BETTER THINGS TO LOOK AT

Chapter 2

Three floors and her heavy bag rupturing with books, left Aster flinching and out of breath. She resembled a porcelain doll-labelled fragile!! , except the fact that she hardly matched a doll's beauty.

However, the long corridor gave her heart a warming nudge . The chartboards on its walls were directing a heartfelt welcome towards her. She gulped her desperation to right away get to work and decorate the board with some scrupulous work of art.

Velda and her cronies walked in a herd, with the former leading all. On spotting the NEW GIRL looking at the chartboards with love- struck eyes, they couldn't help but sigh on her pathetic existence.

"So a nerd, for sure",Velda spoke with a dramatic frown on her chiselled face. Without another thought, the entire gang giggled their way into the class.

Velda sat down beside her boyfriend Allen, giving him a half-hearted smile.

Allen didnt seem to notice the lack of sparkle in her eyes. Maybe he was agitated by his football match or maybe he loved her too much to point out a lack of anything in her. Such maybe-s always convinced Velda about Allen's 'maybe' subtle love for her.

She saw the new nerd searching for a seat in the front row.

"A typical nerd with a desperation to sit right under the nose of the professors." Velda remarked to no one in particular.

Although she would never admit to anyone; nerds with their high grades always brought out her insecurities .

Yes, Velda -The Velda-The queen bee Velda , did care about her grades. A secret competition with all the class nerds kept doing rounds in her subconscious mind. But the day she would say that thought aloud , would be her last day... ofcourse before she gets a plastic surgery and a new identity .

Love for looks and popularity had brought her in the gang and the love for grades gave her a hideous secret.

She was complicated , to say the least.

On the other hand Aster seemed to have just one complication. The only seat left was the second last bench . The thought of retiring to such a place was haunting her.

"Oh, I guess the new girl doesn't know our seating arrangement",Velda declared in a cocky tone.

Allen was brought back from his daydream. His natural expression becoming artificial and distant. His narrow eyes narrowed further as he followed his girlfriend's line of vision to spot the new girl. He took the job of directing her to her ' lot '.

"Hey you !, Yes you !!", Allen pointed at Aster while leaning back on the wall behind him .

Aster shot him with a glare which he tossed aside with a disdainful eye roll.

"These are three rows of seats ... Okay... The window side row is for footballers only ... And the board side....

His speech felt like an embodiment of boredom. So Aster returned his earlier favours by giving him a big eye roll.

...and u can sit with those double eyed geeks right in front but do not dare to come to the . back . benches ."

The rant was over with a glare from Allen.

"The pretentious anger gave this tall guy's face a glow", Aster thought " but ofcourse a pretentious glow", she quickly corrected.

Completing her scrutiny regarding the seats, Aster turned sharply only to be hit by something hard and surprisingly warm. Her spects fell to the ground and she gave out an ashen growl.

Within microseconds she had grasped her glasses and was ready to ferociously plunge on the hard and warm 'thing'.

Her anger-lit pupils rose.

The fire in her eyes simmered down for a second when an icy, glazed glare of the 'thing' counterstroked it.

"A staring contest, how daring of you.", Aster thought triumphantly.

The dark skinned boy was towering over her head, returning Aster's ferocity with his own glare. He didn't care to shift his weight and stood slouching to the left, all the while not breaking the eye contact.

Aster had started fidgeting the spectacles which she clutched in her hand. She wasn't panicking. She had slayed opponents in innumerable encounters like these.

But something was different.

This guy glaring daggers at her , had an alluring glow encarved on his face. Jet black locks were clumsily fluttering on his forehead, ruffled by the wind. His presence was intoxicating, though she failed to understand whether the water-lily perfume or the folded sleeves of his brawny arm did the job of befuddling her.

Aster tried her best to stay indifferent to the differences.

"Miss Smitz, are you even listening, Miss SMITZ--

Professor Madeline's voice entered Aster's ears as a distant echo followed by the alertness and authority in her tone. She reluctantly unglued her caramel brown eyes from the velvet black ones.

Aster turned to face Mrs Madeline. Through the corner of her eyes , she could see the tall guy striding away.

"You need to get the books by tomorrow and your house is the yellow house." , professor Madeline's penetrating voice startled her.

"Now go take a seat", the middle- aged woman summed up and left with a confused look.

Aster gulped and turned on her brain which to her utmost surprise, or rather horror, had shut down few seconds ago.

She glanced around and found replicas of Mrs Madeline's confused expression glued on the first benchers' faces.

Before she could realise, Aster was walking or rather being dragged by the 'short haired and almost perfect uniform'- girl.

"What are you doingg", Aster shrieked ,half panicked-half raged.

"What am I doing !! What are YOU doing dude?", the girl gave an exasperated shrug.

Aster rose a questioning eyebrow.

"Oh common, I know he looks breathtaking but you can't stand flabbergasted in the middle of the class gazing Karl like there is no tomorr-

-I wasn't GAZING , I was GLARING. "

Aster cut her mid-sentence with a deadly sharpness , no less than a sword's.

"Okayy relax, although I don't get the difference-",the girl continued with exaggerated smirks.

Asters shot a menacing look.

The girl quickly changed the subject "But I believe you... Umm I am Mirtie by the way, you can call me Mia."

"Aster ,u can call me Aster." Aster replied regaining her composure.

Mirtie and Aster sat down on the fourth last and only vacant bench other than the second one from the back.

The class began and Aster could feel her heart blossoming with happiness. In a lecture of 45minutes, she had successfully managed to give 17 correct and 'brilliant' answers.

"Scope for improvement ", Aster remarked to herself with a small pout.

She swirled sideways to keep her books in the bag seated beside her. Her gaze fell straight upon the tall, warm guy whom she had allegedly stared at.

"He looks a little above average ...but still, I would not LOOK at him for more than a second , forget about GAZING ", thought Aster and gave out a stifled huff.

She had better things to look at, for example, the science book lying on her desk.

With a determination fuelled sparkle in her eyes, she started scribbling notes in the notebook.

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