Ram's pov,
In school
It was half-time, and everyone was scattered around, playing here and there. Some seniors were busy with a basketball game. Today, my friends and I weren't playing. Yesterday, Niraj had gotten injured while playing, so we decided to take a break and rest. The injury wasn't serious, but Niraj is the princess of our group, and honestly, none of us felt like playing without him. Instead, we just strolled slowly toward the cafeteria.
Oh__ if you're wondering about Neeraj, he's my best friend___ funniest guy you'll ever meet, but don't expect anyone to take him seriously. There's another best friend___ Shivam_serious, a little mysterious, introverted, and annoyingly talented at everything. We call him the nerdy guy. I bet half the class hasn't heard his voice, and the other half probably doesn't even know he exists. Funny, right? But this is how it is.
We three boys were heading to the cafeteria for breakfast. Suddenly, a voice came from behind.
"Ram...."
I looked back. It was our school's popular girl. She is very beautiful and pretty.
"Yes?" I replied.
"My name is Isha. Do you guys know me?" she asked.
"Who doesn't know you? You're everyone's crush," Niraj said while laughing.
I pushed Niraj lightly and said, "I know you. You are so popular—who wouldn't know you?"
"Looks like someone is getting proposed to today again," Niraj said to Shivam.
I heard that too. I guess so. Basically, it's routine for me now. Nothing new. Getting proposed to is normal for me. It's not a big deal anymore.
I think I am too handsome for girls to resist me. I never propose to someone myself. I just accept a girl's proposal if I find that girl pretty and beautiful.
If you ask me about love, I honestly don't know. I guess I have never truly loved someone.ohh___ wait once I date girl for two weeks, which was very big for me. I think I used to love her but we broke up.
Dating does not necessarily mean that you love that person.This is one line many girls don't understand, which irritates me sometimes. You say you like me and want to date me, so I agree. But I never said I would love you till my last breath.
That line is something I will never say in this life. It feels so cheesy.
"I want to tell you something," Isha said.
She was blushing, and she was nervous, I guess. But honestly, I didn't care much.
"Yes, what is it?" I asked, pretending like I didn't already know what she was going to say.
"Can you talk somewhere?" she said.
I looked around. Half of the school was gathered there, like someone was about to get married.
"I have to go to the cafeteria, just say it here," I said.
I wanted to finish this drama quickly.
From now until the final exams, I'm taking a break from all this mess. My grades are already poor, and if I don't pass, my father will beat me with his belt. So just for rejecting her, I don't think I need to find a private place where there is no one.
"O-okay....umm....I
..I.. I like you, Ram."
See? Just like I thought. Nothing new.
I let out a small sigh and looked up. Then I saw Sita. She was looking at us while standing infront of our class.
That made me nervous. Once she told my father that I was dating in school, and because of that my father banned me from touching my mobile. What if she tells this at home again?
"Will you be my boyfriend?" Isha's voice came again.
"I don't want to hurt you, but I'm not ready for dating__for now, I am taking a break from all of this." I Said.
She look embarassed but I don't want to date anymore, I am bored of this game.
"Do you like someone else?" she asked.
When she asked that, my eyes automatically looked up for sita, but . Sita wasn't there. I think she had already gone to the classroom. The only one standing there was Aasha — Sita's best friend.
"Yes," I replied quietly while looking up.
"What? Who do you like?" Niraj asked excitedly.
Everything makes him excited.
Shivam also looked surprised. He leaned closer, trying to hear what I had just said, his expression clearly shocked.
"You don't need to know."
Sorry Isha" i said. She look around and look down and run from there.I don't know why it's hard to girls to accept rejection. Everytime I reject someone they always ended up crying.
"Let's go to the cafeteria. I'm hungry," I said, grabbing Niraj's tie and pulling him along.
Shivam followed us.
In the crowd, I could hear people whispering.
"He rejected the most popular girl in our school. Oh my God."
I heard this kind of stuff everywhere, but honestly, I didn't care.
When we reached the canteen, we ordered our lunch. I ordered fried rice and eggs. Niraj and Shivam ordered the same as me, along with some drinks.
While giving us the food, the canteen aunt said,"I heard someone proposed to you."
I laughed.
"He gets proposed to daily," Niraj said jokingly and laughed.
"But I heard that you rejected her, and she was crying," the aunt added.
" News spread so fast , that was just second ago _ auntie you need to be there to see how easily he reject her." Niraj said
"That's nonsense," I said.
We looked around and found an empty table, then sat down.
While we were eating, Shivam suddenly spoke up."Hey, Ram....do you like someone?"
I froze Because of his question, Niraj looked at Shivam with shocked eyes
.
Shivam never interferes in my dating life. He usually doesn't say anything, but suddenly he asked that question. And honestly, the question he asked was hard for me to answer. I really don't know if I like someone or not.
I have already told them that dating doesn't always mean liking or loving someone.
"I don't know, man. Seriously, I don't like anyone, and I don't want to date anyone," I said.
"Why are you changing so suddenly? Is it because of someone, or just because exams are coming?" Shivam asked again.
His question made me speechless once more.
"So what you said earlier to Isha was true? You're not dating anymore? I find that hard to believe. Our playboy Ram is not dating? Will you also stop flirting, or just stop dating?" Niraj asked.
I smacked his head.
