Tenth Grade was Fun!

3. HE'S HERE

His tall figure—with black hair and eyes—his chiseled jaws, perfectly straight nose with a black rimmed prescribed glass adorned on his face, which unlike other eyeglass users makes him look all the more handsome, adding a boyish look to his face. Sweat glistening as the sunlight falls on his face, his smile showing his pearly whites, and his lean hands as they run through his hair...

Oh god, I sound like that 'Twilight' girl...eh, who cares.

There among the group, stands Ved, the boy in the same level as me in my private music class—but almost a year older than me by age—the boy I've had a crush on, the boy I like and the boy with whom I'd most probably fall in love...if he even reciprocates my feelings, that is.

My view is blocked by...Wait. My eyes take time to refocus...a...familiar muscular hand, waving in front of me and a distant voice calling me.

"Ritu, Ritu! RITU!!!"

I snap out of my daze and look at Nikhil standing beside me with concern etched on his face.

"Ritu, are you okay?" He asks me with a soft voice.

"HOW DARE YOU CALL ME RITU, YOU ASSBUTT?" This is what is expected by anyone who calls me by that shitty nickname. But with Nikhil, totally different scenario.

Meet Nikhil, my best friend, who came into the same section as me during eighth grade and for the first time I was thankful for the section shuffling system in our school, 'cause I probably can't—or won't—find a best friend like him.

He wasn't the too-obedient type of guy. He disobeys teachers as much as he could without ending up in the principal's office.

The only reason why students used to talk to me in eighth grade—when I was through a trust-issue-phase after a permanent fall with my so-called best friends—was either because they needed my help in homework due to my academic excellence or they were one of my mom's friends' children and I too avoided making friends. But then came along Nikhil who started hanging out with me, only because he wanted to have fun or spend time with me and eventually we both opened up to each other, becoming thick as thieves on the way.

He's the only person who is allowed to call me 'Ritu' and I'm the only person allowed to call him 'Nikki'—and I know he secretly likes it, but he keeps denying it. Shh! Don't wanna bruise his ego now do we? We trust each other with our lives. He supports my decisions and if at all I make a wrong one, instead of just not approving and calling it wrong, he tells me why it is wrong and helps me understand.

"It's true, Ved is here..." I reply back to his question, my voice barely above a whisper. Not the ideal answer, but he will understand.

"The rumors in your music class were true..." He says, more like to himself.

So the rumors in my music class were that, Ved was changing his school to mine because we had one of the best JEE tutoring programs, and of course, I'd go and talk about this like a love struck puppy to Nikhil. But who knew the rumors would come true?

After processing the information that Ved is here, I feel the excitement coursing through me and I turn towards Nikhil and throw my arms around his neck jumping up and down.

"He's here! He's here! He's really here!" I squeal, which happens very, very rarely.

Giving me a tight lipped smile, Nikhil pulls away muttering something which I was too enthusiastic to hear under his breath. 

"We should get back to our classes." He then says a bit louder, in a stiff voice and pulls me along with him towards the building where our classes are.