“El, what the heck did you do that for?” David burst out once he and his best friend were out of earshot. “You aren’t telling me you like that girl, are you?”

Tanzeel raised an eyebrow. “Oh yeah, real smooth conclusion, Dave,” he said sarcastically, brushing his deep, black hair away from his eyes. “Of course not, you idiot; you’ve known me long enough to understand I have far more important things in my life than girls.”

“Exactly,” David cried. “What the heck were you thinking, then? That girl is going to think you’re in love with her, or something.”

For a moment, Tanzeel made no reply. Then, finally, he spoke. “She won’t,” he said shortly. David snorted. “As if,” he said exasperatedly. “This is Kashan Aleen we’re talking about, Tanzeel; the girl whom every second boy at Faztel is in love with. She wouldn’t think you an exception. How can you sound so sure that she doesn’t think you like her?”

Tanzeel smiled, all of a sudden. “I just know,” he told David. “Trust me, she won’t even think that for a second.”

Seeing that it would be pretty useless to argue, David shrugged. “Why did you leave without even asking her to leave, anyway?” he asked after a moment.

“Oh, I decided to let her have her fun,” Tanzeel replied casually.

“And what if she continues to, err, have her fun?”

“Well, she had better not.”

“If you say so, El,” David said finally. “Only, the way you behaved was completely –”

“– unexpected,” said Tanzeel, finishing the sentence for him.


A stunned silent met the departure of the two boys, broken only by the heavy breathing of everyone else in the class. Then Lily yanked at Kashan’s arm and, a moment later, they were outside in the empty corridor. Sally was no longer in sight; Kashan guessed she had decided to go back and have a bite to eat, after all.

“I – I don’t get it,” Lily said, looking bewildered. “Do you think he likes you back?”

For several seconds, Kashan made no reply. Then, finally, she shook her head. “No,” she said quietly, before falling silent again; she was too busy pondering over the whole matter, herself. Despite him changed behaviour, she was dead sure that he did not.

“Then?” Lily inquired, as if Kashan held the answers to her endless list of questions. “The way he behaved was completely –”

“– unexpected,” Kashan said, completing the sentence for her.