Right now, I’m almost alone. It’s true what everyone says: school days were the best. A kid who failed his subjects more frequently than he went to school, or a student whose mom was the principal of the school where he studied, may not have had the finest school experience. At the very least, I had friends and was living with my parents at the time. Now that I’m in college, I don’t even have many friends right now here.

This chilly breeze caused me to reflect about my life. Because of the Covid limitations, the park seems unusually quiet compared to other days. My favorite spot here is in the shade of a massive banyan tree. This is the only peaceful spot I can think of. Actually, this atmosphere makes it difficult for me to think. The birds chirping, the fresh wind, and the warm shade always bring me back to the present. Today, though, was different. I’m sitting here after seeing my exam results, they were so bad. It makes me reflect about my past.

“Come back, Bruno, don’t run too fast.” I noticed a young girl sprinting behind her dog.

Nidhi, that was her. She was my junior in high school. To be honest, back in high school, I had a huge crush on her. She was the brightest student in her class. . It was our annual day of rehearsals one day, and we were both in it as the students who would escort our chief guest, and it was then that we met for the first time. We communicated for hours at that point, and we even swapped Facebook pages. We never spoke again after that, and she never accepted my friend request. It was the only time we had ever been friends. I can still recollect the memories with her.

The dog approached me and began smelling my feet. I made an attempt to pet it. I softly placed my hand on its head, and in the next second, it was in my mouth.

“Ahh, you stupid animal,” I shouted in pain

“Very sorry, he is aggressive” Nidhi was standing in front of me with her dog in her hands

“Yeah it’s okay Nidhi”

“How do you know my name?”

No, she doesn’t remember me? Is she faking forgetfulness? Since high school, I haven’t grown a beard . I had a lot of acne back then and not now and that’s the only change. Even with the mask on, it just took a few seconds for me to recognize her. Is it true that she has forgotten who I am?

To make her remember me, I took off my mask and moved my head towards her.

“Please don’t remove your mask, it’s not safe,” she said

“No, not that. I thought you didn’t recognize me”

“I still don’t”

My smile began to fade. She didn’t even look at me; she was too preoccupied with her puppy to notice me. My patience had run out.

“It’s me, Tarun, you senior in school,” I said

She still looked confused, “No, I am sorry, I still can’t….”

“On an annual day in 2017, we both presented a speech to our chief visitor, I was in grade 10th and you were in 9th, I wore a black suit and you wore a…..” I came to a halt there; I recall what she was wearing, but it would be embarrassing if I told her everything about her detailly and here she didn’t even recognize me.

She thought for sometime and finally it seemed like she now remembers me “Yeah, I remember you, Tarun. Principal’s son, right?”

Okay, fine, at least she remembers that

“Yes, I was,” I said. I didn’t want to ask more questions.

I went to the side of the bench and showed her where she could sit for a while. I’d like to refresh her memory of all the chats we had at that time. I am still getting the same vibes from her like in school. She creates a distinct aura. I felt wonderful whenever I was near her, and it now contributed to the park’s atmosphere.

She sat down. “Where are you studying now?”

“ St. Xaviers Institute of Technology in Hyderabad, pursuing mechanical engineering, what about you?” I asked

“Great, I took a drop this year, preparing for NEET, medical entrance exam,” she said

“Oh, good luck!”

“Thanks, sorry I could not recognize you, I am always bad at it,” she apologized

Call me a simp or anything, I always like to hear talking for a long time. The first time we talked, it was one of the best days of my life.

“Yeah, it’s okay, it’s natural, so what’s his name?” I asked, pointing at the dog.

“Bruno”

It was a nice name. I always wanted a dog but my strict mother, who still thinks she is the principal even though she took an early retirement, will never let me.

“I just wanted to chill, so came to the park to get a walk with Bruno” she continued

“It’s good to chill sometimes,” I said, the person who has no other work than chilling

I wanted to tell her I had a crush on her at school.

She didn’t mind as we grew up, but still something was pulling me back.

“I…” I hesitated. She started staring at me.

I took a deep breath and continued, “I remember you used to wear a blue watch with red colour flower on it “

She looked at me with her wide eyes. Her smile was no longer on her pretty face. I thought I would feel bad. “Yes, that watch. I don’t why everyone was behind it, it became a talk at school for that stupid watch”

It relieved me. Bruno was looking at me as if he read my thoughts. He was wagging its tail as he saw me.

“Hey..” as I was about to say something, she got a call. She lifted it, “Yeah, I am coming, wait for me?”

“Need to go?” I asked.

“Yeah, it’s my brother. He came to pick me up back home, needing to leave. Bye!” she said.

Again, we talked for a very little time; I wanted to spend more time with her. I want to confess to her. I was losing all interest in the park as I saw her going away from me with her dog towards the exit.

She turned back; she was running towards me. I felt all the energy on my back. I was excited. She put her hand in her handbag and pulled out her phone when she came back.

“Give me your number, we stay in touch,” she said

I didn’t show it, but my heart was racing like a lottery winner on the inside. I gave her my phone number, and as I watched her walk away, I felt better and more eager. I followed her till I couldn’t see her anymore and sat on the bench, smiling.

Wait, what an idiot am I, I gave her my phone number. I should have also asked for her phone number. Will she even bother to call me?