Chapter 1:Blue American Tourister

I’m a boy of exact type exactly you see in your daily life. I’m not the smartest as you think over the heroes of the other stories. I’m a fair looking, normal height, with a casual hairstyle and never mind about fitness. I usually wear the casuals most the time. My actions are literally slow than my words. You may ask yourself, “Why this is guy keeps on talking over himself?” This because, I don’t want you to fix a cinematic heroic character while reading. Everyone never wish other to play their role in their life.

            The first day of the school, I saw her. I entered the high school that day. The school life will make some unforgettable memories in everyone’s life and it created some memories in me too. I took the Mathematics – Biology stream for my high school studies due to some interest over the functionalities of the human body.

            I entered the school with a hope of becoming a doctor on the ‘first’ day. The whole school was addicted to a name especially boys are addicted and the name was ‘Jeni Sugaina’, exclude my name on that addicted list. I usually stay away from the girls and I hate them. Whenever I neared a girl I feel myself uncomfortable.

            When I walked on the way to have a look over the notice board, a girl hurried and pushed me a little to make her way. It was girl. My ego leapt out now. She was in her uniform with a pony tail hairstyle, her skin tone says she was from the North. She just turned over to me and just said excuse with a face expression not even words spelt out. It looks cute. I tried to do it myself then I felt awkward myself. Only girls could create millions of expression which can be seen by others. I just saw the symbol on her bag ‘American Tourister’.

            I went near the notice board, I saw a crowd of girls standing and chit chatting. I tried to find the way but the girls stood like walls between and formed a maze. After my maze run I reached the board. I could see two columns that is two classes for the Mat-Bio Steam, my fingers moved to the names starting with ‘N’.

            Suddenly a voice came over a distance, “Nithu, You in B2”, it’s my pal. I moved my fingers to the second column and got my name after 26 names from top. I showed thumps up to him. He adjusted his pants and put a hand for a wave. I went near him and called, “Madhu”, followed by a hug.

            “You in B2 and I got in C1”, said Madhu.

            “Anyone in my stream?” I questioned.

            “Bio has a bunch of flowers with a countable number of ropes and you are one among the countable”

            “Madhu, don’t play with words, Spit out clearly”

            “Well my Doctor Ji, the class is filled with girls and the rough boys are very less in number”, saying he raised his shoulders.

            Madhesh, we call him Madhu. He exactly opposite to me, he always goes around the girls and they too like him, his dressing style and the words he spelt out would impress anyone, totally he was Romantic. Madhu, Saravanan and I were bench mates till high school, the subjects we love separated us. Saravana wants to be an IAS officer and he wants to choose the easiest course, as his brother suggested he chose Commerce group. To Saravana’s luck the stream was not available in our school so, he switched his schoolings.

            Madhu held my hand and pulled near him, his mouth moved neared my ears to whisper secrets, “Jeni is in your class”, and he hushed.

            I didn’t reacted for his words, I just looked at him on the casual way I usually look. I think if he said this to someone else, they might have jumped in joy.

            “So?” I questioned.

            “I know it matters nothing to you, but to me”, he gave a pause and said, “Classes separated me from her, I will miss her”

            “Then?”

            “Okay, look, I just gave her friend request and she accepted it, I need to propose her one day and I need your help” he said.

            “Sorry”, I interrupted.

            “No more excuses my Brutus, you should for the sake of your friendship”

            I didn’t even considered his words, we walked on the grounds with a little discussion over the vacations. Suddenly Madhu eyes grew bigger, his words volume downed. “Here comes the angel on earth”, his words played again.

            “Who?” I asked.

            “She, it’s her, Jeni”, he said with an excitement.

            “Point to her, I need to see her today”, I said with a firm voice and searched her. Some movies I saw in vacation made me to think that all girls are not bad.  You may wonder how can one study in a co-ed without knowing any girls of his own class, there are some rare cases exists and I’m one among them.

            “There she standing to your right side with the blue American Tourister”, Madhu pointed without pointing to that direction.

            When I turned, there was no Blue American Tourister bag. I moved my eyes towards Madhu. He said they moved, I walked with a great speed and took the way she went by. Madhu lagged behind me, I reached, and I saw her, her bag and skin tone reminded her. She was the one who dashed me. I just turned and Madhu was on his way towards me, I wrinkled at him.

            “She is just a girl and not an angel”, I said with a casual voice.

            “Don’t be a dumbass”, he used some harsh words when I spoke about her. I had no words to reply further.

