Chapter 6

The room was pin dropped silence as all the students stood circled the desk of the teacher while she performed an experiment showing hydrostatic pressure. I watched intently to understand the process but then my eyes fell on Veronica. She stood there looking at the experiment seeming apathetic. I looked back at what the teacher was teaching but then back at her to find her yawning.

A smile cracked up on my face looking at her face and all of a sudden I felt a throbbing pain on the side of my stomach and I looked at my side to find Jung looking at me with narrowed eyes as he had elbowed me previously, wanting to know about my smile. I cleared my throat and shook my head before looking back at the experiment. Even though the teacher made us understand about hydrostatic pressure simply using a bowl filled of water, an empty glass and a note card still my brain drifted off to various reasons where the hydrostatic pressure could be used to gain tremendous results.

The teacher asked some questions and some of the students answered it while I took out my notebook and noted down about my ideas where I could use the hydrostatic pressure for an experiment.

"Alright class, back to your seats," the teacher told everyone and we walked back to our seats.

I looked to my left to find Veronica sitting in her usual window side seat and looking out towards the school's field. It's been two months since she showed up and it's been two months since I have witnessed her doing weird things both in day and also in night. She has taken my sleeps away as I wait every single damn day at two in the midnight to find her walking around with her earphones on. I would go down, pass the sleepy guard and follow her until she reaches back to her hostel. It has become a habit now; to which am really annoyed.

Sometimes I wondered why the guards don't show up at night seeing her in the CCTV camera. Once, I thought that the CCTV camera was not working and it was why they were not showing up. So, I did something to check. I went right under the camera and fell down. Obviously, I was acting but I fell down on the middle of the road and closed my eyes shut. Within five minutes, I heard two guards running up from the surveillance room for me and I carried to the doctor's room where he told them I passed out because of stress.

What stress? I was just acting!

But then the camera seemed to be fine and I was even more confused to what was going on. She took my notes and even asked me about some doubts she had and apart from that she didn't really talk to me that much and I saw she wasn't really the type to get involved with anyone. She ate her food alone, sat alone, spent her time alone and was always solitary.

"Do you like that girl?" I heard Jung whispering to me and I looked at him gritting my teeth in annoyance "What do you mean?" He had a goofy expression plastered on his face as he smirked at me and looked past towards Veronica. "You seemed to be always staring at her. What else do you think I will understand from that?" he wiggled his eyebrows that made me scowl at him. "Don't be stupid. There's nothing like that!" I said and took out my notebook.

Why would I like her?

I am just curious and confused. It's not as if I like her or something.

"Hey Nerd!"

I stopped in my tracks and closed my locker shut as I groaned inwardly as I heard that annoying voice. Chelsea Kinsley, the school's female bully and Elliot's girlfriend who has also made her target to disturb and bully me every now and then came forward as I heard her right behind me. Sighing, I clutched my books tight and turned around. Why in the world everyone is just so taller than me?

I had just turned fifteen this January, yet it seemed as if I was the only guy in the whole school who was left behind when it came to growing up. Even the girls in the school were taller than me. I was only 5′3" or 5′4" in height while they grew up like animals does in three to four months. No offence.

"What you want Chelsea?" I asked as I felt my throat drying up as I looked up at her smirk and eyes twinkling with mischievous glint. She was up to something and I knew I wouldn't like it at all. Just one year left to go, Ace. Hold it to yourself!

"Nothing nerdy boy. I just came by say hello. I haven't seen you around since a long time," she chuckled and I gave a forced smile and thought of leaving.

"Well, I have classes to attend. I got-" as I took a side step to walk past her she brought her hand out from behind her back that I has failed to notice and she threw some juice right over my face which caught me off guard. Splash!

As my mind processed what happened I wiped my glasses and found the juice all over me and it was tomato juice. She ruined my clothes and even my books. Some students around me gasped while some laughed like hyenas looking at my condition. I was completely soaked with the tomato juice that I had no idea from where she got it and I looked at my books. While people laughed at me, I wiped my books using my handkerchief and didn't even bother to ask why she did that. Obviously for fun!

I could hear Elliot's voice from far away; laughing his ass off and I looked back at Chelsea who laughed clapping her hands, chewing a gum in ecstacy.

I thought of leaving and as I took a step forward, my foot slipped because of the juice on the tile and I lost my balance and pushed Chelsea off and fell down faceplant, breaking my glasses. It may have seemed like a great and funny sight for the people around because they erupted in laughter and laughed even more. Groaning, I tried to get up and got rid of my glasses only to find it broken. I couldn't really see without my glasses. Everything was blurry, but still I searched for my book and picked up the broken glasses and got off.

Chelsea was alright. She didn't tumble over but balanced herself at the last moment. But she laughed at my condition and hearing everyone around me; I felt embarrassment but chose to shrug it off like always. I have been through worse. And I took it as a challenge to test my own patience level. Yet, I felt dejected by the fact that even some students around us were supporting their acts in place of complaining against them.

"Oops," I heard Chelsea and looked at her to find her hands on her mouth, as she tried her best not to laugh but put her hands before me. And as she looked at my hair, I touched my hair only to feel something sticky on my hair and I knew it was that damn chewing gum she was chewing a few seconds ago, has made its way over my hair.

I didn't even try to pull it out because I knew it was of no use. So, I carried my things and walked out of there but as I walked towards the hallway, I saw Veronica in the corner intently looking at me. So she saw everything.

I walked out of there avoiding eye contact with her and towards the washroom. Inside, I kept my books on the basin counter and looked at my condition in the mirror. My glasses were broken, my shirt was drenched and had stains of red tomato, my hair was a complete mess and the damn chewing gum was right on the middle of my head, stuck with major part of my hair. Even though I felt like crying, I refused to cry and opened the faucet letting the water flow through and I splashed the water on my face as I leaned over the basin counter, keeping my hands on either side on it and looked at myself in the mirror.

"Just a year more," I mumbled to myself.