Some strings attached

1.

Siya

When I was born, my parents were told that I'm going to be a pretty average girl. You'd think why would someone say that about a new born. Well let me tell you about my parents. CEO of Vardhan & Co. , my dad has always been an overachiever, always striving for perfection in each and every thing, which includes his daughters too. My mom, a respectable member of the high society, is also a complete perfectionist. That being said, they took every possible action to make sure that their children live up to their ideas of perfection. Which brings us back to the starting... at the time of my birth, my parents called a fortune teller to determine if I'll fit in with the family. And well, turns out, i didn't. Growing up I was constantly compared to my elder sister and I was always left out for not being extraordinary. So on my 9th birthday after a long session of my family insulting the shit out of me, I decided that I was going to show them how worthy I am. That day onwards I buried myself into books and grades. All i wanted was high academic validation. Which brings us to the present day. Its currently 2:30 am and I'm on my 100th chemistry question. I got 4 incorrect answers which is pretty disappointing. I'm the top student of my school. I've gotten numerous awards. There is no one who compares to me in studies. That earns me enough respect from my parents. I intend to keep it that way. I'm lost in my thoughts when suddenly the sound of my phone ringing jerks me out of them. Its my best friend Violet. I guess she can't sleep either. I pick up the phone,
" Hey Vi! Why are you still up ? "
" Ugh i can't sleep!! I keep thinking of her !! "
Man she's so in love
" oh honey... why don't you just tell her ? You're literally torturing yourself. I mean what's the worst that could happen? "
" Um, SHE COULD REJECT ME ?! "
" I- well yeah but I don't think she will. Dude I've seen the way she looks at you. She's definitely in love, take my word for it, and tell her! "
" You know what. You're right. I'll tell her. Tomorrow. After school. Yeah that's right. After school "
I laugh to myself at how nervous she is.
" Atta girl ! It'll all go very well I know "
We talk a little more and then we hang up. Violet has had a major crush on a girl she met in her math class. I think her name's Leslie. I keep my books aside, set an alarm for 6 and go to sleep.

Next morning -
I'm woken up by a loud sound across the room. I immediately sit up to see my sister on top of a chair trying to pull something out from my closet.
" uh, seerat ? What the hell ? "
" Oh- Siy- AAAH " the chair slided and she fell down flat on her face.
" JESUS SEERAT ! Are you okay ?! " I rush to help her. She gets up holding up a grey tank top as if it were some victory flag. " Got it! This is exactly what I needed! Don't worry I'm alright- SHIT i gotta run Sam will be here any minute. Get ready quickly we'll drop you today "
I watch her run out of my room and then start getting ready. About 10 minutes later, I'm in Sam's car waiting for my sister. " Sooo Siya, did your sister tell you what she has planned for our anniversary? She's pretty serious about it. " Sam says with a tense laughter.
" Oh I wish she did. But you know her. She'd rather shave off her eyebrows than tell anyone about her surprise plans "
He nods and my sister finally arrives. We head to school and they drop me there. I look at my watch and I'm perfectly on time, that is if I make it to class in 1.5 minutes. Which I will. I start walking briskly and just as I'm about to reach i bump into a wall. " Ugh god damnit! " i groan. Wait why's the wall dressed ? I look up in horror only to realise that the wall I walked into was a guy who is now drenched with coffee which i apparently spilled over him. Shit. I should apologize. But wait. It's his fault too. OH SHIT IM LATE. I'll kill this guy it's totally his fault!
" Like what you see ? " I'm surprised at how attractive of a voice this guy has. I immediately straighten up and point a finger at him, " You. You're the reason I'll be late today. "
he gasps dramatically, " the nerve you've got! You spilled my drink all over my brand new shirt. And you're blaming me? You gotta watch where you're going cinnamon " he smirks. Cinnamon? Wth? Oh wait that's what my bag says. 'Cinnamon girl' .
" Whatever. Just move " i shoved him into the locker and walked past him. I'm 4 minutes late. The audacity of that guy. Everybody takes their seat as Mr Garcia enters the class. I look up to wish him but instead I'm met with a familiar pair of eyes and a coffee stained shirt. My eyes widen in unpleasant surprise. Mr Garcia puts a hand on the guy's shoulder, " Class, I want you to meet Liam Carter. He's just transferred to London from Boston, USA. Please make him feel at home. " He begins looking for a place to seat that jerk Liam. To my absolute horror there's only one empty seat, next to mine. Liam locks eyes with me and smirks as he locates the seat. I roll my eyes and bury my head in my textbook. Well he's most probably a stoner or a party guy judging by the people he was standing with in the hallway. He's harmless. Just then Mr Garcia's speaks up, " Alright who can tell me the molecular weight of bilirubin? "
" 583.66 g/mol Sir. " i speak confidently.
"Actually, it's 584.66 " i turn my head sideways from where the voice came from. Liam Carter. To my utter dismay, mr Garcia declares his answer correct. At this point I'm shooting daggers at Liam. He simply winks at me. I calm myself down and think of his answer as sheer luck. But really soon I come to the horrifying conclusion that something that has never happened before might be happening now. I have competition.