BETRAYED

Bitter Memories

Neil Parr was sitting on the last bench of the empty ground floor library of The Pentagon Academy completing the sketch of his dream girl behind the wall of'Elementary Concepts of Physics Grade-11'when suddenly the book vanished from it's place to be replaced by the beautiful face of his best friend Rhett Brown. Neil's brows furrowed momentarily but smoothened themselves immediately after finding the source of the disturbance.

"To what do I owe the pleasure of this'unannounced'visit, Ms. Brown?", said Neil, sarcasm dripping from his voice.

"Cocky much aren't we?", snapped back Rhett.

"Are we now?", Neil shot back tapping the tip of his pencil on Rhett's nose.

Chuckling, Rhett rolled her eyes.

"Anyways you didn't answer my question, Ms Brown?", said Neil to which Rhett smirked.

"Guess what I heard a lot of 8th grade students, girls I mean, are betting on going to a date with you."

Neil groaned, and loudly to which Rhett just chuckled.

"So what say, are you gonna'pick-up'any of them?", Rhett continued, seemingly oblivious to the deep frown etched upon Neil's face.

"Rhett, I thought you at least of all people won't ask me this question. I thought you know me. I am hurt, really. You know very well how much I dislike this pick-up concept of you people. Honestly, it disgusts me. I really am not that type of a guy who goes on picking up girls like they are any object. I am a guy who likes to get attached, be remembered, not replaced. I don't wanna be at the back of any girl's head, I wanna be all over her mind, her thoughts, hell her everything!! Are you getting it? I wanna love a girl, not lust after her...", Neil completed, trailing off a bit at the end.

"Dude, that was kinda creepy and romantic at the same time, you know. No offence mate but are you sure that you are gonna get 'that' type of a girl anytime soon, I mean, you know, most of the girls these days are bitches, well obviously not my type of girls. I mean other type of girls, the type mainly containing the gold diggers...", said Rhett with an unreadable expression in her face.

"Positive, I will surely find her one day...", Neil trailed off, apparently thinking about his 'THE ONE'.

"How's it going with James?", said Neil, finally breaking the silence.

Rhett visibly flinched at this question.

"Can we please not talk about him?", said Rhett to a curious looking Neil.

"Why, what happened?", Neil asked. He had never seen his friend so annoyed over a single person, that too a male species.

"He is acting full on clingy these days. Before we had decided to be 'together' I had made it clear to him that this arrangement will only be there for a month, not a single day more. He had agreed also. But apparently now he needs some time to 'think'. f*****g bastard, like I don't know what is it that he wants to think. It's already been a week and a half after the first month. I have already tolerated him much and I can't stay with him anymore. I think I have to teach him a lesson for crossing his boundaries."

Neil had listened silently to Rhett all the while.

After a while he spoke up,"You shouldn't have dated him in the first place."

"Yeah...", was all Rhett managed to breathe out, still in her own bubble.

After a while of thoughtful silence, Neil spoke up, again,"Rhett, if I ask you a question, would you answer me honestly?"

"Depends on what you're gonna ask.", replied Rhett, finally out of her bubble.

As though carefully measuring his words, Neil looked straight into Rhett's eyes and asked,"Do you still love Dave?"

Rhett just stared at him blankly for a few moments, unblinking, and then abruptly got up and left the library, without even casting a backward glance at Neil.

Neil who had somehow expected this kind of a reaction, got up, gathered his belongings, and left the library....