Tenth Grade was Fun!

9. LOCK-IN CONFESSIONS

I love Darsh's creativity though. He never ceases to make me laugh.

After the Power Rangers S.P.D. shit, he told another one about him being Hulk.

It went something like this:

We were practicing some Math problems, when he butted in randomly saying, "I miss being Hulk.", and sighed.

We shot him a look that said 'WHAT THE FUCK NOW?' and he continued.

"I used to be Hulk. I was saving people from a volcanic eruption when I got lava all over me and I became Red Hulk. Then I became Pink Hulk after using cream for cooling me down. But after that, my mom went taking advice from my family and started feeding me with green vegetables so then I became Green Hulk.

"And because of my frequent color changes, I was stripped off of my powers and I'm not Hulk anymore."

I burst out laughing, Mia looked as though she was gonna murder someone—Darsh probably, because she is a Marvel fan—and Harsh, as usual gave the least expected reaction.

"Good thing Ma didn't give me any green veggies."

Honestly, I love these guys. If I had a choice, these two would be my siblings or at least my cousins.

But I don't, so they're just my friends.

Ved...well, he had started riding in the same bus as me in the mornings alone, after they got settled in their new house and we sat together sometimes whenever Maya comes after we both do.

He's got a little bit touchy-feely and honestly...I felt nothing. No butterflies in the stomach or anything.

And I've also been thinking that maybe I don't like him anymore.

My mom asks me how school's every day and I know that she means 'Have you talked to Nikhil?' between the lines.

And no. I haven't talked. I don't know when I will.

This leads me to now, where our class is elated about the Computer Applications teacher not coming to the class, so a substitute will.

I can't help but feel disappointed since I like to write coding—easy or complicated.

Our class teacher enters informing that a substitute teacher wasn't available so, we will be split into groups and sent to other sections that have the same period as us.

I stick with HD twins and Mia—she changed her place near mine—hoping we would get into the same section.

The twins and I got grouped together, but Mia wasn't. We shot her a sympathetic smile but she dismissed us with a wave and went away with her group.

Our own group was led away from our classroom and was taken to— Shit! It's 'D'.

Dread fills me as we enter the class and our class teacher informs the reason for us crashing in between.

Offering us a glare, the teacher in 'D' section classroom allots us seats.

I was placed with the twins and, unfortunately, right in front of Nikhil's bench.

I can feel his eyes boring holes in the back of my head as I sit listening to the mean teacher who keeps glaring at the students for no reason.

She was teaching what our teacher had already taught so the HD twins and I were barely keeping it together.

Suddenly Darsh nudges me, leans in and asks quietly, "Hand cricket. Harsh chose to be the joker. You in?"

"Sure."