LUNCH TIME

It was Tuesday. The third lecture, Maths. It was impossible to sit there in the first row and pretend that you are awake, but students have mastered this art of disguise as I did. I used all my will to keep my eyes open and looked straight into the eyes of the teacher. It worked pretty well. Still, my eyes started to languor every time the teacher looked away from me.

Tringggggggg!!!! The sound pierced through my ears. It was lunchtime. The teacher threw chalk at me while she walked out of the classroom. She proved me wrong. The teacher was the real master of disguise. We were just beginners. The most implausible thing was that the sleep puffed away into thin air every time this recess bell rang. It was as if the Bell was a signal of freedom, a white flag hoisted by the teaching staff.

The class was usually full of enthusiastic students. Everyone seemed happy. Full of joy, No one knew what life was all about, yet they were all living in their present moment and were oblivious of their futures. Everyone except a few started to enjoy their freedom for the next 25 minutes. 

But, a student was seated on the last bench. ‘Ritik’, seemed to be neutral. There was not a slight excitement on his face. Maybe lunchtime was not such a big deal for him. He was dark in complexion, skinny, and wore glasses. His spectacles made his eyes look tiny compared to his face. And you never see him chatting and boasting around. He was an introvert.

There were two other guys with him. First was Pawas, who had a wheatish complexion, was slightly obese and had hanging cheeks, due to which he always seemed lazy. He was seated on the desk facing Ritik. The second was Kush; Had a well-built physique and green eyes. He was standing in the isle of roughly arranged desks. He was boasting about his new phone, which he had brought to school. At that time, mobile phones were not allowed in school. If a teacher ever finds out, you were sure going to regret it. Ritik was nodding to whatever Kush was saying. His eyes were somewhere else. He was looking at a group of girls standing in front of the blackboard. But specifically, he was looking at Yasmin. She was skinny, wheatish complexion and chin slightly longer, her nose was a bit parrot beak-like, and she had tiny hairs above the upper lip area. Her large eyes gave a sense of warmth and made her face look innocent and charming. It was like her eyes overtook every other feature of her face. Those eyes were some sorcery.

Ritik!!!! A voice came from the group of girls standing in front of the blackboard. But no one was calling him or looking at him. He looked with curious introspection towards the group of girls with more enthusiasm. His eyes glimmered. 

'It's her!! She called out my name in front of other girls. Does that mean something? Does she like me?', he murmured in a low tone.

It was the girl that he likes, but he never conversed with her. He loved it that way. He never expressed his feelings to the girl he loved before. I hope he does what he has never done before. I hope he talks to her.

Pawas hits Ritik on the head with his book. Bang!!!

'You are looking at her again, aren't you?' said Pawas. 

'Seriously man! she likes you', Kush shouted out. 

I could see shades changing on Ritiks face from brown to maroonish. He shushed them and said, 'let's go to the canteen and eat something, I am hungry.'

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I was a Commerce student while Ritik, Pawas, Kush and Yasmin were science students. Mathematics and Computer science were the lectures where I could talk to Yasmin. Five days for Maths and two days for computer science per week. I chose computer science very late in the middle of the term. The reason was simple. I wanted to get close to Yasmin as I started admiring her.

It was Monday. I was seated beside Yasmin that day. She was following the instructor while I was copying whatever she was doing on her system. 

Yashmin looked at me and said, "do it yourself? stop copying me!!"

"I don't understand C programming. It is confusing", I said to her.

"Then why did you choose this subject? it was optional anyway," she said

"Okay ", I said, "let me tell you the real reason. I chose C programming so that I can spend some time with you. I only have two lectures where I can talk to you. I like your company, Yasmin. I like you."

"Okay okay!!", she interrupted me and said, "I get it. I have heard this many times from you. Now please focus on your work."

Meanwhile, I noticed Ritik was staring at her from two systems beside her right. I wondered If he had anything else to do. How did he pass his mid-term exams? But the situation became unbearable for me when I saw Yasmin noticing him and not getting angry. Instead, I saw her blushing and smiling. I felt as if she was cheating. I could feel the pain developing from the core of my empty chest. I was angry. I was sad. I never felt something like it before. I could never have imagined the consequences of falling in love. I wished I never loved.

TRINGGGGGGG!

Oh! the recess bell again. But it did not feel like freedom. It was neutral. All I cared about that day was Yasmin. All I hated about that day was Ritik.

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It is 9th December 2010(My diary entry) It has been two months since I started talking to Yasmin. I have proposed to her once. I gave her a teddy with a heart on her Birthday, which she returned the next day. She keeps telling me that I am her good friend. And we should stay as we are. Yesterday she asked me a favour, as Kush and Ritik are in the School Kho-Kho team and I am the captain. Yasmin wanted me to convey a message to Ritik that She wanted him to meet her after school at the main gate. It is disheartening, yet I will do it for her.

It is lunchtime. I am sitting in the first row, eating a sandwich that tastes just right.

Kush and Pawas came up to me wearing haughty smiles on their faces. They both know about my tragedy of getting friend-zoned by Yasmin.

Kush: Rahul man, how is everything going on in your life? 

Me: I am fine. I am just a bit upset about the game we lost yesterday. We could have reached the final if the last runner could have lasted 30 seconds longer. Ritik getting injured was the worst. 

Kush: Exactly! I hope we win next year. 

Me: Where is He? Have you seen him? I need to talk to him about something important.

Kush: He has gone to the canteen to get some patties.

Me: okay. If Yasmin asks about me, tell her that I went to talk to Ritik.

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It is Monday. The third lecture; computer science. I was seated to the left of Yasmin. She looks a bit sad today. She told me that Ritik did not wait for her on Friday. She stood there beside the main gate, but he did not talk or even look at her. I told her that I conversed with Ritik that day, but he said He is into someone else and is not interested in her. 

I lied to her. That day I told Ritik that Yasmin had accepted my proposal, and she wanted him to stop looking at her because she feels irritated. 

Now they are both sad. And I feel satisfied. Not happy. Not sad. Neutral.

TRINGGGGGG!!!!!!! The recess bell. It’s Lunchtime.