Note: Going forward, the story will be in Punit’s POV until specified.
I don’t know why the heck I was following her, I mean, like what exactly did I want to find out? Beats me. Maybe it was the way she walked around with that guitar strapped over her back. It made her look so special as if she wasn’t already. I learned that she took music lessons when the rest of the school pigged out on their lunch. How fab is that?
But I’ll admit it, I was shit scared. From the way I was going on, I was damn sure, someday, I was going to get caught tailing her, by someone or the other. And if it was going to be her who caught me red-handed, well, God save me. I’d seen the way she’d mauled Sibal. She was strong and didn’t give a damn about anything or anyone. Yet, something told me that she’d have spared me. She would, right? Um...
So, one day, it happened. She caught me! I don’t know how; she must have sensed someone pursuing her.
I was as usual ‘stalking’ her all the way to the girl’s room (without even knowing it) when all of a sudden, she whipped around and faced me with a Clint Eastwood expression.
I was dead. I felt like I’d rammed head-on into a brick wall. I could do nothing but fidget and twiddle. I’d even considered running away when she asked that question.
“Why’re you following me?”
“Uh-what?” I gurgled.
“I asked, why are you following me?”
“Um... um... g-gui-guitar?”
“What?”
“Guitar... c-can I see your guitar?”
She looked surprised. “Sure,” she said after a moment and pulled it out of the bag.
Man. That thing was a b-e-a-uty. That smooth polish made her bod look so glossy as if drizzled with melted caramel, you could actually lick it off. Um... did that sound a little erotic? Hmm... Never mind.
So, that was the first time we kind of actually talked. It was scary, to be honest. For a moment, I really did think that she’d punch me. Thankfully, she didn’t. From that day forth, I made it a point to be a little extra careful. And that meant watching her from a distance. I also found out that most of the kids were scared of her. Probably because she was so hot-headed? Or maybe because she was too quiet and timid? She didn’t really talk much. She opened up only to a handful like Rachel and Vaidehi. They were the privileged ones who got to see her bright, dazzling smile. And now I got to see it too. Secretly. Um... you shouldn’t be stalking Punit.
It was the annual school fest and I had big plans. Really big plans!I’ll be honest, I was shit scared. For one, people were for sure going to laugh me out the gates. Two, Sibal would laugh me out to space. The very thought of it made me shudder. But it was now or never. It was hard finding the stuff I required for this feat, but I did, and I just had one more thing to do.“So, what will it be?” asked a senior girl sitting at the desk. She was entering the names for the fest in the notebook before her.“Fancy dress,” I stated and moved out after making sure that she got it right. I literally strutted down the corridors, as if I’d just enlisted myself in the army. Well, it was as good as that.Yup, fancy dress. That’s what I had signed up for. I had a never before unique idea up my sleeve, but I was scared.As I strolled down the third-flo
D-day was here and Punit’s knees wouldn’t stop buckling. Oh, how he wished that Anki was there. A few more minutes was all that he had to face his greatest fear: the stage.All morning, they’d practiced that song together, the one they were planning to perform, and he wasn’t at his best. In fact, he was at his worst. He went off-tune and off-beat consistently, irritating the devil out of her.“What the hell are you doing!!!” she blasted.“S-sorry,” he mumbled.“What ‘sorry’? You were so good yesterday. So, what happened now?” she questioned angrily.Punit pondered over for a while before speaking. “I don’t think I can do this,” he told her queasily.At that, she gnashed her teeth. “I swear, I’ll smash this guitar over your head! Don’t you dare fuck up a
Post her solo performance, Ankita hurried down the corridors in search of Punit. She was kind of worried and hoped that he was okay. Two, their duet was up right after the fancy dress competition. She wondered if he was in the state to do it. She hoped he was. But knowing him, she highly doubted that.She was about to whip past the empty classroom around the corner on the top-most floor and take the flight of stairs to the grounds when she saw him huddled inside.“Punit?” She walked in through the door.He looked up from the terrible state that he was in. He was a mess. The kohl around his eyes was smudged from crying, his face was pale and sweaty and his hair was all roughed up. Sniffling, he ran a finger under his nose and looked away.“What?” She shrugged, completely shocked at his state.“I suck,” he blurted in a clogged voice.&ldqu
Oh, how she wished that looks could kill! Because, by now, Punit should have been glared to death by Ankita.They were on stage performing their duet, and Punit was clearly messing it up. He was offbeat, off-tune, and everything else that could possibly ruin a good song.What the hell is he doing!!!!?She thought desperately. She badly wanted to shut him up. But he kept going faster and faster that the audience was in splits. He finished up much before the song was actually supposed to end and bolted out of there.For the sake of it, some of them applauded, but most of them were hooting and howling.Ankita felt humiliated. Never before had she faced something like this! People had only admired her after every performance, but this...! She swore to God that when she caught up with him, she would pound his head into the wall.***Much later, when Punit had fina
Punit scrunched up his face and stayed under the table, hoping that they would spare him. He didn’t have the guts to face her, not after promising a stellar performance and giving muck in return.“Punit, drop it, man, she’s gone,” came Vaidehi’s voice after a while.He pulled out, his face red and sweaty from bending over for so long. “She’s gone?”“Yup!”He sighed, feeling so flustered. “See! What did I tell you!!? She’s still mad at me! Or else she would have talked to me. But she didn’t! See!!!”“Why do you want her to make the first move? Even you can talk to her, right?”“And get myself killed? No way!”“She won’t do anything,” replied Vaidehi.“Right!” His words were dripping
“I seriously thought you’d blast at him,” Vaidehi admitted on their way back to class. Ankita chuckled and strolled along. “Are you seriously letting him sing again?” she asked curiously. “Hmm? Well, yeah,” Ankita shrugged. “Why though? Won’t he mess it up?” “He might. But let’s see. He’s got a great voice. And I want that. I want that for my songs. It’s the kind of voice I’d always wanted.” Ankita looked dreamy. “He’d sound fab especially for the latest one you wrote,” said Vaidehi excitedly. Ankita always told her about the songs she used to write and compose. It was her dream to be a filmmaker one day and she made sure that knew the ins and outs of the art, from story to screen to music, everything. “True! I can’t wait to hear that in his voice! Now, if he’d only stop freaking out!” “What’s your pla
“Do you guys have something going on?” asked Vaidehi one day, out of the blue.“What?”“Do you guys have something going on?” She repeated before adding, “Punit and you?”“What do you mean?” Ankita was surprised.“Well, people are talking.” She shrugged.“About what?”“About you guys... that you are together most of the time and pretty much have... you know... something going on.” As much as she was open and friendly with Ankita, she was cautious enough to not cross the line. As of now, she wasn’t sure how she’d take being romantically paired up with a guy and stuff.“In the sense? That we guys are dating and stuff?” Ankita made a sour face.“Well, yeah, kind of.” Vaidehi shrugge
Anki’s next meeting with Punit was, well... awkward. The very sight of him reminded her of all the rubbish that was floating around school which she bet he’d already heard of. She only hoped that she hadn’t done anything that made her look like a desperate lovesick looney to him. What if he really thought that I was so desperately crushing on him, bad enough to convince him to belt out a love song for me? Eww! Cringe factor, 100%!As for Punit, he’d heard it too and he wondered what her take could be. In fact, some of the boys and even the girls had already interrogated him, and he’d smoothly denied any such thing. But, coming to think of it, he already had a crush on her, he only wished that she never got a hint of it because what if she never felt the same? That could end their friendship and he really didn’t want that. Things were going really well as of now.He noticed that Anki too w