I picked up the books that had fallen on the floor because I accidentally bumped into that Idiot, and instead of apologizing, he just glared at me and walked away. This is exactly why I love libraries.
They are the best. The moment I step out of the library, I have to interact with so many people and so many idiots.
For the last time, I picked up my books and belongings and walked toward Arvind Sir’s class—my English teacher, the best teacher I could have ever asked for. Honestly, I don’t enjoy coming to college every day, but I always make sure to attend his class.
I sat at the first bench and opened my notebook. Today, we had a discussion on Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice!
Someone dropped into the seat next to me with a loud thump. I scrunched my face in disgust.
The Shreyansh Malhotra. My rival. My competitor for life. Ever since I was born, I’ve only dreamed of defeating him in everything.
“Hello, Krutika Kapoor,” he said. “I’m sure you’ve already thought of at least 109 different ways to murder me in your head. But spoiler alert! I’m not interested!” he added with a smirk.
I rolled my eyes in annoyance and focused on my book as Sir entered the class. After greeting him, we dived into the discussion.
“Who will tell me the opening line of this novel?” Sir asked the class.
Only two hands shot up as high as possible—mine and, of course, his. I kept nudging him to lower his hand, but he nudged me back.
“Shreyansh, you tell me,” Sir said.
“It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife,” he recited, without breaking eye contact with me. I looked away first and focused on the pool of words in front of me.
The rest of the class blurred by until Sir made an announcement.
“Exactly one week from now, there will be a competition among you all! You will be divided into two teams, and whichever team performs a Shakespearean play the best will win the Best Literary Geek award!” he declared.
Our eyes widened so much they were about to pop out of their sockets.
“So, which plays are you all choosing?” Sir asked.
“ROMEO AND JULIET!”
Shreyansh and I shouted at the top of our lungs, glaring at each other with seething anger.
“Well, there you have it. Our first pair!” Sir announced.
I immediately felt nauseous.
“NO, SIR! We won’t work together!” We shouted in unison.
“You don’t have a choice! You both chose the same play!” Sir said, leaving no room for arguments. We both slumped back in our seats, defeated.
We glared at each other and grimaced.
“We don’t have a choice, Krutika. Buckle up!” Shreyansh muttered.
Auditions Begin:-
Over the next few days, we gathered in the college hall to audition people for our play. But it turned out to be way more difficult than we expected.
“NEXT!” Shreyansh shouted.
Rohan Aggarwal entered the hall with a smug smile.
“I’m here to audition for the role of Mercutio,” he said.
Shreyansh, who was busy looking through the list, froze and then slowly looked up.
“What the hell are you doing here?” he shouted, standing up.
Rohan and Shreyansh. The infamous football rivals who were once best friends but ended their friendship over a girl. To this day, no one knows whether the girl betrayed them both or if they betrayed each other.
“We can’t say no to anyone auditioning, Shreyansh. Calm down!” I told him.
Rohan auditioned for four or five minutes, and honestly? He was actually good.
“I think he can be Mercutio,” I said hesitantly.
“NO. Not at all.” Shreyansh gritted his teeth.
“Let’s take a break.” I sighed, signaling the others to disperse.
We walked backstage and sat on the small stairs.
“Shreyansh, he is the closest we have to a good Mercutio. It’s a difficult role!” I reasoned.
“I said no, and that’s final!” he snapped.
“It’s not your play! I have an equal say in it!” I yelled.
He stood up and walked toward me until my back hit the wall.
“Krutika. There are only two people I despise in this college—you and Rohan. I’m only doing this play for the grades, so stop making it harder for me than it already is.” He placed both hands on the wall, caging me in.
I glared at him.
“That night wasn’t my fault!” I hissed. “I was just a kid! I couldn’t have known she would run away from the wedding! Stop blaming me for it every time!”
His jaw clenched.
