"Shree could you pass me the test tube please?"

"Hm."

"Shree, the test tube."

"What?"

"Test tube."

"Can you repeat again?"

This was it. I smacked the notebook on his head and he yelped. He was busy texting his girlfriend in the middle of the class. I was doing all the work by myself. I narrowed my eyes at him and snatched the phone away from him.

"Give it back!" Shree shouted.

"No way. You are my lab partner. We are supposed to complete this experiment together. Look, the others are already over with it. We are the only ones lagging behind. So you better help me or I am going to tell Mrs. Nair."

"You can't threaten me like that."

"Watch me." I started moving and he grabbed my arm. He nodded his head and started helping me. He kept stealing glances at his phone but I was serious about it. I knew he was head over heels for Mahek but if he didn't pay attention in class, he would affect both of our grades.

We completed just before the bell rang and I sighed in relief. I handed him his phone and he started checking it impatiently. I rolled my eyes. I always took him for a player. Flirting with girls and all. I was surprised to see him acting like a love-stricken puppy.

"Why did you cut your hair?" I asked.

"Just trying a new look."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah."

I wasn't convinced. He loved his hair more than anything and he cut it just for a new look? One time Shreyas told me how he accidentally got gum in Shree's hair and he went all hulk mode on him. Was it because of Mahek?

"Shree!" Mahek called him and he turned towards her. She jumped right into his arms and he hugged her tightly. They were like this everytime. They went to the same college and acted like they hadn't seen each other for years.

"Let's go baby. I am hungry," Mahek said in a baby voice and I cringed.

"Sure. What do you want to eat? I will buy you anything," Shree said and ran a hand through her hair. She blushed and I couldn't bear to torture my eyes any longer.

"Bye Shree," I said and he didn't reply. Of course he wouldn't. He was lost in Mahek's fake green eye lenses. I wondered if he knew that or not. I made my way towards the next lecture and left the lovebirds alone.

In the hallway, I sensed a shadow lurking with a sad aura around it. Shreyas. He was wearing a black hoodie and had covered his head with its cap. His eyes looked bloodshot like he cried all night.

"Shreyas, what happened to you?" I asked him and he shook his head. He ignored me and continued on his way. Something bad must have happened for him to act like that. I was getting late so I decided to talk to him later when I got time.

"Parth, that's my seat," I said and he ignored me. I told him to get up but he didn't move an inch. He was busy chatting with Surbhi and they were discussing about long distance relationship.

Parth had a girlfriend who lived overseas and I think he was consulting with Surbhi. Aryan also lived abroad and I tell you, it's not easy to maintain that type of relationship if you ain't got trust and understanding.

I sighed and took a seat behind them. They kept talking non-stop and I felt out of the group. Only if I had a boyfriend outside the country, I could have given some useful input. I took out my books and began reading.

"Ved! Give it back to me."

Ved had snatched the book I was reading and I was not in the mood for this right now. I had to cover up for my syllabus since I was preparing for the competition.

"Just because you won, you have been acting high of yourself," he said.

"Of course not. I think you should get your eyes checked. You are so proud of your achievements that you think everyone is below you. The one who acts like an arrogant bastard is you, not me. "

"Atleast I have something to boast about. What about you? Just a medal and a trophy ain't going to get you anywhere. Continue living in your small bubble but it is going to pop soon." He threw my book on my desk and walked away.

"You okay? Don't think too much about what he said," Parth said and Surbhi looked at me in worry. They must have heard me and Ved arguing. I shrugged my shoulders and told them not to bother. He just talked like that to discourage me. Nothing new in that.

×~×

"Stop staring." Tanya nudged me.

"I am not staring. I am just observing," I replied. She shook her head in disapproval and continued eating her lunch. I could learn a few things about love from the couple in front of my eyes. A boy who flirted with every girl he saw and a girl who just broke up recently.

"Stop judging," Surbhi scolded me and I raised one eyebrow.

"I know what you are thinking. Shree flirted a lot but I haven't seen him doing that since he got together with Mahek. So stop staring holes through them and eat your lunch," she added.

Rashi nodded her head and I turned to Divya. Atleast she would side with me on this matter right? We were discussing about it yesterday and she also agreed that something wasn't right. We both could feel it.

She pursed her lips and shook her head. She betrayed me? So I was the only one now who had doubts about it? Great. I was the bad guy now. I exhaled loudly and Surbhi smacked my head.

"Why are you staring at someone else's boyfriend? Yours ain't giving you any attention?" Ved commented.

"Talk about yourself. I don't see your boyfriend with you right now. Is he cheating on you? Can't trust anyone nowadays, can we?" I replied and Ved flicked my forehead.

