Beintehaan (Completed)

13.UNWANTED Attention

Sowmya hated attention. There was a reason why she avoided crowds, parties, huge places packed with jobs. Insecurities. She knew it was bad, but she just couldn’t overcome it. She had always been insecure.

About the people around or her or about the way she looked and more importantly about the way people looked at her. She almost always avoided getting attention.

So it didn’t make any sense that right now she was stranded in middle.

Of a lecture hall.

Filled with nothing less than….half of her collage.

It was supposed to be a regular morning. She was fine, sitting with her friend Maya, waiting for the class to begin. When a jerk of  a senior, named Rocky, thought it was funny to drag her out of her place and make her the joke of the day.

“ what’s taking you so long darling!?” Rocky drawled out annoyingly, drawing her attention, reluctantly, to him. She girted her teeth, fighting the urge to dash the hell out of there.

“Now shake that booty!” he yelled, unnecessarily loud, earning a hoot from his friends, who shadowed him behind. He hopped down from the bench, he was sitting on, and walked slowly towards her.

His face molded into a dark glare as he neared her “ you didn’t seem to take this long, back when Rudra asked you to dance” he said reminding her, of her dancing episode from the other day.

Sowmya’s eyes flickered nervously to his face, and back to stare at her feet. She didn’t say anything. True she had danced upon being asked; or should she say demanded; by another jerk called Rudra. But it was completely for different reasons.

Reason number one:  she had done it purely out of empathy, it was the only way to save her friend Maya. She hadn’t had a choice then, if she hadn’t stepped in at that moment, then things would have taken a horrible turn.

Reason number two: ( and the most important one). There weren’t half the people as they were today. The hall was literally packed with students. And she could barely look up from her feet; dancing in front of them seemed completely impossible.

She watched as Rocky’s foot tapped impatiently beside hers. She gulped. How long would she have to stand here? People were already staring. And the urge to dash out of the room seemed to be increasing every passing second.

“ I haven’t got all day babe” he said , walking back. “ so just simply answer my question. Will you dance, or no?” his friends sneered and she could see Maya, on the sidelines, fidgeting with her bag in worry.

The answer was a definite no. She was not going to dance, in the presence of a hundred teenagers, making a laughing stock out of herself.

Taking a deep breath, she shook her head stubbornly. Hoping against hope that he would just let her go.

“ booooooooo!!!” His friends cried. She heard Rocky chuckle, humourlessly. The sound twisted her gut nauseatingly.

“how dare you say no to me?” He hissed. Sowmya blinked looking at him, meeting his fierce glare squarely. His friends were still booing and it only riled him up further.

“ hey could you umm… step aside please?” he suddenly asked, out of the blue. Frowning she stepped aside. He smiled broadly and folded his arms across his chest.  

  “ thanx, it was just that, I couldn’t see the world beyond you, cause your fat ass was blocking every thing out”

A beat passed before a roar of laughter passed among his friends. A few people nearby caught on and joined in.