CHAPTER 5

Semester break was over, and we were back to our college routine. I parked my car and made my way toward my friends. Some whispers were going on normally; somehow, they would always be linked to me, but recently there was nothing new going on—same old shit—no brand-new car, no costly items purchased, no gossip with any girls or guys. My name was cleared from every gossip column, so I was kind of curious about what was going on.

After reaching, I inquired with my friends regarding the same. Christian was the one to speak; he was so hyper and didn't know why. "You know what? There is a new transferee in the middle of the semester from a different country. There is so much gossip going on regarding him that I can't wait to see him. Highlights: He is rich and dashing, and two entrance tests were given to him just to test his worth in the middle of the semester, and Bloody cleared both, concluding that he is a damn genius. Not to forget, he is good at sports too. He was able to win so many matches in his previous college that people wanted to know everything about him. Trust me, I am so excited; in the first place, he is not even a girl. I can't control this urge to meet him. Strange, right?" He didn't stop his ramble for another few minutes. For the first time, I was on the safe side because gossip was not about me; someone replaced me. I was fed up with giving my clearance certificate to everyone and convincing them that it was not what they thought, that it was fake, and that it was not me. I didn't do it; these are all made-up trash, and they are just using my name, etc., which was giving me a severe headache. Someone else sharing or trying to take this baggage, at least for a few days, is such a relief, and dam, I was so curious about this whole package guy; it seems he is one hell of a package. No wonder everyone was fucking curious, including my friends.

He has not stepped in yet; he has become famous. Everyone is so curious; it's kind of good and also bad. Always being in the spotlight was a headache, and after entering this college, he had to go through a hell lot of things. According to rumors, he was famous at his previous college, so it's nothing for him. Whatever someone was sharing my burden, I should enjoy this interval period.

There were 10 minutes to go, and everyone was giving up and making their way towards their respective classes. Then two brand new cars entered our campus, which made everyone halt on their spot and simultaneously turn their heads towards the entrance. They were waiting for this moment. God knows how many minutes or hours. From the car, an elderly person came out, followed by a young one, and our waiting period came to an end.

The transferee came out of the car with his sunglasses on and was surveying campus. Everyone, including me, was in shock, stuck in our spot, and we were captured just by his single glance. He is dam fucking handsome, and it proved it was dam worth their waiting if they waited for hours together. Also, it was dam worth it just to get one glimpse of this guy, lean figure, blonde look, long curly hair tied into a pony, dam good height at least 5.10; I couldn't find his eye color as he was wearing shades; it would definitely match his physique.

Both of them started walking, meeting Principle for sure; no one was even trying to make a move. This guy has enchanted some spells, and our group was no less captivated; we were glued to our spot. He was not giving a fucking glance to anyone but definitely knew the result of his appearance before entering the building. He just turned towards our group. Our eyes met for a few seconds, and I was the one to avert it soon. As he wore his shade, I couldn't exactly make out who he was watching, but as I averted my eyes, a smile formed on his face, so now my question was, was he staring at me?

Wow, that smile—this was odd. How can a person, in a few minutes, have such an effect on everyone? And why the hell was I including myself? I couldn't help but think of the same smile that made me feel something inside me. Was it 'warmness'? No, no, definitely not. I am trying to find meaning in pointless things. He was just too handsome to handle, so he just made me think too much, and that's it.

After getting his glimpse, everyone finally made their way toward the building. I couldn't help but be curious about his courses. We had separate buildings for science, commerce, and the arts, so if he were a science or art student, meeting him would be very rare, only at a college party or sports if we shared the same sports, or else it would be once in a while. I took a business course, and my friends did too, so we shared most of the classes. It was business period, so we made our way toward class.

After entering class, I always prefer to sit at the end of the row, in the corner seat, just to get lost in the music.

Our professor entered, and after a few seconds of chatting and asking what we did in our break, he was about to start the class when he entered. New bee. Our professor talked with him for a few minutes and told him to introduce himself. He was giving a quick look to the class and was not wearing any shades. While he was surveying, our eyes met. He held my gaze for a few seconds, and I couldn't help but once again avert my eyes. God damit.

He cleared his throat and gave a brief introduction; the professor informed him to take a seat, and I couldn't believe leaving all the other empty seats. He was making his way toward me and sat beside me—just what I needed right now. His eyes—I couldn't make out his eye color this morning; it was brown, so captivating, not to forget his intense gaze. I am not able to hold for a few seconds; it always makes me feel so many things: 'uff', something is not right; maybe I am getting a fever or already got one; why the hell he sat beside me; how the hell am I going to concentrate on anything?

I was on high alert, trying my best to listen or act like I was concentrating solely on the lecture going on. I had never given any dam to any lecture, as I would always prepare myself not to forget the coaching classes I was taking. Today, it's not the same. I don't want to turn my head from the blackboard, no matter what. I didn't want my eyes to roam here and there, especially on the person who was sitting beside me. It's been only an hour already. I have faced two awkward moments, and I don't want to add one more.

We were in the middle of the lecture when he came near me and said, "Hi, I am Joshua Winfield." Ok, suck this, not adding one more awkward moment for the day, "Hi, nice to meet you." He was smiling and said, "I bet you have a name, right?" How the hell I could forget basic manners didn't include my name, "Sorry Grayson Russell." "Nice to meet you, Gray," and flash news, he just gave me a nickname. It's only been a few seconds of our self-introduction. By turning my gaze once again, I was trying my best to concentrate on the lecture. I want to run once this class finishes.

I and my friends made our way to the cafeteria, and whispers could be heard at every table related to Joshua; he had successfully captured everyone's attention. Not to forget, it's just been a half day. After collecting our meal, we sat at our usual spot. My friends started asking about Joshua as he was sitting beside me, so it was inevitable for them not to ask, to which I replied. We introduced ourselves and nothing else. With that, I tried to close the topic. I was affected so much without any reason, and I don't want to add up more. I was so done for the day.

I should try my best to interact less with Joshua, as he opted for the same course. It's quite impossible, but I could try my best; less interaction would be worth it for my own sanity. We ended our day with no football practice today. We didn't see Joshua after our first class; he had just vanished for the rest of the day. We bid our goodbyes and parted ways.