Strings Attached

ADHVIK'S POV

I was preparing breakfast when I heard footsteps of someone coming towards me. I turned. It was Mom "Beloved son. Why do you wake up so early in the morning and do my work, too?" She patted my shoulder. I just do not understand why there is a thinking that only women are meant to do the household work and not men. In my opinion, it has to be an equal share. In this world, there are only two women who are my strength and my weakness at the same time. My mother and my sister, who is like a witch, and I really don't want any of them to feel that doing these household chores is their duty.

"Mom, why just you and that witch have to do all the work, and why can't I? Anyway, you have to work for the entire day, so why can't you get leave from just a few works ." I hugged my mom and placed a gentle kiss on her forehead to express my gratitude and love for her. "I don't know what good deed I did in my past life that led to you being my son," Mom smiled and hugged me back. I offered her a cup of tea and went to the temple in my house to worship Lord Krishna, playing a spiritual song. My every day starts with a hug from Mom and worshipping Krishna. I am not a patient of OCPD, but I actually think that I am not a great fit in this generation with a hook-up culture and one-night stands. I believe in the type of love that Radha and Krishna share, and I follow the path of Krishna. He is not just a god to me; He is my mentor, my best friend. My 'teacher,' my everything. According to how much I read in the scriptures and about the teachings of him, it never allows me to make any woman feel unworthy. Women are actually a reflection of Goddess Radha, and so, in my opinion, the change starts from your own house. Therefore, I made a rule that in the morning, household work will be done by the males, not by women. I got ready and went to the stop where the van driver usually picks me up.

I thought today would also be as ordinary as others. But I was definitely wrong about it. I saw her from the window of the van; her frustration was clearly visible on her face as she wasn't comfortable in that congested van. It seemed like she was traveling for the first time in the school van, *typical daddy's princess behavior*

She was staring directly into my eyes, which made me really uncomfortable. She is incredibly pretty; her skin color is as fair as milk. Her eyes, those green eyes, appeared to be like those of a cat, but they actually suited her. Her voice is a thousand times sweeter than the chocolate itself. I was looking at her from the corner of my eye when Pihu said something to her that, in response, she giggled.

"Why can't he chop off his leg? They are damn too big," I heard the girl sitting in front of me murmuring. I was about to say something when I listened to that girl beside me laughing. Her white teeth shone like pearls, and the strands of hair that fell into her eyes made her even more attractive. The dimples were the cherry on top. The wind became the reason for her jet-black strand of hair to tease her, which led her to set them behind her ears. Dang!! She looked so adorable while moving her finger behind her ear to pull the hair back, and it was making it even more difficult for me to move my stare away.

I was imagining what the hell was happening to my mind that I was forgetting my "affair with girl = collide with death" rule. When the driver suddenly shouted my name and asked to bring the fees, I heard her saying "interesting" as a comment on my name, to which I passed a smile. I guess it was a misunderstanding; I just wanted to pass a smile, but I ended up giving her a really weird look, which made her feel embarrassed. .oh god!! This inability to express one's emotions is the worst curse one could ever have, and as a bonus, being an introvert is the 'worst combination ever.' She patted her head on her hand out of embarrassment. I really didn't want to make her feel embarrassed. "You didn't say it that loud." Yeah, I said that; I really said that, like how a person could be so idiot. You actually responded to something and then claimed you didn't hear it. But her reaction was worth watching as if I had unknowingly read her mind.

WE REACHED SCHOOL

I was about to enter the main gate of the school when I heard the van driver saying, "After the dispersal, just come to this place only, okay? You will have to wait here until I drop off the students on the route. Pihu, it seems like you and Annika became really good friends in just one meeting, so just take care of your sissy and make sure she will not forget this place."

"'Annika..' What a sweet name, wait! What did he say? Sissy??" I was adoring her name and suddenly realized that he described her as Pihu's sissy, dang! I thought she was the same age as Pihu because of her height.

Yeah, she is too tiny. It's cute, though..*

I tried hard not to ask, but I don't know why I failed to do so and ran to the van and asked the driver "What!!!! Sissy ??? Is she older than Pihu??" The next thing I heard was the last thing I could have imagined coming out of his mouth: "She is even older than you, Mr., She is in 11th standard." Am I dreaming or what? Did he just say that she is older than me?

"Hey Krishna !! Will I get all the surprises today only?"

It took me the whole day to believe that I was thinking about a small junior girl who was actually even older than me. A thought crossed my mind. "a year older won't make a great difference," instantly erased by another thought. "Adhvik, no!! You can't. It's bad manners to think like this about a girl whom you met only a few hours ago and don't even know her full name and remember your rule: "affair with girl=collide with death. I don't know why, for the first time in my life, I'm getting attracted to a girl. A guy who doesn't even like to talk to girls is now continuously thinking about a girl who is older than him in age and shorter in height. Why I'm feeling a sudden change in myself. Why just a normal meeting with a girl is affecting me too much

IN SCHOOL

A girl proposed to me in front of my friends when I said I had never fallen in love or had feelings for anyone. I really mean this. However, I always try to ensure that I never hurt anyone's feelings with my words (I am very cautious about my words). Insulting someone or harming them with your words and then claiming to be straightforward doesn't make you cool. It's my personal opinion.

I was about to reply to that girl, but then my eyes caught her* yeah, she was watching me, or she was watching all the drama happening there. I watched her through the glass of the window, and the process of hypnotizing began. I again lost my senses, and then a voice dragged me back to reality. "Have you ever seen your face in the mirror? Do you think you're capable of becoming our brother's girlfriend? Just be within your limit, girl." I never expected any of my friends to have such a mindset. A sudden increase of anger began to take control over my patience, and I yelled for the first time at my friend. "Say sorry!" In reply, he raised a question, "What?" it increased the level of my anger even more, and I yelled now in a much heavier and louder voice, "JUST SAY SORRY!".I decided to avoid her reflection in the mirror, as just one glance was enough to hypnotize me, which might not be right at this moment.

I consoled that girl with as many polite words as I could say at that moment. And she walked away from there. And the next thing I did was the one for which I was eagerly waiting for all this drama to end. Yeah, I looked at her. But she ignored me and turned her face away. Was she scared of me after watching me in anger? Wait, what I'm thinking is whether she is afraid of me or not. Oh god, this girl made me crazy.

Now, I will not give my attention to her; I will ignore her.