Sara faintly heard voices calling out to her. She was still in a dreamy state and everything felt like a blur.

“Hey, wake up!”

“Wake up already.”

“Be gentle. It may shock her.”

“She should have known this a long time ago.”

Sara rubbed her eyes and woke up to a peculiar sight. She saw Tangy (her bicycle) and Rose (her rose) talking to each other. She pinched herself but it didn’t work. She buried herself under her blanket again and started to pray that it was all just a dream.

Rose whispered, “It’s okay. You can come out. You need someone to talk to. You can talk to us.”

Tangy did not whisper, “Get up! It’s time for some action. We don’t have a lot of time. We need to teach Amy a lesson.”

Sara jumped out of her blanket immediately. “How do you know about Amy?”

“Tsk, tsk, tsk, my girl,” said Tangy, “that’s all we have been hearing for the past few days.”

“Not entirely true,” corrected Rose, “she has been speaking to us about the pandemic…”

“And Kai and Kai and Kai,” snorted Tangy. “I’m sick of hearing about him. Gosh! Kai this, Kai that, Kai here, Kai there, Kai my rear wheel! Do you have any idea how often and how fast you’ve driven me just to meet him on time. That useless piece of…”

“Hold it,” screamed Sara. “Not a word more.”

“Ooo, thus speaks the lover girl. I am so scared,” mimicked Tangy.

“Calm down, Tangy.” Rose exclaimed. “Come here, Sara. Take a whiff of my petals. It should calm you down.”

Sara took Rose in her hand and brought it closer to her nose.

“What is this…..?” and plop she fell unconscious on the bed.

Tangy turned to Rose and shook his handle in dismay, “You’re stale! Really stale!”

Sara finished dinner quickly and ran upstairs to her room.

Her mother screamed, “You can’t keep your bicycle in your room, girl.” But she paid no heed.

She rolled around on the bed but couldn’t find peace. She picked the rose that Kai had given him and plucked a petal out. “Should I call him? Will he pick up?”

She thought about it for a minute and then, in a moment of zealousness, she dialed his number.

“It’s ringing. It’s ringing.”

Another ring
And then another
And another
And another and another

But no answer.

“Maybe he is studying. Oh, who am I kidding. That idiot never studies. He only wants to talk with Amy. What if he is speaking with Amy right now? That’s why he doesn’t want to talk with me. Nobody wants to talk with me. No, no, no. This couldn’t be. What if Amy is with him? No, no, no. There’s a lockdown. She can’t possibly be there. But what if she is? No, he probably is sleeping.”

She curled up on the bed with nasty thoughts running across her mind. She hugged her pillow and shed a tear. One tear led to another and soon there was a flood.

She had heard stories of people losing their minds during lockdown. She just never thought it would happen to her.

Poor Sara! Her eyes went sob, sob, sob.

Sara sat on a bench of a nearby park and flipped the yellow rose in her hand. Tangy, her bicycle, was parked next to the bench. It was a sunny morning sullied by the enforcement of another lockdown to combat the surge in covid cases. Schools had swiftly moved their classes online and Sara’s mind had plenty of time to torture itself.

“What do you say, Rose?” Sara asked as she continued flipping the flower. “What do you think I should do?”

She continued talking, “Kai hasn’t called me once since he started talking with Amy. Why is he doing this? Am I not his friend anymore? Why is he not asking me to do his homework? You must know Kai better than anyone. You were in his garden, weren’t you? Tell me what should I do. I have messaged him a couple of times but he hasn’t replied. Why is he acting like this? Did I do something wrong?

She turned to Tangy, “Have you any solution?”

She placed Rose back in the pannier and gave a long sigh. “Why does nobody talk to me?”

She looked up at the clouds and cursed loudly, “Nobody talks to me. I feel so lonely. Why did you have to bring this corona at this time. Everything is ruined. It’s all your fault. I cannot even concentrate on anything. Mom and Dad have been getting anxious too with my behaviour. What do I tell them? Answer me! Oh even you don’t want to talk with me. Fine! Have it your way! Am I asking for too much? Am I?”

Am I
Am I

The words rang thunderously in her head

Am I
AmI
Ami
Amy
Amy
Amy
Argh!!!

Poor Sara! Her heart went thump, thump, thump!

Argh! Argh! Arghhhhhhhhhh!

