MY LIFE (Part 7-page 9) (Page 6)

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Part 5

I breathed a sigh of relief.....Welll........It had not been that hard......

But the butterflies hovering nervously in my stomach seemed to suggest otherwise.......I studiously ignored the queasy feeling in the pit of my stomach, and proceeded to face the comments..........

Surprisingly, most people loved it.........

Ramona clutched my arm in a vice grip with her yellow painted talons and said, "Awesome brilliant!"

That was enough for me. Ramona rarely praised anyone, and she was honest in her reviews. If she had liked it, well, then, that, in itself was worth the butterflies.

I smiled at her, and said with genuine warmth, "Thanks Ramona.........."

After the avalanche of observations, some filled with true affection and honesty, others amiable and a few surprisingly snide, I made my way towards the water cooler.

I lifted a plastic cup and filled it to the brim with cool, crystal water. A took a deep sip, and felt relaxed instantly........

Then I turned around, finally at peace....... For the first time, I saw someone; I did not recognize........I knew every one of my classmates, their full name, siblings if any, and the professions of their parents, if not names........

Hey! I was the head prefect! And knowing such sort of things helps, it gives just the right amount of personal touch.....

The one person I did not recognize was standing in the middle of the room, surrounded by a excited girls, who were needless to say, flirting with him.........

Looking around I noticed Imran and Abhimanyu standing near a window, chatting......The glass of water still in my hand, I sauntered towards them............

"Hey! Nice song! You wrote it?" Imran said, noticing my presence.........

I smiled at him, nodding....... The talk drifted off to the choice of colleges and subjects.........After a few moments, Abhimanyu asked Imran, "Have you seen Aaryan anywhere?"

I asked him, curious, "Who is Aaryan?"

Abhimanyu smirked as he noticed the elusive Aaryan......He pointed out the tall lanky guy..........

Who was precisely the guy standing in the middle of the room, with a hoard of girls surrounding him......

"Wow! Elusive Aaryan surrounded by gaggle of giggling girls!" I exclaimed.

"Nice alliteration!" Imran said appreciatively.

His face suddenly acquired a pasty hue, turning paler by every passing second. This phenomenon was suitably explained by the appearance of she-devil herself, Avni.

She immediately snuggled herself  close at Imran and glared at me. I just smiled back innocently........

"Were you speaking about Aaryan ?" she asked, the question targeted at Imran.

He managed to smile at her.

She trilled, "Isn't he cute?" She continued without waiting for my reply, "He is my Abhimanyu's cousin......"

My eyebrows shot upwards before I could control myself...... 'My Abhimanyu'.....How very convenient........

We were spared from her further remarks by Janice, her sidekick, who had very important news to relate to her......

I grinned at Abhimanyu who was recovering from his blush, and opened my mouth to ask him about Aaryan.

But my further queries were interrupted for the announcement for dinner. So, without any further distractions, we started towards the dining room, listening to Abhimanyu.