For the next few days, this girl became the talk of the town among us.
I decided to dig deeper — I mean, what if he was lying? You never know. So, I asked a girl from my bus, who happened to be in her class, to investigate.
"Uh, can you do one task for me?" I asked hesitantly, because honestly, I couldn't predict her answer.
"Yes, di, what is it?"
"Nayan is in your class, right?"
"Yes, she is."
"Can you tell me something about her?"
"Di, she's literally popular in school only because she's obsessed with Akaay. For a while, she had a crush on a boy in our class, but she gave up on him and shifted her total focus back to Akaay. She doesn't stop talking about him. She's so cringe."
"Okay… btw, I don't care what she does or doesn't do, but I want to know why she has a problem with me. Can you ask her?"
"Ya, sure! Why not? This is so interesting."
I already guessed what her answer would be… but still, it was funnier and stranger than my imagination.
The next day, I asked her:
"So, did you ask her?"
"Yes."
"What did you say?"
"I said, Why do you have a problem with Kriti di? Can't you leave her in peace? Then she said, You know, I always see her with Akaay, and since she came into the school, he's been responding to me less. From the very first day she entered, I didn't like her. I mean—look at her."
I burst out laughing, and she continued, "Di, she's insecure about your looks. Don't mind her."
"But why does she stare at me like she'll kill me?" I asked.
"Then just talk to Akaay more — it'll be fun to see her jealous," she grinned.
We both laughed.
Later, in the lab, Akaay and Vayu were discussing this with me while working on the project.
"I mean, I get scared when I see her staring at me," I admitted.
"You should start exercising now, build some body," Akaay teased.
"Or else she'll just hit you once with her big hands, and you're done," Vayu added.
We all laughed.
But after the laughter… I felt bad.
Am I becoming a bad person? I'm judging a girl on her weight (even if I don't mean to), and I'm not stopping my friends from doing the same. I'm making fun of her feelings about someone she clearly likes.
If I had a crush on someone, and he suddenly started talking this close to another girl, I'd feel the same. But her approach feels wrong — to hate me without even clarifying the situation with him.
And then there's him… he adds salt to her wounds by openly saying, Yes, I'm this close to her.
What am I supposed to do with him??
The next day, we were both working side by side.
Suddenly, he said, "I'm getting abused because of you," looking directly into my eyes, smiling.
I just said "okay" with a teasing tone, but in that laugh… I caught something new. A spark in his dark eyes — lighter, brighter than I'd ever seen. For the first time, they didn't feel heavy. They felt like comfort.
And then our hands brushed.
"Your hands are so cold," he exclaimed.
I just smiled. But inside, a truth whispered — even if I don't admit it… I think I'm falling for him.
But if I fall, who's going to catch me?