~~ Under the Mistletoe ~~
Part One
The warm cup of cocoa filled my room with a sweet scent, reminding me of the holiday spirit lingering around in the air. I sipped the cocoa quietly as I watched random covers on YouTube. Humming along the lyrics, I felt oddly at peace despite being alone during such a festive season.
I had decorated my room with a few Christmas lights that I had bought last week. With Navya, my roommate, gone for the break, I was all alone. Almost all of my floor-mates had also left to celebrate the holidays with their families. But I had to stay back because chacha and chachi had taken Rishabh to a clinic a couple of hours away for his treatment. I was all alone, and as much as I enjoyed some alone time, it was slowly starting to feel all too lonely here in my room.
The lights gave off a nice ambience, and the cocoa made my insides all warm and fuzzy; but it wasn't enough to keep me from feeling sad. I could hear people singing Christmas carols across my room; laughing and chattering amongst friends, that was how you are supposed to spend Christmas.
I shut the laptop lid, and peeked through the window. It was beautiful outside; the city was sparkling with lights. It was a white Christmas too. A layer of snow covered everything, adding the extra touch to make the festival even more heavenly.
I sighed and settled myself into my bed. I was probably going to have a Christmas movie marathon again. I plugged in my hard drive, and transferred some of the classic movies onto my laptop. Home Alone, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, and Polar Express were just some of them.
Plopping myself on the pillows, I engulfed my body in a warm, cozy blanket. It helped that I was wearing the sweater I bought last week with Navya. She forced me to buy it because we were originally going to go to her friend's Christmas party. The theme was ugly-sweater theme which explained the hideous tree and reindeer print that decorated the wool. I smiled at the memory.
Navyaaa! I don't want this! It looks so tackyyy!
Nanduuu! For the last time, you are buying it! It's supposed to be an ugly sweater!
I ended up giving in and buying it. And my parents thought I was stubborn, I thought to myself, letting out a small laugh.
She was a lovely roommate to have. She even refused to go back home because she knew I would be alone here. But I knew how much she missed her family; I really couldn't be that selfish. And that's what landed me in this situation, with nothing else to do on Christmas night.
I finally decided on which movie to watch first, and was about to play it when I heard a loud rumble. Although I was all alone and no one could hear me, I was still so embarrassed. Stupid stomach.
It was then that I realized that I hadn't had dinner yet. I checked my phone for the time. 8:35pm to be precise. And then realization dawned upon me; our residence cafeteria closes at 8pm. Aiyyappa, I complained with slouched shoulders whilst looking up. Who even eats dinner that early?
I got out of my bed and put my slippers on. I was going to have to scavenge all the vending machines to find something good to eat at this time. Muttering silent curses under my breath, I grabbed my keys and ID before stepping outside the room.
I realized I still had my ugly sweater on with a pair of wool tights, but I doubt I would come across anyone right now. All my worries about how I looked went out the window with that thought. What are the chances, right?
Wrong.
I heard a door creak, directly adjacent to the elevators. I prayed it wasn't him. There was this guy I found attractive, Manik Malhotra. He was in all of my classes since we were in the same program. We would sit in opposite corners of the lecture hall, but somehow, we would always manage to look at one another at the same time. That too, in every single class. It would turn into an endless stare on my part, ending up in sheer embarrassment. He probably thinks I'm a stalker, cause that's honestly what it looks like. He was friends with Dhruv, who lived across from my room.
But thankfully, I heard the door shut again. I relaxed my shoulders that I hadn't known were tensed. Breathing a sigh of relief, I turned around. Only to come crashing hard with someone's chest; my eyes filled with tears from the impact, all the while praying to Aiyyappa: Please don't let it be Manik. Please please please!
I opened my eyes slowly to see him leaning against the wall, smirking while looking at me. My hands involuntarily went to pull my sweater down, more than it was supposed to. This only made his smirk grow wider.
"Ummm, hi" I spoke out, sounding extra timid that intended to. Good going Nandu.
"Hi... Nandini," he replied, still wearing that stupid smirk.
I turned around. We had never talked before but I would see him all the time not only in lectures, but also when he came over to Dhruv's. But that actually made this interaction even more awkward. I played around with the keys in my hand as I tried to think of what to say.
"So why do you always stare at me?"
I gasped for breath as my eyes shot right up to his, as if asking for confirmation that I actually heard what I think I heard. He had this amused look in his eyes; great, this is going to be just great.
How do I justify myself? He isn't entirely wrong. But then, how does he know if I look at him? I mean he must be looking at me too if he knows that I look at him!
Gathering all the courage in me, I finally spoke out. "What do you mean, huh? It's you who's always staring at me. Why would I stare at you?" I replied while crossing my arms.
He arched his eyebrow at me as he continued staring at me. I could honestly feel the blood rushing to my cheeks. Never did I imagine I would actually be talking to him, let alone the fact that he would approach me directly with that question. Now that I think about it though, how does he know my name?
"You're cute, you know?"
My heart was beating fast, my stomach had all these butterflies, and even my palms started feeling all warm and sweaty. Get a hold of yourself Nandu! But self-control never really was my forte. I tucked a piece of hair behind my ear, as I couldn't help let out a stupid smile.
"Thanks," I said like an idiot. I always imagined a situation like this at night, when I couldn't fall asleep. In fact I would sometimes start day-dreaming all sorts of things that involved him during lectures as well. It was so hard for me to stop myself from feeling depressed after, knowing the chances of anything happening between us were low. But right now, I really couldn't help imagine what if?
- End of Part 1
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Take care!!
Lots of love,
Hinal 🤗
Edited by basket_101 - 10 years ago
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