Shots Of Ishqbaazi

Her Maths Tutor~Part Two

Shivaay Singh Oberoi had always been very confident in whatever he did. Since a young age, he had seen his bade papa rule the world of business and had decided he would be a business man, too, and would take Oberoi Industries to a height greater than what even Tej Singh Oberoi could have imagined. At the very young age of 18, his teachers could already see in him the successful man he would one day become. Be it studies or sports, Shivaay was ahead of everyone else. And why wouldn't he be? After all, his sole focus had always been on excelling, and nothing had ever managed to disrupt it.

Which is why, when he had spotted a certain girl in one of his football matches and she had managed to capture his attention, he had been shocked, to say the least.

He had first noticed Annika, as he later found out her name was, during the final match of their Inter-School football tournament. It was as intense a final as it could be, with both teams scoring one goal each and the match then proceeding to penalty shootouts. Shivaay had been extremely tensed, since he was of course the captain of the team, and this being his last year in school, he wished to leave on a good note, leaving behind a legacy. At the end, when it was his chance to shoot, their win was depending upon him. If he scored, they would win, and if he didn't, the trophy would have to be shared. And Shivaay did not like sharing.

Sheer determination in his eyes, he had been preparing himself in front of the goal post, staring at the ball as he planned. And when he had looked up- ah, that is when he had seen her.

Wearing the school t-shirt, Annika had had her eyes closed and hands clasped in prayer. Her long, wild hair had been flying in the wind, and she had looked ethereal, to say the least. Shivaay had been absolutely disoriented when his heart had started beating faster at the sight. He had never, in his 18 years of life, found a girl to be so beautiful before. He had dated, yes, but only because Tia had been nagging and annoying him to go out with her since ages, and he had to relent so that he could eventually get her off his back. Moreover, while all of Annika's friends sitting around her had been busy gossiping and looked uninterested in the affair, she herself looked like her life depended on the game. When she had finally opened her eyes, Shivaay had looked away. A smile on his lips and suddenly gained confidence in his heart, he had taken the shot, one thought running through his mind- This one's for her.

And of course, they had won.

Since then, Shivaay's eyes had silently followed her. He had acknowledged that he had a crush on her, but going and telling her so was out of the question. Even though practically all the girls in the school were crazy about him, she had seemed as uninterested as possible. Whenever he walked by her and her group of friends, all the other girls would giggle, while she would roll her eyes without sparing him a glance. Although Shivaay was impressed that she wasn't like those typical girl who went after looks and money, he was a bit wounded- okay, a lot wounded- that his charms worked on every other girl but the one he wanted. Which is why, he was nervous about approaching her and getting rejected, thus making his already wounded ego even more bruised. He had broken up with Tia, in the cafeteria nonetheless, in an attempt to maybe grab her attention and let her know he was single, but it hadn't worked. She had merely stifled a laugh, ended up giggling adorably, and gone back to her own life.

But as they say, when you truly want something, the entire universe conspires to let you have it. His maths teacher had called him one day, and asked him to tutor one of his students from grade-XI, and Shivaay had refused right away. But thankfully, Rajesh Sir had slipped the said student's name, making Shivaay's eyes light up.

"Annika is a bright student, Shivaay, but she could really use your help in maths. I'm sure it won't be too much trou-"

"I'll do it," Shivaay had said, decidedly, a stupid grin on his handsome face. "Of course I'll do it. From tomorrow, itself."