The Perpetual Love

One: The Meeting

22 years ago, when I was 6, in Grade 1, I joined a new primary school mid-year. I had just shifted from another state and this one was bigger than the former one. 

I had so many fears. Fears of not making friends, fears of not being able to fit in, fear of getting bullied, etc etc.  I was a shy girl, with pink rimmed spectacles supporting my eyes, wearing a red shirt, a black skirt and a blue coloured school bag hiding under my back as I entered my new classroom. 

"Students, I would like you to please welcome Mary D'souza and Matt in our class." called the Miss. 

I gave a sheepish smile, my thoughts drifting back to my fears for a new city and school.

Who was Matt though? I didn't see him for the exam nor the interview for the new joinees. I thought loudly. 

"Matt is stuck in the traffic and will be joining us in the Maths slot today." answered the teacher, leaving absolutely no scope for my confusion. 

One hour later

Matt finally joined our class. He had a bit dark complexion, brown blonde hair and a black mole on his right cheek and was fast with making friends, surprisingly.

"Miss, where should I sit?"

"Matt, you can sit in the seat beside Mary. She is also a new joinee and I hope both of you will become excellent friends with each other as well as the rest of the class."

"Hi. I am Matt." He said to me.

"Let's talk later. We have a class going on. I need to focus." Paying little to no attention.

"Oh, so you are a nerd?"

"It's better if you please mind your own business and let me focus."

"What if I don't?"

"I will give you a free tip for staying focussed or you might get scolded." I shrugged.

"Matt, would you tell the answer to this question?" Our miss interrupted.

"Huh?"

"Matt, please answer what's 4×2?"

He looked at me for help as I turned my face elsewhere, refusing to help him out. I had warned him but he didn't listen and now was the time to pay.

"Matt, were you not paying attention in class? Sam just answered it."

"N-No miss."

"Never mind. Mary?"

"Yes, Miss, the answer will be 8."

"Very good. Mary, you must help this young man in Maths now."

"But miss..."

"Yes, Mary, is there any problem?"

"No, miss, there isn't."

"Wonderful. Both of you may sit down now."

"Why didn't you tell me the answer?" He complained.

"Because you weren't paying attention in class. And I even warned you but you didn't pay any heed to it."

"Forget it. Just tell me what will be the solution to this sum?" he questioned.

"It will be 10."

I wouldn't have helped him nor answered that question if Miss hadn't asked me. His nature and actions were frustrating me. Neither was he focusing in class nor was he letting me focus and it was different when it came to Maths. It was my favourite subject, and missing out on it wasn't one bit acceptable to my brain.

"That's all for today, children. You may proceed to your free slot in the grounds but be careful Matt and Mary as to not get lost in the premises. All other's are kindly requested to guide them. Thank you. I will see all of you tomorrow. Have a wonderful day." Miss announced as she left the classroom and the class bursted with a feeling of gleefulness and excitement.

After my encounter with Matt  and his knowledge for Maths, he was awful. Only if there was a word other than awful to describe his situation. I for one, surely despised him. And now, on the top of that, I had to tutor him. Just  enough for a great start to my first day in a new school and city.

"Shall we leave?" He enquired.

"We are NOT going together." I clarified.

"But we are playing together."

Though, I didn't want to admit it but this was unfortunately true and sadly, I had no way to get myself out of this mess. The class had decided to play Hide and Seek together and I had to abide by it, knowing that if I tried going for something else, I was surely going to get lost.

Soon it was time to go back to the class. I didn't wish to give a damn about how the game went as everyone approached me to know if I was liking it here. Matt and I always thought of hiding in the same place and ended up getting into a verbal fight.

"Matt, I thought of hiding in this place first. You go hide somewhere else."

"Me? Why should I go somewhere else? You can too. It's not like your name is written over here."

"Then your name isn't written here either. Just go elsewhere. The least I want is to argue with you now once again."

"I am not going anywhere, Mary. Why do you have to always fight with me?"

"Why do you have to disturb me during the Maths class? You know that it's my favourite subject plus, I need to tutor you as well. I need to pay attention to teach. Is it so difficult realize that?" And that would just lead both of us into getting caught. We accused and rebuked each other until miss herself arrived and settled our argument.

I sighed as I recalled.

To be honest, I was a friendly girl and fighting with someone meant fighting with myself but I didn't quite appreciate Matt's actions or him for that matter, because at the end, I was getting in trouble because of him.

That same day, I slipped on the ground while returning to the classroom and everyone just went away from there except him.

I was on the ground. My dress all stained and messy. Spectacles lay on the other end as he picked them up and returned them to me after reviving me from the ground.

That was a new side of him or probably I just realised it now. This made me rethink the itinerary of how I had been treating him and I melted a little as I felt that I had been too hard on him.

"Thanks for helping but I could have stood up myself. You didn't need to do that."

I was unmistakably on the verge of tears because I was injured. But I guess, I was too egocentric to accept that.

"Listen, Mary, I wish to clarify some things. What I did was foolish but please, I want to be friends with you. You have altered my outlook towards Maths and I have learned a thing or two from you so please don't be upset and accept my hand of friendship."

"Just because you learned a thing or two from me, doesn't imply that we should be friends. We are so different from each other, Matt. I don't believe that we should be friends."

Having him as a friend would honestly be a blessing in disguise because I had none and I was lonely and felt rejected. But I was also scared to lose him after losing my former friends.

"Let's just try. You never know until you try."

"Fine." I gave up my hands in defeat. As if he would have accepted otherwise.

I was going to make a new friend and it gave me a positivity that my fears were for nothing because he will be there to support me in the future. Though, I was pretty doubtful of the fact that we could even do anything except fighting, friendship was far out of my thoughts but as he said, we were going to give it a try, whatsoever.