Just as Aditya was entering the class, he was stopped by a classmate. He was a little shorter than him, had curly, dark hair and bright eyes. Aditya remembered that his name was Magan. He was one of the new classmates that had joined after he had left this school. Aditya did not have the will or the time to make new friends and get to know each classmate. Due to this reason, he did not know much about this group.

In fact, they were very few students from the original group, as most of them had transferred to other junior colleges. Aditya mostly stuck with Kranthi, Rahul and Kumari. As for others, he would exchange some pleasantries during interactions in labs or corridors. Apart from the usual formalities, he did not try to develop 'real' relations with any of them.

The other students had also tried to befriend Aditya by inviting him into their groups or gatherings. But when they saw that this classmate was 'slow' or 'unresponsive', they also started ignoring him. Aditya did not go to any of the 'outings' planned by his classmates like visiting a mall or an entertainment centre.

Because of Aditya's attitude, most of the students also ignored him and did not bother with him. The only thing they paid attention was to Aditya's relationship with the class & school belle, Kumari. Kumari had always been the second most beautiful girl after Sameera, in the school ratings.

Sameera had this 'perfect' aura around her, which discouraged many boys from pursuing her as they felt that they did not deserve her. Sameera was diligent, kind, helpful and possessed a humble character. She did not trash talk about anyone and genuinely tried to help those classmates, who needed it.

When Aditya was caught together with Sameera, kissing each other, he had incurred the 'holy wrath' of many of the old students. It was quite an eventful time when Aditya would come home dirty and covered with bruises, almost every day. No student revealed anything to anyone, about these scuffles as it was about the honour of the bro-code. They solved their problems with fists like 'men'.

Kumari was not the same way. Although her beauty was in the same league as Sameera, Kumari had a lot of flaws in her. She was not studious, slept during the lessons, got frequently scolded by the teachers and regularly got into fights. These traits made her 'more approachable' and encouraged many to pursue her.

After Sameera's 'death', a year ago, Kumari had become emotionally 'non-responsive' like an ice figurine. Many boys had tried to woo her but failed in the end.

Everyone had noticed the change in Kumari, two months ago - That was the time when Aditya spent a month accompanying Kumari. She had become more cheerful and open. If one could ignore Kumari's chest size, she was indeed peerless in terms of facial features and her long legs. Since Karan was wooing Kumari, they did not have the guts or the capabilities to become love rivals with him.

At the moment, Kumari was ranking at the top. Kumari's classmates could not hope to outpace a rich young master like Karan. As long as Karan pursued Kumari, they had little to no chance. But for some reason, Karan transferred schools and did not continue pursuing Kumari. Karan's absence opened up an opportunity for others.

But, just when some boys were preparing to try wooing this girl, a boy had become an obstacle to everyone. It was someone who was rumoured to have an affair with Kumari when both were in the tenth grade.

Most of the boys gave up when they saw Kumari acting intimate with Aditya. But after a few weeks, doubts began to crop in their minds when they saw that both Aditya and Kumari acted more like close friends rather than lovers. There was a rumour that Kranthi, who was a friend to both Kumari and Aditya, had unconsciously revealed that both of them were only friends.

"Aditya, can I ask you a question?" Madan asked as he looked at Aditya. He had enough, dealing with all the rumours and not knowing what to believe. So, Madan had decided to ask Aditya and get to the bottom of this issue. He did not want to waste any more of his time with speculations.

Madan needed to confirm, if it was worthwhile to try to woo Kumari or if he should try another girl. He was not some guy who was picky about choosing girlfriends as long as they were above average. Of course, Madan would try to pick up the best girl out there. But if it was not possible, he would go for the next best until he finally succeeded.

Madan had quite a unique and optimistic view of life. He did not have any 'high' expectations from his 'would be' girlfriend. These days, Madan felt that this was the time for him to delve into the realm of love. Most of the topics that his friends discussed these days revolved around 'love' and 'girlfriends'.

In the beginning, Madan was not interested in these topics as he was a gamer, who took this hobby very seriously. He aimed to create an international gaming team and become a professional gamer. Outside his studies and games, Madan had little to no time left to consider love. But as time went on, his friends' gossips finally rubbed off him, and the 'flower of opposite sex attraction' finally bloomed inside him.

With that, Madan began watching all kinds of romantic movies, reading novels and formed a list of expectations from his 'imaginary' girlfriend. His young blood boiled when he thought about all the exciting things, that he could do with her.