Something’s clearly wrong… Kai didn’t ask me to do his homework today… he was busy chatting with Amy the whole time…even the teachers gave him a look a few times but he would just not sit still…

It’s all Amy’s fault. I don’t like her one bit. By the way, Amy is the new girl in our class and she was sitting next to Kai… couldn’t she find another seat? Idiot! Doesn’t she know that Kai is already struggling with his grades and he needs to focus but she kept on talking with him… has she come here to study or to make friends?…. omg… are they friends already? Is she helping Kai with his homework? But she’s new here… something’s clearly wrong.

I don’t want to think about it too much… clearly I am overthinking… but there is something wrong and I can feel it…

Confused and angry and anxious,
Sara

…

Sara put her diary away and started with her homework but her mind was distracted. She failed to concentrate on anything except Kai and Amy. She wanted to cry but she fought against it. She just lay in her bed with her eyes closed firmly and prayed for a night of good sleep but her prayers were not to be answered. Poor Sara! Her heart went thump thump.

Dear Diary,

Today, Kai gave me a rose. This is the first time he gave me something and I am so happy because it is a yellow rose. He remembers that it is my favourite colour. I should ask him to show me his garden someday. Actually I have asked him a few times but he is always busy studying and I don’t want to disturb him in his studies. He has been struggling with his grades lately. I’ll tell you a little secret – he doesn’t understand Maths. And he struggles in Science and History too. Actually, he has never been good at studies. But that is alright because I get to help him with his homework that way.

Mom and Dad kept asking me why I was smiling while having dinner. They thought that I enjoyed the meal a lot but I did not even notice what I was eating. I was so excited to tell you about Rose that I finished my dinner quickly and ran upstairs. I still have to do my own homework but I can always stay up and complete it. I don’t think I will be able to sleep tonight anyway.

I thought I would dedicate a poem to him. So I went through hundreds of poems online but I couldn’t decide on one. And then it struck me. I think that I should write a poem myself. That would make him so happy. So tonight I will write a poem for him first and then I will do my homework. This is so exciting. I have already thought of a few lines.

Roses are red
Violets are blue
I am so lucky
To have you

What do you say? No? Yeah I think I can do better. And roses are not always red… lol

Anyway, I will work on it and let you know when I am done. Good night, Diary.

Love,
Sara

Sara was riding her bicycle at a lightning speed. She could feel her heart beating but not in a pleasant way.

(Thump thump)

The paucity of streetlights did not hinder her as she was well accustomed to this path. She had even dreamt this journey with fondness on several occasions

(Thump thump)

She just didn’t want to keep him waiting. It would make her look uncool and it might upset him. She would never want him upset at her

(Thump thump)
(Thump thump)

…

“Did you have to wait a long time for me?” Sara asked as she brought her bicycle to a halt. “It took up a lot of time to solve the fourth problem.”

“Well at least you were able to solve it,” Kai replied. “I would not be able to get past the first problem. Maths is not for me. You’re sweating a lot. Did you ride it like a rocket?”

“Tangy is a good boy.” Sara said as she patted her bicycle.

She handed over his homework to him and today he thanked her with a rose.

“I thought you might like it,” Kai said rather sheepishly.

Sara’s cheeks went red, “Like it? I love it. It’s so big and beautiful. And it is yellow – my favourite colour. Did you pick it from your garden?”

Kai nodded.

Sara continued blushing, “I am going to call it Rose,” and placed the flower carefully on Tangy’s pannier. “I say it looks perfect there.”

“It does,” Kai smiled. “Alright then, see you in class tomorrow.”

“Yes. See you tomorrow. Bye. Thanks again for this.”

“Don’t ride Tangy too fast. Be careful. It’s quite dark.”

…

Sara rode back home with her eyes hardly on the road. She was dreaming. Poor Sara!

(Thump thump)

I hate the neighbour’s noisy dog
I hate the neighbours too
I hate every human being
Everyone except you

I hate the ones who keep me waiting
And the ones who talk a lot
I hate the ones who think they’re smart
And the ones who think they’re not
I hate the ones who are always asking
The questions that they’ve got
And the ones who are always giving
Responses on the spot

I wish that Earth was devoid of life
Except for me and you
For I hate all the human beings
And many more things too

I hate my friend who keeps forgetting
My money that he owes
I hate the birds that chirp all day
Don’t you get my woes?
I hate the clouds that bring the rain
I hate it when it snows
Am I always so miserable?
Oh well nobody knows

Nobody except you, my darling
What can they do to me?
I have given only you the rights
To make me more happy