"You have weird imagination along with weird personality. No wonder you are still single. Teach her something Tanya. Maybe she can learn a few things about how a girl should behave from you."

"And who are you to decide how a girl should behave? You got personal experience?"

"See. That's what I am talking about. You just don't know when to shut up, do you?"

"My mouth, my rules." I fake smiled and he raised one of his eyebrows.

"That was so lame. Couldn't think of anything better?"

"Why don't you take your high standard butt to your table and stop wasting my time?"

"You are wasting my time."

"How exactly?"

"By arguing with me."

"Idiot."

"Dimwit."

"Monkey bum."

"Jerk."

"Stinky feet."

"Witch."

"Tiffin thief."

"Chalk monitor."

"Hey! I wasn't just a chalk monitor. I had other duties too!"

"Whatever."

"Ahem!" Surbhi coughed and we looked at her. Everyone was looking at us. I think we were arguing too loudly. Ved smacked me on the head and went to his table. Tanya looked at me and giggled. She enjoyed seeing me suffer, didn't she?

"Why do you like him? Care to explain?" I complained and rubbed my head. She shrugged her shoulders. I got the best of friends who didn't help me at all.

"That was entertaining. I should have recorded it," Mayank commented as he stood beside me. Here comes one more.

"Would you enjoy it if I killed him? You could record that," I said.

"That's extreme kid," Rajeev said and I feigned ignorance.

"Here. These are the timings for your classes. They are starting from tomorrow. Be on time or I won't allow you to enter," he said and gave me a pamphlet.

"What classes?" Rashi aksed and took the paper from me.

"Self defence classes. You girls should join too."

"Hmmm.... We will think about it," Divya said.

Rajeev shook his head and I told him I would convince them. He was asking for our benefit only. I didn't know about others but I was determined to go. So the next time Ved hit me I would be able to return the favour equally.

×~×

"What's up with you?" I asked. No response. I had been pestering Shreyas for last half an hour to spill the beans but he wouldn't budge. How could you be so quiet?

"Don't you consider me your friend?" I tried emotional blackmailing and he just gave me a dead look. Argh! I was trying hard to control my temper. He was sad and I couldn't get angry at him. Maybe I should try a different method.

I turned back in my seat and took out my phone. I plugged in the earphones and closed my eyes. I began singing and tapped the table along the beats. I waited. Just a bit more.

"You are the worst singer I know," Shreyas whisper yelled.

"Thank you very much. If you don't tell me what's bothering you, I will continue torturing you like this. Tell me. Maybe I could be of some tiny winy help."

He sighed and I stopped my music player. He closed his diary and put it in his bag. He scratched the table surface and adjusted his sleeves. Come on, I was getting impatient here.

"Bronzer died."

Bronzer who?

"My dog. He died last week," he said and a tear rolled down his cheek. My eyes widened in surprise and I felt guilty for asking. Sandhya you are the biggest idiot alive. I groaned internally and slumped down in my seat.

"I am not good with consoling. Whatever I say won't change what happened. But I am sorry for your loss Shreyas," I said and patted his back.

He relaxed a bit and showed me Bronzer's picture on his phone. He was so adorable! Poor baby. He left his owner alone. I noticed his phone was filled with pics of him with his dog. He really loved him.

I wondered how I could help Shreyas to overcome this grief. He lost his best friend. What could I do? Think. Think. Eureka!

"I don't know if it would be of much help but I know a singer whose songs are lit. I have some in my phone. What was his name again? Hm? Oh right. S'Flow. You might not know about him. He is new in the industry. But unfortunately, my favourite singer decided to back off from the show last week." I said.

"Maybe he is also depressed about something like you. You got any idea what could be troubling him?" I continued.

Shreyas stared at me like I had grown two heads. He didn't even blink once and I touched his hand to make sure he hadn't turned into a statue. I gave him one earbud and put the other bud in my left ear. He blinked.

"I am going to play the song now. If you don't listen to this, you are going to miss on a masterpiece. Don't blame me later." I smiled and clicked the start button.

I could see a ghost of a smile on his face and he took the earphone bud from my hand. He was smiling throughout the song and I kept lip-syncing. The mood was so amazing right now.

The song ended and we sat in silence for few minutes. I closed the music app and pulled out the earphones.

"See? Didn't I tell you? I don't want him to leave the show. I would love it if he would come back again. You agree with me?" I aksed and he nodded his head a bit.

"I am happy I could be of some help. Was I?"

He gave me a genuine smile and I sighed in relief. Atleast, his mood was lifted up for the time being. He took out some papers from his bag and began skimming through them.

"That's my folder," I mumbled under my breath.

"What did you say?"

"Nothing."

"Here. Look at this." He took out one paper and I wondered what he was planning to do.