"Man, I was just asking! If you don't want to answer, there's no need to smack my head," Niraj said, sulking while continuing to eat his remaining lunch.
A long pause followed.
While we were returning to the classroom, I kept thinking about Sita.
She happened to witness that girl proposing to me today. If she tells my father, he will surely scold me. He trusts her more than his own son.
"Hey guys... I'm afraid of Sita," I said quietly.
"Why are you afraid of her?" Niraj asked.
"I don't know, man. When Isha was confessing, Sita was watching everything from the front of our class," I said.
" You are afraid just because she sees someone is confessing to you. Is she your wife or what…? Or do you like her?" Niraj said, as if he had just discovered the biggest secret.
"No, man. I don't like her. It's just that she once told my father that I was dating someone, so I'm worried she might tell him again this time," I said.
"Oh…" Niraj made a disappointed face.
"I thought I had just discovered my bro's secret crush. What a waste of my energy," he said, while Shivam smiled at our nonsense conversation.
We reached the classroom door. As we opened it, all eyes turned toward us.
"Today I feel like a celebrity. Everyone is looking at me," Niraj said.
"They're not looking at you. They're looking at Ram," Shivam replied.
"Oh...." Niraj muttered.
Suddenly—
"What the hell are you saying?" Sita screamed.
Everyone turned to look at her. She glanced at me for a moment and then quickly looked down at her book. She looked embarrassed...but also kind of cute.
We walked to our bench, which was basically the last bench in the classroom.
Before sitting down, I wanted to talk to Sita.
"Sita," I called her name.
She looked toward me.
"What?" she asked.
I felt a little nervous talking about the break-time incident. I don't know why.
I placed both my hands on the bench and leaned slightly forward. Since Sita is shorter than me, I lowered my head so we could talk quietly.
Why did you scream earlier?" I asked, i change subject.
Sita looked slightly nervous. But before I could hear her answer, another voice interrupted me.
"Why do you want to know?"
It was Aasha.
I picked up a book from the bench and lightly smacked it on her head. Then I sat down on my seat, which was just in front of Sita's seat.
Aasha rubbed her head while Shivam looked at her and asked, "Why did you hit her?"
His voice was so low that I could barely hear it, so I pretended not to hear. I know him well — he never asks the same question twice.
I was feeling extremely bored while studying, and I don't even remember when I fell asleep.
I suddenly woke up because of the loud sound of the classroom door opening.
When my vision cleared, I saw Sita and Aasha standing in front of me.
I looked to my side. Niraj and Shivam were gone.
What a bunch of idiots. They didn't even bother to wake me up.
Then I looked toward the door and saw Isha — the same girl I rejected earlier today.
But what is she doing here?
I stood up from my seat, feeling slightly annoyed when I saw her walking toward us.
"Ram, I want to talk with you," she said.
What does she want to talk about now? I already made things clear earlier.
I looked at her, then glanced at Aasha and Sita. Both of them were also staring at me, which made me feel extremely uncomfortable.
Nervously, I asked, "What do you want to say?"
She looked around before speaking.
"Let's go to the new café behind our school."
I frowned in confusion. Why would she want to go to a café with a guy who just rejected her?
"Please, Ram...let's go. Just for a while," she insisted.
Why is she acting like this?
I glanced at Sita again. I don't know why, but she looked angry.
What if she tells my father?
Oh no... I can't go with Isha.
I need to go home.
I was still thinking when suddenly Isha grabbed my arm and started pulling me toward the door.
I had no other choice, so I followed her.
When we reached the café, I finally pulled my hand free.
She chose a table and started ordering something, but I didn't bother paying attention.
"What do you want to drink, Ram?" she asked.
"I'm not in the mood to drink anything," I replied.
She brought her drink and sat down across from me.
"So, what did you want to talk about?" I asked.
She hesitated before speaking.
"I felt really embarrassed when you rejected me....so I want to know the real reason."
I let out a long sigh.
"I already told you. I'm not ready for a relationship or dating right now. Exams are coming, and I need to focus on them. So please stop bothering me, and don't come to my classroom like that again. I don't want people to misunderstand."
"Then will you date me after the final exams?" she asked.
"No. I already said I'm not interested. Besides...I like someone else."
She looked like she was about to cry.
Honestly, I hate it when people cry just because they got rejected.
"I can't believe you rejected me," she said. "You know I'm the most beautiful and popular girl in our school."
I wanted to say a lot of things, but I held myself back.
"I know you're beautiful," I said calmly. "But I don't want to date you. And like I said, I already like someone."
"So you are rejecting me __ okay..... Can you tell me the girls name you like." She asked.
Whose name should I say? I don't even like anyone.
"You don't need to know," I said.
"But I want to know," she insisted firmly.
Oh God....
Suddenly, Sita's name came to my mind.
"Sita," I said.
"But she's your friend," Isha replied. "I don't think she likes you. She probably only sees you as a friend."
"Yes, she is my friend," I said. "And there's nothing wrong with liking her. I'm happy just being her friend. She doesn't have to like me back."
She became completely speechless.
I stood up, left the café, and went home.
After eating dinner, I remembered that I still had to complete my assignment, and tomorrow was the last day to submit it.
I texted Shivam, but he said he was busy.
So I decided to go to Sita's house and finish the assignment with her.
Besides… I also needed to talk to her about everything that happened today.