Eight years ago

NYC

“ Mr. White? There is a man calling for you at the reception. ”Gary swung the staff room door open, letting in a whiff of cold air.

That surprised me. Who in their right mind would like to visit the uninteresting me? Soccer matches would be far more exciting.

I looked around the staff room for a new dashing Mr. White, complete with sparkling teeth and trimmed eyebrows. All I got were grumpy teachers leaning over their desks, correcting papers and making notes. High School was more work than you would like to think.

“Me?” I asked, trying to confirm that he didn’t mean my non-existential twin.

From the other side, old Howard looked at me like- Since when do we have donkeys among the faculty?

“ Right. Just asking.“ I sorted my class reports into a neat bundle and headed out of my cubicle. The last time I had kept them in a mess, Mrs. Welsh had a nice little three hour chat with me on my organising capabilities.

I heard a roar of laughter from 1-C just as I stepped into the corridor. Chuck was up to his tricks, again probably. The notice board on my left seemed like it had been attacked by a Poster-army. Join the Art Club! Inviting works for the school newspaper! Amity High sure did not take its Student Fests lightly.

I walked past the reception to the Waiting Area, hoping that I hadn’t crossed any limits at work to get  a call from the FBI. I pushed the glass door open. A guy sat on the left row, chewing what I assumed was chewing gum and not some drug.

“ Hello Sir. You called for me?”

The guy whipped his head around, flashing a grin.

“ Yo, Davey. Wassup man?”

His voice triggered a memory in my skull. The blond hair, the ripped jeans, the geeky T-shirt...

“ George? Is that you?”

“ Took you long enough.” he extended his fist.

I bumped his with mine. “ I have a bone to pick with you. One day,  I see you at the graduation. And the next day,  you are gone. No contacts, no hints. Just BAM! “

“ Sorry, man. It just happened real soon. Dad decided to move.. and then we were on the next flight to Tex. I missed you guys a lot, though. Specially Tiff.”

“Lets change that to only Tiff. Because you didn’t give a damn about us.”

George laughed. “ Guilty. But look at you.” he gave me a scan. “All suited up and stuff. And, by lord, where on earth did you get those muscles from?”

“ Santa dropped them by on Christmas.” I plopped down on one of the metal chairs.

“ Well, your Santa seems nice. Mine stopped coming after I lost my virginity.”

“ You shouldn’t have stolen the guy's girlfriend.”

“ Oh please, now. That was one hot babe.”

I laughed. It wasn’t particularly funny. But there was just something about talking trash with high school friends that made you young again.

“ So, tell me what’s up on your side.” George asked.

“ Went to College. Became a teacher. Started binging Game of Thrones. Not necessarily in the same order."

“Sounds nice.” George admitted, “ All I had on my end were projects, late hour shifts and constant nags from my girlfriend.”

I raised an eyebrow, “ Girlfriend, huh?  Living together?”

George nodded his head absentmindedly. “ Used to. As in past tense.”

“ Oh. Something happen?”

“ It wasn’t working out. She wants me to stay home longer, like for half a day. ”

“ That’s pretty nice.”

“ It isn’t. I have a job, Dave. I love my job. I loved her too, but she has to understand that I can’t just schedule my own shifts."

I stayed quiet. Work vs Personal Life was not a clash you wanted to see.

“ We broke up last week. She said that she would rather have someone who would prioritize her over some stupid machines. And we had been at it for what.... Two years? "

I didn’t know what to say. It felt pretty bad if the one you loved didn’t understand your life. If there is one thing guys understand, it is give someone his personal space.

“ This whole relationship thingy. Its kinda like a lead up to a whole, grand Supernova.”

“Supernova? “

“ Yeah. Its like Big Bang on a small scale. What I am saying is that... All this love and stuff? Its the preliminaries. You meet, you date. And then if you check off the right boxes, it leads to this whole grand night. And BOOM! Its over. Now go on. Have kids, break up, whatever. Nobody gives a damn. You are settled. Who is next? "

I wasn’t much of a romance guy. But even I could feel the hell George had been through.

George cracked his knuckles,  “ There I go again, mopping about the past. I don’t want to get grey at twenty. I am moving on. That’s why I am back here. Ed gave me your work address, so I decided to drop by."

“ That’s  the spirit. I got Tiff's number around here somewhere. Why don’t you guys meet up? You used to be pretty hot for her back in the day. And from what I know, she is  single.”

“ Shut it, Dave. Enough of the girl talk. Tell me..."

The bell went off with a buzz, cutting off George mid-way.

I looked at my watch. “ I gotta go now George. After-school work and all that.”

“ Sure. You want to meet up at TJ's for dinner? “

I rubbed my neck, “ Sorry, uh, not today. I have got.. other plans and...”

It was George's turn to raise an eyebrow.

“ Girlfriend?”

“ Fiancée.” I corrected.

“ Uh-oh. This is bad. When did you man up?”

“ Haha. Hilarious. I promise I would meet up later. I will get you Tiff's number as soon as possible.”

“ Hey. Don’t make this about her.”

“ I am not the only shipper of Geffany. You go and ask Ed Kolinsky about that.”

George mumbled something about Kolinsky, assassination and Voodoo dolls. I didn’t stay to hear the details through.

I dodged the screaming hallways and ecstatic high schoolers and entered the staff room through the back pass.

“ White, there you are. I can’t find 2-B’s register.”

“ You left it with Miss Linda, Chuck.” I sighed.

“ Thanks. You are a lifesaver. By the way, you done with the class reports? "

"Almost. I just need to get it on a spreadsheet. What about you?”

“ Still a buttload of work left. If it wasn’t for Mrs. Welsh..”

“What about it, Chuck?” Mrs. Welsh stood at the doorway, her arms crossed.

Chuck looked like someone had caught him putting on his pants.

“White? How do I get this damn thing on the computer? ” Howard hollered from behind his computer.

“ Howard!” Mrs. Welsh looked ostracized, “Language!”

Mrs. Welsh was the senior most faculty here in Amity. She was great as a senior. But we had, as she liked to put it, communication issues. I mean, she could even faint if you said shit in front of her. Maybe she hadn’t got that twenty first century news flash.

I headed over to Howard, who seemed like he could have a chat with the Microsoft CEO for inventing Excel.

“What seems to be the problem?”

“Don’t go nice on me, just cause Welsh is around. This stupid screen just won’t take my data."

I looked at the screen.

“Howard.” I breathed.

“ Yes?"
“ Did you actually try to click the cells? Even once?”

“ You actually have to click on them?  What does this stupid machine do? Stare at my face?”

“Maybe. I might invent a software like that some day.” Chuck chuckled. ( Heh. Chuck chuckled. That sounded good.)

“ Chuck?”

“ At your service.”

“ Can you make sure that Excel doesn’t misbehave with Old Howard?”

“ Why? What are you gonna.. Oh. Sorry. Big night, huh? ”

My ears turned red. If there is anything worse than a flop Justice League Movie, its your co-workers knowing about your date.

“Come on Chuck, don’t tease White. Look at him. He is already red.” Linda appeared with a pile of books. “ Cute.”

When girls start calling you cute, its your cue to leave unless you are up for a whole round of giggling, pushing and teasing.

“ Thanks, guys. Mrs. Welsh?"

“ I suppose I could give you one chance to slack off. But, I need those reports by fifth.”

“ Roger that!” I grinned. “ You are the best chick ever.”
I didn’t stay around to hear her scolding, but that look on her face was absolutely priceless.

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A/N: I know I am not supposed to write backwards. But, I couldn't help writing a backstory. Tell me what you think. Vote if you like. 💖💖