CRAZY LOVE FOR YOU

_CHAPTER 14: "THE POSTER"_

Friday morning started normal.

Too normal.

I woke up to Zara screaming in my ear.

"POORVI! WAKE UP! ANNUAL DAY POSTERS ARE UP!"

I groaned and pulled the pillow over my head.

"Five more minutes."

"No! Come see! Red House looks amazing!"

Tasha was already tying her hair.

Nia was reading the schedule.

The room smelled like hair spray and excitement.

"Fine," I muttered, getting up.

We ran downstairs in our PT uniforms.

The main notice board was crowded.

Everyone was pushing, taking pictures, pointing.

And there it was.

Big banner.

Gold letters.

*_IMPERIAL GIRLS SCHOOL

PRESENTS

ANNUAL DAY 2026

"RHYTHM OF UNITY"

GUEST SCHOOLS: DPS EAST, ST. MARY’S, MOUNT CARMEL__

The world stopped.

DPS EAST.

My hands went cold.

My ears started ringing.

Zara was still talking next to me.

"Did you see Kavya’s picture? She looks so fierce—"

"Tasha," I said. My voice sounded far away. "DPS is coming."

Tasha followed my eyes to the poster.

Her smile dropped.

"Oh."

Nia put her book down.

Zara finally shut up.

"DPS East," Nia read out loud, like saying it again would make it less real.

"Guest school," Tasha whispered.

"Riya’s school," Zara finished.

I couldn’t breathe.

Not properly.

It felt like someone had tied a rope around my chest and was pulling.

"Poorvi?" Tasha said.

I shook my head. "I need air."

I walked.

Fast.

Past the crowd.

Past the ground.

Past the basketball court.

I didn’t know where I was going until I was already on the rooftop.

My back hit the door.

I slid down to the floor.

And then I couldn’t hold it in anymore.

I wasn’t crying.

Not yet.

I was shaking.

My hands were shaking.

My legs were shaking.

My brain was screaming: _RUN. RUN. RUN.*

Like DPS.

Like the PT ground.

Like Riya’s laugh.

Like "boy" and "no one will like you" and the way Anushka recorded everything.

The door opened.

I didn’t look up.

"Go away," I whispered.

"Poorvi."

RV.

He sat down next to me.

Not too close.

Just... there.

"Hey," he said softly.

"Don’t," I said. "Don’t talk to me."

"Okay," he said. "I won’t."

Silence.

For ten minutes.

Or maybe twenty.

I don’t know.

My breathing slowly came back.

In. Out.

In. Out.

"I saw the poster," he said finally.

"I know," I said.

"Are you okay?"

"No."

He nodded.

"Can I ask you something?"

"What."

"Do you want me to be there? On Annual Day. In the audience."

I closed my eyes.

"I don’t know," I said honestly. "I don’t know if I can do it if you’re watching. And I don’t know if I can do it if you’re not."

"That’s fair," he said.

Another silence.

"Poorvi," he said.

"Hmm?"

"You’re not that girl anymore. The one who ran."

"Feels like I am," I whispered.

"You’re not," he said, firmer. "That girl didn’t have 12B. That girl didn’t have Kavya. That girl didn’t have—"

"Don’t," I cut him off.

"Okay," he said.

We sat there until the bell rang for first period.

I didn’t go to class.

I went back to 12B.

Zara was waiting on my bed.

Tasha was making tea.

Nia had my blazer folded neatly.

They didn’t ask questions.

They just... moved.

Zara braided my hair.

Tight. Neat. The way she did before matches.

"There," she said. "You look like a captain again."

Tasha handed me tea.

"Drink. You look pale."

"It’s just ginger tea," she added quickly. "Not emotional support tea. Obviously."

Nia sat next to me.

"I called Rumi," she said.

My head snapped up. "What?"

"She’s coming early," Nia said. "For Annual Day. She said she wants to be here. With your mom and dad."

I started crying then.

Not loud.

Just tears falling into my tea.

"Hey," Zara said, pulling me into a hug.

"We’ve got you," Tasha said, rubbing my back.

"You’re not alone," Nia whispered.

Rule #4 of 12B: We protect our own.

After lunch, Kavya found me on the ground.

Alone.

Practicing footwork.

