The Indian Girl

Puberty is Confusing

Things start changing when you hit puberty. It seems to be an awkward stage between being an adult and being kid.

You don't know what is expected out of you.

In one situation, you're old enough to do certain things and they're expected out of you and in other situations, you're to let things be decided for you because you're not old enough. I wonder, if being a part of this society, it ever goes away?

This also is the time when people (or kids, *eye roll*) usually feel attracted to the opposite sex, or the same. While we're on it, let me also tell you that even though the elders are not very open to the LGBTQA+ group, the younger generation is definitely better. So, even though I was in an all girls school, it did not mean I didn't meet dudes outside school. Friends from the colony, friends of friends, parents friend's kids, etc.

There was this youth workshop that I had been forced to go to, apparently it was good for me. There were about 100 kids my age, we were made to play some games, taught some techniques and were given some tips on how to study better, things like that.

We were given a group activity, it was basically treasure hunt but there was supposed to be some lesson in that.

We were divided in teams and each team had to choose their team leader. Once we selected our team leader, he started talking about strategies and his ideas about how to make things work.

So, our team leader was smart and he split the group into pairs to make the work easier and get it done faster than the other groups. So, I was paired with a dude. Let me tell you that I've barely had any interaction with dudes and I'm awkward in general with people I do not know.

There I was, a 13 year old girl from an all girls school, had few interaction with the dudes and I was an awkward person in general. Although he seemed like a friendly person, I didn't have the courage to introduce myself.

He put his hand out, introducing himself. His name was Nikhil, he was 16 years old and studied in Vasant Valley.

At first, I just stared at him, it seemed as if I had lost my voice. This boy was tall, lean and seemed to be a bit muscular. His black hair were cropped and rumpled as if he'd moved his hand through them a couple of times. He was wearing a black Foo Fighters t-shirt, paired with jeans and vans.

With the loud noise that was created by the speakers due to feedback from the mic, I snapped out of whatever trance the boy had put me in and shook his hands lightly. And then, I introduced myself.

Showing him the clues for the hidden "treasures" we started moving towards the gate, trying to figure it out. It turns out, not only that the dude was cute but he was also smart and had a great taste in music? It didn't really take us long to figure out the clue and in our group, we were the 2nd pair to figure it out. While waiting for others to figure out the clues, we sat down next to each other on the ground which was covered in two layers of white sheets. We sat cross legged, our backs against the wall and knees almost brushing. To say that sitting in such close proximity was unsettling would be an understatement.

Yes, I had friends who were guys but I'd known them since childhood and was very comfortable around them. And when I say guy friends, I mean four, out of which 2 were neighbours and the other two were my dad's friends kids. So yeah, that.

And now, this boy sitting next to me, who was sitting quite close to me, had heard my phone ringing. The ringtone was 'I Will Follow You Into The Dark' by Deathcab for Cutie and he instantly perked up. It was my mother who had called, asking how the workshop was going. I said it was good-ish not knowing exactly what to say. It had been going okay, but it may have become slightly better due to the boy sitting next to me.

The moment I disconnected the call, he started asking me about music and the kind of bands I listened to. It turned out, we had more in common that I thought we possibly could. Our taste in music was quite similar, we had the same handset, we both liked cycling more than swimming and we both liked reading.

To say that I was freaking out internally wouldn't quite cover it.

The funny thing was, I had a cousin with his name and he also happened to share his birthday with my own little brother. And when I told him that, he just chuckled lightly at it.

From the 20-25 minutes we got, most of the time we were talking about music. We both liked a few bollywood songs but we were more focused on international artists and bands. He'd listened to John Mayer, Grace Potter, Stevie Wonder, Ray Charles, the Beach Boys, The Beatles, Green Day, Oasis, Queen, The Doors, Coldplay, Jimmy Eatworld and so many other artists.

When I asked him if he'd listened to Fleetwood Mac, he stared at me for about three seconds and then spoke very slowly, or rather asked "You've listened to Fleetwood Mac too?"

To which I nodded and said that "This was the band that got me into music. I mean, I remember I must've been 9 years old when my elder brother (cousin) was sitting in his computer room while I was doing my art homework. My brother was listening to Landslide by them then and he'd just learnt how to play the guitar. He made me listen to the song and asked me to sing with him, showing the lyrics he had found online. That was the song that hit me. The lyrics were so beautiful and meaningful, I remember scribbling them everywhere, at the back of notebooks whenever I was bored or just simply doodling them on the side during a class in school, I could never get them out of my head."

He just simply nodded his head in understanding. He seemed to be one of the very few who knew how it felt like to be connected with music and it gave me jitters.

We continued to talk about music for quite a while and other things in between.

While he was telling me this indie band he recently came across, we heard a loud squeal, that snapped us out of our bubble.

It was our team leader with all the treasure that had been collected and he asked us all to run to the stage before anyone else could, taking away our first position. It took us both a second to realise what was happening before we started running with the group, chuckling. At the end of the workshop, we both exchanged our phone numbers, saying that we'd totally make each other listen to new songs and artists the other hadn't heard of.

I remember going home that day with a huge grin covering my face. My mother assumed that it was because the workshop had went really well and that I enjoyed a lot, but boy she was far from the truth.

*Attached is the picture of Nikhil on the side and the song Landslide by Fleetwood Mac*

So, this part of her story would be taken to the next chapters, it shall not end here I promise. The only thing I can't promise is that the chapters would be cheesy. Well, some of them might, but some might not be. In the next chapters, she'd be dealing with a few things that come with being a teenager in the Indian society which may not be necessarily bad but then there are certain things that happen. Keep reading to find out, I'll be posting more often now. Keep voting and commenting. Suggestions are welcome!