Chapter 2

It was bliss. To feel the wind running swiftly by my face and running its hands in my hair curling them up and combing them out.... well not really but it certainly feels like it.

It took me a while to realize that I was mad...raging mad at Carter. I cleared my throat out the way people do when they want to get attention but doing it on a bike probably didn't make the same impact.

this is it... stand up for yourself Maanya... just... blurt it out.

'Hey' I shot at him with my most serious voice

'Hey. I don't think making chit-chat is the right thing to do right now bedhead, you know? we're late for our first day.'

'Yeah'

dang it! but he's right... as much as I hate it... stopwatch was right.

For the next fifteen minutes, I was humming a lullaby that my mother used to sing to me at night. It always calmed me down. And as much as I loved watching my dream come true... I still felt homesick.

I thought I heard Carter say something... but then again maybe it was just the wind.

Somehow... we managed to arrive on time. And when I say on time, I mean a little early. Odd how I didn't notice the speed we were riding at or the distance we had covered. He was starting to grow on me but that doesn't mean he gets to walk off.

'I said you have a good voice' He said as he parked his bike

'Yeah, thanks...why did you do that?' I asked hoping he would get where I'm getting at.

'Do what? give you a lift? 'cause chivalry's not dead' he said winking at me

'I'll be the judge of that. And I wasn't talking about the lift! I mean... why did you get so close to me back at the B&B. And then walked off as if nothing happened. Can't say about chivalry but decency is definitely dead!'

***

Carter's POV

'What?' I blurted 'That... was nothing... I was trying to get the keys and you were in the way!'

'So you couldn't have asked me to shift? My feet weren't glued to the floor, you know?'

I could sense that this was clearly a sensitive topic. It's true that it wasn't nothing... I liked it. But I never thought it will hurt her. She was infuriated, her cheeks were red and her eyes were welling up! I did NOT expect it to turn out this way.

'I think it's a culture thing... you know? I promise you I wasn't trying to do anything wrong. It- just forgive me please?'

****

Maanya's POV

I could see his apology was genuine. His lips curled and his shoulders hunched. He was looking at me with those dark piercing green eyes filled with regret... for something that was probably normal for him

'Like how people have an almost kiss in movies... you know? the practical jokes? Except instead of a kiss this was somewhat a hug and that too with no emotions' I tried to relate

'Yeah, something like that.' He said it with his smirk back on.

He looked... sweet. Like a child... already planning something new. We walked towards the campus together, both smiling like retards.

'And for the record? Chivalry's not dead' I said craning my neck up to meet his eyes.

'I know' He said matter-of-factly with his hands in his hair.

***

The campus was BREATHTAKING! I always knew that Callington University had vast grounds but I love how they had turned it into a forest. The walls were as old as the university's first brick and the football field was the biggest I had ever seen. There were little glass domes for studying outside as the founder's believed that weather influenced learning a lot.

'They say that each graduate plants a new plant in the forest and when one of them dies they use the tree for the campus by using it for the uni. firewoods for the bonfire, and the furniture and the-' Carter started

'I get it, we read the same article'

'Then why'd you let me speak'

'It's fun when you get to see a closet nerd' I said nudging his shoulder

'Haha. Can we mark ourselves present? We have only one and a half minutes left' He announced while grabbing my arm to drag me to the counter

'Uhh... your hand' I said reminding him of our most recent conversation

'Right! Sorry,' He lowered down his hand. But I wanted it back. His grip was firm but not too strong. It... made me feel safe. In a country that I barely knew, I felt safe... because of him.

***

'Hello, miss! May we please know our room allotments?'

The receptionist looked at us from behind a bundle of papers. Actually... looking would be putting it mildly, she was glaring at me and... staring at Carter.

You gotta admit... the boy does have the looks to kill

'Hello!' She said gleamingly, her eyes fixated on the boy behind me.

'Hi' Carter said in his nonchalant dude voice, 'Uhh... I hate to be rude but we asked for our room allotments and you still haven't given them'

'Yes, of course' Yowza... this woman smiled so much, I honestly wonder why she isn't in a toothpaste commercial.

She pulled down her carefully ironed blouse and started typing on the screen

'You two are here on?'

'On? what does that mean?' Carter enquired

'Scholarship, quota... money'

'Scholarship!' I almost knocked over her coffee with my excitement but getting a scholarship isn't something you keep under the covers

'Sports' Carter said as he cleared his throat and gave me an impressed look.