She didn’t say anything for a while.

Just watched.

Then she sat down next to me.

"So," she said.

"So," I said.

"DPS," she said.

"Yeah."

"You scared?"

"Terrified."

She nodded.

"Good," she said.

I looked at her. "Good?"

"Yeah," she said. "Means you care. Means it matters. Runners don’t get scared, Poorvi. Fighters do."

I didn’t know what to say.

"Listen," she said. "I was hard on you the other day. About RV. About focus. I’m sorry."

"You don’t have to—"

"I do," she cut me off. "Because I see you. You’re not distracted. You’re healing. And there’s a difference."

She bumped my shoulder.

"Now. Are you going to let Riya Malhotra ruin Annual Day? Or are you going to show her what a captain looks like?"

I wiped my face.

"Captain," I said.

"That’s my girl," Kavya said, standing up. "Practice in 20. Don’t be late."

That night I couldn’t sleep.

12B was quiet.

Everyone was pretending to sleep.

My phone buzzed.

_RV: You up._

_Me: Yeah._

_RV: Can I come to the rooftop._

_Me: Now._

_RV: If you want._

I stared at the ceiling.

Then I got up.

Quietly.

The rooftop was cold.

He was already there.

Hands in pockets.

"Hi," he said.

"Hi," I said.

We didn’t sit this time.

We stood.

Looking at the dark ground.

"My coach said something today," RV said.

"What."

"He said winning isn’t about beating the other team. It’s about not beating yourself first."

I laughed a little.

"That’s deep."

"He stole it from a movie," RV admitted. "But still."

I looked at him.

"Will you be there?" I asked. "On Annual Day."

"Do you want me to?"

"I don’t know," I said. "But I think... I think I want the option."

"Then I’ll be there," he said. "In the audience. Not on the field. I’ll watch. And if you need me, I’ll be there."

"And if I mess up?"

"Then you’ll get back up," he said simply. "Like you always do."

We didn’t talk much after that.

Just stood.

Side by side.

Before curfew, he said,

"Poorvi."

"Yeah?"

"You’re not running this time. Remember that."

The week passed in a blur.

Practice.

Practice.

Practice.

DPS confirmed their team.

Riya Malhotra.

Anushka Verma.

Simran Kaur.

Names I tried not to say out loud.

12B made me a chart.

"Things to remember when you see them."

1. You are Captain Poorvi.

2. Breathe.

3. Look at Tasha, Zara, Nia.

4. Smile.

5. You are not alone.

Rumi called every night.

"Princess, you’ve got this."

"I’m scared," I told her one night.

"I know," she said. "But scared and brave can exist together. That’s what makes you brave."

RV and I fell into a rhythm.

Texts in the morning.

Accidental meetings at lunch.

Rooftop on Thursdays.

We didn’t talk about DPS much.

We talked about everything else.

Two days before Annual Day, Kavya pulled the whole Red House team together.

"Tomorrow is the final run-through," she said. "And Saturday is the day. DPS will be there. Other schools will be there. Parents will be there. You will mess up. And you will fix it. Because that’s what we do."

She looked at me.

"Captain. Anything to say?"

I stood up.

My hands were shaking.

But my voice wasn’t.

"Two years ago, I got suspended from my old school," I said.

The room went silent.

"Because I fought back. Because I was tired of being called names. Because I thought running away was the only option."

I took a breath.

"I was wrong. Running doesn’t fix anything. Standing does. Even when you’re scared. Especially then."

I looked at every girl in Red House.

"So on Saturday, we stand. We play. We dance. And we win. Not because we hate Blue House. But because we love Red House."

The room erupted.

Clapping.

Cheering.

Zara was crying.

Tasha was whistling.

Nia just nodded at me, proud.

Later, back in 12B, I got one last text before lights out.

_RV: Saw the whole speech. From the window._

_Me: You were spying._

_RV: I was supporting._

_Me: Same thing._

_RV: Night, Captain. Tomorrow we run._

_Me: Tomorrow we stand._

I put my phone down.

Looked at 12B.

Zara snoring.

Tasha hugging a pillow.

Nia reading with a flashlight.

DPS was coming.

Riya was coming.

The past was coming.

But this time, I wasn’t running.

I was leading.