IN LOVE WITH MY BEST FRIEND

2

PUNIT'S POV

Hang on, I need to stop by this store. Anki wanted me to get some stuff for home. But that doesn't matter, we can keep talking. Ok, wait. Let me just find a parking space.

Talk about luck, all spaces have been taken up, as usual. Now finding one is going to be a pain in the ass. Oh damn, here we go again with the language. Oh, thank God! There's one.

Ok, going into the store now. Man, I love the blast of the cold air from the air conditioner on my face each time I walk through this door. Is there anyone else like this or is it just me?

"Good evening, how are you today?" That was the store manager. He kind of knew me pretty well as I stopped by often.

"Awesome like always, you?"

"Wonderful day here!"

"Perfect!"

"Enjoy your shopping," he said.

"Thanks, I'll see you around!"

I'm at the pulses & legumes section now. I didn't have a list with me, didn't need one. I knew exactly what we needed.

Okay, where was I? Yes, Anki... where it all began.

Our first meeting wasn't so... well... pleasant. I was in the 5th grade and she was too. When she walked in on me, I was standing on the grounds somewhere under a big tree and sobbing like a girl. Two of her classmates were already around and trying to console me, but it wasn't working, I just wanted to go home.

"What happened? Why's he crying?" she asked curiously.

"That bully Sibal beat him up," said one of the girls named Rachel.

"What? For what?" she was irked.

"Does he even need a reason? He's the son of the chairman, isn't that enough? Who's going to question him?"

"The other day he and his cronies beat up that boy Ankur," spat Vaidehi, the other girl, "and now he's at home. Apparently, he suffered some ligament or muscle tear!"

"Why do they even allow it!? It's bullshit!"

And that's the first time I set eyes on her. Thanks to all the tear build-up in my eyes, my vision was a bit blurry. She was a little chubby, kind of cute, had pig tails and a guitar strapped over her back. She was a little tall for a girl, in fact, she was way taller than the other girls. Oh, by the way, did I tell you that I was a newcomer there? I'd just joined that school a week or two ago, whereas, she was there for years. And I was already hating it. I don't even know how she was getting along! But maybe, she wasn't being picked on much. Good for her!

I missed my old friends, all the fun and the jokes. Whereas over here, all what I could expect were teachers who wouldn't even care six pence about you, snooty classmates and bullies like Sibal Mukherjee! God, I hated him like anything!

In just a week's time, I had become his favourite target. His justifications for picking on me were silly, like he found me funny? Too tall and lanky? Or because I had pimples on my face? Or he thought that my shorts were too short? That's ridiculous!

Anyways, I was crying. Like really hard. And I wonder if I'd looked funny to her because I was in a pair of shorts and had knobby knees.

The girls just stared at me helplessly, not knowing what to do.

"Don't cry, yaar," said Rachel pitifully.

"Yeah, you're a tough guy, you don't have to cry over his silly jokes." That was Vaidehi's share.

I wasn't sure why exactly I was crying. Was it because it hurt where he hit me? Or because I felt humiliated? Or because I was scared? Or because I wanted to run away from there? All that I knew was that I didn't like it there. Not at all.

As for Anki, she just kept staring at me. Even through my tears, I could see the inferno in her eyes. She wanted to kill. Like a terrorist.

"Where are you going?" asked Vaidehi as Anki whipped around and marched away.

"Principal!" she answered. "Enough is enough!"

***