They couldn’t be more similar to each other just like chalk and cheese. If humanity were measured on a scale they would be either end of it. But yet they found themselves thrust together by a series of unfortunate events. Forced to endure each other’s company much to their charging.
They were from the opposite end of the social spectrum. She thought of him as uncouth, ill-mannered, rude, lacking any social skills. He thought of her as a spoilt, self-centred, self-absorbed, obnoxious princess who thought the world revolved around her. She was beautiful and delicate, he was rugged but handsome. She was the queen bee while he was the outcast.
He would have been the last person in the world she would have wanted to be with but yet destiny had conspired and brought them together. How could this happen? How did they find themselves in this strange predicament?
Damn the janitor who locked up went without sparing a thought to check if anyone was in the classroom. She cursed under her breath, which was so unlike the prim and proper her, why did she have to return to class to search for something she has left behind, by now she had even forgotten what it was. He, as usual, slept through the lecture, and no one bothered to wake him up.
She went below the desk to search the thing she was looking for, while he just rolled off the desk he rested his head on. Next thing they knew was they heard a click and a rattle of keys. They rushed to the door at once only to realise that their worst fears had come true. She tried to force the door open, tried to pry open the windows. Their mobiles had no signal which was usual for this part of the campus.
He sat there observing her, feeling amused at all her attempts to get out, much to her annoyance. She banged, screamed and even tried to break the glass to draw attention. But all seemed futile. When she finally ran out of ideas panic set in. She realised that the college would be closed for the weekend and she was expected to sleepover with her friends, which was a cover to spend time with jock boyfriend. She was sure no one would miss him.
In all her hopelessness she began to sob. Moved by her tears, he finally got up and walked towards her and offered her his handkerchief. She looked at it suspiciously but finally took it and patted her face with it.
He tried to see if he could find a way through the air condition ducts in the ceiling. He almost made it to the top when he lost footing and came crashing down landing heavily on his foot. He screamed out in agony causing her to immediately rush to his side. He tried to stand but his ankle couldn’t take his weight. He winced in pain and sat back down. She propped his hand over her shoulder and helped him hobble to the nearest bench.
His ankle hurt where he had twisted it but even more bruised was his ego. She managed to force open the cabinet and extracted the first aid kit from it. She sprayed his ankle covering it with her scarf. He was glad that she was there otherwise he was not sure what he would have done, but he refrained from saying it out loud, call it male chauvinism. In a way he became the damsel in distress.
They finally settled down, waiting for someone, anyone to come and rescue them. They thought to a time long ago, when they were kid, a time when they were best of friends, totally inseparable. What happened to them? She became the queen bee, the popular girl who everyone wanted to be seen with, while he became the rebel, the outcast. She occupied the apex of the pecking order while he didn’t even bother about the order. He would have been the last person who she would want to be seen with it.
As hours passed by her panic lessened and so did his pain. He was able to stand on his own even though she offered to help him. However, hunger began to rare its head and began to take over them. He rummaged through his bag and found the sandwiches which he made for himself. He knew she too was hungry and offered it to her. She accepted and greedily gobbled it down only realising what she had done when she had taken the last bite. She felt ashamed of her greediness cause it was so not like her to be this greedy, this improper. But she remembered that he always had the best sandwiches and this moment they felt heavenly. He assured it was ok and hobbled to a fellow student’s desk who he knew had stocked junk food and indeed he found some biscuits and chips stored away for some boring lecture.
Now that their hunger was satiated sleep began to take over them. He offered his bag as a pillow for her to rest her head and his jacket to cover her. He volunteered to stay awake in case if anyone would come. So while she slept he kept a watch, however, not for long, for sleep overtook him.
He didn’t know how long he was asleep but woke with a start when she shook him. She was wide awake, at first he didn’t hear it but after a while he could hear the footsteps too. They both began to scream and bang the door to draw attention to them. The footsteps grew louder. It was the janitor who had come back. He assured them that he would with the keys.
While they eagerly waited for him to return they made a promise to each other that they would try and be civilised towards each other. They knew they couldn’t be the friends they once were but they could always be frenemies. He promised to not treat her with contempt while she promised to be less mean towards him.
And so when the door finally opened, they bid farewell to one other and swore never to utter a single word of what transpired in those hours. They returned back to their social pecking order but a little less hostile to each other.
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