            “Look Nithu, you are a boy who smells stem and I am a boy who smell flowers”,

            What he meant? I had to think for a moment to recollect his content. Did he mentioned that I don’t have nose and he does. I think it is little confusing for you too don’t struck over his words, they were always an unsolved puzzles.

            “Speak to a girl, share your feeling with her”, his mouth spoke to tame my mind. What can a boy talk and what can he share with a girl?

            I broke his advices and asked him to go to his classes as it was already time. I ended up by saying, “I will talk to your Jeni” and I also stressed the word ‘Your’. He smiled and walked away. I asked myself ‘Why he is rage for that girl?’ I decided to talk to Jeni. I didn’t know her and its same with all girls too. Then my mind made some courage inside me to speak to her at any cost.

            I walked to my class, reached. To verify I looked up the class entrance, there was a board bearing “XI B2”. I walked into the class I saw some new faces of boys side and I turned to the girls side, every faces looked new to me. He sat at last before bench, it was him, Kathir. I hate him to the core and I don’t know what the reason was.

            I skipped that side and saw other new faces, and found a place unoccupied next to a butti glass wearing boy. One boy occupied that seat in minutes before I could reach that place. Boys sat on the right side of the class and the girls occupied the left side. Five rows in three columns, boys occupied the right most and other two column were seated by girls.

            Only the first bench of the boy’s column was free, I had no choices to sit. I placed my bag on the bench and sat there. I turned to the left side, as Madhu said the girls were great in number than the boys. I searched for Jeni in that crowd, I spot her on the 3^rd bench of the left most column, suddenly her bright skin pulled my eye to verify her, I again searched for her bag, luckily she kept her bag on the desk and it was American Tourister. I murmured, “There she is”.

            Always boys talk about Jeni’s beauty, this time my mind wish to make my eyes tricky. I used my inbuilt binoculars which every boy hides within him and use them when their girl was in view. I can see her clearly at a distance even she was at a 10 feet distance.

I looked into her eyes, but I failed to have eye contact. In seconds, I hate myself for looking over her. She is not my type, I said myself. It took milliseconds for my eyes to travel from her to other direction, at that mean time, she made a laugh. I can still see that, it was horrible. I got a question in my mind how guys are mad on her, later I answered myself Even Angels may have an evil inside.

I just put my head away and took a glance over the girls. I can’t look over a long time, I felt something uneasiness inside me. I don’t even know who were all new to school, who were all from the same school and who were all from my same class.

Teacher entered the classroom, she wore an orange saree with yellow flowers over it, and her hands were occupied by a stack of papers. She sat on the table by dropping that papers on the desk. The dropped papers made a sound which can be heard only by the students sitting on the first bench.

When she took a seat, a girl ran on the corridor, she was almost slipped at my class entrance but she managed to stand. She looked up the board exactly how I looked over for verifying the class.

“Excuse me Mam, Sorry for being late”, she said with a low pity tone, girls are great in asking excuses, anyone will excuse them at any situation. She also added, “I am new to the school and I got confused in finding the classroom”, while saying she held her left hand to adjust her bag.

Teacher just nodded, that sign made a sense of accepting the excuse. The new girl came in, she walked into the classroom and paused at middle. I didn’t know why she stopped. “Place for me?” she turned to the teacher and asked. Later I turned to the left side and found all places were and she got no choices like me. Teacher’s eyes moved over my bench and her fore finger pointed the place next to me.

WHAT THE HELL, I said myself.

The new girl smiled at teacher and turned to me, the smile faded away as she turned towards me. I slid over the bench to the other end along with my bag to give room for her. When I moved she smiled, then I realized she wasn’t scared of me.

“I’m Saranya Lakshmi, I am going to handle the Math for our class and in charge of class teacher also” and ended up by saying, “Interact with your friends and create a friendly environment”.

Oh No, I said myself. The class burst into noises of chats except my bench. I turned to left there sat the new girl, avoiding her I looked over Jeni. Our eyes caught each other’s, she put a smile on her face on seeing me. I froze at that moment and turned back to hide my excitement, it was the first smile a girl made for me. Every boy feels himself in a mid-air when a girl smiles at him. I found Kathir storing at me, I smell his jealousy over me as Jeni smiled.

I just turned to the new girl, she looked something new to me. I saw in a way that I haven’t seen a girl before. The black shining well tied hair matched her dark black pebble like earrings she wore. She was adorable, my eyes fixed to her, skin glowed like a glass shinning under sunlight. My eyes had a gentle movement over her face. The forehead was so gentle, like a broad river with little curves, her eyebrows were at a perfect shape and it looks like a, looks like a, sorry I didn’t get a word like Madhu but it was really good, glowing eyes looked like a swimming fish with eyelids resembling fins. The bend at the tip of the nose shows the art of the God in her, my eyes didn’t took a pause and a blink I looked over her pink lips, my mouth watered, I could see a Picasso’s drawing over them. On moving my eyes to her neck, my watery mouth controlled watering with a swallow.