Madan had a few fantasies to fulfil. For example, he wanted to have a beautiful girlfriend to show to his friends and have them drown with jealousy. Madan wanted to watch a romantic movie while holding hands with his girlfriend and kissing each other. His girlfriend should take care of him and love him completely.

Madan dreamt of having a beautiful girlfriend, who he could completely trust and spend the rest of his life, together. Madan had completely lapped up all the fictionary romance ideals, which were entirely unrealistic. He envied his friends, who were already pursuing their love interests and some had already succeeded.

Aditya looked at the person in front of him with mild interest as he said, "Sure, ask away."

"Is Kumari your girlfriend?" Madan asked straightforwardly.

"No."

"Does she have a boyfriend?"

"According to my knowledge, none."

"Thanks, bro, if you need any help in the future, come find me," Madan patted Aditya's shoulder. he turned around to leave.

"Wait, why did you ask these questions about Kumari?" Aditya questioned when he saw that Madan was leaving.

"Of course, so that I can make her my girlfriend," Madan answered with a smile, "Aditya, don't you think that Kumari is lovely? It will be great to have her as my girlfriend."

"Oh, are you sure? What do you know about her?"

" Nothing much, but I am sure that she is a good, kind and a sensitive girl," Madan confidently answered.

Aditya almost choked when he heard this appraisal. He looked at his classmate with a little pity in his eyes as he asked, "What do you have in mind?"

Madan lightly punched Aditya as he laughed, "Hey bro, don't worry. I will not eat her. Of course, we will do the usual stuff like roaming around malls, pubs, discos, parks etc. We will share a lot of romantic moments like those we see in the movies."

Aditya's pity increased as he looked at this hyped-up kid, caught in an illusion. He was now sure that this kid had no idea how relationships worked and was a complete novice. This fellow was sure to be gobbled by Kumari if she came to know that he was pursuing her.

Aditya could not see a fellow classmate getting duped. So he said, "Madan since you called me your brother, I have an advice for you. Why don't you think twice about proposing to Kumari? Maybe you should observe her for a few days before making the decision..."

"No," Madan cut off Aditya as he said, "I know that you are jealous that Kumari did not choose you and, instead, will choose me? But you have to learn to let go. Take my advice as a professional gamer; move on. You see, don't force it if there isn't a flow, let it go. Don't worry. I will look after her well."

With those words, Madan did not wait for Aditya's response and strutted back to his place, which was far away from Aditya's. Aditya sighed when he heard Madan's words. He said a silent prayer in his heart, hoping against hope, that Madan won't be traumatised for life after Kumari finished with him.

Aditya shook his head and went to his seat. Even if he took Madan's age and inexperience into consideration, Aditya found that this fellow was too naive by all standards. He pushed these thoughts away from his head as he started typing a list of materials on his phone. Aditya needed these products for manufacturing the quantum computer. Faizal was responsible for the smuggling operations.

Kranthi was frantically revising his mathematics notes. He was going through all the formulae and theorems. Fear was contaminative, and so Rahul also kept his head down as he went through his notes.

Kumari came after some time and sat beside him. She did not talk to him and remained immersed. It did not come as a surprise when he saw her holding mathematics notes in her hand. Her lips were moving as if she was silently revising the syllabus. It came as quite a shock to Kumari when she saw that Maahi was their new mathematics teacher. The dread of her childhood memories resurfaced. Kumari didn't want to experience those penalities again.

The first period was English literature. The teacher was an older man, who was a few years from retirement. He had a head full of white hair, and his voice shook a little when he spoke. This teacher was what you would call a Grammar Nazi. He would give zero credits for the entire answer if he found a single grammatical mistake. Today's lesson was 'The Invisible Man ( unabridged) by H.G.Wells'.

Aditya had already read that book many times. He could narrate the story, word to word, with his eyes closed, at any time. The Invisible Man was a novel about how science can lead to trouble if it gets isolated and unrestricted by morality. Aditya was a fan of Herbert George Wells, who was aptly called 'The father of Science Fiction'. He was famous for his works in the science fiction genre like 'The Time Machine' and 'The War of the Worlds'.

Aditya saw that Kranthi and Kumari did not bother with the English class and continued reading mathematics. Taking the age, eyesight and attitude of the English teacher into consideration, it was safe to assume that he did not know a single student who sat in the last bench.

Aditya saw Madan fervently gazing at Kumari, who was too busy to notice him and shook his head. He closed his eyes and went to the quantum realm as he could not see this disaster, waiting to happen. Aditya would rather chat with Tya about the plan for the evening. Today's motion after Anupama's birthday party was crucial for the ambush plan of the Eagle Islands.