ArHi SS: Magnetism (Chapter 3)

Chapter 3: Sparks Flying

"Our slot is at 9:30 everyone." Khushi subconsciously smoothed down her hair, which was already returning to its original frizzy state as it had been drizzling slightly on the walk from the train station to school. Typical British weather, she thought with a sigh. 

She was sat in her form room in the same way she had done for the last few weeks i.e. at the front & avoiding all forms of communication - the only difference being that she now had another external, Sam, by her side. He, being just as socially awkward as she was, sat next to her staring at his watch while the 10 minutes of registration passed. Neither said a word to the other.

Today was school photo day and Khushi made a special effort to look good; this was the photo she was going to be recognised by for the next 2 years and she wanted it to be a good one. Contacts in, hair straightened, eyeliner and lip gloss intact for once; she would have been unrecognisable had it not been for her reliable brown schoolbag that was firmly set on her shoulder and her knee-length skirt. She hadn't missed the many looks she was getting by both the boys and girls around her when she arrived at school with Sarita, and when someone complimented her all she could do was mumble an awkward "thank you" and attempt to leave their company as quickly as possible, mentally scolding herself for being unable to take a compliment.

As the clock on the wall in her Biology class reached 9:20am, her classmate Amy informed her that it was time for them to go and get their pictures taken. Khushi suddenly became nervous and self-conscious as she followed Amy, not wanting to get her photo taken incase it turned out horribly. She gazed around to find people adjusting their collars and ties and found herself then scrutinising her own attire and smoothing her hair down once again.Stop Khushi, she scolded herself, your hair's going to turn greasy if you keep touching it like that.

Standing in the queue outside the theatre, Khushi felt an unfamiliar stirring in her stomach. She had decided to pass it off as nerves, yet at that moment she looked up and spotted Arnav at the entrance to the theatre. He was leaning casually against the door, joking with a few friends of his. Khushi found herself subconsciously admiring the way the gel in his hair set it perfectly in place, how his shirt was impossibly white, how there wasn't a single crease present on his clothes & he looked like a smart businessman, how he smirked in satisfaction as his friends laughed at jokes. He looks good when he smiles, Khushi thought. She then realised what she was doing & shook herself. Was she seriously admiring Arnav Singh Raizada? She was quick to reassure herself that she didn't actually like any of those traits in him; she decided that gel made his hair look greasy; he probably wore a new shirt just to look good for this photo, vain idiot; his mother probably ironed his clothes for him & he didn't know how to laugh, hence the sideways smirk.

The queasiness in her stomach increased as she abruptly looked away in the hope that he had not seen her practically ogling him (much as she tried to deny she did anything of the sort). She had successfully managed to avoid having any type of conversation with him during their chemistry lessons, her ego still refusing to brush the thought of his accusation from her mind. Arnav, however, appeared to have no recollection of what he had said to her; if he did, he definitely didn't show it. Instead, as Khushi avoided replying to him if he asked her a question, he spoke directly over her head to ask the same question to Katie. By the following chemistry lesson Arnav had begun treating Khushi as if she was invisible, not even acknowledging her presence when they were stood opposite each other in the narrow corridor waiting for the doors to their class to open. Khushi thought that he wasn't justified in his behaviour; she was mad at him so why was he making no effort to speak to her or apologise? & then she reminded herself that he was Arnav Singh Raizada, the man who spent his entire life being told that the sun shines out of his backside, and he would never apologise. I don't need his apology anyway, she'd comfort herself, he's just too smug for his own good.
She would occasionally catch him stealing glances at her, unable to decipher his expression. He would then look away quickly without saying a word to her, something that confused her to no end.

Khushi shook herself out of her reverie as Amy was calling her to help her fix her fringe. A while later, Khushi finally found herself near the front of the queue. She stood with her head down, not wanting to catch Arnav's eye. She silently brushed past him and joined her form class, thanking God that he hadn't seen her.

"Khushi!" She heard someone yell & turned around to see Arnav approaching her. Any attempts to avoid him would now be in vain as he was only a few strides away from her. He walked purposefully & Khushi tried to step backwards to avoid his intimidating form. However, there was no space behind her so she had no choice but to look up at him.

"What?" Her voice came out almost as a whimper. Why does this always happen in front of Arnav Singh Raizada? She always found herself turning into jelly when he looked at her, and she couldn't form coherent thoughts under that intense gaze.

"Why are you stood here?" Khushi looked around, confused. Does he not see everyone else around me?

"Uh... same reason everyone else is. To get my photo taken?" She spoke slowly, speaking to him as if he was a 2-year-old. He rolled his eyes.

"I know that!" He snapped & addressed a list he had in front of him. "Gupta, you're meant to be behind Nick. Alphabetical order." This time he spoke to her like she was a little child, pointing to the register in his hand. "You do know your ABCs right?" Khushi gasped, her mouth forming an 'o' at his comment. She moved in front of Nick, but not before turning around and throwing a dirty look in Arnav's direction. Arnav walked off, smirking, and some of Khushi's classmates sniggered at their exchange. Khushi looked around to see that the people around her who made up the rest of her form class were not in alphabetical order; Arnav had singled her out for no reason! She had a sudden urge to punch him & wipe that smirk off his face.

Khushi, now in no mood to have her photo taken, gritted her teeth. When her name was finally called, she smoothed down her clothes and sat on the stool in front of her. Looking around once, she spotted Arnav staring at her. His gaze didn't leave her for a second as she adjusted herself on the stool & she found herself being unable to look away. It was only when the photographer cleared her throat that Khushi looked away, blushing as she did. What gives him the right to look at me like that? she thought. She quickly smiled for her photo & rushed out of the theatre through the back exit so she didn't bump into Arnav again.

Looking at her timetable to see what lesson she had next, Khushi groaned as she realised she had a chemistry lesson. She tried to ignore Arnav again, and mostly succeeded. That was until the end of her lesson. George turned to face her. "Have you got contacts in today?"

"Yes..." came Khushi's reply. By now Arnav had also turned to face her.

"And you've done something with your hair?" Khushi nodded.

"It looks nice." Arnav interrupted. Khushi looked at him in shock, her eyebrows shooting up. Just as she had finally registered what he had said, he walked off with George. Did he just compliment me?! Her tomato-red cheeks definitely suggested that he had. She left the chemistry class, the faintest smile on her face.

The next day, Nick and Amy sat beside Khushi and Sam at registration.

"We were sick of seeing both of you spending the whole time just looking around awkwardly and not talking. So we decided to join you!" Khushi smiled gratefully at Amy and the two engaged in small talk. Amy, being an internal, had been at the school for 5 years previously and she was Khushi's first internal friend. Finally, Khushi didn't feel as isolated anymore.

At lunchtime, rather than sitting in the common room, Khushi, Sarita and Anna decided to find an empty classroom to sit in and talk. They were joined by a few classmates, who Khushi had seen but never spoken to. Amy introduced everyone, and Khushi found herself trying to gauge what the other girls' personalities were like. Amy suggested a game of "21 Dares" as an icebreaker.

When it came to Khushi's turn she was quick to pick "truth"; she didn't have many secrets and she was always scared of the sort of dares she would be asked to do. What she didn't expect was Amy's question.

"What is going on between you and Arnav?"