Till then, it wasn’t much between me and her. She was all over social media, but I wasn’t. How did I know? She was extroverted, unlike me, especially around girls. I overheard her sharing her ID with Chris, a guy with a medium build, a bit on the heavier side, and, well, some might say he had a certain vibe. Most people thought of him as kinda gay, but not me. He was just friendly, especially with girls, and that’s probably why most guys didn’t like him. Peter, on the other hand, was the class clown, popular with everyone.
One day, I heard this ridiculous story about Peter. Apparently, he was passing by a classroom, and a girl teased him. So, naturally, he shot back a quick retort—nothing too serious, but loud enough for the teacher to hear. Next thing you know, Peter’s getting punished for something harmless. But here’s the kicker—the girls in his section cried over it. I mean, seriously, what the hell? Why would they cry about that? It didn’t make any sense, but I figured it wasn’t my problem, so I let it go.
Not long after, Peter found himself in trouble again. Our new Vice Principal had just started, and he wasn’t exactly the forgiving type. Peter had run into our classroom, slapped a girl’s hand as a joke, and the VP saw it. He didn’t like what he saw and called Peter over. The VP didn’t just scold him; he also lectured the girls. “Why did you let him hold your hand?” he asked, his perception of the situation completely off. I didn’t know what to make of it, but I figured I should keep my head down and avoid getting into trouble myself.
But, of course, that didn’t last long. Our math teacher had given us a test in coaching class, and both Dan and I thought we’d done pretty well. The teacher was sitting at the back, grading our papers, when Selena, a girl from our class, asked if she’d passed. I couldn’t resist—I told her, “You failed. You didn’t pass. You got zero.” I didn’t mean anything by it, just messing around, but the next thing I knew, she was crying. I had no idea that something so small could make a girl cry. She just kept going, tears streaming down her face.
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The new VP was called in, and when he asked what happened, I told him. He looked at me, clearly surprised, almost amused. He tried to hide his laughter as he smiled and said, “Don’t quarrel with girls. Don’t say harsh things to them.” I nodded, “Okay, sir,” and that was that. But that day, I learned something new—girls were a mystery I couldn’t quite figure out.
Then there was Sia, another girl from our class who had joined coaching with us that year. She was a bit chubby, with an attitude that could be off-putting at first, but once I got to know her, I realized she was friendly enough. One day, she gave us some kiwi, a fruit with a sour taste. We didn’t talk much, but asking for a piece wasn’t too hard. It wasn’t that I couldn’t talk to girls; I just never knew what to say to them, unlike with the guys. I promised her a Dairy Milk in return, but I never got around to it. Maybe I should have.
There was this one incident with Phil. Rash and I were returning from the canteen, and since there was no teacher on duty, I ran ahead to our class. On the stairs, I bumped into Phil, and we ended up racing to see who could get to class first. He reached the last step before me, but then he slipped. I couldn’t help but laugh as I overtook him, and that’s when he cursed at me. Something in me snapped, and I pushed him when he got close. I swear I didn’t push him that hard, but he flew into the window and shattered it.
Why did he have to break the window? Seriously, man!
Naturally, the teachers found out, and we were both sent to the principal’s office. As soon as we walked in, Phil started crying—real tears and everything. “Sir, he swore at me, so I pushed him,” I explained. But Phil’s Academy Award-worthy performance earned him a lighter punishment. The principal scolded him a bit and then turned his attention to me, giving me the brunt of it.
As we left the office, Phil’s tears dried up instantly, and he went back to his usual cheerful self. What the hell? I’d never seen such brilliant acting before, and it almost made me want to punch him right then and there.