Days passed, weeks passed.
The excitement of school slowly faded away — waking up at 5 a.m., walking 1.5 km to school every day.
But despite that, I made so many friends. Life was fun — hanging out, playing cricket, mobile games, and watching anime.
One random morning, as usual, I woke up at the same time and got ready for school. Just as I was leaving home, I saw Sneha stepping out of her house. I caught a quick glimpse of her but ignored it and walked ahead toward Ajay's home.
Even though I reached Ajay's place by 7:20, he was still sleeping. For the past few weeks, we had been late almost every day because of him.
We both ran through the streets, taking shortcuts, and finally reached school.
When I checked my watch — it was 8:45. We were 45 minutes late.
I entered the classroom. Aryan was sitting at our regular desk. I sat beside him and said, "Hey man, I saw your girl today…"
He smirked and asked, "Where?"
I replied, "She was walking out of her house."
Before we could continue, the teacher noticed and scolded us for talking. Time flew, and soon it was lunch break.
As I was returning from outside, I overheard Aryan and Nikhil talking about Sneha. They were saying she wasn't a good girl — that she only pretended to be one. Rumors said she'd been in several relationships and even had a physical relationship with an older boy.
At first, I didn't believe them. But then more students joined in, mentioning specific names I actually knew from before joining this school. Slowly, I started believing them — though I still chose not to judge her.
Lunch break ended, and the day went on.
After school, while walking home with Ajay, I asked him about Sneha out of curiosity — and he said the same things.
Just then, I saw Sneha walking with her friend.
I asked Ajay to introduce me to her. I wanted to find out for myself what she was really like.
At first, he refused, but I insisted. Finally, he introduced us.
He was talking about something, I don't even remember what, and I said, "Hi, I'm Harsh."
She smiled and said, "Hi, I'm Sneha."
I replied, "I already know your name. We're neighbors."
She looked surprised. "Really? I didn't notice you before. But you look cute — like a soft toy — and your way of talking is really sweet."
Her words made me blush. Her personality was completely different from what everyone had told me.
I couldn't understand why Aryan would talk badly about his own girlfriend. Was he out of his mind?
The Next Day
I entered class and confronted Aryan.
"Why are you spreading nonsense about Sneha? She's actually a very nice person. We talked yesterday."
He asked, "Oh really? What did you talk about?"
"Nothing much," I said. "Just normal stuff. But she complimented me."
He grinned. "Maybe Sneha likes you."
I laughed. "Nah, not possible. Even if she does, I don't like her."
Days Passed
Sneha and I became friends. Whenever she saw me, she came over without hesitation, no matter who was watching.
Then came mid-term exams — all of them were easy. But right after that, due to a rise in COVID cases, lockdown was announced.
Time passed without seeing any friends. During lockdown, I saw Sneha a few times in the market.
Eventually, it was time for final exams, but the government canceled them and promoted everyone based on mid-term results. I got first position — no surprise there — but still got placed in Section D. In our school, 10th-grade Section D students were considered the weak ones.
I didn't complain, though. This year, Aryan, Ajay, and I were in the same class.
There were some new faces too. I met them and became friends. That's when I met Aman Mansoori — Aryan's cousin. We got along really well. Soon, he became my best friend.
One random day, when I was walking home with Aman, Sneha came over and started chatting.
After she left, Aman asked, "Why does she come to you like that?"
I said, "I don't know."
He grinned. "Maybe she likes you. Girls don't talk like that unless they do."
That thought stuck with me.
Days went by, and Aryan and Aman started teasing me with her name. Soon, the whole class joined in.
At first, I was embarrassed. But over time, I got used to it.
Then, I noticed two girls in my class — Sakshi and Aarti. They always sat in front of my desk.
Whenever the class teased me about Sneha, I noticed a strange uneasiness on Sakshi's face.
At first, I ignored it — until one random night, she texted me:
"I want to sit beside you in class."
I didn't really understand why. But the next day, as I entered the classroom, she came straight to me and made me sit next to her. She started talking — jumping from food to studies to games — random stuff. I didn't understand much, but I found her funny.
I laughed and said, "You're a funny girl. I find you interesting."
Her face turned completely red.
That night, she texted again — this time asking for my handwritten notes. I sent them right away.
Tuition Days
Later, I joined tuition classes — not a new one, but the same place I'd studied before. I went there with my cousin sister, Akanksha. She's really close to me — even more than Ajay. We've been together since childhood; she's just 11 months older than me.
On the second day, she told me that one of her schoolmates also studied there. "Her name's Neetu," she said.
Then she pointed — "There she is."
At first, I didn't notice her. She went downstairs, then came back up — wearing a light blue top and jeans.
Class started — the topic was Acids, Bases, and Salts. I was sitting on the third-last bench when I spotted an old friend, Nitesh. We started talking, and I found out He studied at the same school as my cousin sister.
Soon, my schedule got hectic. No time for games anymore. Life became exhausting.
Because my eyesight got weaker, I started sitting on the second bench and even got new specs.
On the first day with glasses, I heard a voice beside me say, "You got glasses — look like a nerd."
I turned — it was Neetu sitting next to me.
I smiled and said, "Yeah, I got glasses."