BEHIND THE MIRROR

Chapter 4

4. Ashrit Mukherjee
The first thing I had come across today in school was Avinash. He was gossiping with his stupid bunch of friends; probably checking out girls those who were entering the school gate. Probably he noticed me entering and addressing me giggled something to his friends. Then they all noticed like I’m some paranoid; and as I was going to cross the bunch, that boy stopped me.
“Listen you can't! Don’t think you’ll come here in this school and take away our school’s universal crush just like that. I hate that fuckin innocent face you make. So stay away from her.” He said.
“Sorry?” I replied as if I haven’t heard anything he told.
“Have you put a dick in your ear or what?!” one of his friends shouted. Then they all ran away because apparently his voice was too loud to catch the attention of the gate keeper.
In my mind, I was laughing like anything. People always say, I have kind eyes. The moment they say it, it becomes their worst mistake. My smile is as wicked as my kind eyes. Most stupid boys these days move around in groups I wonder. Avinash must have noticed Aarini’s concern towards me, and that might have made him jealous. And his friends might have made him possessive and insecure for no reason.  And they think they would scare me by this raucous threat? Haha. Period.
I came to my class and felt Avinash was looking at me with his stupid grumbled face. Aarini was sitting beside him. But somewhere I felt Avinash was right. Everyone was right. Aarini. Anyone can go at any distance just for a moment under her shadow. Everyone wants to sit beside her, smell her fragrance, be the reason of her smile- and let themselves be killed by it. But I should come back to reality. My war was against Avinash. But my inner self was constantly raising voice- its claim was that the war was between me and my realization. The realization of what that girl; that girl whom I knew for one day; meant to me. Only batch mate? Or something more than that?
I tried to play some mind games with him. I came and sat in front of them. I was very disappointed as I could not see his expression but I was sure that his eyes went wide open seeing my move. I turned back and bluntly said to Aarini, “sorry for the other day; it is just one of these days when everything seems bad. Please don’t mind.”
I saw Aarini was not ready for this too. My eyes did notice that moment of shock in her eyes which she tactfully changed very soon. I was not concerned what Avinash’s expression was; as I was myself at a certain level of astonishment seeing her. She looked more beautiful than yesterday. She is so simple yet so catching in her posture. Every bit of her radiated a beam which made her the centre on the spotlight ready to show stop every other person around her. She looked at me and said, “Never mind.”
I supposed she was still upset with me because of her blunt reply. That was a bad start for me. Avinash must be laughing right now. He might be thinking he won. Any boy in place of me might have felt angry by now but I don’t lose my temper so soon. The fact that he was shocked by my sitting in the front bench was much a greater victory for me; as I only these building and its people for one day and he for god knows how many years.
Class started and like previous night I couldn’t study. Every time my attention was on the back of my bench. Was she looking at me or at the book? Was she thinking of me or of rotational motion? Was she trying to stretch her leg onto my bench’s joint so that our legs might touch or was she playing footsie with Avinash? Thoughts like these developed in my mind and its inertia was so high that finally I needed to take that step. I opened my pencil box to pick out my compass and snapped at my inner thigh; my good luck there was no one sitting beside me. First time I did this at school and there would be a hole on my school pants. Blood was tripping from it; I kept my handkerchief underneath it to prevent it from falling it to the ground.
I didn’t know how but she guessed something and pinched me from the back during the class. I get nervous when the teacher is teaching and someone calls you. I tried to put my head back to listen to her. She slowly whispered in my ears, “anything wrong?”
Her soft breath caressed my ears and travelled its way across my heart and gave it warmth. First time I was bleeding and didn’t care about it. First time the way I try to refrain myself by giving me pain failed. It failed just by feeling her breath. The girl I know for just one day. Her breath moved a psychic boy like me. I was on grave suspicion upon who was she and what had happened to me. I just replied by nodding my head right to left and left to right.
After the class was over and teacher left the class; everyone started to howl; gossiping and playing the fool out of themselves. C’mon they are all above 15; they should have a little bit of matureness within themselves. I was only 14 when I…..
She called me and I looked back. She said, “sorry, but yesterday I saw you reading story books. I read story books too. In fact,  I write as well. So you’re into thrillers, right?”
Oh damn! Did she notice the girl with the dragon tattoo book yesterday? Did she figure out that I was thinking to use that book as my modus operandi?