Wanting to not let her know how he felt about this, not sure himself how he felt about this, he tried to act nonchalant. Ruby gave him a wicked smile and said, "I have a lot of fans."

"You don't have to tell me," he laughed it off, though he could still feel his heart beat fast in his chest.

Alex couldn't stop thinking about the rose Ruby had received, as he lay in his bed at night. He had really thought that she had brought it for him. He wondered what if all that he felt they had, was just his imagination. Was it all in his head?

He sat up in his bed and took his phone. He opened his chat message app and saw that she was online. His heart leapt. Taking his chance, he dialed her number.

The lights in his room were off, but the light from outside fell onto his walls, the tree branches in its path casting eerie shadows. He furrowed his eyebrows. This was not the mood he was looking for. He jumped off his bed, walked to his window and saw the moon shine bright in the sky, spreading its beautiful light upon the earthlings. Now that's the mood he was looking for.

After just four rings, she had picked up.

"Hey," she said.

"Why are you still up?" He asked her.

"I was just doing my homework. Working on the lyrics," she replied. Through the phone he could hear her smile.

"Don't you have assignments to work on? You do go to our college don't you?" He asked.

"Please don't talk like my Pa. The only thing he asks about are my studies."

"Why don't you finish your song? Then we can invite him to one of your performances," he suggested.

"God no! He can never know about this!"

"What?" Said Alex incredulously, "Music is basically your identity. How can you hide it from him?"

"I have been hiding it from him for years and I'm confident that I can do it for a few more."

"Yeah, but why?" Asked Alex.

There was quiet. Her silence made Alex feel that he touched a topic that he shouldn't have. Immediately he tried to change the topic, "I got a few pointers on songwriting from one of my old seniors from school. I'll mail them to you. We'll discuss it together tomorrow. It'll help both you and me."

"Sure," said Ruby, "Good night."

"Good night," said Alex as he heard Ruby cut his call immediately.

Next evening, Alex walked to the stone benches, carrying his bag. He had asked Ruby and she said she'll meet him at the same time as everyday. Alex felt a bit odd and disappointed at how the conversation had gone the previous night. Obviously he had touched a nerve. He wondered if he could ever take it back or at least solve the tension between them.

But as he saw her waiting for him with two of their usual cokes placed by her side, combined with her usual sweet smile, he felt like a heavy weight was removed from his chest.

The two huddled around her phone and opened the mail he had sent her. Sitting so close by her, knees touching, her hair fluttering in the wind, the sweet smell of her perfume, her laugh, her words, her thoughts... He felt he was losing himself.

Playfully he snatched away her phone in an attempt to explain to her a detail mentioned in the mail. But in the commotion, he accidentally touched the back button on her phone and her inbox popped open.

"Jeez you must be really bad at Legal Aspects. Look at all the Assignment Reminder mails this professor has sent you," said Alex. Ruby tried to snatch away her phone from him.

"Hey, give it back!" She said.

And then, something caught Alex's eye. There were a lot of mails marked as anonymous. He opened one of them and it read, You looked so pretty today.

Ruby snatched the phone away from him. "My mails are private," she said as she placed her phone in her pocket.

"What did I just read?" He asked.

"My private email?" Said Ruby, half mad, half sarcastically.

"You looked so pretty today? It was anonymous," said Alex.

Ruby stood idle for a second and then looked away. "That's creepy Ruby," he said.

"It's also none of your business," she retorted as she sat down on the bench, her arms folded. He waited for her to do something like fight with him, leave or ask him to leave. But she just sat still, looking away.

He walked to her, sat beside her and then asked, "What is going on? Would you tell me what's going on?"

She didn't reply.

"Do you have a stalker?"

Ruby sighed. "Yeah," she said, "But it's okay."

"It's okay?" he asked. She remained silent.

"Since when?" He asked.

"A few months," she replied.

"Why didn't you do anything about it? Complain to the college authorities," He said.

"Tell them what? Someone has been sending me anonymous messages, wishing me a good day? It won't make a difference. You know my reputation in college," she said.

Alex was puzzled. "What reputation?" He asked.

Ruby looked at him, a bit of frustration on her face. "Do you really not know?" She asked. Alex shrugged. He said, "In case you haven't noticed, I'm not very social. I detest group messages if it is not related to studies, and frankly, I don't spend time on nonsensical chit chat if instead I could work on my music."

Ruby smiled for a second, and then it fell. Alex could see her fidgeting with the hem of her shirt, struggling to say something.

"They call me a slut," she finally said, "One day, out of the blue, they started calling me a slut. I don't know who started it and I don't know why. But that's how the whole college sees me."

Alex listened quietly. Ruby continued.

"This is why I can't tell my Pa. He would be so worried. He is already so worried about my studies and getting money for my expenses. He brought me up on his own. He doesn't let me know about his problems. He doesn't even talk about my mum, ever. I can't tell him that this is how college is treating me."

Her voice started getting more tense, "I can't tell him that coming here was a huge mistake. I can't tell him that everything I have done so far in my life are pure blunders. I can't talk to him anymore. I avoid his calls. I cannot even start on all the trouble I'm in-"

"Then don't," said Alex. Ruby looked at him confused. He continued, "I meant, don't dwell on your problems. Don't care what the college talks about you. If it's the truth, why bother? And if it's a lie, why bother? You cannot stop all of them."

Ruby remained silent. Alex continued, "And as far as I have understood, your dad loves you a lot. He won't believe the nonsense spewing around. I'm sure he is trying to connect to you in his own way."

"He is," Ruby smiled. "He sends me little motivational quotes every morning. Sometimes they are very inspiring." Alex smiled at her.

"Do you know what he sent me today?"

"What?" He asked.

She took out her phone. As their hands lay side by side on the stone bench, he felt her little pinky touch his. She read out loud, "Stay close to anything that makes you glad you are alive."