NOT A LOVE STORY

She was in a bad mood.For no particular reason though.She wanted to shake it all off her body and feel stupid.Instead,she just felt heavy.She had never a been a teacher's pet.All her life,the teachers had always hated her,for various reasons-sometimes it was because she laughed at their pronunciation,sometimes it was because she would be busy chatting with her friends throughout the whole class...She actually took pride in being a rebel.She deliberately made it a point not to answer any question even if she knew the right answer.That was her way of protesting against the system.Give us blokes,make us call them 'sir' and 'auntie' and 'miss' and 'madam' and we'll give you silence-the very early form of non-cooperation.Life was good and adventurous,till HE came along.HE changed it all.She suddenly found herself looking forward to attending classes and participating actively.And,to her horror,it actually felt pretty good.She'd wait for the whole week for those few hours.HE has always been very soft-spoken,almost inaudible.But to her,it sounded like music from a far off land.Yes,she was intrigued.And when she found out,it was too late.She kept convincing herself that it was a phase,she'd grow out of it but it had quite the opposite effect on her.It was still fine-a few hours of feel good verbals was actually doing her good.Besides,she figured that she'd be needing it for her exam anyway.So,giving a slightly better exam doesn't hurt at all!But then,the most weird thing happened.She missed HIM.HE was supposed to take their class today.When she reached the institute,HE wasn't there.Another teacher took the first class.She kept hoping that the next class would be HIS but HE never came.She actually spent an hour last night writing an essay to make HIM believe that she was more than 'just another wannabe blogger'.She sneaked out of her class twice to see if HE had come.Saying 'sir,I need to pee' more than twice in a three-hour class in front of twenty five other people felt odd.She waited for almost half an hour after the class was over,hoping HE'd stop by and apologize to the receptionist saying HE 'had some business that made him late already.Then he got stuck near Camac Street and was sorry for being so terribly late'.Then HE'd ask the front desk girl how her trip was and how her mom was doing.Then,HE'd look at her and say,with mock surprise,'You're still here?I thought your class was over.'And she'd say,'I had to see you.'But nothing happened.After half an hour,the receptionist came to her and asked if she needed something.'I need to submit this to sir.He isn't coming today,is he?',she asked,showing her essay.'I'm afraid he won't be here today.He has another class to attend.',replied the girl.'Will you please be kind enough to give it to him when you see him?',she requested.'My name is written in there.''Sure!',the receptionist said.She didn't miss a hint of sarcasm in her voice.Waiting for half an hour to submit an essay?Quite a student!
                                                                                                           Sometimes she pictures HIM saying,with one of those coy smiles of HIS,'What possible excuse can you have for such an absurd thought?'.
No,she won't be able to explain.She didn't love HIM,never has,never will.She didn't picture herself in HIS arms.She couldn't even imagine HIM holding her,stroking her face,pulling her locks away from her forehead,then,slowly breaking into a passionate kiss.She DID try to imagine these things a number of times but she never saw any specific face during these fantasies.A blurry face came in front of her eyes which was anything but HIS.She saw herself with someone tanned,rough,tall,temperamental,artistic,cruel,troubled...Not with a courteous dreamer with a chiming voice,perfect British accent,branded tees and pink lips.She has been through enough in her twenty something life to know that she DID not have feelings for HIM.HE was just a very good teacher and they shared a great chemistry.Maybe calling HIM a teacher would be unfair because HE was anything but a teacher.But was it even possible to develop such a close bonding in such a short time,and most importantly,with almost no personal interaction?How can someone be so influential that HE''d change your life upside down without even properly talking to you,once?If she knew the answer,she'd have been home by eight p.m.She won't have had to wait in the dark library for half an hour,pretending to read those news on 'The Telegraph' that she knew by her heart.