Chapter 11

That morning, I was fretful when I reached art class. The feeling of unease never left me since I spoke to Nia. I took my regular seat in the class already lost in my thoughts.

It must've been an awkward situation for him if he fled right away from the situation. How am I going to face him? How will he react to me? Most importantly, why am I thinking so much about this? As Nia said, it wasn't a big thing. Then, why am I bothered? Is it because of my growing feelings for him? If so, does that mean he has feelings for me if he reacts?

I was pulled back from my thoughts when someone shook my arm. I looked beside me and found Annie and Sanjay waiting for my reply.

"What?" I asked, confused.

"I asked, how was your weekend?" Annie asked me.

"It's a mess," I muttered myself.

"Aren't you feeling well?" Sanjay asked me with concern.

"Yes..., no.., I mean, I'm fine," I replied. They didn't believe it as they were looking at me concernedly. Annie was about to question further when the teacher walked into the class. We got settled, and soon, the lecture started.

Thankfully, it was a theoretical class and not a practical one. I tried to focus on the lecture, but I couldn't. My mind went back to his thoughts.

Suddenly, the teacher called my name in the middle of the lecture. I looked at him, "Siya, are you alright?" he asked. He must've noticed my dull mood as he continued, "If not, you can leave right now."

God! Another embarrassing moment. Why!

"No, sir. I'm fine. Thank you," I replied with a small smile. He nodded and went back to teaching.

I pulled myself and focused on the rest of the lecture. As the class finished, Annie and Sanjay stared at me as if they were ready to pounce on me with their questions. I acted calm as I packed my bag. "What happened?" Annie asked worriedly. I didn't say anything as I started walking out of the class with them trailing behind.

I hoped they wouldn't question me anymore, but luck wasn't on my side. "I know something is bothering you. we can read it on your face," Sanjay said.

I stopped in my tracks. "Yeah. Even the teacher noticed that you weren't yourself." Annie added. I took a few moments to calm myself and replied, "I am fine guys. Don't worry about me. It's just that I was starving since I didn't have breakfast." I hope they believed me because I didn't want to talk about it.

"Oh. Alright. Let's have lunch together." Sanjay said. We agreed and left the class for a good restaurant.

We talked about other things during lunch. Sanjay told us that he started to learn cooking from his chef at home for a long time. He wants to become a chef and open a restaurant of his own, but his father is against him and wants him to study engineering.

Since Sanjay's interested in cooking, he made us play the game of guessing the ingredients while tasting food. I got most of them right, and he appreciated my knowledge of the food. Annie even teased me about my love for food due to which I won. We all had a great time, and I even briefly forgot about my worries.

We left the restaurant and were about to part ways when Sanjay reminded us that the admission list is posted on the college website by evening and to check it. We thanked him and bade goodbye.

We were walking peacefully for a while when Annie spoke, "Aren't you going to tell me what happened?" She wasn't going to leave me till I told her everything, so I did. By the time I finished, she was laughing hysterically. "It's funny and romantic." She paused to control her laugh, "Honestly, you enjoyed it, right?" She asked me eagerly.

I thought about it and shrugged, "How would I know since I was unconscious?" But, thinking about that incident makes me laugh now, maybe because I shared it with Annie, and that made me feel relieved.

"Agreed," she said.

We continued walking while discussing how to handle the situation. She advised me to act normal and be myself. There was nothing to make it a big deal. She also told me not to avoid him since it could make things worse.