"Ms. Sharma! Ms. Sharma!" She turned around, attempting to find the source of this frantic call for help amidst the chaos. Hats were flying, paper mache props crumbling, mothers were frantically zipping children into costumes... and one little girl, with her crayon hat falling off her head, was running towards her with a look of terror on her face. Her first graders were performing their end of the year play, a cute musical about crayons in a box all trying to fit in that was written and choreographed by the music teacher... and they were falling apart. But Pooja Sharma was used to it... after 3 years of teaching first grade, 6 such performances and countless meltdowns... according to her experience, everything was going according to schedule.

"What's wrong, Aaraya?" she asked the little girl running towards her.

"Ms. Sharma... I forgot my line!" Aaraya said breathlessly. Pooja frowned... Aaraya was one of her more needy students, for sure... her mom had passed away when she was just a baby, and although she had an awesome dad and an actively involved grandmother, nothing could really make up for the loss of her mother. Aaraya was struggling in school, and Pooja had spent the year trying her best to help her keep up. The result? A strong bond between teacher and student. She knew that Aaraya looked up to her quite a bit, and knew she would be sad to see her little buddy go off to second grade.

Pooja brought herself back to the moment, where this young little girl was still looking at her pleadingly, asking about a line that Pooja wasn't aware of.

"Sweetie... you don't have any lines, remember?" Pooja clarified for the young one. Pooja had sat in on several rehearsals, one of which had just taken place not two hours before, at the end of the school day – she was fairly certain that Aaraya had spent the entire play in the background, singing along with her classmates.

"Yes, I do, and I can't remember it and I'm going to ruin the whole play!" Aaraya whined, on the verge of tears. The music teacher, Mrs. Nayak, walked by at that moment, and Pooja quickly caught her arm.

"Mrs. Nayak... Aaraya is very upset because she can't remember her lines, but I don't think she has any... was there some sort of mix up?" she asked. The music teacher's eyes flashed from the first grader, to the teacher and then back again, and a look of recognition dawned on her face.

"Ah... I know what she's talking about. Come here, dear, I'll help you remember..." Mrs. Nayak said, taking Aaraya's hand and hurrying her away. "We're about to start, Pooja, why don't you find your way to your seat? I can take care of everything from here," she said with a comforting smile. Pooja smiled back, turned and headed for the exit that would take her out of backstage and into the auditorium.

She made her way to a seat, smiling and waving at parents and other family members as she did, and she felt a slight twinge in her heart. Her boyfriend Kabir was supposed to be there for the performance – he was pretty supportive, as boyfriends go, and was well known around the school for being more visible at these kinds of events than most of the other teachers' husbands. Unfortunately, he got called on a business trip at the last minute, so he couldn't come. He had left that afternoon and would be gone for almost a week. She missed him already – although the two didn't live together, they spent practically every waking moment together. Pooja sat down in an auditorium chair and couldn't help the smile that popped onto her face, as it did every time when she thought about the day that they met.

She didn't hear what he said at first. He came up and stood near her, looking at her questioningly, but all she could hear was the Dashboard Confessional song coming through her headphones. She pressed pause on her iPod and pulled the earbuds out.

"I'm sorry, what?" she excused herself.

"Is anyone sitting here?" the guy repeated. Her eyes widened a bit as she took in his appearance. He didn't look like a creepy guy, about normal height and build, with honey brown hair that bordered on longish and a plaid shirt buttoned over broad shoulders. Not to mention that he was standing in front of her at a table in a college dorm cafeteria, so that was a pretty good sign. She inwardly sighed, chastising herself for overanalysing. He probably just wanted to take the chair.

"Nope," she replied to his question. The guy smiled impishly.

"Mind if I join you?"

She was too surprised to really respond, and all she managed was a few stutters and a "O... okay." He pulled his backpack off his shoulders and plopped it down onto the ground next to him before setting his tray down and settling in across from her. She shook her head slightly, as if trying to shake herself out of something.

"I'm sorry, do I know you?" she asked. The guy shook his head.

"No, you definitely don't know me." He paused, and for a split second she wondered if he was going to leave it at that. He wiped his hand off on his napkin before extending it to her. . My name is Kabir Mittal." She shook his hand amusedly.

"Pooja Sharma. Nice to meet you," she introduced herself. Kabir smiled at her before looking down at his tray and picking up his burger. They sat in silence for a moment, Pooja finding the whole situation funnier by the second. She finally decided to bring the subject up for herself.

