Dirtscapes

He walked with a definite spring in his step. A song on his lips and a general feeling of air-headedness that came with the most divine feeling he had known. Love. He knew that he was in love, and that it was something which was helping him ignore a lot of stuff in his life. A very healthy source of fixation indeed.

He smiled as he thought of Her. Time suddenly stood still. A classic beauty if there ever was one... the eyes, the ruby lips, the intellect. The way she carried herself, the voice, that tinkling laugh which reached her eyes and the glares she’d give him when he ribbed her. She's the one, he knew it. He didn't know how or when or where he was going to let her know, all that he knew was that was going to end up with her.

It had been pretty much the clichéd love at first sight thing. That stupid rush which he got which left him almost breathless each time he saw her was a good indication alright. As he got talking with her and knowing her better, each conversation was dissected for ‘hints’. He sure knew she was dropping them his way. Only for him. And it was a joke on the entire world. They didn’t know. Suckers!

He wanted to share his feelings with somebody. He was in love! But no one really would have understood. Even worse, if they went ahead and told her ahead of time, there was no telling what her reaction would be like. He wanted the timing to be just right. This was too special to rush. He was getting a vibe from her, and he just wanted to make the whole progression inevitable. For her as well as himself.

But it was getting to be too difficult to do it alone. He wanted to have a sounding board. Someone to validate what he was feeling, and someone to bounce his ideas off to see whether what he was getting into was sensible. So after a lot of deliberation, one evening, he finally confided in a friend on the way home. The friend slapped his back, and let out a war whoop.

“You serious?!”

“Yes I am… she’s all that I think of nowadays.”

“Goddamn. I should have guessed. Now that you’ve told me, the way you look at her should have been clue enough.”

He blushed.

“You think we’d make a good pair?”

“Of course! No question about it. She’d be perfect for you. Congrats!”

“Too early for congratulations, don’t you think?”

“It is never too early. Nor is it ever too late.”

“Hmm. But don’t mention this to anyone right now… please… I do not want to rush things…”

“Relax man. I won’t tell.”

He was broken out of his little daydream by the sight of her, surrounded by four of her close friends. She was weeping. He felt a ghastly chill start from the pit of his stomach, and it began to wisp up and engulf his heart.

She saw him, and screamed at him.

“Idiot!!!!”

Her friends shot him accusing, scum-of-the-earth stares. He was puzzled. What had he done?!

It suddenly hit him like a body blow. That sneaky bastard. Had he told her?! There was no other explanation. She’d never call him that otherwise.

He walked past her, and he saw the other guys now. Laughing. Jeering. Some came right up to him and laughed in his face. Some tried to stifle their smiles, trying to do the polite thing. But they were all laughing. He felt sweat on his brow, and his ears were flaming hot. His heart was threatening to skid out of his rib cage. A couple of friends came up to him, and patted his back.

“Relax… she’s just upset. She’ll get over it.”

“Just a matter of time… don’t worry.”

He swallowed. He was grateful for some support. He couldn’t really understand why people were laughing at him, and why he was getting stared down upon. What had he done wrong? And what fucking business did anybody else have with his feelings?

The teacher walked into the fifth standard classroom a little bewildered. The kids were very restless today indeed. She screamed hard.

“Silence!!!!!!”

The class quietened down.

“Why are you all making so much noise?!!”

One boy piped up.

“Teacher, He said ‘I Love You’ to her!”

The teacher smiled.

“Let’s just hope he marries her someday. OK now… open your English textbooks. Page number seventeen.”