Afternoon, there was an English class, and Ms Chopra gave us an assignment. She said," you guys have to read a short story and write your opinions on it. I'll read them and assign partners for the forthcoming main work. In that, you will have to read one of the books of nineteenth century and write the summary and your opinions on it with your partner. It will be graded accordingly." A guy in the front shot up his hand and asks," Mam, can we please have our own partners? It would be much better since we can understand each other more when we know our partners already." A few shouts of 'yes ma'am' and 'yeah' were heard through the room. Ms Chopra silenced the room by hitting her book loudly against the table. She said," Why? So that you guys can leave the work, do it half-heartedly, and be in your shell for the rest of your lives? No arguments on this matter. You have to do as instructed."

   Everyone sighs loudly, earning a glare from Ms Chopra. She says,"the next person to sigh will have to work without a partner." This shut everyone up. Ms Chopra continued on with her teaching. When the bell rang, she said," I have already told the librarian to give you the assigned books. Go to library when the school ends and collect your books. Do not forget to write this. Else, you will have to work alone for your upcoming project." Everyone says, "yes", and head out.

    Finally, we had sports. I liked to play all kinds of sports. But the sport I was registered under was badminton. I loved playing badminton like it was my second life. My father used to play badminton, and I learned it from him. How good were those days when we all could get to go out and enjoy together with my whole family, loaded with cousins? I sigh to myself internally and go to change. Our sports uniform was all black, and I simply loved it. There were red and green stripes running from the left shoulder to the right side of stomach. Our school logo was printed on the chest. The pant was all black and had some zips to allow us to carry something. I tied my hair into a bun and headed to the shuttle courts, carrying my equipment. I usually would practice with the shuttlecock launcher or with some seniors. I was basically good at badminton, so they liked to play with me. Out of all the players, my favorite one was Sumeeth. He was the best in our school and was also down to earth. While playing, he is very bashful and arrogant. He wouldn't let others see through his mistakes easily. One had to be very skilled to play with him. Once, I tried to play a match against him. The final score was 5-21 after first match. You can guess who scored what. I was panting like a dog without water for three days straight in summer, while he was still ready to play with another hundred players. I maybe exaggerating, but he was the best. First when I saw him play, I thought he would be like 'everyone has to bow to him'. But he was the best person I could ask for in those days, where I was still mulling over my life and stuff. He used to say,"Life is just like badminton, Amaira. You just have to know when to smash, when to drop, when to clear, when to drive and when to serve." Back then, I could understand almost nothing of it. But now when I think of it, I think of how brilliant and amazing he was. Never once had I told him what was killing me inside. Never once had he asked me. But he gave me the correct advice at the right  time.

    Now as I enter the court thinking of Sumeeth, I couldn't help but crack a smile on my face as I remember about our memories. "Thinking of my gorgeous face and smiling like an idiot in love, aren't you?", I heard a voice say beside me. I turn to my side and see that it was Aarav, looking at me with a smile on his face. Did I wake up on the wrong side of the world? Why is Aarav talking to me and smiling at me like that? Gosh, my heart can't take it! My heart starts beating faster as I look into his eyes. He waves his hand in front of me and asks," are you here?" I shut off my thoughts immediately and say,"yeah, yeah, what were you saying? Sorry, just zoned out a bit." He  replies,"I should hide my handsome face in a mask from tomorrow. Else I will make every girl speechless. Yeah, it's a nice idea. I should have thought of it before." Was he talking to himself? Or was he talking to me? Anyways, I decide to ignore him and his big ego and start walking away. He holds my hand and says,"Yaar, do you think a black mask suits me? Yeah, it definitely would Should I have a design on it, like a red rose or a cheetah?" Meanwhile, all the time he was holding my hand, there were sparks being shot into my body as if Electro was throwing sparks into my body. The feeling was soooo...good that I had almost stopped breathing. On the contrary it seemed like Aarav had no inkling to the effect he was having on me. He continued on with his stupid ramble. Suddenly Sumeeth said," hey man, let go of her hand." Sumeeth must have seen me at the entrance of the hall and have come to me sensing there might be something wrong. I thank Sumeeth in my heart for coming at the right time. Had he taken any longer, I would have fainted from stopping my breath too much. Aarav immediately drops my hand. I rest my palms on my cheeks and see how hot they have become. The color of my face should have been like the red carpet underneath. Oh My God, I was blushing so much. I finally look at Aarav and say,"I have to go. Talk to you later."

   (A/N: FOR PEOPLE WHO DON'T KNOW, ELECTRO IS ONE OF THE CHARACTERS IN SPIDERMAN MOVIES, AND HE HAS AMAZING ELECTRIC POWER DUE TO AN ACCIDENT.)

