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)