Broken Strings...

Chapter 3.

I stood near the threshold before entering. The teacher had arrived by then and all the students were seated. The teacher allowed me into the class and I walked past some row, scanning the class for Karan. He was seated in the last bench with another boy and was so busy chatting that he didn't even remember that I was supposed to sit with him. That was the only difference between us- he was way too friendly and I was the kind of guy who would sit alone for lifetime but never approach someone. I looked around for another seat but found none. The whole class seemed so full. Then, I spotted a place in the first bench of the last row, near the window, where another boy was completely engrossed in some book.

I went and sat there and waited for the class to begin. As it was the first class, we knew the teacher won't teach us. We would be asked to give our introduction (another thing that I didn't like). I remember how the whole class had laughed when i had said my name in the introductory class of my school... and how enchanting Radhika's voice was, so clear, so confident. Only if I had seen her... I looked out of the window and got lost in her thoughts, which were not possible.

By the time I came back to reality, the introduction part had already started. The class strength was unequally distributed among girls and boy, boys being in majority. I idly kept scribbling on the last page of my copy as one by one the girls stood and gave their intro. At some point of time, the boys went completely silent. As I looked up, I saw almost every single boy staring at the girl who had stood up to give her intro, awestruck. 'Idiots' I thought and was about to go back to my scribbling job where I had left Radhika's name half written, when the girl spoke with the voice that i had longed to hear for so long... "Myself, Radhika Aggarwal..."

*******

"The period bell rang and I was still sitting motionless on my bench. All the students started to get out of the class. I kept sitting there to get a closer look of Radhika Aggarwal when she would pass by.

I stared at her with big eyes while she was getting out of the class. She caught me looking at her and made a 'why is he staring at me?' face and then gave me a smile. A smile that felt like the bloom of the morning.

I smiled back at her like an idiot making a full 'C' with my lips , teeth that were puffled inside the lips , and eyes that were gaping just at her. When i came to my nerves and realised what had happened between the last 15 minutes , I hurried to meet Karan , the one who has been my friend since childhood.

"Radhika is in our school... actually she is in our class", I told him with high breaths and a blank face.

"Radhika who?", He said raising up his eyebrow.

"Yaar , Radhika! The girl i told you about."

"Han yaad hai tharki woi na....." Karan said. He stopped , thought something. "..Wait a second , Are you talking about Radhika Aggarwal ?" He asked with eyes like an owl in the night.

"So what ?" I asked him.

"Abey O, she's the daughter of Sanjay Rati Aggarwal. Princy introduced her to the whole school in the morning assembly which you apparently missed like always." Karan said.

Sanjay R. Aggarwal was the Deputy Chief minister Jammu and Kashmir and the minister of Ladakh affairs at that time and so , he was a man of power. He even had a large hand in other parts of India through his party.

"But yaar , I feel pitty for Aakriti bhabhi now." Karan said , teasing me.

"I am telling you for the last time. Dont call her that." I said as i would always get in a hissy fit everytime he would tease me about Aakriti.

Though me and Aakriti had been very good friends in the childhood , I didn't remember much about her except for the fact that she always used to write everything in her private diary. We were good until we found new friends or should i say until i found new friends.

Aakriti was the 'official' nerd girl of KC Public School. She was always found plunged in her books , all alone in the school. Her Skin was pale, as though from disuse , she always preferred indoor recess. Her skin was lightly freckled, and her eyes were bright behind her glasses, but had grown dull from disillusionment. Two really big and thick glasses. She was thin, and wore clothes pilfered from her mother's closet, outfits which screamed 1970s chic, but often elicited taunts or on better days , just plain eyerolls from our classmates.

Karan and I left the corridor for the Maths class . I was happy as hell that the girl with whom i fell in love with at the age of 12 is now back in front of my eyes and that too in my school , my class. You know what plans teenagers start making in their heads after they get a chance to meet their crushes / Love interests.

We entered the class and Karan sat on the last bench where we always used to sit. I was about to sit there too but then I saw Radhika sitting there on one of the benches And guess what ? Nobody was sitting on the bench behind her. I was not a dumbhead to leave an open opportunity like this of talking to her.

I was nervous because i thought may be she would not like a strange boy sitting behind her. But i dont know what courage i was getting in my veins to walk up to her bench.

She saw me again and gave me another little curvy smile and i gave her another idiotic smile like freaks. I sat at the bench with that goofy smile still on my face . That was the best seat in the house.

The teacher started the topic 'Curves in Graphs' but I was lost in the curves of her hair with half opened drugged eyes . The tressies of her hair looked like a Sine wave. I tried to smell her hair by keeping my nose an inch apart so that i do not get caught.

I took a deep breath and it smelt like Petrichor, the smell of the first rains after a dry spell. It is a jasmine and gingerbread fragrance, warm and fresh, and it laves the land with sweetness. I had gone astray. I was lost , may be.

" Is it Clinic plus or Sunsilk ?" , a voice came.

"Nai , ye to pantene hai ! (no this is pantene)", i replied, not realising where i was.

Someone , thrashed my head with a book and I heard a burst of laughs from the whole class and came to realise that it was my maths teacher when i opened my eyes.

"Get out of my class, you blithering idiot." The teacher said. I was so flustered that i took my bag and ran out of the classroom...

A/N:

Sorry for the late update.
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