to have a crush, Aditi, is to submit to the truth that man deliberately seeks out sufferance. And, well, sex_Dr. Amiruddin's dusty lawn and bright orange house (less house and more shack, really) stuck out wildly in the row of neat houses with neat picket fences and neatly planted flowerbeds. A pentagon-shaped garage constructed of pine wood and a tin roof stood at an odd angle on one side of the lawn, inside which was a car nobody had ever seen being driven in. Half a helmet and a pile of misshapen wood lay haphazardly on the other side. Beside the house, two ash trees stood forlornly, shrivelled but tall, a hammock dangling between them.Frowning, I halted at the gate, because the gate wasn't there. Immediately afterwards, I noticed it hovering in the air a few metres away. I jumped in surprise. Skeptical, I walked over to it and gingerly poked the rusty gate hovering a foot above my height, but it didn't so much as wobble. I found a thin, horribly uneven translucent stick of glu
you're the Neville_The remnants of summer in Edelweiss were nearly gone now, but some traces still lingered. As I sat cross-legged by myself on the slope leading from the road to the gorgeous poppy fields in full bloom, warm rays from the setting sun cast a mysterious honey glow on the flowers, as if they were sharing an elaborate secret. I smiled.I eyed the pair of birds swooping around playfully in the sky with acute jealousy. Not trapped at all by their own emotions. So free.Hearing rhythmic footsteps approaching, I glanced to the road. Spotting a young man sporting a black tee and black shorts was jogging on with earphones in, I looked back to the fields.When the footsteps stopped right beside me, I cautiously looked up. "Okay, why are you spying on me, West?" I raised my brows and dramatically pursed my lips, making him roll his eyes. He climbed down to sit on the grass beside me."I'm not spying on you. I live here," he breathed, still a smidgen out of breath. A bead of swe
"Call me West," I mimicked him, feigning a squeaky voice. "Bloody jerk!"Fuming vehemently, I rode DiCaprio home. West had come to school yesterday after skipping the first three days of the week and had asked for permission to sit with us at lunch, from EVER, not from me, as if we didn't have a heart-to-heart a few days before. Proceeding to climb in beside me (which earned me equally suggestive looks from Lee, Art, Troy and Ever), he barely acknowledged my existence and instead blabbered on to Ever about basketball strategies. And then, after school today, even after I'd called after him twice, he'd brushed past me. So it's official: Just West is ignoring me. Sticking the dull key into the doorknob, I kicked my shoes off, leaving them to lie wildly in the foyer. I climbed the steps to my room - two at a time. As I plunged face-first into my bed and clutched the kolbalish tightly in my arms, I felt like crying. Sitting upright, I grimaced at the sight of the gorgeous forest green l
I eyed the yellow sticky note lying on the floor of my locker with interest. Glancing down the hall in both directions, I found nobody suspicious amid the green-and-white clad students and thus picked up the paper in my palm to get a better look.With immaculate timing, Ever decided to show up and snatch the paper from my grasp, making me yelp in surprise. He used his height to keep the paper out of my reach, and read it aloud. "Jo ek lad kee ko deikha toh ayza lega? What is this?" His scrunched up brows relaxed when he looked over my head and waved to somebody. As I turned to see who it was, my stomach did a somersault.West's hair was visibly damp as he ran his hands through it, his features fresher than ever. When he'd strolled over to us, Ever eyed him mischievously and made to hand him the paper. "Ever Richards, don't you fucking dare," I tried to catch hold of it, but West managed to snatch it from Ever's grasp as I was inches from it. I facepalmed."Jo ek ladki ko dekha toh aysa
"WHAT?!" Earning several turned heads, I bit my tongue. We stood by the balcony of the high-ceilinged hall with its avant-garde decor, detached from the simmering crowd of relatives and family friends. I lowered my voice to a hush, "What? No, Fariah! Fucking no!"Fariah grimly tapped the floor with her heels. I eyed them with jealousy - Ma never let me wear pencil heels, she said that it makes people conceited, which is pure bullsit. "Well, Zayan seemed to hit it off with you at Fiona Api's wedding. It seemed fishy to me too when he bitched about you like that," she muttered, tapping her lip with her index. "Did something happen between you two?"As I struggled to answer the question, to my relief, a figure appeared beside me to save me. I was low-key getting mad at continuously being the damsel in distress, by the way, but West's look quelled my chagrin and invoked appreciation."Hi, Fariah," West greeted, settling into a comfortable stance beside me. The teal shirt peeking from unde
"So, this is a fancy wedding," West remarked, his eyes on the champagne fountain in a corner. It wasn't something you typically see at a Bangladeshi wedding, only Bengali elitists and drunkards drink in public. Bapi had remarked that it was a method of giving oneself delusions of Western (well, and Christian) grandeur. We were following the gang of cousins back to the centre of the room as the bride and groom sat on a royal blue sofa on the stage, posing for photos. Just a while ago, they'd exchanged their vows and wedding rings."Yeah. It's pretty much the fanciest I've ever been to," I replied, smiling at the kid who'd just toppled over a mound of sweets and was looking around to see if anybody had noticed."Adi!" I halted at Bapi's voice. West paused as well. Bapi briskly walked over to us, staring curiously at West."Er- Bapi, this is West, he's the groom's family friend, and my classmate at EA," I explained, low-key impressed by my own proficiency at lying."Assalamu Alaikum, un
The first time Lee and I had gotten in trouble because of the boys had been when they'd sneaked porn magazines into the school and hid one in each of our bags. And I never thought that I'd say this, but this time's punishment was worse than watching Miss Flaxen and Mr. Gonzales flirt in detention everyday for a month.On Thursday, the six of us uncomfortably shuffled out from the Principal's office. Troy was the first to groan. "I don't believe this.""I literally know nothing about planning something this big," West huffed, violently shoving his hands into his trouser pockets and leaning defeatedly against the wall. I realised that the corridor in front of Principal Sen's office always had a limey scent about it."You're worried about the planning? I can't believe that they're cheating us out of our prom night," Lee cried, on the verge of tears. I slung my arm around her waist (I had a tough time reaching her shoulders)."I've been dreaming about a senior prom for forever. And why th
Okay. This is getting ridiculous.Holding the blue sticky note in my hand, I banged my forehead against the locker door. In the familiar neat cursive, the words 'I'd prefer your kisses to the sun's, even in the bleakest winter' were written on the paper."If you're trying to cause concussion, check out jumping from a cliff. It'd be more efficient," West's deep voice chimed in and I almost smiled at his sarcasm. Almost. I turned to face West, now casually leaning against the locker beside me with a hand shoved in the pocket of his green school trousers, the thumb sticking out."Hi to you too," I grumbled, making a vain attempt to rub the tiredness from my eyes with a finger. As we made eye contact, the warmth of his brown eyes had a chamomile-tea effect on my mood."Ever and Lee broke up," he stated calmly, studying me as if he were trying to figure something out."I know. It sucks," I shut the locker door with a thud, leaning on it like him.He raised an eyebrow at me. "You're really