15 August 2022 — the date I will never forget.
Independence Day.
No school, but class later in the evening.
I was home, scrolling Insta, super bored — when suddenly:
Aditya:
"Hey... wanna play Truth or Dare over text?"
UM WHAT? 👀
It was so random.
I mean, we'd been chatting a little these days, but still — where did this come from?
But I was bored, so:
Me:
"Lol sure, why not 🤷♀️"
And that's how this normal but abnormal convo began.
It wasn't the usual "truth or dare" though. Noooo.
Weird stuff.
Like:
"Rank people in class based on how annoying they are."
Or:
"Which teacher do you think lowkey hates us the most?"
I was laughing so much. Aditya had such a sarcastic, sense of humour.
Then, casually — I asked:
"Okay okay... who do you LIKE?" 👀
He replied:
"No one really."
HAH. Liar. I knew it.
I pushed.
"Come onnn. You can tell me 😏"
Still, he didn't confess anything.
So I gave up.
"Nvm 🙄 your turn."
Then came the question that RUINED ME:
Aditya:
"Who do you like?"
And I just... froze.
I could've lied.
I should've lied.
But something inside me — that dumb hope — made me type the truth.
"You."
I stared at the screen. My heart was in my throat.
Aditya:
"Lol... you're joking, right?"
OUCH. 🙃
I didn't even know how to reply. I think I just sent a laughing emoji to brush it off.
And I thought: okay. That's done. EMBARRASSMENT over. Right?
Wrong.
A little later, I found out from Devi that Aditya actually asked her.
Because of course.
They lived close, came to class together — LUCKY ME 😭
Apparently, he asked her:
"Did she really mean it?"
She nodded.
And he... smiled.
I didn't even know what to think anymore. My brain was a mess.
---
Later that day, we went to class.
And guess what?
SIR ANNOUNCED WE'D BE PLAYING TRUTH AND DARE.
I swear, the universe was against me.
I sat down next to Devi. My face was pale.
She looked at me:
"You okay?"
Yeah. NO.
Meanwhile — Aditya?
Sitting with Shruti.
Of course. Shruti — the prettiest, most confident girl in class.
Miss Extrovert, who every guy crushed on.
And there he was — sitting beside her, looking all cool and casual.
While I?
Was about to die of secondhand embarrassment.
---
And then came the WORST part.
My turn. My dare.
Sir smiled at me.
"You — paint your face with black marker... and press it against the whiteboard."
I wanted to DISAPPEAR.
I looked at Devi — pure panic on my face.
On the SAME day I'd confessed...
In front of my crush...
I had to become an actual clown.
But what choice did I have?
I took the marker. Painted my face like an idiot.
Everyone was laughing. I pressed my face to the board — my cheeks were burning red.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Aditya watching.
I wanted to melt into the floor.
WHY did the universe hate me so much?! 😭
---
That night, I came home — face still slightly stained with marker.
And my heart?
Even more stained with embarrassment.
On the day she finally confessed,
The universe handed her a marker.
And her crush?
He sat beside another girl.
To be continued…