She turned to me in a sudden, I got scared.

“What?” she asked.

“Binoculars”, I said with a hastened speech.

“Binoculars?”

How could a boy say to a girl that he was looking over her beauty?

“Zoomers”, I said.

“What are you zooming on?”

“I, I …” I struggled for words, while struggling my eyes will move in all directions in faith of finding a word in any direction. Jeni got in my sight and she helped me now.

“Jeni, its Jeni”, I managed.

“Excuse me?” she kept asking questions in a streak.

I held a breath for a moment and took a deep breath. Our conversation began here. “Look”, by saying I pointed my finger to Jeni without raising my hand, my finger was showing the direction and they stayed on the desk like sleeping over. The new girl found difficult to follow my actions but she finally found Jeni. She communicated with me that she saw Jeni with a nod.

“She is the angel of our School, her name is Jeni Sufi. Sorry I forgot her name, but it starts with Jeni” I spoke in fast words, my first thing to say to a girl.

“Angel? Jeni? Interesting”, she spoke with a confused manner. I asked her to calm down then she put her fingers on her lips and shook her head. My face created a smile without any senses on seeing her cute reaction.

I explained her about Jeni, How Jeni dashed me? How Madhu over explained about Jeni?

“Is Jeni a good girl?” she asked.

I don’t know about her in close so I just said, “Who knows?”

“Why are you playing with me?” she questioned by keeping her right hand under her chin.

“Why should I?” I requestioned her.

“You started up saying something binoculars and ended up in Jeni both are unrelated”, she made a justification.

“Clever”, I said. She reacted with a little smile and a raising eyebrows.

“Usually boys have binoculars to see girls”, I said with many pause and stress.

She interrupted, “Oh my God, kids of Evil. Show me those binoculars”.

“It is our natural gift, we got when we attain puberty, boys stuff”, I gently ended up.

She giggled.

“Okay. So you are zooming into Jeni right?”

“I tried”

“What you meant by tried?”

“I didn’t like to stare over her”, I said

“Is she unfair, ugly?” in a gap of saying the alternate words for bad, I stopped her with a single word NO.

“Then you like her?” she said with a charm. I felt she is teasing me and I liked it.

“May be”, I said in a funny way.

“Let’s do a thing”, she said and took a notebook from her bag. She took my bag which was between us and kept aside and moved near me. I felt little Shy “What thing?”

“FLAMES”, she said. I followed with multiple NO’s and pleases. She laughed a little and kept the notebook aside. Finally, I could talk to a girl and make her smile.

“Where do you studied before?” I started a gentle conversation.

“Chennai”, she replied.

“I live here and study here from my kinder garden, need any help ask me”, I offered my open helping tendency to her.

“Thank you”, she said I accepted her thank.

Now the conversation came to an end, I wished to talk to her but I didn’t get any point to speak up. I thought for a point to begin convo, she helped me by opening her mouth.

“When will you propose to your angel?”

“What?” I confused, my mind started to collapse. How could I propose at first sight? I didn’t even knew her name.

“To Jeni”, she added, then I realized that she was talking about Jeni. “I never wish to”, I just replied in short.

“Why? She is attractive right?”

“Please don’t tease me further, I don’t like her in that way”, I said with stresses at in that way.

“Relax”

I nodded. I spoke with a hesitation and she found out that, “Be free with me, I am your friend”, her words followed along with a wrinkle at her eyes. I smiled.

“What’s your name?” I asked.

“Aww. You finally asked my name”, she said and gave a pause, and I put a smile to fill that pause.

“Ellina”

“Nice name”

“Yes its depends on the bearer”

 Both laughed. “Myself Nithish”, I said volunteering on my own.

“I knew”, she said.

I stared at her and asked her how? She said that I had just spelt out. She laughed. I know it was an old joke but I have to laugh for the sake of Ellina. We chatted for a long time about recent movies, exam result experiences and favorites. I shared many with her, I thought she is sweet.

It was the first day of the school, so we are allowed to go home at afternoon. It was the only thing I liked in my school. The time was nearing the end of classes. She just bent over the desk and tilted her head by resting the hand below looking towards me. She said something in a husky voice, I didn’t heard it clearly, to hear properly I too followed her same gesture.

“What are you going to talk?” she again hushed.

