CHAPTER 6

The next day of college, the same whisperer could be heard: this was not going to die soon compared to the previous day. Today, the crowd was huge, and all were waiting outside, which only meant Joshua had not yet entered to add up yesterday; he had disappeared, so obviously the crowd would grow. I joined my group of friends, and soon Joshua entered college with a bunch of boys and girls. How the hell is it even possible? It's been just a day. Would anyone be this good at socializing? As they passed, everyone was watching them. Joshua, who turned to our group, gave me a smile that made my heart skip a beat. After only a few seconds of eye contact, suddenly my throat felt dry. There was an urge to chuckle, or was it a giggle? Gosh, seriously, it was just a smile.

He entered the building. The crowd started to fade. There were a few minutes until our first class. My friends were still in a trance, and Patrick started to pour his heart out. "We were famous. Everyone was eager to get close to us. Just one guy replaced all of us. I am so damn curious about him. I have heard he is very rich. Let's try to fit him in our circle; dam, he must be interested too."Christian, "Patrick, everyone would be interested in joining our circle. We got some range; it's just been a day, so let's see how things go before we can decide." Sebastian, "Chris We are fucking replaced by a single guy; you guys are not feeling jealous or anything; instead, you are trying to make him join our circle, like, seriously, Tristian said. "That's the thing, only a fucking guy, and we are 8 members. I am so impressed, I am going to seek his friendship, Jack said. "Are you being serious?" Tristian, "Yes, what's wrong common, he is not low class or something, fucking handsome, and took 2 entrance cleared that conclude he is brilliant my dad going to love those kinds of guys till I take over his business I should keep pleasing my dad", Jack, "Just to please your dad", Tristian, "Not to forget his billion worth company, I am not getting why we are even arguing as Christian said will wait and see how things goes, let's not forget so far it's dam good", Edward, "Chris is right, it's soon to decide anything will take some time and decide", Jack, "Yeah ok, if you say so", Tristian, "How come you agreed so soon", Jack, "Because he will always make sense", Tristian, "I and Chris didn't, you are bloody follower of Ed", Edward, "Guys cut it out, it's time let's move to our classes", with that we started moving one thing was dam clear with or without our consent, Tristian would definitely approach Joshua and befriend with him, his slogan from Day 1 ′Pleasing his dad and to takeover company at earliest.′

I had a language class, and I was hoping that he would not choose the same language, which was Spanish, a small hope, but once again he came and took a seat beside me. This was going to be a daily occurrence. I should stop always being taken back by this, which doesn't suit me or my popularity; he is fucking being friendly, which should be reciprocated, simple as that. "Hey Gray, we met again," and that nickname, "Hey," silenced how to continue the conversation, what to ask him, and what not to do. I should dig out how to start a conversation with a new face by referring to some books. One way or another, my friends were acquaintances we had met at a few business parties, so it didn't feel stressful, and with a new face, I never started a conversation; it would always come from the opposite end when I was deep in my thoughts trying to solve this mystery. The professor entered class, which made me take a break with a note and come back later. I couldn't be happier with our professor's appearance. Next time I need to come up with something, note down a few points to make things less awkward between us.

Once the class was finished, Joshua disappeared again. What the hell will this guy always be in a hurry for? A girl was waiting for him at the door, and soon they disappeared. He and his social interaction, oh God, give me a dam break, but it's like I should take a break. Why the hell am I pinpointing everything and trying to find something?

We didn't share any classes till lunch break, I and my friends were sitting in our usual spot having our food, Joshua entered the cafeteria with his own friends and once again pulled the coward few seconds whole room was silent he held so much authority joined the queue to get his food, after collecting food he was making his way towards our table, "Hey everyone, I am Joshua new student can I and my friends join your table if you guys are ok", Tristian was first to speak he was not even trying to hide his excitement, "Of course, yes, we are delighted you are most welcome, and you can join us every day without a second thought we are all ok, right guys", we couldn't help but to say as yes, if we had given a chance to think than I don't think anyone would object and I just got to know his appearance has the power to pull out whatever he wanted, am I exaggerating, no right, I felt his appearance could hypnotize anyone, my name was on the top just what I wanted.

They made themselves comfortable once again. Joshua sat beside me. I couldn't help but express my astonishment on my face. When the hell am I going to suck this up? Soon chattering started, and my friends were eager to know about him and his background. Joshua Winfield, 17 years old, a billionaire, moved from Italy; his dad wants to open a main branch over here; he has an older sister who was studying at a different college; he loves sports and car racing; he is 'Bi' at present; he has no girlfriend or boyfriend; his parents are very ok with his sexuality; lucky guy; his dad was likely to settle here, so he was not going to move back to Italy; the saddest part was that his mother died when he was 10 years old due to some health issue; after hearing that everyone was silent for a few seconds as a clue, lunchtime got over to put an end to this delicate situation, and we made our way to the respective classes.

Throughout the day, the conversation we had while having lunch was lingering in my mind, not able to be removed. Every word he spoke, I was preserving in my mind somewhere safe. It was a simple thing about Joshua; nothing was so important. Still, I am trying to save every word he spoke.

When Joshua said he liked sports, he was not boasting or exaggerating himself. This guy was so good that even our coach was praising him. The coach wanted him to join our football team, but Joshua took his sweet time to decide. As he was also good at basketball and swimming, he was not able to make a decision. Coach highly believes that if Joshua joins our football team, we are definitely going to win our upcoming match. Wow, our practice was pointless, and on top of that, no one was offended when the coach was praising Joshua, and his popularity reached another peak. At night, we received a message from our coach stating that Joshua had decided to join our football team. Everyone was replying with happy and exciting emojis. I couldn't help but chuckle at the individual responses.

As the days passed, we started including Joshua in everything. Tristian had become his puppy, always trying to please Joshua. God knows why, according to my knowledge, he is not 'gay or bi', still trying his best to build a repo. No one complained because half of the college was trying to get close to him.

Whenever we were sharing the same classes, lunch, and hanging out at any restaurant, he would always make sure to sit beside me if anyone had already taken a seat; he would politely ask to switch seats; and most of his conversation would always be with me. He was not leaving me to drift into my own world; he always pulled me out. These days, he started to bring my food, irrespective of my protest, and also made sure that I had my food. Lots of touching things started, and he would always place his hand on my thigh. I couldn't help but think of him as friendly, and he made sure to grab me near him by placing his hand on my shoulder. This unknown feeling started rooting itself, getting more daresome under all these circumstances.

We exchanged our numbers, began with a friendly chat, and reached a point where he started flirting. We started waiting for each other near designated lockers. Our friends noticed these changes, but no one dared to question either of us. My friends started to keep the spot beside me empty for Joshua by default; it was like he had sealed the spot by engraving his name.