Let's Start With Forever

The Beginning

Just when the assembly prayer was about to begin, I reached the classroom at the best speed I could ever run at. Totally out of breath, I put my bag on my bench and sat down, gasping hard. The assembly prayer was always carried out with a batch of classes in the hall, and the rest of the school would stay in their respective classrooms, following the prayer through speakers installed in the entire building. Fortunately, my class had to be in our classroom that day. My best friend, Vikram, who was also my bench-mate always used to make it to the class before time. And, like everyday, he'd scold me for being late.
' Dude, it's just the beginning of eleventh grade, and you are adamantly consistent with your habit of being late. Could you ever come on time? '
' Man my bicycle broke down on the way, what can I do? ' my usual response, though it actually happened every time but, obviously it's not at all a convincing excuse.
After the prayer, the day used to start with a free track of an hour which was in the schedule for extracurricular activities.
I was too lazy to participate in anything for that one hour. But, on that day, something magical happened. A girl, who was a new comer, caught my attention.
The most attractive one among the new faces in the batch. I couldn't get my eyes off her. She was calm, and focused. She was reading the newspaper, and some guys approached her. She talked to them, while I watched her from the distance. I felt different, restless. It was more of a 'love at first sight' thing.
Every guy noticed her, some of them started the usual flirting with her too, which turned my face into the brightest shade of red!
'Aradhana Nair', That's what I heard from people. Her name, as beautiful as her.

***

It was early monsoon and the mornings were usually dark. The climate was very pleasant and refreshing. On the top of that, I had this beautiful girl with an amazing aura who was always before time in the classroom. Her bench was near the windows, and mine was a row away from hers. Her shiny face outshined the entire corner.
Her face had an innocence, a curiosity. And her eyes were like two shining marbles embedded on that perfect face.
I didn't approach her, because I feared the early rejection. I couldn't take any risk, because I desperately desired for her. And that's why, I took it slow. She was usually surrounded by her friends, including the most flirty guys in the batch, which I hated the most.
I enjoyed watching her the whole day. It was an unreal pleasure. I tried to read her nature by observing her, but wasn't very successful.
I used to sit on the second last bench, if I missed mentioning it. It was a perfect seat for me to watch her without getting noticed.

***

On a Wednesday morning, a teacher showed up in to our classroom, announcing about a competition she referred to as 'Science Congress', and forcefully made some students participate into it. That cruel woman, I can't even hate her because she caused the first interaction between me and Aradhana. She formed the project groups, leaving us with no other choice but to participate, and surprisingly we both were placed in the same group. That's when my interest bounced back into the science competition. There was no better chance to break the ice, so with all my guts and testosterones I could muster, I approached her.
"Hi..Aradhana right?"
"Yes, and you are Arjun..? " she smiled.
I was shocked as well as happy that she already knew my name, she probably would've noticed me. I was going crazy on the inside because of the fact that, she knew my name. Felt accomplished.
"Yes, I am Arjun. We are in the same group..."
"Ya, right.." she seemed happy while she spoke. I found it unusually interesting.
"So, i thought..i should interact with my new groupmates, after all, teamwork is necessary.." I must've looked so funny saying such impressive lines, though I was the biggest procrastinator. But, on a serious note,
I was trying to impress her.
"Correct!..By the way, where is your seat?"
"Over there, the second last bench, i know its too crowdy .." I faked a smile, a very embarrassing smile.
She nodded,with a smile on her beautiful lips, that almost murdered my heart.
"Okay..see you later"
"Yeah, sure.."
She ended up the interaction. But why did she ask about my seat?

***

It was July already. A group of girls in my class decided to prepare a group act for Independence Day celebration ceremony.
Aradhana was a part of it too. And, following the Murphy's Law, there were those guys who enjoyed flirting with the love of my life.
Mahima, a girl from my class who was an excellent dancer was going to choreograph the act. She had been told by the rest of the girls who knew I could dance to ask me for performing in their act. But I declined.
"You aren't participating?" asked Vikram.
"No, I don't want to waste my time dancing there, I'd rather use it to interact with her."
"Well, I guess she is performing as well. "
"WHAT??!!" I felt like the biggest fool on the face of the earth.
I rushed towards the practice room.
I reached the door of the hall. The door was not completely closed, and I couldn't breathe after what I saw through the gap. She was dancing with so much grace, it felt like I was in heaven. Her beauty was breathtaking. I wanted to hold her tight into my arms. It was getting astronomically difficult to control myself. I broke into the room, my entry paused everyone's movement , including hers. Everybody stared at me with shock and curiosity, wondering what was I doing there. Ofcourse, I had the answer. She was looking at me, making me nervous. Before it could get any weirder, I collected all my strength and dragged out my voice.
" I...i want to ...participate too"
"Okay ,but we have fixed many dance steps..will you be able to pick up?" asked Mahima.
" Yes, i'll try"
"Don't worry Mahima..he's awesome" came a voice from the background.
" Okay, I will show you the steps. Try them. See if you are comfortable"
" Yeah sure"
I was in. Surely the guys were jealous about the treatment I got from the girls. Thanks to my inborn dancing skills. But I was there for a different reason. I didn't care what steps they ask me to grasp, because I was way too busy watching the beautiful fairy I couldn't get over with. But I started pretending that I'm totally into dance.
They started teaching me the steps. I observed them carefully while they rehearsed. I couldn't resist watching her dance, I watched her so much that, instead, I picked up the steps unusually fast. This went on for almost the next 3 weeks.