Chapter II: “Let’s Be Friends”

I could barely sleep that night. I kept asking myself, “What will I tell when I meet with him tomorrow? I accept him? Let’s continue being friends? What will he think? Will he be upset?” questions kept popping up like weeds in the garden. I didn’t know what it is like to be in relationship? It will be the first time in thirteen years of my school and college life. I kept wondering how girls and boys get easily into thing so called relationship. What’s more special about being in relationship than being friends? I assumed that the most special thing about relationship is we stop insulting each other unlike friends. Boys and girls start to call ‘Baby, Darling, Queen, King, Juliet, Romeo and so many other names’. The more interesting thing about relationship between girls and boys in school I could remember was, they get an opportunity to sit with principal in his office. The next day, they will be broken and they become complete strangers.

Then a thought about kiss appeared on my head. “Ugh! Kiss? No No!”, I thought. I saw lovers kissing in movies. And I wonder if they ever brush their teeth everytime when they kiss. Do they carry brush and toothpaste in their pockets? I giggled myself under my blankets. If I laugh so loud, my roommates would think that I am mad. It was around 2 am in the morning when I looked at my wrist watch. Undecided, I fell asleep.

The next day, we were in the same class. Although he sits at one of the corners of classroom, he changed his seat letting my desk partner to sit on his chair. My desk partner agreed. She was smiling as well. He was there! Sitting just beside me! Sharing the desk with me. But for the whole day, we didn’t talk anything about relationship. He was on the mission to seek answers for the questions he asked me the previous day. He just finished the whole day looking on my face. Are answers written on my face? Or he knew that my mouth was on my face? It is where all answers come from after decision is made in the brain consisting of panel of judges.

The lecturer left, the class got over and students started to disperse. I stood up but he held me down by my hands. Submissively, I sat back on my chair. “Make sure you lock the classroom after you are done huh!” The Class Representative ordered him. “Sure CR!” was his answer.

As soon as Class Representative left the door, he turned towards me, “Lekyuen, what answers have you got to tell me? For the whole day, I was expecting an answer but answers didn’t come. I believe, you have decided it all inside.” “I am sorry. Let’s continue being friends. I feel that’s better”.

He was so disappointed in himself. His face blushed. The man who looked like a lion was defeated by the answer. He went speechless. The classroom was empty. He was empty! I kept looking on his face like he did on me for the whole day. But he could not look back on my face. He bent his head and keep tapping the desk with his forefinger. He was shy and he felt rejected but he didn’t give up. He didn’t run. He kept on standing as the sound of tapping echoed from the walls of classroom.

Then I started to tap my forefinger on the table so that he could look on my face. He did and he was surprised too.

“Tashi, thank you for loving me. I was lucky to have a friend like you. It’s so easy to say yes to a person like you”, I told him as I blushed myself.

“What do you mean Lekyuen? Does it mean you love me too?” he asked me immediately. I smiled but I said nothing. I just nodded in agreement. The big smile returned on his face. Blushes on his face were disappearing like the sun that disappears behind the mountain. Then, there were smiles, showing up like the moon that shows up at night.