His Tutor

14: Selfish

Ishqi pov

As of the moment, Wilbur is my only friend. Sad, I know. It's not even his choice. He's forced to interact with me since he's my pet. Otherwise, I would truly be a loner. Maybe I already am one.

The thing is, I haven't made a friend using my own social skills since fifth grade. Honestly, I'm not sure how I even got Esha and Olivia to be my friends. I guess a dork, who sat alone murdering grass by ripping them in half, really appealed to them. It wasn't really due to my social skills then either. They approached me first. I only met Vamika through them in the sixth grade. In ways, I took them for granted. All I did was sit, sleep, and eat around them. It was about time they got tired of me. Heck, I'd hate myself too if I had a friend like me.

I would've felt the effects of not having talked to my friends for a month sooner if it wasn't for Ahaan. He was the only one who would talk to me. After yesterday, I was nervous for school. I didn't know how to face Ahaan, what to say, or if I should even be talking to him. However, he wasn't even at school. I asked Mrs. Malhotra after class, and she told me Ahaan wasn't feeling well.

That's how I ended up standing outside of Ahaan's front door right now. I know I shouldn't be around him as much anymore. After all, I'm the one who suggested we should have boundaries. But, my feet dragged me here, and I can't explain why the had such a strong urge to.

The door swings open and its Sonu.

"Oh, it's you again!" Sonu squeals.

"Sonu, don't be rude. Her name is Ishqi," Mrs. Malhotra yells from the back of the house.

"Come in." Sonu opens the door wider, so I can come inside.

"Hi, Ishqi. What brings you here?" Mrs. Malhotra comes from the kitchen with her purse and a small, pink duffle bag.

"Oh, since Ahaan is sick, I brought some soup." I hold up the plastic bag to show her.

"How sweet. He's upstairs right now. I have to take Sonu to her ballet practice, so would you mind checking on Ahaan for me?"

"Sure. Have fun, Sonu."

"You should come to my recital! It's before Christmas," Sonu invites.

"Sorry, she's been talking about inviting you non-stop. If don't mind, would you like to come?" Mrs. Malhotra asks.

"Sure, I'd love to. Just tell when it is."

"Great, I'll tell Ahaan to tell you once the date is set. I'll see you Monday. Have a good weekend." Mrs. Malhotra directs Sonu towards the garage door, who drops her toys onto the carpet and follows her.

"You too."

As they walk out the door, I start to go upstairs. Slightly creaking the door open, I check to see if Ahaan is inside. His frame is outlined under his blankets. I gently slip inside, placing the bag, holding the container of soup inside, onto his desk. While standing on the side of his bed, I hover over to look at his face. It's sweaty and flushed with red. Using the back of my hand, I place my hand over his forehead. It's warmer than mine, so I go to grab a small hand towel and soak in it warm water. Making sure not to wake him up, I place it over his head.

I sit at his desk and start to write out summaries of the classes he missed. I grabbed extra handouts for Ahaan, so I place them on his desk. To each assignment, I attach a sticky note explaining what he's supposed to do and when it's due. After I finish, I begin to do homework and study for my biology quiz. Slowly, my face sinks onto my textbook, and within seconds, I'm fast asleep.

My arm slips off the desk, shocking me from my nap. I jolt back, shaking the chair I'm sitting in. My eyes readjust, blinking multiple times to get rid of my crusted lids. Ahaan's room was now dimmer, the sun close to being completely set. It's was getting closer to nighttime. I should be getting home.