Imperfect Two

Chapter 24

The paintings were all arranged in a classroom next door for everyone to see. She found him there looking at her painting again. He had his hands in his jeans pockets, the sleeves of his black shirt rolled up to reveal his forearms. She walked up to her painting and stood next to him.

"Hi."

He looked at her and returned, "Hi."

"So you came."

He looked back towards the painting and said, "I did. I received your...message. So I knew where to come."

Mahua had tucked in a copy of her contest application along with a sticky note that said, "I'm sorry."

Before she could say anything else, he pointed towards the painted ledge on the canvas and said, "Is that Dude's?"

She looked down at the painting and smiled. She had painted a pretty yellow house. Not much of the house could be seen though. The specialty lay in all the other details. She had drawn the entrance to the house. There were a small flight of stairs with a dark red handle. At the end of the handle, there was a black beanie cap stuck on top, threatening to fall off into the lush green plants at the foot of the stairs.

She pointed at the little window next to the door that overlooked into the house and said, "Yes. That is my dad's favourite coat lying on top of the sofa. He always puts it there when he comes back home from work. And do you see this small TV? It's supposed to be playing his favourite show."

Despite himself, Ranvijay found a smile forming on his lips. The painting was called "The House" but it had so much more character that calling it a house felt too impersonal. It was...home. Her home. She had dedicated it to all her favourite people, placing small personal items in here and there. Her style was unmistakable in every stroke of the painting, filled with great detail.

She then placed her hand on his arm and pointed to something leaning next to the door in the painting. He couldn't believe he had missed it in his careful search of the picture.

It was a tennis racket.

He asked in a low voice, "Is that mine?"

"Yes." And then in a hurry, she continued, "I'm sorry I snapped at you and said something so mean. I didn't mean to direct my anger at you. I...just...it was to do with something else. Something I would like to tell you about if you wish to stick around a little while longer."

He looked at her and smiled for the first time that day. It was just as amazing as the one she remembered from the first day back in the library when she had drawn a doodle on his gym bag.

He then said, "You know, you're going to have to say it more clearly."

She frowned and asked, "You want me to apologize more clearly?"

He rolled his eyes and said, "No. I accept that. I'm sorry too for asking too much when you weren't ready. I tend to get curious very easily. Especially around you."

She smiled widely at that. She picked up her bag that was lying in the corner and walked out, knowing that he would join. Soon enough, she heard, "You still haven't understood what you have to say clearly."

She nodded and said, "And so I haven't."

He turned around and walked backwards, facing her with his hands still in his pockets.

"Just doodling a tennis racket all over the place isn't going to help. You need to be upfront about your feelings. Specifically related to me."

She looked down at his shoes as she kept on walking. She then asked, "And what about Neha?"

"What about Neha?"

"Isn't she...well...your girlfriend?"

He asked in a dry voice, "And what would give you that idea? Oh let me guess...you, yourself! Since you conveniently broadcasted my phone number to her without even asking me."

She burst out, "You said she was hot!"

He shot back, "Yeah so? I find someone else hotter. If only you'd bothered to find out."

She stopped in her tracks and looked up at him. He stopped walking backwards and looked at her with a half-smile on his face.

With a burning face, she said, "You're going to make this really difficult for me, aren't you?"

"Now where's the fun if it were easy?"

She asked, "What do you want, man?"

He crossed his arms across his chest and said clearly, "I want you to say it."

Face turning redder by the second, she realized there was no way around this. She then smiled suddenly. He frowned at her mischievous expression wondering what she was up to. Before he could put any further thought into the process, she closed the distance between the two of them, put her arms around his shoulders and began kissing him. He uncrossed his arms and looped them around her waist, bringing her closer. If she thought hugging him was a great feeling, this was even better. Despite her heart beating faster than ever, her stomach housing an army of butterflies and a sudden burst of adrenaline, she felt so happy.

She pulled back an inch and said with a winning smile, "Well, I could say it..."

He tightened his grip around her to say, "Nah...your way is much better."

She laughed, clutched his shirt from below the collar and jumped up and down to say unabashedly, "You like me!"

He gave her a half happy-half wry smile and replied truthfully, "I've always liked you. Even before you stole my book."

She pushed back in his arms and looked at him closely with a shocked expression on her face.

"What??? Why didn't you bother talking to me then?"

He shrugged and said, "You didn't talk to me either. It works both ways, you know."

She thought for a minute and asked, "So what changed?"

He replied simply, "I met you."