"Never did I imagine that I would say this to you."
"Hey, now you're scaring me," she says, taking a step back.
I step forward in response, gently placing my hands on her shoulders to comfort her.
"I know this might sound crazy, but please just listen to me without saying anything."
...
"I'm interested in you, and I want you to take an interest in me. I have no idea how to impress a girl, which is why I'm asking for some of your time. I'm confident that if you get to know me, you'll be interested in me too. So, if possible, can I have five minutes of your time after college? Just five minutes. You can decide the topic since I'm not sure what to talk about with girls."
Finally, I expressed my feelings to her. It was incredibly hard to breathe as my heart pounded, but I held myself together, determined not to show any weakness.
She took a step back, surprised by the sudden proposal, never expecting that I would confess my feelings. We weren't complete strangers, but we didn't talk often—only when I needed help with something, and even then, our conversations were brief.
She wasn't sure how to respond in this situation, but she knew she had to reply.
"Akash, I understand your feelings, but I don't want to be tied down by love or anything like that. I have goals in life that I need to focus on, and I don't want any distractions."
"Sorry to say this, but I'm not interested in you. I hope you can understand my feelings as well."
...
I was prepared for rejection. I knew I wasn't some hero whose life would go exactly as he wished. With a sigh and a smile, I replied, "I understand. But remember, whenever you need support, I'll be there as a friend—always, everywhere, and forever."
Mahi and her friend left as their bus was about to depart.
"So, what now?" Harsh asked, putting his hand on my shoulder, thinking he was comforting me.
"Nothing much, but now I'm free from this feeling of love," I replied.
"That's my buddy! So, tomorrow I want a treat for getting rejected a second time," Harsh said, trying to lighten the mood.
"Okay," I replied and went to the PCAS office.
...
"Hey, I heard you proposed to Mahi."
"Yes, but as expected, I got rejected."
"So, what now? Will you still try your luck with her?"
"No, I'm not that kind of guy, and it would only make her more uncomfortable around me."
"Hey, stop talking and finish your work," a senior sitting in front of us warned.
"Hey Akash, can you write some lines for this video?"
I watched the video for a while and then wrote a few lines to make it more impactful:
"Like what we see. Love what we think. But great things require sacrifice. And those who sacrifice achieve success."
"Wow, that's pretty nice," he complimented, using those lines in his video. With that, our work was almost done. We just needed to wait for the senior's review so we could make any necessary improvements.
"Sir, I've sent the video. Please review it," I said.
"Okay, I will," the senior replied.
After watching the video, the senior was quite surprised by the progress his team had made. The video was close to perfect, but there was still some room for improvement. He directed Lakshay to make a few adjustments, and soon, the video was ready to be uploaded to the official Instagram page.
...
A few days later, there was a rush in the classroom as everyone hurried to complete their assignments. Many were frantically copying from their friends' work like machines. Harsh saw me coming and was surprised that I wasn't at all stressed.
"Hey, did you finish your assignment?" he asked.
"Holy shit! I almost forgot—today is the last day for submission," I replied, suddenly remembering.
An unpleasant memory resurfaced, haunting me. The assignment I hadn't completed was for one of the strictest tutors in our class. He was always in a bad mood and often picked on students to vent his anger. I was one of his targets, and sometimes I couldn't control my anger, leading to arguments. As a result, I was on his blacklist. I knew there was no room for negotiation.
"Forget it. I'll be in the library today," I said.
Completing leftover work in the library is always a long day. For some reason, it feels like time stops there—even after writing three pages, only five minutes seem to pass.
"Ugh, such a long day," I muttered, bored with the endless writing. To pass the time, I started writing some poetry dedicated to my imaginary girlfriend. Suddenly, an unexpected figure appeared next to me.
"Wow! Did you write this?"
"Yes," I replied, trying to remain humble.
I wasn't the type to exaggerate my work in front of others. I preferred silence over talking to strangers.
"May I know who you wrote it for?" she asked.
"Well, that's none of your business. This is personal," I replied, trying to avoid any interaction.
I had no idea who she was, and whenever I interacted with a girl, it always led to awkward situations. I never knew how to talk to girls, and I always ended up saying something I regretted later. But she seemed very interested in my poetry.
"Why not? My name is Nikita. Let's be friends, and then you can share your personal thoughts with me," she said, determined to know more.
She was the type of girl who, once something piqued her interest, would do everything in her power to get it.
"Now tell me, who are you writing this for?"
"For no one," I replied.
"Hey, I told you—we're friends now, so tell me the truth. It's not like I'm going to eat you," she teased.
"I'm telling the truth. I don't have a girlfriend, and not long ago, I was rejected by my crush."
Upon hearing this, a strange happiness washed over her. She wasn't sure why she felt happy that I had been rejected by my crush, but it was an unknown feeling that stirred something inside her.
"So, how can you write such emotional poetry?" she asked.
"It just comes naturally. I don't know myself," I replied.
It was quite surprising that I was having such a long conversation with a girl. I had never talked to a girl like this before.
"Hey, isn't that Akash?" someone asked.
"Yes. Is he already trying his luck with another girl? It hasn't even been a month since he got rejected," Mahi remarked as she and her friends entered the library. They noticed me talking to Nikita, who was neither my friend nor someone Mahi knew.
"It seems your crush doesn't like that we're having a conversation," Nikita observed.
"I should go so as not to make this situation more awkward for you," she decided. She knew this was not something she should get involved in, so she took her book and left.
I wasn't prepared for this kind of situation, so I stayed quiet and continued working on my assignment. Mahi didn't bother me, but as she passed by, she saw my poetry. As she read it, a pang of jealousy surged within her. She didn't know why she felt jealous—whether it was because she saw someone else beside me or because she thought the poetry was for her. No one knew the reason for her jealousy, but it marked the beginning of a new love that had been buried just a few days ago.