Tulip Hearts

[13]

I am so happy, she likes me!

It was getting late, and we were still sitting by the water, talking about everything.

"I will leave now." For the past hour, she has been saying the same thing, and for the past hour, I have been convincing her not to.

"Abhi na jao chodhh kar yeh dil abhi bhara nahi..."
(" Stay a little longer, my heart isn't ready to say goodbye...")

I sighed, placing my hand on my chest. She giggled, squinting her eyes, and my heart skipped a beat, just like it always does when I see her innocent smile.

"Agar main ruk gayi abhi th jaa naa paoungi kabhi, yahi kahoge tum sada ke dil abhi nahi bhara"
("If I stay now, I won't be able to leave ever, and you'll keep saying that your heart isn't ready yet." )

She finished the verse, giggling at the end, which made me chuckle too.

"Lovy?" We stood up, brushing off our pants.

"Yes, Milli."

"So, are we, like, a couple now?" She carefully chose her words, looking at me with her big eyes.

"I think I'm your boyfriend." Her face flushed, and her eyes lit up.

"And I'm your girlfriend." She said eagerly to which I bobbed my head with the same enthusiasm.

"Here." She took off her scarf and handed it to me as we walked towards her bicycle.

"Keep it." She shook her head, and I raised an eyebrow to understand why she hesitated.

"I can keep the sunflower safe in my books, but mumma will notice the muffler. What am I gonna say it to her?" Her concern was genuine, but I really want her to keep it.

"But it's my favorite, and I really want you to have it." I sighed, expressing a hint of disappointment.

She looked around and pulled up her sweater, wrapping the scarf around her waist over her top, and then pulled her sweater back down to cover it.

"It's staying with me forever." She grinned at me, proud of her clever solution.

"Okay, I'll see you at school tomorrow!" She waved goodbye, making my heart flutter at her wide smile.

The next day, I found myself cornered by Karan, who had been rejected by Prachi. I wondered how he had proposed, considering Prachi liked him. He had his hands on his waist, and his eyes were fixed on me.

"She said yes to you?" He raised an eyebrow, almost making me laugh.

"Yes."

"On your first try?"

"Yes."

"So, you're her boyfriend now?" He dramatically curled his fingers. I nodded, and he hugged me tightly.

"Wow, Bhai!! You found me bhabhi!" He hugged me even tighter and shouted in my ear. I tried to quiet him down, but he preferred jumping off a cliff to listening to me.

"Tell me, what went wrong with you and Prachi?" He let go of the hug, and a disappointed frown appeared on his face.

"She said I'm not serious about my future and that I need to work hard on my career for her to say yes to me." Prachi is practical, and I didn't expect anything less from her, but it made me think about Milli. Does she think about my career too?

"I've decided to pursue engineering. My brother is doing the same, but I see him struggling with heavy books, and I wonder if I'll be able to do that. Automobile engineering is popular these days, so I'll choose the non-medical stream in eleventh grade." I realized it was almost time for the board exams, and I had to choose a stream.