Imperfect Two

Chapter 6

"5 pm....5 pm...5 pm!" She chanted as she took two steps at a time and rushed to the study room part of the library. He was probably going to focus that laser like gaze of his at her and she would spontaneously combust. Something told her he wasn't a fan of unpunctuality. It was five minutes past five. She clutched the side of her stomach and peered inside the large room trying to spot his dark head bent over a pile of books but she couldn't. Ha! Nerd Boy was late as well! She could lord that over his head when he arrived. She probably shouldn't, she thought to herself. He was after all helping her out. She would be very nice to him. She should probably start by not calling him Nerd Boy. Ranvijay...Ranvijay...Ranvijay.

"Why on earth are you reciting my name?"

She looked up and saw him with his usual frown on his face, designed especially for her. He looked different though. What was it? He was dressed the same. Completely in contrast with her royal blue jumpsuit, he was again wearing neatly pressed formals, a sky blue shirt and black pants. The only addition she could see was the tennis bag slung over his shoulder. He came over and placed the bag next to her and said, "Anyway, wait here. I'll be back."

She pulled out another wad of gum from her bag and started chewing. She waited for ten minutes with no sign of him. The one thing she hated was doing nothing. She blew a bubble and it burst. She giggled every time that happened. Dude would always find this quirk of hers funny. She sighed wondering what he was doing now. She glanced around the room and saw that it had about ten people. She counted. Twelve. Huh. That is a lot of people for five in the evening. She shook her head, dug around in her bag and pulled out a marker. She spotted his pristine white bag right next to her and felt the corners of her mouth rise up in an upward curl. She pulled the bag towards her and turned it to one side. It had "RV" written in bold, neat strokes. She turned it around to the other side and found it blank. She pulled the cap off the marker and gazed at the blank space, chewing her gum thoughtfully. With half a smirk, she began sketching.

She was almost done when she heard someone clear their throat. She looked up and saw him sitting next to her. She balked, "Ner...I mean Ranvijay! You're back..."

He took his bag from her hands and looked at the sketch. The frown cleared as he studied the picture staring back at him. It was of a tennis racket sitting on a stack of books, its wiry hands juggling trophies adeptly. She had drawn a face for the tennis racket as well complete with glasses, a frown and a smile. The last one she hadn't seen him bestow on her yet. He looked up at her and surprised her with one. Her very first Nerd Boy smile. It was unlike all his other gestures. Those seemed thought out and calculated. This one was open and carefree. Like her. She broke into a grin and asked, "You liked?"

He shook his head slowly and asked, "Is this how you see me?"

She looked at him closely and spotted why he looked so different. She exclaimed, "Hey you're not wearing glasses!"

He shot up one eyebrow and replied, "I prefer lenses while I play Tennis. Anyway, shall we start?"

She nodded and pulled out her notebook. She opened the first page, wrote her name in her almost calligraphic writing and looked up at him. He was surveying her actions with an air of incredulity. He then asked, "You have no notes at all?"

She shook her head and answered, "No. I stopped attending classes last semester. I didn't understand a word of what they said."

The frown returned with a vengeance. She wondered how they hadn't formed permanent lines on his forehead yet. Then she remembered that that frown was his trademark look for her and she hadn't spent that much time with him yet.

"How do you expect to pass this class without attending it?"

She twirled her pen around and wondered the answer to that question. She then answered honestly, "I don't know...but I didn't see the point in wasting time doing something that didn't make sense to me. I chose to do something more productive. Something I'm good at."

He pointed at the bag and said, "You mean this?"

She responded with a shrug. He nodded and flipped open his books. Over the course of the next two hours, Mahua came to know him a little better. She observed that he was left-handed and would curl up the other hand into a fist and place it on his chin while solving a particularly difficult problem. She learned that though he frowned from time to time, he had a world of patience and would explain the concepts again if she didn't understand them the first time round. However, the most important thing she realized was that he became animated while he spoke about academics. She could see the passion he felt for the subject lurking behind his eyes as he took her through the chapter, part by part.

It was almost seven by the time he shut the book and said, "Okay. I think we're good for today."

She heaved a sigh of relief but felt oddly confident in her ability to pass the test even though she had just finished one chapter. She watched him neatly slide each book into his backpack and hoist the thing onto his shoulders. He then ducked his head under the strap of the tennis bag and adjusted that over one shoulder. She asked, "So what plans for now?"

He mumbled absently, "Reading, sleeping, working..."

She giggled and asked, "Do you eat?"

He rolled his eyes in response. She stood up and said, "Come on! I'll take you out. My treat. You know...for helping me out."

He shook his head and said, "I have a lot of work to do. Thanks."

She pulled his arm and marched him out of the hall as she said, "Half an hour will not upset your mighty schedule. It's food."

Either it was fatigue or shock at her looping her arm through his but he let her lead him out. It was an interesting change of pace.

Author's Note: Okay so just one chapter today but it's a fairly big one. :) Hope you enjoy it and lemme know if you did, okay? Thanks ya! Oh also, I need song recommendations while I'm writing. Do lemme know in the comments, ya? You're awesome! - S