'Scholarship and quota live in the same building. Names?' This woman was all business now... but I had a feeling she wasn't gonna stay that way for much longer.

'Maanya Mal and Carter Evans' I answered.

'Ok' she said as she started typing again

'You gonna answer for me now, bedhead?' Carter asked looking at me right in the eye.

I couldn't help but think how the green in his eyes resemble the forest with its brown flecks and their deepness. One could get lost in them.

Stop checking him out and answer the godamn question!

'Uhh... god knows how many times you've helped me, I was just trying to return the favor. You can't blame me for doing something nice'

'Yes, I can but I won't. But help me when I need it. My name is the only thing I have left of my parents', I don't need help with it.'

For the first time, I realized that he is as vulnerable as he is helpful. But what about his parents?

'Your pa-'

'201 A and 201 B.' The smiling psycho cut me and said 'According to the rules you will be paired with each other. That is your roommate and you will choose a student from the next room and do your first semester projects together.'

This is...interesting

'What about next semester?'

'You may switch... if you wish'

Carter gave me a questioning look as if to say "just ask the most obvious question".

'This is how you help me' he told me, his voice low.

I had to ask it. More for Carter than from me. But... I still had to ask it

'Boys and girls living next to each other. This wasn't in th-'

'Official site?' This woman was pissing me off. 'Our founders wanted to see how students deal with a real-life situation. If you are too uncomfortable, you can talk to the dean but there is no guarantee that you will have your seat secured in the uni then'

'No, not uncomfortable at all! Just wanted to quench my curiosity' I said in my best cheerful mode. Hopefully, she bought it.

'Any questions, you can ask me' She said looking straight at Carter. 'Ask around for Cacy, someone will definitely know where I am' She continued her sentence and followed it with the toothpaste commercial smile as we walked away from the evil woman.

***

'Carter!' I stopped him by holding his arm. I could feel his biceps underneath.

'That's okay?' He asked signaling to where my hand was

'I'm comfortable with you now so yeah... platonic moves such as this, are fine' I said lowering my hand down.

'Good to know. What were you gonna ask?'

'Your parents... are they...?'

'...dead? Yeah. A while ago ' his voice was raw as he ended his sentence and his eyes were looking everywhere but me. I felt... jealous? but of what? the campus walls? or the pretty girls?

'I'm sorry Carter... How-'

'Let's not get into the how and when of that'

'Right' I said while I was itching to hug him like Sherlock Holmes does when he wants to tell them that it was a murder.

We walked in awkward silence till we took a turn to an almost empty corridor. The tension in the air could be cut with a knife. The same knife I wanted to kill myself with for ever bringing this topic up. The hurt on his face was clear as sunlight and I was the reason for it.

I heard him take a deep breath in, with which his smirk- the I have dimples but only if you look too closely smirk- spread across his face like a rose in the garden- beautiful and perfectly put.

Shit! don't fall for him Maanya. Remember your values. Remember your priorities.

'So..... scholarship huh? Who's the nerd now?' He said in a voice very much similar to a circus clown's

There was no answer to this. No comeback. So I just stared at him until the urge to slap his smirk out of his face didn't leave me.

'I guess it's good then considering we will be study buddies' He sung out the last part as he bent to look me straight in the eyes as if to emphasize that I was the one losing here.

I was. But this time I had a comeback

'Who said I'll choose you to be my partner, I might choose your roommate. Maybe he won't come with a busload of annoying' I said as I crossed my arms and rolled my eyes

We were climbing the stairs now. Me walking ahead and vaguely aware of his eyes on me.

'You didn't say that... I'll give you that. But I'm the only one who you feel safe around' he stated without any wavering of tone, confident as always but also a little... proud?

How could he possibly know that? Is he also secretly a mentalist or something?

'How did you know that? It's practically impossible for you to-'

'Ah-ha! So you DO feel safe with me'

'Yes, but how did you-'

'I didn't!' He said as we reached our rooms, 'I just... threw a shot in the dark' he said with his hands up in surrender position

'Even if it's true, it doesn't give you the right to-'

'Calm down, bedhead. It's human to rely on the first person you meet in a foreign place... and I like having you around' He said as he winked and entered his room, closing the door shut behind him.

He sounded so genuine and... did he just say "He likes having me around".

Hmmm... still, don't fall for him Maanya

And with a grin wide enough to give Cacy beat I entered my new abode.

'Hi! I'm Sophie! You must be Maanya'