“We are talking”, I said in a volume little higher than hers.

“I meant to Jeni, What you gonna speak to her?”

“No I don’t have any idea now”, I said as I forgot about Jeni after I met with Ellina.

“I will help you out”, she said following her ending words, bell rung. Everyone stood from their place, we too. Teacher moved out of the class. Jeni walked silently across me with her bag hanging on one shoulders and head looking the footsteps of the girls walking in front of her.

“Call her”, she said, the only thing she didn’t did was pushing me in front of her.

“No Ellina”, I said with a gasp. Ellina stared at me in a funny manner, it gave a boost for me to speak my words to Jeni. I tried to call Jeni but I can’t, “Hey”, I shouted, except her every others turned towards me.

I repeated with additional words, “Hey, Blue American Tourister Bag”, Jeni saw her bag and other’s bag too for cross checking. She turned towards me and walked to me.

Ellina moved from that place calmly like a one who doesn’t even know what was happening there. “What?” Jeni asked me.

“That is I want to”, I struggled with words.

Ellina pushed Jeni from back to me. Jeni got slipped stopped and fell towards me, I held her by grabbing her shoulders before her face falls over mine.

“TIT for TAT”, Ellina shouted and ran away.

“I am sorry”, I repeated to Jeni twice and added. “I told her that you pushed me on the corridor and I don’t even know she’ll be pushing you”.

“It’s okay, she looks naughty”, Jeni said with a smile and added a sorry too. I came out of the class with a fast pumping heart. Ellinna jumped in fornt of me and shouted BOOM. I didn’t responded.

“Are you mad at me?”

I didn’t opened my mouth, “You told that you can’t to Jeni, now you did, if you are mad with me then you can be”, she keep on talking by walking along me on side. I didn’t responded but my heart wish to speak with her.

“Should I ask sorry to you, Sorr”, she started to pronounce Sorry. I put my hand over her mouth to make her stop pronouncing Sorry. After I kept my hand, I realized my hand over her mouth. I found her eyes felt a disturbance.

“It’s okay, no need for sorry”, I said and rubbed my wet hand over her rough black bag. She said. “Chi!”

“It’s yours”, I said after wiping, inside me didn’t want me to wipe them off. “Is it?” by saying she moved her bag away from me.  “Yep”, I said with a laugh and she followed me with little laugh.

As we walked on our way, a voice shouted, “JENI” Ellina turned back and searched where the voice came from and I too turned back. “None”, she said and walked after looking me with a staring look. A girl ran towards us from back and held a hand over Ellina’s shoulders and said, “I have been shouting ‘Jeni’..” Ellina interrupted by pinching her hand. That girl yelled in a low tune and broke her speech.

Jeni took her from that place and told me that the girl was teasing me for dashing over Jeni and asked me to move. I walked with a little confusion, Ellina was a new student how could she got new friends? How could that girl that girl know me had a dash with Jeni? How small the world is I said myself with an action of rubbing my hairs. I went near the main gate.

“Nithu”

I heard that voice and recognized it was from Madhu without seeing him. I threw a hand over his shoulders.

“Saw Jeni?”

I nodded and said, “I spoke with her”

“It’s not a reward, she speaks to whomever she knows but in a limit”, he said with a tap at my back.

“I got a new friend”, I said him.

“His name?” he asked

“It is not his, her”

“Really? Her name?” he asked with a shock on hearing the term Her.

“Ellina”

“I don’t know her”

“She is new, I will introduce to her”

“Show me now”, he asked with an excitement. Finally I got her, “There she is”, I said with a pointing finger. A slap fell on my cheeks by Madhu.

“She is Jeni, Jeni Sugaina”, he said with storming words. I got a biggest confusion now. She moved inside a car and the car moved. She waved her hand to me and I showed in return with a freaking look. Suddenly a huge hand pushed me from back. It was Kathir.

“How dare you to sit next to Jeni?” he asked with a voice of anger. I just stared at him. “She sat and not me”, I said. My anger cannot be seen by the outsiders and I never wish to show off my anger. Kathir friends made him to move from that place.

“Are you okay?” Madhu came to help me out. Madhu was a boy full of fears, he never involve in any matters. “Is that Jeni?” I asked him again with a cleared mind. He nodded. He didn’t spoke anything to me then.

She played with me, am I toy to her? She cheated me even with a name? Why should she lie to me? My first talk with a girl was fake. All girls are same. I liked her when she smiled, when she made me laugh and I hated her when I knew she lied me. The first day of school made a best memory ever in my life. I took my bicycle and drove to my home.

For Next Chapter: The Party Invitation