6. Revelations and Rumors

Sunday, 8th October 2023

"Hey, what's it called when you look at something with your eyes almost closed?" I asked, squinting to demonstrate.

I was still working on the chapter that covered the previous day's conversation with Sanjana and Naira. I didn't want to forget a single detail, so I had started writing about it right away.

Naira turned around and shrugged, "I don't know."

"Squint," Sanjana J said without looking up from her phone.

"Squint?" I repeated to confirm.

Sanjana nodded, finally glancing up.

"I mean when you kind of close your eyes, like a cat trying to see something better. Is that squinting?" I attempted to describe the expression.

Sanjana nodded again, pressing her lips together in that way she often did.

I thanked her and noted down "squint" to describe my expression when I had squinted at Sanjana's phone the previous day to read the timetable.

"What are you writing?" Sanjana J asked, noticing my typing.

"I'm working on a book."

Her eyes widened slightly, and she covered her mouth with her hand—a gasp, as she later described it to me. Though she hesitated, I wrote it down as "gasp," believing it to be the opposite of a sigh, as someone once told me. But Sanjana had that faint smile on her face, so it didn't quite fit.

"So, are you going to publish it somewhere?" she asked. I told her I was considering it in the future and mentioned the five books I had already written.

"Six books and three girlfriends," I exaggerated. Naira shook her head, saying it was a bad joke.

I went on to tell them about Esh... with whom my current relationship was so bad that we might end up killing each other the next time we met. Sanjana mimicked my words by pointing her pen towards Naira's neck, playfully acting out the scenario.

"The second one was the spectacled girl, the one I send a chocolate photo to every year on my birthday."

"Why do you send it to her?" one of them interrupted.

"Yeah, why?" the other agreed.

"Because she doesn't send me one, so I remind her it's my birthday," I explained.

"So, are you planning to publish it online now? On Wattpad?" Sanjana asked.

I admitted I was hesitant, mainly because all my previous books, including the current one, used real names and were entirely non-fiction. Honestly, I was too scared to face another scandal.

"What's the harm in that?" she said, "...nothing will happen." While Aarna was busy creating a profile on Wattpad, I showed Sanjana J the PDF of the first chapter of my first book titled "First and First."

To my surprise, she even started reading it, still shocked that I had actually written a book. As she went through the first page, she asked if I tore out an entire page whenever I wrote a line wrong. I denied it, explaining that I always tried to write everything without mistakes, carefully framing each line before finally writing it down.

"What's childish about it?" she asked, lifting her head from my phone.

I realized she had reached the part where I mentioned the nursery rhymes we were made to sing as ten-year-old kids during the morning circle. I found it childish, but eighteen-year-old Sanjana didn't seem to mind singing nursery rhymes, which made Naira laugh.

"Hey, he's even written about us in his book... I mean, he's mentioned us once or twice," Naira told Sanjana.

I chuckled internally, knowing they had no idea just how many times both of them were actually mentioned in my book.

Later that evening, I texted Naira, correcting her. She was mentioned in my book around a hundred times, to which she gave her usual reply: "Okay."

Tuesday, 10th October 2023

"Lea?" I called out as I approached her. She was engrossed in playing Subway Surfers, sitting on a chair outside classroom number ten.

"Happy Birthday!" I wished her in my politest voice.

She placed her hand on mine, thanked me without looking up, her face hidden by her hair as she kept her eyes on the phone.

When I returned to the classroom after grabbing something to eat, Lea admitted she didn't even remember it was me who had wished her.

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Wednesday, 11th October 2023

Out of the blue, I received a text from Paresh:

Btw, don't be offended, but I heard you have a crush on someone in B1.

His message surprised me. Had someone really figured out that I had a crush on Naira? It seemed impossible. Or maybe not? We did have several moments where Naira would whisper my name from behind, only to ask for my notebook or a doubt when I turned around. Sometimes, she'd just gossip with me. I'd even save her seat when she came in late, or when I arrived too early.

Me: Who?

Paresh: Do you?

Me: I'd love to hear the name behind this rumor.Naira? Kavya? Who else?

If anyone was rumored to be my crush besides Naira, it could only be Kavya. If Naira sat behind me, Kavya was the only girl who sat beside me since summer vacation ended. She was the only one I could really talk to at that time. Whenever she brought something in her tiffin, she'd offer me some.

Me: I mean, I talk to them the most in class, so I expect rumors to form around them.

Paresh: Rumors will always be made. Even I had my share. Nvm, leave it.

Me: Tell me.

Paresh: It was Naira, I think. But it wasn't me who started this. I just heard it somewhere.

Only one person came to mind who sat at the back and might have spread a rumor about me having a crush on Naira—Neill. Though we weren't enemies, it could only be him.

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Thursday, 12th October 2023

It was just another day. I arrived half an hour early and sat in the class, waiting for Naira. The door opened, and she walked in with her hair in a half-up ponytail. I put my phone on the table and sat up straight.

"Uh, Naira…" I began. She blinked quickly, shifting her gaze from the bench where she had placed her bag to me.

"I need to tell you something." I continued. She pressed her lips together and nodded.

"I won't tell you who said this, but yesterday someone messaged me on Instagram, saying that among the backbenchers, there's a rumor going around that I have a crush on you."

"So, they told you on Insta?" she questioned.

"Yeah."

"Forget them, bhai…" she advised, walking towards the door. "These people have nothing better to do." Frustration quickly surfaced on her face, only to fade as she giggled, stopping near the door. "You know, even in school, I was teased with a boy's name for years."

"Did you two ever talk?" That boy had piqued my interest.

"We sat together for an entire year," she said before leaving the class.

That last line left me feeling jealous. Here I was, almost six months after she started sitting behind me, and in all that time, she had only sat beside me once. That day had been forgettable. That guy must have been so lucky to sit beside Naira for so long and hear her endless chatter.

When she returned, Rushika had already arrived and asked me to turn off both the ACs.

"Rushika, listen..." Naira called out, "...Tanish just told me that—"

I turned around so quickly that both girls looked back at me.

"Why are you telling her?" I snapped, feeling irritated for no reason.

"Arre, she won't tell anyone," Naira assured me before continuing, "Tanish, I won't tell anyone. Do you seriously think I'd spread it around?" Rushika added.

I believed her. Rushika wouldn't tell anyone. Her reaction to the rumors was similar to Naira's.

"She understands the mentality of AOS Academy students," Naira explained when I asked her about Rushika's reaction.