Neetu asked me to come near her. Nitesh and I went closer, and then she said, "Meet him, he's Jatin—my boyfriend."
I met him and said, "Hey, I'm Harsh. I'm her bench neighbour; we sit side by side."
He replied, "I'm Jatin, I'm her senior." He was two years older than me.
I started thinking, How does he know Neetu? Someone must be acting as a middleman.
So, I asked him, "How did you two meet?"
He replied, "Vishal helped me to know her."
And then I understood—Vishal was the one acting as the middleman.
A few days later, on 24th December 2021,
I was walking to tuition, and when I reached there, I saw Neetu sitting with Jatin in the corridor.
She was wearing a yellow-lined kurta with embroidery on it, looking absolutely gorgeous that day.
Then I saw Nitesh standing with them.
I came and said, "Nitesh, let's go upstairs."
As we were going, Neetu grabbed my hand from behind and said,
"You're not going to wish me a happy birthday?"
I had no idea it was her birthday, so I quickly wished her and went upstairs.
Then I said, "Nitesh, why didn't you tell me today is her birthday?"
I entered the classroom and noticed Neetu still hadn't come in. I waited for her.
The class started… and ended… but I still had no idea where she went.
I asked Shweta, and she said, "She bunked the class and went with Jatin to celebrate her birthday."
The next day was Christmas, and we didn't have any classes.
I spent the day sleeping.
Then, on 26th December 2021,
When I reached tuition, Neetu and Jatin were having an argument.
I asked Nitesh, "What happened? Why are they fighting?"
He said, "Jatin is cheating on her, and she found out about it."
Everyone was watching them.
I felt bad for her, but I couldn't help at that moment. I was feeling so helpless.
Later, the class started.
She was tense, with tears in her eyes.
When the class ended, she walked quickly toward home.
I was walking with my friends, and she was a little ahead.
Suddenly, a bike sped past me—it was Jatin.
He stopped in front of Neetu, and I ran toward them.
They started shouting at each other.
He was abusing her in front of everyone, but no one stopped him.
I stood there, and Neetu looked at me and said,
"You're also listening to his shitty talks?"
After hearing that, Jatin pushed her.
She fell on the road, and Shweta helped her up.
Neetu said, "Harsh, help me, please."
Jatin came near and said, "No one's going to help you, fucking bitch!" and was about to hit her.
I grabbed his hand and said, "Don't you dare touch her."
He shouted, "What is she to you?" and pushed me.
Then he grabbed her neck—
I lost my temper and kicked him from behind.
His head hit an electricity pole, and it started bleeding.
He saw the blood and ran away.
After that, I gave my hand to Neetu and said,
"If he ever tries this again, just come to me."
Nitesh said, "Bro, your kick was so freaking amazing! Where did you learn that?"
I replied, "When I was a kid, I used to learn taekwondo."
A few days later, Jatin came with four or five people outside the tuition to take revenge on me.
The class was over, and I walked downstairs, going straight home.
But Jatin appeared in front of me with his gang.
Then I noticed those people—they were from my old school.
They told Jatin, "Don't mess with him."
Jatin asked, "Why?"
They replied, "He was in our school last year. No one could even lift a finger against him. Everyone used to fear him. He knows taekwondo and he's also an expert in street fights. You can't beat him."
At that moment, Jatin said sorry and promised not to trouble Neetu again.
I didn't say anything and left.
Days passed, and the bond between Neetu and me grew stronger.
Months later, in February,
After class, I was walking home with Nitesh.
I asked him to check if Neetu was coming from behind.
I kept asking him repeatedly until he finally said, "Yes, she's coming—but Vishal is with her."
I didn't know how to grab her attention, and then Nitesh suggested, "Act like you've sprained your leg."
I liked his idea and started acting, but he said, "You're doing it too obviously, anyone can tell you're acting."
So I picked up a rock from the roadside and actually threw it on my foot.
My foot started bleeding—but the idea worked.
Neetu noticed me and asked, "What happened to your foot?"
I told her, "I accidentally hit it on a pole."
She told me to go to the hospital and then left.
A few days later,
A new girl joined our tuition—her name was Ruchi, and she was Shweta's friend.
On the first day, she sat on the first bench, while Neetu and I were on the second.
Nitesh sat beside me.
The class started, and I was secretly staring at Neetu's face.
Then Nitesh suddenly tapped my shoulder and said, "The new girl is staring at you."
I told him, "Nah, maybe she's looking at you."
Days passed,
And then I also noticed that she really was looking at us during class.
One day, Nitesh asked her, "Why are you looking at us?"
She didn't reply but instead asked us to come with her.
We agreed, and she took us to the park.
We sat on a bench and talked about normal stuff—hobbies and random topics.
A month passed.
One day, Ruchi came to me and said, "Nitesh asked me out."
I said, "I'm happy for both of you."
She made an annoyed face and said, "Wait, what did you just say?"
I repeated, "I'm happy for both of you."
She said, "Didn't you feel anything?"
I replied, "What do you mean by anything?"
She said, "Like—don't you feel sad for me?"
I asked, "You don't like Nitesh?"
She said, "Yeah, I don't like him. I love someone else."
I asked, "Who?"
She replied, "It's you. I saw you on my first day, and it felt like love at first sight."
I told her, "I'm sorry, but don't expect anything from me. I've loved Neetu for a long time."
She was shocked—and from the next day, she left the tuition.