How not to prepare for exams

Hot noon turning to evening. I was preparing for my BE exams during preparation leave. Bit breezy outside but due to lack of ventilation, it was pretty stuffy inside the room. I decided to sit outside in the balcony. Positioned the chair to get into the wind path. Good spot to to keep an eye on the 'traffic' in colony.

She was there.

I had nearly spent 2 years in the colony and been pretty nose-straight-in-front guy. Though I knew this girl since begining, it was only recent that I started 'noticing' her.

She was there, sitting in her balcony. Nice coincident, I thought. I got back to my reading. After reading couple of pages, I checked on her again. She was still there and I cought her stealing a glimpse at me. Hmm! I decided to up the ante. Instead of a quick glimpse, I stared at her openely, daring her. She accepted the challenge. She returned back my stare.

I was out of my wits. What's going on! I was alway bit clumsy around girls. Did not know how to behave naturally around them. And here was a girl, openly looking at me. Was she playing a game?! I was enjoying it anyway.

I spent that evening (about 3-4 hours) in a 'read-a-page, check-her-out' cycle.

PS

I spent next month with this routine during the evenings. I never got to talk with her. Once, I crossed path with her and her father. She made sure, we passed by pretty close. After the exams, I tried contacting but did not succeed. I had to return to Mumbai anyway. From her responses, I would very much like to believe it was not one-sided totally.

I'm not sure what I should have and could have done. In hind-sight, I believe, it was my experimenation with cigarate smoking in the previous week that made me bit vulnerable in that duration. I quit smoking the next week.

I don't feel any pain when I remember this incident. What I remember is the freashness at the stroke of waking, warmth in my heart, looking ahead to the evenings, couple of unspoken protests, the assurance.