Another fact which I noted was that she was a loner and her classmates treated her as if she was invisible. No one cared to give her company during lunch and no one tried to help her when she stumbled.

That hurt a little. Seeing a girl of her age getting such treatment from her own classmates unsettled my mind. I keep on looking at her because I couldn’t drag my eyes off her. She had huge black eyes which was very expressive and beautiful. I could read her like a book. Anyone could because those eyes were filled with so much emotion and looking at them made me aware of her vulnerability.That was not a good sign.

It made her a blatant bait for bullies. From the snide remarks that were throwing her way, I could say that much. Some even tried to make her stumble by putting their feet in her way while she was fetching her lunch. A protective instinct began to form in my mind.

I was so engrossed in watching her I didn’t even hear my friend calling me and nearly jumped out of my skin when I felt him touch me. I was startled and following the direction of my eyes, he found the source of my attention and his expression changed.

“Just watch her for a few minutes J T and tell me what you see,” I asked him desperate to get his opinion.

“Roy she is so meek,” he finally said which made me frown. “No wonder every other person from the school is avoiding her and those brats are even trying to hurt her,” he went on and I felt my protective instinct got fiercer.

“Exactly”

“Leave it. Are you coming? It’s time for lunch”.

“You carry on. I will be there in a while.” I replied a bit miffed that my friend was not taking me seriously.

Finally, when she was still avoiding my eyes, I headed for lunch but could hardly eat. My mind was still filled with the intriguing girl I had just met and before I knew it was time to wrap everything up. Unable to resist, my yes looked out for her and I felt restless when for a few seconds I did not spot her. Then, finally, I caught sight of her but she was looking down watching her steps I think and never looked up in my direction. I knew why.

She was afraid of me. That was why she had been avoiding my gaze. She must be feeling this attraction between us; it was too flagrant to ignore. And I berated myself for losing control like this.

I was in my last year in college and I immersed myself in my studies. I was a very ambitious person. My ultimate goal in life was to become a bureaucrat and for that I had to clear the most important exams conducted by the government.  It was going to be tough but I had already made up my mind where I wanted to be.

My future was already planned and my life was full of projects. I had no time to waste with such an insignificant attraction, I tried to convince myself. But why did my heart stop when I saw my little bird was leaving? It was strange to feel such intense feeling after only one meeting. Strange indeed.

My mind kept telling me that it was a mere coincidence and I had to move on. She was only sixteen and I was seven years her senior. Our paths were different but it was the first time somebody had affected me so much. Especially a small girl like her. But I was not going to do anything about this attraction. She was just a kid for god’s sake. I should leave her alone. At least for now.

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I was sleeping peacefully on a Sunday when my mom came rushing into my room. Six months had already passed since that fateful day but of course it was only a fluke. Nothing happened after that and I was back to my boring life.

“Nina wake up, your grandma is not feeling well”.

I was awake; wide awake the next second and all I could think was “Oh God! No no no……this can’t happen”.

My grandmother already had recovered from a stroke last year and I had a feeling that this was not going to be a good sign.

I was right. Some of the neighbors helped us in calling an ambulance and soon she was off to hospital. My mother followed her and I was left alone staring at the flashing lights disappearing around the corner.

The next couple of months were hectic as once again I was in control of the kitchen along with all the other household activities. On top of that, my exams were approaching real fast and I was almost freaking out in my head.

A week before my exam started my grandmother passed away and as expected I was in a haze. But somehow made it through the exams.

Life got back to normal; normal meaning that I was still constantly treated like a piece of shit and I was contemplating leaving my old school after summer vacations. And the main challenge was to convince my parents somehow without making a scene.

I had to wait for the right opportunity. A couple of days passed and it was time for my appointment with the doctor. He asked me to take some tests to find out the real cause of my constant headache. He soon determined that it was due to stress. That was why I was having migraines and occasionally nosebleeds. He asked me what the reason was and since my mom was near me I took the opportunity to inform him that the thought of going to school makes me lose sleep. He immediately picked up something and asked my parents to take some action about it.

Soon the decision was made and my parents gave me the freedom to find another school nearby. I was confused and decided to join some summer vacation classes to explore my options.

I was waiting for the institute to open one day as I reached the place a bit earlier than usual and a couple of other students also came soon after. They smiled at me and I reluctantly returned the favor; something which I never did but I decided to change my timid nature as well.

They introduced themselves as Lilly, Rhea, Rahul and Duke.

“Duke of utopia if that’s what you are guessing,” Rahul said and everyone started laughing. I too joined them.

Lilly and I soon became friendly and when I told her that I was looking for a new school for the last two years of my school life she asked me to join theirs. I promptly agreed and thus a new chapter in my life began.

School days were better and my headaches were no longer as frequent. Even my doctor was satisfied with the results and I started to feel more confident about myself.

One day Rhea came to me and asked me if I was willing to attend some special coaching classes to improve my academic brilliance and at first I refused politely. But she persisted and she herself took the responsibility of informing my parents about it and together they decided my fate.

That was how I found myself dragged on early morning train to the city on every weekends accompanied by Rhea. I didn’t even dream about what or whom I was going to meet on my new endeavor. I did not have the slightest clue that whatever would happen was going to change me forever.