     I keep my bag in its place and start doing warm up. Sumeeth comes to me and says,"You like him,don't you?" It was useless lying to him when he already knew the answer. I reply with a nod. "Since when?", he asks."Maybe around 2-3 days earlier", I reply. "He has a huge effect on you, do you know it?", he says. I reply,"Yeah, but I can't do anything to control it." "He seemed like a nice guy but is very thick headed. You got to have a lot of patience and will to be with him", Sumeeth says. "Yeah, I could guess that much. But its still an early stage. Let me see how long it takes for it to last. Anyway, I think that as the feelings came too fast, they won't last too long", I reply with a shrug. Sumeeth stops. I too stop and look at him with hands on my waist. He looks at me with seriousness and says," It doesn't matter when the feelings come, Amaira. All it matters is with how much force they come." I look at him, not knowing what to say. He finally sighs and says,"that had been pretty intense, right?" I nod my head and say,"But thanks for trusting me and protecting me, Sumeeth." He ruffles my head and says," You are such a cutie, you know?" I reply with a smile," thanks for the compliment, but I'm not a dog for you to make a mess of my hair." He laughs and says,"that serves you right for disheveling Freddy's hair all day long." I reply,"but Freddy loves it you know?" And I try to hit Sumeeth on his head. But him being so tall and me being, well me, didn't help at all. Sumeeth just moves out of the way and I fall on my front. I get up, muttering an 'ouch' and 'how Sumeeth wasn't helpful at all'. He was just standing there laughing at me.

    Finally, I end my practice by playing a match with Sumeeth. I improved myself I guess. The final score had been 7-21, and I wasn't panting as much as before. Sumeeth says,"Congratulations on your first love. How about treating me to an ice cream?" I scoff and say, "I just like him, not love him dude. And ice cream sounds great. How about the one near my place at 5:30?" He gives me a thumbs up and goes off into the changing room. I didn't like  taking a shower in school. So, I just leave those clothes on and head to my locker to get my bag. There I see Rahul standing, probably waiting for me. I say,"hey Rahul. What's up?" He looks at me and says,"Returning from sports?" I nod my head and shut my locker, turning to him. He says,"Nothing dude. Shall we go to the library and get our books?" I realize with a start that I have forgotten about it. I say to him,"Thanks a lot Rahul, I really had forgotten it. Ms Chopra would have killed me tomorrow." He says,"My pleasure." And we both walk towards the library. On our way there, Rahul starts the conversation. "Why do you think Ms Chopra is always that angry? Maybe her husband isn't treating her right. Or maybe he was cheating on her", he says. I reply,"Shut up, if someone hears, it would be a problem." Suddenly a voice says,"Or maybe she hasn't been married at all", as we were about to enter the library. We both turn around in shock and see that it was Ms Chopra. I look above and ask God,'Have you used up all of my luck before? Why is bad luck following me like my shadow?' Rahul says,"Good evening mam", without any hint of what he had said before. I look at him in disbelief. Ms Chopra says to him," Atleast she had the decency to look guilty. Detention! Tomorrow!" Rahul replies," I have already said it. Looking guilty wouldn't make the matter less worse." Ms Chopra says,"acting heroic, aren't you? I have to rush now. Let me talk to you in your detention." Rahul cheerily replies,"good bye mam." After she leaves, Rahul says,"she isn't married. So, she must have a date right now, for her to lose such a beautiful opportunity of scolding a student." I snicker and say,"you really are something else man." He looks at me smiles with an intensity in his eyes. I clear my throat after it got awkward and we go inside and collect our books. I head off to my home, bidding Rahul goodbye.

    I take a bath and put on a black formal shirt and blue jeans, paired with sandals and head off to the ice cream place at 5:30. There, Sumeeth has not arrived yet, so I order myself a smoothie to pass time. Finally, Sumeeth shows up at 5:40. I say,"don't you know that you should not keep the lady waiting?" He replies," I had to buy something for my sister." I reply," Ohh, you should pay the bill for being late." He shakes his head and says," Girls have many ideas to let guys pay the bill,right?." I laugh and say,"nailed it, bro." He orders his and mine favorite ice creams and we tell each other about what's happening recently till 7. Seeing that it was late, I stand up and say bye to Sumeeth. As we start to come outside, I see Sadhvi coming there, calling out,"Sumeeth." Why was she calling him? And when Sumeeth turns to look at her with a loving expression in his eyes, I get it all. Sadhvi was Sumeeth's sister. OH MY GOD! Why are there so many surprises for me? I never asked Sumeeth what his sister name was. So, practically speaking, I was having a crush on a guy, who likes my best friend's sister. This is all so confused. I turn to wave at Sumeeth, he acknowledges me and I start to set off. Suddenly, there was a loud sound in a bush nearby. And out came two guys from there, one of them whom I could recognize even in my sleep. It was Aarav!

       A/N: HELLO PEOPLE! IT'S ME, YOUR GODDESSOFLAZINESS AGAIN. WISH ME FOR ANYTHING LIKE FASTER UPDATES OR MULTIPLE BOOKS AND I WILL BESTOW IT UPON YOU. HOW WAS YOUR DAY? DID ME POSTING A CHAPTER MAKE YOU HAPPY? IF YES, SHOW YOUR APPRECIATION IN THE FORM OF VOTES, COMMENTS, SHARES AND FOLLOWS. ;) SO, DO YOU HAVE ANY FRIENDS IN LIFE LIKE SUMEETH? MY FRIEND WAS AN INSPIRATION IN DEVELOPING SUMEETH'S CHARACTER. A LOTS OF THANKS AND LOVE TO HIM <3 DON'T BE A SILENT READER :)