Up In The Air |✅|

You Really Are So Strange!

Akanksha Thakur felt bored.

Of all the novels and genres she had read, the adventurous, bold and inquisitive characters returned to her mind. Why wasn't her life as exciting as theirs?
Maybe because nothing as interesting had crossed her yet? Or she just hadn't taken the initiative.

Marks and ranks would always come by even after graduation from high school.

Akanksha recollected her conversation with Karan. She had to admit, she was surprised at the amount of thought she had put into it. Never had she done so before. Boys could be so... influential!
When the next time she met Karan, at school that is, she waved at him. She clearly spotted the reluctance with which he smiled and waved back.
She felt strangely disheartened.
All the things she could've ever said, she hadn't actually meant to hurt him. She never meant to hurt anyone.
But it seemed like he was hurt.

Though, Shweta Chatterjee noticed none of the gloom.
'So? Are you gonna tell me what you guys talked about?' She asked simply, at the end of the third period.
'Karan and I, you mean?'
'Who else could I possibly mean!'
Akanksha didn't feel like plunging into it all over again. She merely glanced in his direction.
'He kinda told me something huge.' Shweta said slowly.
Akanksha faced her, 'What did he say?'
Shweta narrowed her eyes.
'How could you not tell me that you actually... accepted him as your boyfriend?!' Luckily, the teacher had left the classroom. Because Shweta had been loud. Loud enough for even Karan (who was apparently sitting in the second last bench and the two girls were sitting in the second one and there were eight rows of benches in total) to hear her and snap his head towards their direction.
So it can be imagined what the reactions of the neighbors were.
'You what?' Asked the girl with a personality closest to that of a drama queen, Vanshika.
'Akanksha... got a boyfriend? Is that what you said, Shweta?' Asked Parul, Vanshika's partner and the occupant of the seat immediately behind Shweta's.
'No--' But Akanksha's try at explanation was quite vainly interrupted when Ms Preeti walked in again to take maths. Akanksha had to shut her mouth.
Maths class started, during which teases were passed from all around the part of the classroom Akanksha had her place in, while Ms Preeti faced the whiteboard.

Finally when fourth period was over and the bell rang indicating recess and Ms Preeti left, all the prying zeal bore in on the two girls. Or mostly on the one who was so unenthusiastically pushed into the spotlight—Akanksha Thakur.

'Spill the beans! Who is it?'
'Who is it? Morelike, you're not kidding?'
'You're definitely kidding, right?'
'Who is this virtual boyfriend?'
'Or fake?'
'Nah, that's even worse.'
'So you're seriously not kidding?'

Akanksha was starting to get irritated at all the noise.
'Listen! It's true, but you all don't get it—'
'Wait!' Shweta exclaimed, bringing peace, 'So... it's actually true?'
The comments erupted again.
'What? What's true?'
'Who is it?'
'Oh tell us damn!'

'No, no.' Akanksha was now speaking to Shweta only, 'You still don't understand, it's not—'
But then Shweta interrupted and Akanksha wasn't happy about it.
'I thought you weren't capable of it, you know.' Said she.
Everybody else stopped speaking at this. Few people oh'd loudly. The world dissolved for Akanksha. Or it already had.
'What..?' She felt downcast. Horribly, horribly glum. In other words, she hadn't expected Shweta, her only close companion, to say something like that, 'What did you say?'
'I mean—you were the one who had said you found the idea of getting a proper friend as ridiculous, so let alone a boyfriend—'
Now Akanksha snapped.
'First of all, you didn't even listen to what I had to say! And second, I'm still a human you know! I'm still a girl! Still a teenager! Not a robot!'
Even though it was true that whatever Shweta had said to justify herself was correct, Akanksha was angry at the indifference with which the words were thrown at her. She hadn't expected her of all people to put it that way.