The Band Aid.

Inside the classroom of Mahindra Banking Classes,I saw her sitting in the first row, as excited as a child who sees a Balloon . Her long earrings touching her collar bone and hair braided in a bun,she was the first one to enter the class i guess, and i was late as usual.I kept looking at her till a voice struck my ear.
Sarthak, You are late again!? The direction of my eyes instantly shifted towards the whiteboard and there stood the horror of my dreams..the maths teacher.She asked me again in a Strict manner"Why r u so late?"

This had not happened for the very first time, but today it was more than just humiliating.I gave her a Sorry look and started to walk towards the second last bench, i had all the eyeballs barring one.
The only one i wanted...with a low face i sat down on the second last bench, alone.I could not solve a single Numerical that day.All i kept looking at was the girl sitting on the front bench.Finally, the class got over and everybody started to leave,as much as i wanted to go and greet her,nervousness started to unravel me and she went by..

For the next few days i made it a point not to be late for the class,but the nervousness never left me.I would muster up all the courage and walk towards her only to return midway absent mindly.

I would see her in different colours everyday, sometimes in black and white too,she just looked perfect in everything!

Classes were coming to an end and my seat was a constant affair,so was hers,until one day when she was late for the class and had no choice but to sit beside me,this time i was a happy dancing child in my mind.
Soon i realised she was fidgeting with her bag more than usual.Maybe she forgot a pen, and i had an extra one!The very first words i spoke to her were "Pen chahiye apko? "

She nodded her head in confirmation and i handed over an extra ball pen to her.I touched her hand for the very first time,they seemed perfect,as if were made to fit into mine,soft and gentle..

She began writing everything that was on the board but all i could write was "Shraddha" on the last page of my notebook.Yes,it was her name.

Mere eye contacts and some formal smile gestures later the class got over,she stood up before i could say anything and went out.

Now i had a way to talk to her, she had forgotten to return my pen.
That night i could not sleep thinking of the fact that what could she possibly be doing right now,how am i going to approach her the next day.All i could see with my eyes was her name written on the page when they were open and-

              Her when they were closed.
The next day,i eagerly waited for her but she was nowhere to see.Three days passed by but i had no trace of her.On the last day bof the class as i was busy with my own set of thoughts someone came close by and said "M Sorry,Pen bhool gayi thi apka."
It was her!
I wanted to ask her where had she been all this while?But the horror of my dreams striked again and the class had to settle up.

The class got over and this time i hopped into the same bus she was in and while doing so something poked into my hand and blood started to ooze out,neglecting that i went up straight to her.She was alone and i managed to sit by her side.

"How r u?" was the only something i managed to speak out, she looked at me,titled her head and smiled, signalling me that every thing was just fine.Confused,i asked her again "Tum aa kyu nahi rahi thi?"
She just told me,she wasn't well.Then she managed to see the scratch on my hand,took out a bandaid from her bag and gave me, with my pen!..I gave a huge smile and said Thanks to her. Maybe that was "Breaking the ice"moment.And..
The result of a 10 minutes long conversation was that now i knew i looked good in blue,and she also liked my spectacles,She loved pani puri but hated Chinese.We talked about ice creams to aeroplanes, not much about me though.
She would smile on hearing something that was common b/w us.Baaton Baaton me,she nearly forgot that she had to get out of the bus.And i wished that this bus ride never ends.Soon after,she realised she had nearly missed her stop. She stood up very hastily and went out of the bus.I stoop up too but couldn't even manage to say a bye to her. With a sigh of disappointment i sat onto her seat and started thinking about her,again.

Lost in her thoughts,a thought strike me that I should have taken her number!How can i possibly forget that!?
Today was the last day of the Class,maybe we would never meet again,maybe i would never get to admire her,all the negative thoughts were creeping into my mind and suddently the bus took a jerk and my pen fell on the ground,I bent down to pick it up and could remember that she handed me a band aid as well.

But the pain of my foolishness was much more than the Wound now.Sadly,i put the pen in my pocket,got out of the Bus at the next stop and was walking on the road when i took out the band aid to apply it,and saw a number written on it.I couldn't believe if she actually did it or it was my hallucinations due to the lost hope.
I took out my mobile with trembling hands from the pocket of my Jeans and dialled the ten digit number hurriedly..

Trin.. Trin.. Trin... After 11 of those Trin Trins.. Someone received the call.
Hello!? For that split second everything had stopped,i could not feel or sense anything.
And then i heard a voice from the other end.
Hi Sarthak! Chot kaisi hai?

It was the voice that healed everthing, It was my Shradhha!!