03 How about you be the onion in my stew and I'll be your alarm clock?

How the hell was I supposed to find the dining hall if I didn't want to ask anybody? I looked at the direction in which the majority of the boys were going. It was dinner time so they would be going to the dining hall, right? Right?

I looked back and forth at the two corridors that forked from the corridor which had my room. And when I saw that each corridor had almost equal number of boarders taking it, I wanted to punch a hole in the nearest wall.

Normally I was a very calm, composed girl who didn't get angry unless absolutely necessary. But right after I’d stepped into this school, my temper had skyrocketed past the stratosphere and I don't even know why! I was constantly irritated and I seriously wanted to scream at the top of my lungs to let out my frustration. And let me tell you again, I don't have a freaking clue as to why I feel like this.

Maybe it's the testosterone oozing into me in this testoster-zone.

Uthra, take a deep breath.

A deep breath.

A deeeeeep breath.

Yeah, like that. You're doing great. Keep it up.

You are calm.

You are very calm.

Like the Buddha.

Yep, calm lik—

Argh, screw it! I’m not calm! I’m nowhere near calm. Okay? Okay?

I stomped my foot as I pulled at the tips of my hair, groaning loudly. In the middle of a corridor. In front of twenty percent of the dorm's population.

Sweet.

"Did we hire a one man circus here?" a voice with an annoying drawl asked to my left.

I glanced over to find the other guy from the Dorm Head's room. What was his name again? Karan... I guess. He smirked at me and in return, I gave my deadliest glare. I felt a weight on my shoulder and turned to my right to see the dorm head.

"What do you want?" I barked at him and he gave me an amused grin.

"Well hello to you, too," Hrithik, the Dorm Head, said cheerfully, but I just stared at him blankly. My tongue was jumping to ask him to keep his hands to himself and not invade my personal space, but I tried to control it, remembering that I was a boy. Yay! The perks of dressing up as a guy. Awesome. Not.

"What were you doing?" Hrithik-anna asked, ignoring my glare. Were all the guys here thick-skinned or was my glare that useless? No one was bothered by it even when though it was my best glare. I stuck my nose up, contemplating what excuse would sound appropriate. Seriously, saying that I was looking for the dining hall when I was being this... hot-headed with these guys would only make them want to make fun of me more.

"I—" I stopped.

Apart from the dorms and the dining hall, I didn't even know what places existed there. I mentally facepalmed. So much for an excuse. Just suck up your pride and ask him. Remember that you weren't such a brat before. And for once, I had to accept that what the annoying voice said was really true. I swallowed.

"I was looking for the dining hall," I said, my voice hard and my face careless so that I made it evident that even if they laughed at me, it wouldn't get to me. But instead of the boisterous laughter I was expecting, I heard a small chuckle.

"We'll take you," Hrithik-anna said, and I walked with two boys and their scruffy, strong hands around me to the dining hall.

*

*

*

The mess hall was at the end of the left fork. It was a huge room filled with metal tables. Steel stools with a single leg were fixed to the ground. Each table had five stools on either side. Towards one corner, there was a counter where the food was being served. It was crowded inside, since the whole dorm was present. A big queue was visible beside the counter.

Once we were fairly near the counter, Hrithik-anna pushed me towards the queue. I looked back at the two older boys. "You’re not joining?" I asked as I took a plate from the stack at the start of the counter, copying the other guys in front of me in the queue. Karan-anna gave a cocky smirk and I had to slap away the inner urge to roll my eyes. Typical pretentious jock type.

"Food has already been served to us," he said, winking. "Can't let it cool. See ya, shortie."

I didn't even bother to ask him to shut up. Jerk. The line moved relatively fast and I was soon receiving my food.

"You look new here, honey," the big lady who was serving said smiling, her prominent red cheeks becoming even darker with the smile. Wow. One female. Yay! I smiled back.

"I started today," I said and nodded as a form of goodbye. She nodded back before turning away to serve the next kid. My eyes automatically went towards the direction Hrithik and Karan-anna had headed and I found the two guys at table towards the far end of the room. They were already eating with a group of seniors. They were all laughing at something and it was evident I couldn't go and sit there without them inviting me. I looked around the cafeteria, searching for an empty seat. My eyes then settled on Ryan and his table. There were three empty spots but I felt uncomfortable thinking about taking one of them. No one had invited me to that table and I couldn’t just go and sit there.

Hey, c'mon! I was a girl. This was how my brain worked. Just because I’d cut my hair and started wearing male clothes didn't mean suddenly everything was casual and everyone was friendly. I was a girl and girls were known to make even easy decisions tough. So deal with it.

I let my eyes wander around the cafeteria to see an empty table so that I didn't have to ask anyone for permission, when my eyes halted on a ball of black hair which was rested on slumped shoulders. Mission.