"What do you think about it? It's one of the songs one of my friends wrote." He gave the paper to me and I took it not knowing what to do. I already knew what was in it. I pursed my lips and went through the content. How was I supposed to react?

If I praised the lyrics, I would be boasting about myself and if I didn't, it would mean two things. One, I wasn't confident and two, I would be hurting Shreyas because it belonged to one of his friends.

"It's good right?" he asked and I nodded just an inch. Let's maintain the balance. He gave me a lopsided smile and took the paper from me. It felt like a brick in my hand. He didn't find out right?

"I will go with this then," he said and put the folder back in his bag.

"What?" I asked in confusion.

"Nothing. Let's do some studies. We are here for that afterall," he said and began studying like nothing happened.

"Right," I said and went back to my books. We fell in complete silence and got lost in our own worlds. I heard him humming in between but didn't disturb him. Atleast now I could hope for my favourite artist to return to the show.

"Hey man! You okay now?" Ved asked and my mood went down instantly.

He gave me a curious glance and pulled my chair away from Shreyas. He sat between us and glared at me.

"Didn't I tell you to not bother him? You don't listen the first time do you? Do I have to beat that into your head?"

"He could have already told me to leave if I bothered him. He didn't so just shut up, will ya?" I retorted.

He ignored me and turned towards Shreyas who was in a happy mood now. Ved looked at him in confusion.

"You sure you are okay buddy? You were crying your eyes out just in the morning," he whispered so that I couldn't hear him. I did. He was sitting right beside me.

"Yeah. I am fine now. I am writing a song about Bronzer. What do you think?" He showed Ved his diary and Ved nodded in approval. He patted his back and Shreyas went back to writing his song. He wasn't studying? He fooled me.

"It's not good to eavesdrop," Ved said.

"I am right here. Do you think I have a superpower to adjust my hearing level manually?"

"Just close your ears. That would do."

"Why? Are you plotting a murder?"

"How could you be friends with her?" he asked that to Shreyas and he shrugged his shoulders.

"Did you force him to be your friend like always?" Ved accused.

"I am not like you."

"You won't ever be. I am a unique piece."

"Antique piece you mean."

Shreyas laughed at this and I pulled out my tongue at Ved. He narrowed his eyes at me and pulled my hair. I slapped his hand and he began drawing random lines across my notebook.

My assignments! I threw the pen at him and he dodged. It hit Shreyas. Shit!

"Sorry Shreyas. I wasn't planning on hitting you."

Shreyas picked up the pen and gave it back to me. He just ignored us like others did. Ved took the marker and hit me on the forehead. I picked up a heavy book to hit him on the head but he caught my hand in mid-air.

He snatched the book away and hit me again. I was frustrated now. I stomped on his foot and he winced. Yes! He cursed under his breath and pushed me a bit.

"Old trick Ved," I smirked.

He smiled at me mischievously and I looked at him in confusion. What was he planning now?

Brrrring!

The bell rang and we all got up to leave. Ved didn't try anything but I was on my toes. I didn't trust him. I met my girl gang in the hallway and joined them. I needed some positive energy.

Ved approached Tanya and they began chatting. We all exchanged knowing looks and left them alone. We would watch from sidelines.

"Make a move already!" Divya almost yelled. She was the most hyperactive out of us. If it was her way, she would have gotten all the couples in our college married by now.

We observed them for quite sometime and sighed when we saw no progress. Ved was an idiot. He knew she liked him so why wasn't he doing anything? He won't get a better girl than her. And Tanya, say something! She was just nodding her head like a little kid.

After few minutes, Ved said his goodbye and Tanya waved at him. She turned towards us and raised her eyebrows.

"What?" she asked and we all cornered her.

"You are so dumb. That was a great chance and you lost it," Divya complained and Rashi held her back.

"What did he say?" Surbhi proded.

"Tell us, will you?" Rashi added and we waited in anticipation.

"I am not telling you. That's a secret," Tanya said and giggled at our reaction.

We all gave her a dead look and she kept laughing at us. She wasn't telling us. Shreyas was really influencing everyone with his silence. I nudged her but she gave me an evil smile.

"You won't be able to keep it a secret from us," I said and she just nodded her head.

"Let's go. The chaiwala bhaiyya must be waiting for us," I said and started speed walking.

"The last one to reach has to pay for others!" I shouted and began running. I heard footsteps behind me and increased my speed. This was fun!

Tanya had to pay double the usual amount because we all drank two times more. She scolded us but we waved her off.

"That's the amount you have to pay for keeping a secret," I said and everyone laughed. Finally she told us and we all were not surprised. There was no progress. Did I need to give her a lecture just like Rajeev? Before that lets do some research first.