X fell in love with Y the very first time he saw her...
The day began just like any other normal day at school. It was his first day in Third Grade and X reached his new classroom well before time. Peeping inside, he saw some other kids present, catching up with one another after the long summer break. As usual none of them paid him any heed as he entered. It didn’t bother him - he didn’t particularly care for any of them either. The kids preferred to leave him alone and he was absolutely content with it. Interacting with the dim-wits was a rather tedious activity for him anyway. X had always been a great deal smarter than other kids his age. He possessed an unusually analytical mind that made him a bit too intelligent for his age, and the problem was – he knew it! No surprise that he wasn’t too popular among his classmates.
X walked to his usual place and promptly settled down on the obviously empty first bench.
Geek! – thought the other kids.
Fools! – thought back X.
By the time the first bell rang, most of the kids had arrived and taken their places. That was when he saw her for the first time. She stood at the doorway, checking the sign at the door to make sure it was the right classroom. Seeing her, as she walked in, X experienced something like never before. All of a sudden, there was this knot in his stomach as he looked upon her and he was left gasping for breath in awe of her beauty. He suffered over a hundred other cliches that one is subjected to when one falls in love. He couldn’t help following her every move with his eyes as she came closer, mumbling something about being late on her first day. By the time he could recover from his trance, he was dimly aware that she was smiling and saying “Good Morning!” He opened his mouth to reply but his voice simply stuck in his throat and it was suddenly impossible to utter words. She gave him a look, which he interpreted as a mild scorn, before she moved on. “Great!”, he thought, “its been hardly three seconds and she hates me already!”
On his way home in the school-bus, X thought about her all the way. He had realized that she was not only breathtakingly beautiful, but also very smart - just like him. May be, even smarter than him! He was sure by now that he was in love. It had taken him not more than 5 minutes to arrive to that conclusion, after evaluating his reactions and associating his behaviour with the romantics he had seen in movies or read about in books. Now that it was established that he was one of them, he had no idea what to do next! He needed some advice about the matter, so he decided to discuss it out with the only friend he had...
“Dad! I need to speak to you about something. And its something very important!” X said to his Dad (who served as his friend at times of need) as soon as he reached home.
His father looked up from the newspaper and inquired, “Hello, son! What is it?”
Something very important probably meant this was another attempt for making him buy the Playstation.
“You see, there’s this big problem...” continued X.
Here it comes...
“...about love!”
Momentarily, his father was taken aback by this, but he soon recovered.
Of Course...Emotional blackmail...
“Oh! I get it! Yes, son! I do love you, you know that! But it still doesn’t mean I’m buying you that Playstation...”
“Dad!!! Its not about that! I’m serious!”
Its not! Wow! This really must be serious!
“Oh! Then go on, son!”
“Do you think it is normal, at my age, to fall in love?”
“Ha ha! Does this mean Einstien actually likes someone other than himself now...”
“Umm...sarcasm duly noted Dad! But that doesn’t answer my question.”, said X with a hint of impatience.
His father smiled and said, “Normal? Well, to be honest I’d say no! But then there is nothing normal about you, is there?” Then noticing that the impatience was increasing to a possibly critical level, he continued more seriously, “It doesn’t matter how normal it is, son! If you are in love, there is nothing wrong in it, irrespective of age. You see, love is ageless...”
“Thanks, Dad! I’m glad you said that. Its precisely what I was hoping to hear. I was a bit bothered at first... It felt weird somehow... But this is such a relief. So what do I do next?”
“You go talk to her of course... You have to give her a chance to know you and like you back.”
“And how do I know what to say to her?”
“That's what YOU have to figure out, son. Love is never easy...”
“Yeah...It sure isnt...”
“So do I get to know who the lucky girl is....”, started his father, but X was already half way up to his room.
For a guy who had the tendency to solve any problem coming his way in less than 5 minutes, it was rather depressing that in two days, he still couldn’t figure out what he was going to say to the love of his life. Moreover, when he was finally ready with it, it took him two more days just to gather up the courage to go and spill his guts out to her. So after four days of fretting, when his class was over, he made up his resolve and followed her as she left the classroom with other students. He went up to her and mustering all his strength blurted out, ‘Hi! I’m X....’
It was when she walked on without acknowledging his call that he realised that though his mouth had moved, he hadn’t managed to get any syllables out. He tried to make another valiant attempt, but his voice betrayed him. Some of the kids around him started sniggering, but he ignored them. He was appalled by the fact that a mere mental emotion could exert such precedence over routine and regular actions, somehow managing to physically jam his larynx, rendering him incapable of speech in her presence. He felt completely defeated – an altogether new feeling for him and it made him curse himself. And her too...
Oh! How I hate her... For making me love her so much!
The next day started off no better. He sat hopelessly at his desk, a lost cause, egging himself on and attempting all kinds of self-encouragement.
Come on! I can do this!!!
“Argh! Now I have started talking to myself!”, he cursed! If nothing else, it was the thought that he was rapidly turning into one of the idiots whom he so despised, which gave him the final thrust of much needed motivation. Today he would end this...
While he waited for the class to get over, time slowed down by epic proportions, even as his heartbeats catapulted to a frenzied pace. At long last, the bell rang, sounding just like the death-knell. It was time...
When the teacher wrapped up the class, cleaned the board, gathered all her books and taking her purse was about to leave the classroom, she heard X say...
“Miss Y! Hi! I’m X... If you could spare some time, there is something important I would like to talk to you about....”
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