Seriously Uthra? Mission? Still under the fantasy you're a female going undercover to catch a criminal? Jeez.

I dragged my sluggish feet towards the corner table of this side of the hall. Right opposite to Hrithik-anna's table, but the whole room was in between them.

Rohan didn't show any form of recognition as I stood behind him, waiting for him to turn around and acknowledge me. He didn't turn. Maybe he hadn't heard me. Yet. Or maybe he wasn't used to people acknowledging him so that even though he heard you, he disregarded it, thinking you weren't going to come anywhere near him.

Even though this annoying voice was infuriating most times, what it said now was maybe true.

"Rohan?" I called mildly, and Rohan's shoulders jerked as if someone had just doused him with icy water. When he turned around, all I could see was startled terror in his eyes and unconsciously, I staggered back. His widened eyes started relaxing until they were back to their normal size. Blank and stoic. I grinned at Rohan as friendly as I could The terrified look seriously caught me off guard. Never expected it in a million years.

"Yes?" a whisper pulled me back into reality.

"You—" I cleared my throat, "you think I could sit with you? You know, since we're roomies and stuf—"

"Sure," Rohan said, interrupting me, flashing me a tiny half smile. My heart skipped a beat. It was so small... too small to see, but it was still there.

I sat across him and started eating. Rohan and I didn't talk much as we ate. Well, to be precise, we didn't talk at all. For most of our meal, my tongue was throbbing to start a conversation, but I knew I had to take things slow. This making-Rohan-social thing was a little complex and it needed time and patience. And doing it all on the very first day wouldn't be... sensible. Or productive.

And that's how my first meal at this new place went. Sitting with a lonely boy, in a bustling mess, with no conversation. Epic.

*

*

*

I stretched my arms, not knowing what else to do. Tapping my foot, I glanced at the clock for the hundredth (no exaggeration) time. But the clock was persistent. It wouldn't make the time go any faster even though my eyes were shooting daggers at it. It was six in the morning and I was ready to go to school. But I knew that the school's gates wouldn't even be open by now, and neither was the dining hall. Tsk, why am I such a morning person? I looked at the figure to my side.

Rohan's face wasn't visible, as his face was buried in the pillow. The sight looked like limbs and bedsheets, not a human sleeping. I contemplated waking him but seeing that it was no more than ten past six, I left him alone.

Taking my biology book, I settled on my study table and flipped through its pages. But I knew everything that was in the first few lessons. My former school was a little further down the syllabus and those portions were just being taught in this school now.

After about half an hour, I closed the book. Automatically my eyes shot to the sleeping figure. The next moment my eyes were on the clock.

6.43 AM

I thought it was decent time to get up and get ready to school.

"Rohan," I called.

No reaction.

"Oi, Rohan," I called a little louder as I moved near him.

Nope. No answer.

"Hey, get up!" I said as I mildly shook him.

Still no answer.

Was he dead or something?

I glanced at the clock once more, and it was time he got up. Otherwise he would be late to school.

Suddenly a crazy idea flashed in my mind, and even though the consequences would vary from instant death to a coma, I brushed the warning bells in my head aside and got to my feet. Grinning like a maniac, I lowered my face till it was near his ear. Pinching his nose with one hand, I took a quick, deep breath.

And I wolf whistled.

Yes.

I whistled.

And I blocked his nose.

With a startled “ah” and a gasp, Rohan sprang forward, his hands clutching the blank space in front of him, his eyes wide and looking bewildered. I stumbled back hastily as he turned to me, a death glare in his beautiful black eyes.

Beautiful? Even now? You're a loser, Uthra.

Suddenly, it didn't seem like such a fun idea.

My hand shot out, forming a peace sign. "Hey, you weren't getting up. See! The time is seven," I shouted defensively.

Rohan's eyes didn't soften as he took painfully slow steps towards me. I gulped as I stared at the tall body looming over my short one.

He stretched his hand as if he was going to grab my collar, or worse, strangle me. But when his hand was just an inch away from my neck, he dropped it. He took a deep, calming breath. "Don't," Rohan spat, pressing the bridge of his nose, "ever do that again. Well, the pinching part."

And I did the stupidest thing ever known to mankind. I gave him a big goofy grin and smacked both his shoulders. "Don't worry, mate," I smiled, still smacking his shoulders with my petite hands. "Next time, I swear to drop the pinching."

Rohan looked at me as if I had lost my mind before shaking his head and walking into the bathroom. Well, I didn't blame the kid. Even I was starting to doubt my sanity. But the grin was still on my face and even though I shook my head, slapped my cheeks, and pinched my wrists, the giddy happiness didn't drop. Now, this was fun.