‘Ma’ams, here’s your coffee and your pizza.’

King/God — H • I • Y • O • R • I Iki Hiyori - [Noragami]... [https://64.media.tumblr.com/f83bd2d96409f12d7592eb6c223a65d7/tumblr_mzrzmbCNNo1qk95iao3_500.gifv]

The handsome waiter served us two fuming cups of coffee and a queen-sized pizza.

The restaurant is pretty spacious. Usually, they are dark, but this one is light and has a cheery theme. I like it. Pretty expensive though.

You might be thinking, Anjali, weren’t you going to die? What are you doing in a fancy restaurant?

Well, it's all this girl’s fault really. Yeah, the one sitting across the table with a mouth full of food.

When I saw the girl struggling against the water current, I somehow didn’t feel like dying anymore. I don’t really know why. It might have been a stupid decision. Well, I can die next time, I guess. Anyway, I pulled her up from the river, which was NOT an easy task because of how healthy she is.

‘Sho wai wele you thele Andali?’

Aargh, finish your food first dumbass.

‘I just like the view there. Of the river.’- I said. I can't tell a chipmunk like her the real cause.

‘I must say it’s weird to enjoy nature beside the garbage dumping place’, the girl finished the food in her mouth, ’but thank God you were there. I seriously thought I was gonna die. It was so scary!’

After I pulled her up from the water, she just thanked me and dragged me to this restaurant. Didn’t get much chance to hold a conversation really. I only know she is an eleventh grader in my high school. Her green tie and uniform tell me that much.

‘Yeah, I was curious about it too. Tell me, er—Nilofa—’

‘Neelima, my name is Noorjahan Neelima.’-- The girl interrupted, grabbing a huge piece of pizza. I guess she wants to be a sumo wrestler or something when she grows up. She has mayonnaise on her nose, but I think saying it might embarrass her. ‘You can call me Noor’, she added.

I continued, ‘yeah, tell me, Noor, how come you were in the river. I visit the place frequently. But I never saw you there before.’

‘It’s a funny story actually. Well, you know, I'm from 11-C. I got admitted to this school after 10th based on my Madhyamik result. It turns out my new classmates are very humorous’, she offered me a piece of pizza.

‘Mm hm?’ I ignored her offering. Don’t want to be a sumo wrestler when I grow up. Well, don’t really plan on growing up LOL.

‘ They play many fun games with me. Like this time, I forgot to bring a tiffin for them so they threw my bag out of the window.’

If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

‘Wow, seems like they are really funny.’, I added sarcastically. I don’t think the naïve girl understood my tone though.

‘ Yeah, they are really cool! They even gave me a cool nickname too—Porco Gordo! I didn’t know the meaning, but they said it’s a Portuguese word meaning best friend.’

Err, I don’t think that’s it, but I guess sometimes ignorance is bliss.

‘ Anyhow, by the time I ran out of the school building, a dog had gotten hold of my bag. I chased it for some time but lost it after a bit. Dunno why but I can't run as fast as others .’

Yes, a great enigma indeed. Still, her ‘friends’ are real jerks.

I said, ‘Let me guess—the dog dropped it in the river?’

‘No, when I found it, it was somehow on the branch of a riverside tree. It’s kind of strange, but it is what it is. I climbed up the tree to pick it up, but seems like the branch couldn’t hold my weight. You know the rest. You remember, right?’ The girl--sorry, Noorjahan said it with a big smile.

‘Yeah, I do.’ I replied. I mean it wasn’t a very easy task, hoisting her up like that. Of course, I would remember! I could only do it since I've been practicing self-defense by myself. Jiujitsu, baby!

‘ Anyway, Anjali, I always wanted to meet you, you know!’

‘ Huh?’

Am I actually some kind of famous person in junior years? Of course, that’s impossible.

Noor said, ‘Yeah, you are the one who got full marks on English on every test, right?’

Oh, it’s about that. English isn’t valued much here, so I didn’t think anyone would know me. It’s the only subject I'm good at. But you must be good at some science subject to draw wanted attention to yourself.

‘Yeah, I think so.’, I replied.

‘Wowww! So damn cool. It’s unbelievable. So you are like some English prodigy!’ her excitement sent rainbow glitters in every direction.

‘well, I think it’s lame though. Even if I'm good at English, I have to study science. Being good at English is worthless in life—’

--‘No, of course not! It’s super cool that you are so good at English. I know what you are thinking about. You are thinking about what people will say if you study an arts subject, right? That people will say you must have become spoilt and haven’t gotten a chance for further studies in science subjects and that’s why you are studying arts. Right?’

Wow, I guess this girl knows some things too.

‘Yeah’, I replied.

‘But you can just do better later and show them! After graduation from English, you can pursue further studies if you want to stay in the academic line; you can do MBA if you want to enter the corporate world or you can become a journalist! You can even stay in the path of a writer and an editor! You can be famous! I mean, how many doctors do you remember from the past? Yet, you think of writers like Rabindranath Tagore as God! This is the power of literature! How is it lame?’

I must admit, this girl has got a way with words. Maybe I should learn something from her…

‘Anyway, Anjali, we have a letter writing scheduled for tomorrow…can you check it once beforehand?’

Aah, so this was the case. Well, whatever her motive was, her words actually helped me a bit. I think I should help her too in return.

‘Alright. Hand it over to me.’, I said. Noor started rummaging through her bag.

Hm, a letter, right? Shouldn’t be hard. But something is troubling me. Like I'm forgetting something. Am I forgetting something?

‘Here’, Noor held her cutesy exercise book open in her hand, ‘ I have written a draft of the letter, but I'm pretty sure it’d be worse than a lunatic’s suicide note LOL!’

Wait! Wait wait wait. Oh my gawd! I can't believe I forgot about this. I might be in big trouble!

I swung my bag on my back and got up from my seat.

‘Oh, I'm sorry Anjali! Are you angry at me? I thought you said yes so… you don’t need to if you don’t want to. I just want us to be frien—'

‘Got-to-go-I-just-remembered-an urgent work I've forgotten at home. See you later!’ I rushed out the door without letting her finish.

I dashed down the road. I have no time to waste. Can't believe I forgot something so important!