Meet Me in the Middle

Chapter 15

October 2018

"What did he say?" I hear the ever present rustle of papers and clicking of keys in the background as Sicko asks.

"I have no idea. All I know is, he's been acting a bit off for past two days and then today morning he just texted, 'We need to talk.' I don't even know."

"Well, that's a bit ominous. What do you think is it about?"

I peer inside the classroom and then towards my watch. There are still ten minutes left for the break to end.

"Honestly, I've been waiting for him to say that 'he's made a mistake' ever since he left Ahmedabad. I wouldn't be surprised, whatever it is. Hell, I'm expecting him to give me a plot twist confession at this point. I feel like we've been here forever."

I see Avi walk towards me with purpose and face away, towards the balcony.

"Well, that's Tiwari. You think he cheated on you?"

"I don't think so. Not really. I think he just did something he regrets. I even have an idea of who it might be related to. There's this girl in his class. His friend. I thought she had a crush on him. She's nice. But then he forbade me from even commenting on his college life and..."

"WHAT?" He shouts in my ear and I wince. I notice Avi standing beside me, leaning on the railing, waiting to talk to me.

"Yeah... Let's see... I gotta go, for now. I'll call ya later?"

"Yeah let me know whatever happens. Prefer texting over calling." He says and cuts the call.

I turn towards Avi. "Yes?"

"Are you still mad at me?" He mumbles, practically quivering.

I take a deep breath and turn back towards the balcony.

"The only reason you're even standing here, talking to me without any lost limbs is because... I actually care about you... And I really think you're wasting your time in trying to keep a useless bunch of people satisfied who only keep you around to pay their tabs."

He stays silent for a moment and then hesitates, "They're not so bad..."

I look at him and raise my eyebrows as he visibly deflates.

"I think you need to just show them that you are a great person. And then they won't be so jealous of you..."

"Why would I need to prove –" my mind catches up to what he really said, "Wait. They're jealous of me?"

He huffs, "Of course they are!"

"Why would they be jealous of me..?" No, seriously.

"Why wouldn't they be? I mean, you're the best!"

"Far from it."

"That's what you think. You're a satandess among these people. You should know that. They can't even fantasize about you. Did you know they have a group discussion amongst themselves before any one comes to talk to you?"

I chuckle at that, "Really?"

"Yeah! They're terrified! I tell you what, look in the class and point towards any guy and they can be yours. I'm not even kidding!"

"You know I'm not single."

"Barely"

We both turn toward the classroom door and peer inside. Only around twenty people are in there and more than half of them are surrounding Moose aka Beardo. Only this time, he's wearing a navy blue shirt on light blue denims and seated on a bench, leaning back. Puri is sitting to his left and everyone else is around the bench. They're like moth attracted to a streetlamp, happy to burn in his presence.