“She was my sister, Krutika! It was her wedding day. Mom and Dad found a suitable groom for her. But no—you convinced her to ‘follow her heart’ and run away with her boyfriend! Even today, my parents have to listen to taunts because of that night. So don’t you dare justify your actions!” he spat.
That one fateful night.
I let a girl live her life instead of being forced into a loveless marriage. And from that night on, this person became my biggest enemy, my competitor, and my rival.
I pushed him away and stormed off in anger.
When we returned, I announced firmly, “Rohan, you’ll be Mercutio.”
I could feel Shreyansh throwing daggers at me with his eyes, but I ignored him and continued the auditions.
The Final Casting Decision:-
“Guys, we are only left with Romeo and Juliet! You two should perform those roles! We might get brownie points!” Riya suggested.
“NO!!” We yelled in unison.
“She’s right. You both will be the best choice,” Arvind Sir said, leaning on the doorframe.
We sighed in disappointment and accepted our fate. I can’t wait for this play to get over.
The Dressing Room Incident:-
The next day, rehearsals started. I entered the dressing room to look for a highlighter.
“Krutika, you’re performing so well!” Rohan said, walking in.
“Thanks! It’s getting hectic though,” I replied, still searching for the highlighter.
Suddenly, he stepped behind me, way too close.
A shiver ran down my spine, something felt wrong.
I turned to leave. “I should go. The play is about to start.”
But he grabbed my wrist, a little too tightly.
“Why, darling? I thought we could spend some quiet time together,” he whispered.
“No, I don’t need any ‘quiet time.’ Let me go.” I grimaced at his words.
I rushed to the door—but it was locked.
I jerked the handle. It didn’t budge.
“Where are you going, darling?” he sneered, cornering me against the door.
“HELP!” I screamed.
He gripped my arms tighter.
“You were the one who convinced Saumya to run away from her wedding, weren’t you?” he sneered.
I froze.
“My brother was supposed to marry her. But instead, she ran away—because you encouraged her. I swore I’d make you pay for that humiliation.”
Tears welled up in my eyes, I look around for something to hut him with but then—
BANG!
The door burst open. No! The correct words would be- someone broke the door in half.
A seething Shreyansh walked over and grabbed Rohan while they exchanged a few punches. I stood there frozen, trying to process everything while he punched him more.
“You still miss Aditi, do you?” Rohan said.
“You asshole! She was my girlfriend, and you decided to kiss her forcefully! I will kill you today!” Shreyansh said and punched him.
Some people came and separated the two.
“Are you okay?” he asked me stopping in fromt of me.
I nodded and let my intrusive thoughts win. I hugged him and cried like a baby for a whole 10 minutes. He caressed my head and stayed silent.
All this time, I thought he hated Rohan because he stole his girl! He saved her!!
I may be wrong to let his sister run away, but I don’t think he hates me for it! I feel even more guilty for saying those things to his sister.
We parted ways after a few minutes and he walked off without saying anything.
The final performance:-
After a few days, we didn’t fight and practiced for the play. On the final day, I looked at the script for the last time and sighed!
“Krutika!” a voice said.
“You know that we have to perform all the scenes today, right?” Shreyansh said nervously.
“Yeah,” I said slowly.
“So about the scene…” he said but stopped.
“We have to do it!” I said to him, to which his eyebrows shot up, but he made his poker face again.
“Okay,” he said.
“Okay,” I said.
We went out and did what we did best!
Romeo: “Well then, dear saint, let our lips do what our hands are doing. They’re praying for something after all, a kiss, so their faith doesn’t turn into despair.”
Juliet: “Saints don’t act first, although they may respond to prayers.”
Romeo: “Then don’t move while I get my prayers answered.”
Then he slowly moved his fingers to the side of my face and pressed his lips to mine. We kissed ferociously, both with delicacy and rush.
“So… truce?” he asked me.
“We’ll see,” I said, smirking.
The end.
~Kanishka Tuteja.
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