I was all of 15, skittish and impulsive. Ok, not bad looking at all.
And there was this cute guy who used to stare at me constantly. He was
in 10th and I was in 9th. Oh Gosh ! Older Guy! He was an athlete and
played soccer too. He was nearly 6 feet tall and had brown hair,
regular features and warm brown eyes. I was quite pleased with the
attention.
Soon my best friend got feelers from him about setting us up
together. I think I shilly-shallied for a while and then agreed to be
his girl friend. Being a girl friend meant walking together at times.
Meeting up outside school for a chat, passing notes, trying to stand
together in the school bus (seniors never sat, but stood in the buses
without holding straps, one hip balanced against a seat back), writing
each others names on hands and showing them to close friends, holding
sweaty hands, and (oh oh oh) going to see a movie together.
We used to meet outside Jayashri Theatre, which was not on the main
road, hence a safe spot. He would arrive on a bicycle, and I would
walk down from home. We would stand around and talk. Once we went to
see a movie called 'Dharma' *ing Pran, Bindu, and god knows who else.
We held hands during the movie, periodically withdrawing them to
wipe the sweat off. Hmm, it was nice in a way.
What Went Wrong? Who Was The Serpent In This Eden? I, the eve, was
the serpent. Well, actually, a neighbour spotted us together and even
though I covered my face with a book, he recognised me, and complained
to my older cousin who took me to task over this. That did not deter me
though, we just gave up meeting for a while. I think I just got
bored. I wrote him a 'Dear John' letter and one of the reasons I gave
out for the breakup was - Your English Is Very Poor.
Now when I think back upon those times, I laugh at my innocence and
utter immaturity. We had even managed to exchange a silly stupid
useless kiss. I am grateful that my first boyfriend was as silly as I
was and we came away from this none the wiser. Also I am glad that my
first boyfriend was so devastatingly handsome.
