It All Started With Amnesia

Chapter Twelve || I might have the hots for Keith ||

Chapter Twelve

|| I might have the hots for Keith ||

James

The first train ride was horrible. We’d gone before this also, but that was in the afternoon and the local trains weren’t crowded then. Today, we’d gone in the peak hour and apart from Elita who escaped with two women elbowing her, Ben, Chris and I were absolutely smashed.

As we walked to college, there was a small metal ball inside my stomach. I kept wondering how the college would be. The students, the teachers, heck even the transition from wearing uniforms to colored clothes was such a big deal. I hadn’t even realized when school was done; I was never going back there again.

Today was the first day of college, and it would be an understatement to say that the four of us were nervous. I was pretty sure Ben’s hands were going to fall off if he kept fidgeting with them the whole day.

At school we were used to everyone knowing us. I’d been in a boy’s convent school and had been captain of the football team there. I would be trying out here as well, but I was still unsure if they would end up selecting me after all.

We had reached the gates, the huge metallic ones that were old and aged and yet protecting the campus. The guards made us wear the ID cards before going in – another thing we weren’t used to. Chris and I had a bet going that Ben would end up misplacing his card within a week. Chris believed it’d be five days.

We split up then – Elita and I went towards one class and the others towards another. We had been put into different sections. It was really fortunate that all four of us ended up picking commerce. Chris had actually become my friend during the admission process, which let me tell you, was complete hell.

This was really unsettling. There were over a hundred people in this class. I was barely used to sixty people in one class!

Thankfully, the day progressed fast. The professors came, introduced their subjects and their names and all, but I could only match faces to subjects, I wasn’t very inclined to remember the names. They made us stand up and tell everyone names, interests and the place where we stayed. That turned out to be really awkward. I doubted I’d remember all the names.

Finally, it was the break, and the four of us met up in the canteen to discuss the day. We had one more lecture to attend, and we’d be free, well, they’d be free. I had football tryouts.

I walked onto the pitch after changing in the boys’ locker room, at least that was familiar – it was the same everywhere.

I walked and waited. There weren’t many people here. Someone tapped me on my shoulder and I turned around.

“Hi, my name’s Arjun. Are you a first year too?”

Finally, someone my age. I nodded.

*

Saturday Morning

I wake up with a jolt. The memory is still clear in my mind. I can still picture the soft rays of the setting sun on the football pitch. It’s the memory of my first day in college, the first time I met Arjun.

Whoa.

I scramble out of bed and go to the bathroom to freshen up. Still in a slight daze, I wear my clothes, the usual of jeans and tee shirt and check the time on the clock on my bedside table.

It’s just past eight. I’m early; we’re supposed to be at the station by eight thirty. Elita, Ben and I are going to college together and then we would be going to catch a movie. We asked Chris, but he was busy with something. That guy takes part in more fests and projects than is healthy. But he likes the work, so good for him.