"So... can I ask why you decided to sit with me? Someone you don't know?" she asked. Kabir nodded, then held up a hand to indicate that he wanted to finish chewing before he answered her.

"Sure you can ask, it's a perfectly legitimate question," he finally said. He took a sip of water. "So here's the thing... you are by far the most beautiful girl in this cafeteria." Pooja looked down at her tray, feeling a fierce blush come to her cheeks. "I mean, you're probably used to that. I'm sure you're the most beautiful girl in most cafeterias. Anyway, point being, clearly I don't have a chance with you, and I know that. But, since you are the most beautiful girl here, if I'm seen eating with you, it automatically boosts my potential in the eyes of all the so-so girls around here, and I have more of a chance with them anyway, so..." Pooja looked up at him, unsure of whether she should be insulted and storm off or laugh her ass off. He smiled up at her through his eyelashes, then leaned a bit toward her.

"By the way... in case you couldn't tell... that was a total ploy to ask you out," he whispered with a wink. Pooja started laughing.

"Sure... why not?"

Pooja was pulled out of her thoughts when the lights dimmed and the curtains opened. A hush fell over the crowd before Mrs. Nayak stepped onto the stage.

"Good evening and welcome families! Welcome to our end-of-the-year performance. As you are probably aware, we are performing a musical tonight entitled, 'All the Colors of the Rainbow.' However, before we get started on that, the first graders of Ms. Sharma's class have prepared a special performance." Pooja sat up a little straighter in her chair, a smile on her face. Mrs. Nayak winked down at her. "Enjoy!" she said before walking offstage. The curtains closed for a moment, and Pooja heard the noises of her class getting settled on the stage. She giggled. The curtains opened again, revealing a scene showing two of her students, Jay and Aaraya, standing in front of a set showing two of the tables they used for lunch, with food spread onto them. Aaraya was sitting down at the table, Jay standing next to her.

"Do you remember this place, my dear?" Jay said dramatically. Pooja stifled a laugh behind her hand.

"Of course I remember darling... this is where we first met," Aaraya responded, just as dramatically. Pooja giggled again, wondering where exactly this little skit was going.

"I made the best decision of my life when I decided to talk to you," Jay said. "I knew you were the most beautiful girl in that cafeteria, and I still think that today."

Pooja's breath caught in her throat. Suddenly this scene was extremely familiar.

Jay got down on one knee. Pooja's hands flew to her mouth.

"Pooja Ashok Sharma..." Jay couldn't help giggling at this point. He was looking over at his teacher, waiting for a reaction. Suddenly the rest of the class walked out from backstage, carrying a big banner reading "Will you marry me?"

Tears sprang to Pooja's eyes.

The children dropped the banner, and there stood Kabir, wearing a blazer over a pinstriped brown shirt, holding a bouquet of flowers in one hand, and a small box in the other. He motioned with a tip of his head to come up on stage with them. She got up, shaking her head in disbelief, the audience applauding as she made her way up to the stage. She could barely see the stairs, her eyes were blurry with tears, but as soon as she took the last step, she saw Kabir standing right in front of her.

"What are you doing?" she whispered.

"Trying to become the happiest guy in the world," he said. He lowered his voice, making the moment more private even though they were standing in front of an auditorium full of people... but Pooja had already forgotten about them. "Pooja... I love you more than anything in this world. I can't picture my life without you. You've become a part of me." The tears were streaming down Pooja's cheeks now. Kabir bent down to one knee, and she could see that his eyes were brimming with tears too.

"Pooja Michelle Sharma," Kabir said, repeating the words her students had just uttered moments before. "Will you marry me?"

"Yes," she whispered. He beamed, opening up the jewelry box. He slipped the ring out and put it on her finger, then stood up and kissed her. She could hear the audience cheering in the background. She laughed, looking over to see a standing ovation. Mrs. Nayak had walked back onto the stage, and Pooja snagged the microphone out of her hand.

"I just want to know how 26 first graders were able to keep that a secret," she said. The audience laughed, and she handed the microphone back to Mrs. Nayak. Her students crowded around her and her fiancée, and Pooja laughed and joined in on a group hug.

In a few minutes the children went backstage to put on their costumes for the show again, and she and Kabir made their way down to the audience, sitting next to each other. Pooja strung her arm underneath his and grasped his hand. Kabir smiled down at her, and she felt like she might just burst with happiness.

"Hey," she whispered. "I forgot to say... I love you too." He smiled and kissed her on the forehead.