I couldn't sleep the whole night.
My mind kept running wild with possibilities.
What could his question be?
Was he going to ask about a girl?
Something stupid? Something personal?
By morning, I was half convinced I'd explode if I didn't find out.
When I reached school, I found out Shree wasn't participating in the event.Nice.Now it was just me, by myself.
But in a way, that gave me more time with the boys.
My curiosity was clawing at me.
They say curiosity kills the cat.
Well, my soul animal is a cat — and if I didn't find out soon, I was about to be killed.
So I went straight to him.
"What's the question?" I asked.
"It's nothing, I was just fooling around," he said jokingly.
But I knew he wasn't.
I tried again. "What is the question?"
"It's nothing important. I'll ask you later."
"Fine."
Later, we practiced. And practiced. And practiced.
I was hell tired.
My class?Filled with only boys.
I was just sitting in the middle, head down, trying to steal a moment of rest.
He was sitting parallel to me.
I opened my eyes just a little, just enough to sneak a glance at him.
And guess what?
He said, loud enough for everyone to hear:
"Look how Kriti is sitting—like her soul is leaving her body."
Why would he say that?
I closed my eyes that way for you, you dumb boy.
Instantly, I sat up."Oh, the soul is back," he said.
Everyone laughed.
I tried to look clueless, like I'd genuinely been sleeping. But deep down, it stung a little.
Before the last bell rang, he turned to me. Shubh was by his side. Both of them were looking straight at me.
Okay… it was getting intense now.
"Ready for the question?" he said.
"Okay."
And then he dropped it."What does a girl see in a boy? Like… am I not enough for a girl to like me?"
My heart stopped. "First tell me the context, then I'll answer," I said, trying to sound casual.
"See, you're a girl. You'd know what a girl might like, what she won't. I have a crush on someone… but she's not liking me back."
In my heart, he was already perfect.
But with a soft smile, I said, "You're fine. Nothing's bad."
Yup, it hurt.
Because somehow, I was catching feelings for him.
But he loved someone else.
Now me and Nayan were in the same place, I guess.
Karma.
But the one thing that always keeps me intact?
Hope
And this time, my hope was even bigger.
I didn't know it yet, but my life was about to change because of this moment.