‘It’s okay,’ he said and bent down to pick them up, pushing away my attempt to help. ‘Go ahead, Shriya.’

‘That’s it.’ Shriya was slightly puzzled by Parth’s reaction.

He then laughed loudly. We both smiled at each other in relief. But Parth wouldn’t stop laughing. He sat back on his wheelchair and turned it in the other direction, still laughing. Shriya looked at me, slightly worried.

‘I can’t believe this,’ he said, turning to us abruptly. His eyes were wet and I couldn’t tell if they were tears of laughter.

‘Are you okay?’ I asked.

He rolled towards us, stopping inches away from me and looked deep into my eyes. His dark eyes held something I’d never seen before, sending chills down my spine. But he suddenly hugged me and said, ‘I still can’t believe this.’

His hug had no real warmth, seeming almost perfunctory. I could feel the uneasiness in his body language too. He was like my brother and I couldn’t understand why he wasn’t truly happy for me.

‘But you have to believe it, Parth, because we’re very much together!’ Shriya came forward and held my arm. Parth stared at our tightly clutched hands with a fake smile plastered on his face.

‘That’s great! I am feeling quite tired. I should go back,’ he said.

‘Do you want me to walk with you to the hostel?’ I asked. He refused and left the ground alone.

‘What’s wrong with him?’ I asked Shriya.

‘I don’t know, Madhav, and I don’t think I want to know. Maybe he’s just tired today,’ Shriya said, dubiously. Then, shooting me a mischievous smile, she clutched my hand and dragged me into the gymnasium.

‘What I do know is that I’m mad about my poet,’ she said cheekily and started kissing me.

It was the end of the day and most of the students had gone back to their dormitories, so we were completely alone. There was absolute silence and we could hear our voices echo. Shriya had always been bold and liked to take risks that excited her. She pulled me further into the gym.

‘Where are we going?’ I asked her. She stopped and kissed me again. ‘Just follow me,’ she said. Behind the gym supplies was a door to a room that was empty except for a few rolled mats and a wall of mirrors.

‘I have never seen this room before. How did you find this out?’

‘We used this room to practise our ramp walk a couple of months ago. It mostly remains unused,’ she whispered, locking the door. It was too dark for us to see each other’s faces.

‘Why are we here?’ I asked, unable to comprehend her intent, even when she removed her blazer.

‘I want to be yours before I leave for Mumbai,’ she said, wrapping her hands around my neck. She threw her blazer in a corner and let her hair down. We were only sixteen and I was rather innocent. I had no idea what was going through her mind. Apparently, she had thought that we would get married once she became a model and I a famous writer. But the most I had thought about our future was her leaving for Mumbai in a few weeks.