WHEN FATE BRINGS YOU HOME

CHAPTER 12

Here's a life lesson.

When you feel like your life is falling apart, overemphasis again, like everything that is happening is getting out of your control, when you are being intimidatingly challenged, when you know that you have done your part good and there's nothing more of anything to be done from your side, when everything you said and did is absolutely true, when there's nothing that you are hiding from the situation, the only thing that remains is to smile. Your smile will not show your weakness but reflects your strong moral. Your smile can be a replacement for a thousand unsaid words. It can counter strike whatever it is that made you lose your balance. A simple curve can bring you new confidence, and it can make you receive more smiles in return.

I smiled to the part where I knew I have nothing to say. I smiled looking at him to let him know that he's correct. And my reply will stop this game or whatever it is, here and now. I'm giving him what he wants. That should do it. 

"I was genuinely busy, professor Whi-"  Oh, boy. Almost busted. "-Shaurya."

I continued.

"I'm sorry, if it looked like I was avoiding you."

Part of what I said is both true and untrue. I was busy last month, I barely talked to any of my friends. Also I was ignoring him not because I didn't remember his name but to avoid this kind of situation I'm currently in. I should have tried harder. 

He didn't say anything. He looked at me with a discrete expression, like I just broke something of him. 

"She was really busy."

Neil must have sensed my weird vibe, because he stressed on his really  in a very flirty way which made me laugh as well as throw my panic crumbled tissue at him. He ducked and the white snow like ball landed on the grass.

"Go pick it up, Tara. Scientists should not encourage littering."

Neil is taking advantage of my situation. I rolled my eyes at him. He was laughing hard now as I stood up from my chair rather in fake anger, stomped over to the place where my tissue fell, lazily bent down to my full and picked it up. So much of my energy got wasted in one simple move. I'm going to retaliate, Neil. A naughty smile took hold of my face as I quickly dropped the paper ball inside Neil's shirt from behind, through the small space available between his neck and the collar of his shirt.

"Hey."

Neil's sexy vocals now squeaked as he sprang up from his seat doing strange movements to get the paper out of his clothes. Laura and Helen exchanged a glance before joining my laughter. Czes shook his head smiling, he did not approve of this but did find the whole act funny. After few failed tries from Neil's part, I took it out for him and did a basketball hesitation move before throwing it into a far away public dustbin. 

"Woah, Tara. That was cool."

"I used to play basketball in high school."

The conversation became lively after that. Everyone spilled their version of sport stories. Neil played almost every game, so his bluffing was intolerable but was good content for today's arguments. The professor whom I clearly did not avoid after that, passed small comments while he focused on drinking his black tea and also our conversation. I wanted to hear him say something, anything at all, at least a syllable, because as I said before his personality may be a little unacceptable but his voice showed me many things at once. In short, each time his sound wave hit the skin on my ears, I feel bright sunshine on my face, melting dark chocolate on my tongue, a waterfall images in my eyes and the smell of old books overwhelms me altogether. All the senses working together in a heightened way. Only musicians have brought this kind of response in me.