My bully classmate

If i’m being honest, i did’t expect college to feel like the first day of school over again. I stood outside the tall gates of Foxford college, the air humming with the chatter of excited students. Everyone looked so confident, as if they belomged here already. I, on the other hand , had adjusted the collar three times and was sweating through my shirt even through it wasn’t hot. “Just breathe, Sid,”i told myself. It was a new chapter. A fresh start. No more being the invisible guy in the college. No more sitting in the corner or too shy to raise hand to ask or answer the question. I had promised myself i’d try to be different here like a another guy. I walked in slowly, clutching my bag like it held all my hopes . The campus was massive. Clean white building with large glass windows. Students laughed in groups, couples are holding hands , and a few were sitting on benches scrolling social media . By ignoring them i followed the sign to the orientation hall , trying to act like i know everything where ii was going . At that moment i saw her. She was leaning against a pillar like she don’t care what is going in the entire world. She has ripped jeans , a loose white tee and headphones around her neck , she oozed confidence. Her eyes are sharp and playful, she was scanning everyone and looks like she was bored. And i saw her name on her id. “Her name is lily” I didn’t know that then. I don’t know anything about her just only name and the weird expressions she was giving me !! Her expressions are like danger but attractive ! And after all that i head back to the class and found a seat at the back of the hall, thankful to escape her gaze. But luck, as always wasn’t on my side. I heard a voice and it was “move” lily said. I looked up and blinked! What ? She said again Move. That’s my seat. I looked around. “There are twenty vacant seats in the class but she want to sit there and i make space to her. Then i started moving to another seat and she hold my bag and pull me back !! I froze when she said college boy! We were all students now , weren’t we ? Then she grabbed my water bottle off the desk and took a sip. “Hey! That’s mine” i said she dropped it on the floor casually with intention, and it was rolled under the seat in front. “Oops”. I didn’t say something and be calm. I was stunned. Everyone around us was either pretending not to notice or silently amused. I moved to the seat on the left. She plopped down where i’d been sitting and took out her phone like nothing had happened and i was thinking she will say sorry but that’s my mistake. Just like that i met Lily - my bully classmate. After that the dean entered the class. The rest of the orientation was blur. He was telling something about credits, societies, and some overenthusiastic “to make memories’” i couldn’t focus because of the last incident and kept glancing sideways at her - Lily. She didn’t take notes. She didn’t seem to listen. She just scrolling on her phone and occasionally looked around, bored. When the session ended, i waited her to leave first but she didn’t so i stood up silently and slug my bag over my shoulder, and walked past her. I try not to make any type of noise. But luck as always — She announces “college boy” her tone was mocking. I didn’t respond. And that was my biggest mistake ever !! The next few days were strange. Every time i thought i could disappear into the background, there she was - Lily. Somehow always one step ahead of me, always finding ways to tease (bully) me and make my life miserable. She’d switch the labels on my water bottle with someone else. Once, she even pulled my chair out right before i sat. I got fall. Everyone were laughing and also her group shared that vedio to social media. Another time, she whispered during a lecture that my fly was open but it wasn’t, and i checked, and of course everyone noticed. But i didn’t respond on any act she done with me because a fling has made in my heart. “Dude, she’s just making fun of you and you are thinking about love, she just use you to make everyone laugh” my roommate Arjun said. “Why me, though?” I groaned. “Because you react or make any expression,”just stay away to her she is not like a person who can be loved” i hope you undestand. But it wasn’t easy, She is clever. She didn’t leave you not to bully. Her bullying was casual, i calculated little things that only i seemed to noitce. But the worst part that make my heart love for her is she sometime smile at me. One afternoon, i was in the library, trying to get ahead on an assignment. It was quiet, peaceful- exactly what i needed. Until i felt someone plop down across from me. I didn’t have to look up. I knew it was Lily. She said!! “You always study this much?”she asked, chewing gum like she owned the place. Its called preparation,”i said flatly,not meeting her eyes. She snorted. “Cute” “Do you want something?” I asked. “I’m bored”, she said. “Thought i’d hang with my favourite nerd”. I looked up. “I’m not your—“ She lean forward. “You are now.” I sighed. “Don’t you have other people to bother?” She shrugged.”They’re boring. You’re interesting.” I stared at her. The girl was chaos wrapped in a smile. She pulled out a pen and started doodling on my notebook. A cartoon version of me with oversized glasses and a speech bubble saying,”Please stop bullying me.” I snatched it back. She laughed,”Relax, Kalra. You’ll thank me when you’re famous.” And then she stood,stretched, and walked away — just like that. I looked down at the page and couldn’t help it. I smiled. Weeks passed. Lily still messed with me. Still made fun of my serious notes and my “neat handwriting.” But something shifted. She started sitting near me in class. She’d nudge me and ask for answers - even out, and once, she even shared her earphones with me during a boring history lecture. “I hate this subject,”she whispered. “I kind of like it,” i replied. “Of course you do, nerd.” But she said it with a grin. One evening, after class, i saw her outside the canteen, sitting alone with a cigarette in her hand. She looked.. different. Quieter. The wind blew strands of her hair across her face, and she didn’t push them away. I walked up to her, unsure why. “Didn’t know you smoked,” i said. She didn’t look at me.”Didn’t know you cared.” I stood there for a second. “Want company?” She looked up. “You offering or begging.” “Offering.” She smiled faintly. “Sit,college boy.” So i did. We didn’t talk much. But we sat. And for the first time, i saw something behind her eye — Something softer. Something that wasn’t mockery And maybe.. a little loneliness. By mid semester, people noticed we were always around each other. Arjun teased me nonstop. “You like her,” he said. “No, i don’t.” “Yes, you do.” “She bullies me.” “Exactly, he grinned. “Love story of the year.” I hated how right he might be. Because the more time i spent with Lily, the more i realized — she wasn’t just a bully. She was brilliant, stubborn, fearless, and sometimes, heartbreakingly silent. And even when she teases me, it didn’t sting like before. It felt like something else. Something i couldn’t name yet. But i should’ve known. Things that felt too good too fast usually break. It was the end if october when it happen. We were in hallway, joking around. She was laughing —. Really laughing — and i was looking at her like an i***t. And then someone walked by. A guy. Tall , Athletic , confident. He looked at lily and said,”Didn’t know you downgraded to nerds now.” Lily laughter stopped. Her face changed. She looked at me. Then at him. And then she said.” Oh please, i was just using him for notes.” I froze She laughed again, louder this time, and walked away with the guy. I stood there, stunned. People had heard. They looked at me with sympathy — or amusement. I couldn’t tell which was worse. The notebook i was holding slipped from my hand. And just like that.. The first day of college felt like it had finally ended. To be continued………………