Precious Moment

It was the end of the year, and we were preparing for the Christmas party. I was a bit more excited because he had challenged me, saying he would kiss me that day. I just couldn't wait for tomorrow.

We were all decorating our classroom with a Christmas tree and some beautiful posters. The dance and singing were over, and school was about to end, but he still hadn’t accomplished his goal. I was desperately waiting for it.

I was standing in one corner of our classroom when he came and stood near me. I wasn't expecting anything, but before I could speak, he kissed my cheek... What! Did he just do that? I didn’t know how to react, so I just moved to the next corner where drinks were available for us to enjoy. What shocked me wasn’t the kiss but the place he chose to do it. He had tried kissing me twice before, once on my hand and the other time on my cheek, but I didn’t let it happen—not because I didn’t want it, but for no particular reason. The common factor in both his failed attempts was that we were completely alone at the time. But today, the whole classroom was full of students. What a daring boy he is! He hadn’t even thought about what could have happened if anyone had seen us. But that’s just who he is—he’s a person of action, and I’m a person who just thinks about the past, present, and future. Anyways, I was so, so happy, but I just couldn’t express any of it to him.

Now it was my turn. He had asked me once or twice to kiss him, but I just couldn’t muster up the courage to go ahead. One fine day, I made a plan and finally decided to execute it the very next day. It was morning. As soon as I reached the school, I asked him to meet me on the terrace. I went to the terrace before him and waited. He arrived in a few minutes. I took him to the side corner and asked him to sit. He kept asking me what the matter was, but I just wanted to surprise him. I chose the corner because there were no CCTV cameras, and anyone entering the terrace couldn’t directly see that area. I went straight to him and tried my best, but I just couldn’t do it. By that time, children began to arrive for the assembly. Giving up, I went to my duty. During the break, he again asked me why I called him to the terrace, and I finally broke the silence and told him about my plan. He had a good laugh and then said, "You could have done it; there was no one. No worries, try tomorrow. I will wait for you on the terrace." I decided to execute my plan tomorrow, and the day went on as usual.

The next morning, I came to school a little early, and to my surprise, he had already arrived. His bag was lying on his bench, and he was missing. I went running to the terrace and found him sitting on the same bench. I asked him to close his eyes, and as I knelt down on the floor and lowered my head, he opened his eyes. "Go get that chair and sit on it," he said. I wanted to shout, "Idiot! I was just doing it, and you interrupted!" But I kept quiet, brought the chair, and sat on it. Then I held his hand and kissed him... Wait, I kissed him! Well, not on the cheek, but anyway, I finally did it. He must have been excited and on cloud nine, but he didn’t express it either. Rather than appreciating me and being happy, he said, "I could do this ample times." Making faces, I went near the door, waiting for the kids to arrive.

To many, it may sound like cowardice, but for a person like me, it’s a big achievement. I live in a society where people don’t believe in love, and someone doing it is termed as a useless fellow. These societal norms always make me doubt myself, but seeing him gives me the courage to move forward.

A lot had happened during the whole year. We made precious moments together, and all of it is stored in my heart.