CATEGORY: Short Stories Bookmark and Share



First Kiss

First Kiss


Any person in his life would face the beauty of adolescence once and I’m no exception. The fascinating breeze hit me when I was in my Class XII.


Before I continue, let me introduce myself. I’m Rakesh, a Mechanical Engineer by profile but a Software Engineer for living. I know you would not be surprised by that statement, because I too jumped into the river of IT as anyone would, at that age. Needless to say, I too have a girl friend. Even this would not throw any surprises since owning a high-end mobile, a bike and a girl-friend is part and parcel of any youth’s life. If any of you folks know Reema, please don’t share my ‘First Kiss’ story to her, as I had told her I kissed her first.


6 years rolling back……


As destiny would call it, the first person I met upon entering Class XII was Shilpa. I did not know if she was really pretty, because, my mom used to say even a piglet would look like a puppy in its younger days. She really looked like an angel to my eyes, though not with white wings and a star-wand, but with a school bag on her tender shoulders and lunch bag in her soft hand.


While I walked past her, I used to alter my tiny facial hair which grew very recently. Subject to my mom’s saying, I was to an extent, handsome. I had a strange thought that she was also watching me. But at this age, anyone would feel the temptation of watching or being watched. After being happy with the proceeding, I joined my group which was standing outside the classroom.


“Macha*, she looked and smiled at me da” was my first announcement to my group. Telling this info is a must for 2 reasons – One, to show off your smartness and two, to boil them. And both worked out, as they looked at me in awe.


Then it was Domar (His original name however is Dominic Michael) who broke the silence and my heart “Hey, she looks at everyone and smiles man. See there, she’s winking even at our peon”. I turned to see, and he was right.


You really can’t decode a girl’s mind. It’s the most complex program ever, with ‘n’ number of syntax errors, ‘if’ conditions and ‘loops’. Whenever you crack a code, another bug pops out. Whatever it is, programs are SE’s life.


I couldn’t speak anything and they all erupted into laughter upon my reaction. Mark my words; no guy can digest this kind of an embarrassment. I decided to prove my point. But the bell rang at that moment and we had to leave for the class.


I had another misfortune awaiting me – it was the Maths period. I could see the huge figure of Ms. Mary (nicknamed the Marie Biscuit) standing with her book on one hand and scale on the other. She was about 40 years of age but her looks showed 60. You know calculations can always go wrong with Maths and with Maths teacher too.


Our gang usually occupied the last row – to my astonishment I found Shilpa’s seat adjacent to mine. I was looking at her direction continuously, when suddenly she too turned at me once and smiled. I was flying in the air for a moment, before felled by a chalk piece throw from Mary miss. She’d have won a Gold medal had she represented India in Dart throwing. I stood up, ashamed, erasing the white-mark on my forehead. More than the hit, I was more pained because Shilpa was also giggling at me. 


How can girls kiss your cheeks and kick you at the same time? Is this their in-borne quality? A coin has only 2 sides. But girls have many sides –along with head and tail, hands and legs also to attack boys.


I took my decision at this juncture – you know, Boys are best at revenge than at love. I challenged to my group that I would kiss her today evening in front of the whole class. They were first shocked but later teased and cheered me up for my noble mission. I looked at her face again – she was still smiling – but her smiles seemed to me like venom now.


………………


The session got over. She was about to go near the teacher to ask some doubt. I was looking at her cautiously, planning every step. My friends however persuaded me to pounce immediately upon my prey. I did not know if it was the right occasion, but challenges and bets are taken very seriously at school times. So without applying my mind, I proceeded – towards my target.


I followed her every step and when she was about to bend to the teacher to show the notes, I leaned forward and extended my lips slowly.


A gentle touch and a sharp sound; yes, I made it.


The next sound I heard was from my Ms. Mary’s scale. Because, the moment I leaned, she had moved a bit to the left and I ended up kissing my teacher. What a crime!!


“How dare you do this to me?” was her question while ripping me off. Even I was asking my inner mind “Why the hell you do this to her? I have to wash my mouth with acid today”.


If a program has bugs, the programmer fixes them. If the programmer has bugs, no wonder the system will crash.


The whole day, I was made to kneel down with shirts off, showing my 1.5 packs, in front of the classroom. Everyone, including Shilpa, was laughing at my bravery – the first kiss of my life.


******


Still I can’t forget the moments till date. Lots have happened over the years. The last I heard was, Shilpa had gone to US for higher studies and Marie biscuit had resigned from service recently (May be some ‘Good Day’ or ‘Bourbon’ would have replaced her).


Phone ringing…


“Hey yes Reema, yeah, I will join you in another hour”.


I know you guys can’t hide this incident from Reema. So before you guys, I will myself update her. See you later, bye for now! Thanks for listening patiently.


 


***THE END***


Disclaimer: All the characters in this story are fictional and imaginary. They neither resemble anyone living or dead, nor based upon any true events.


Notes*:


Macha - Dude, in local Tamil slang



by srinivasan_r20

You must log-on in order to critique and grade any writings. Login here.


Other Critiques of this Work
Given By: Katina
Critique Date:03/19/2010

Critique:Hello and thank you for posting your short story with us at One Stop Write Shop! The first suggestion I would like ot make is to explain in one area about the Class XII. Perhaps adding this information after writing Class XII the first time like, in the XII Class, which is the ... study of .. . or a class I"m taking at... to study.... ) The narration is good in the story, well done! There are some places that need minor editing, for clarity like in the following sentence: "...I used to alter my tiny facial hair which grew very recently," I didn't understand the first part of the sentence: "I used to alter my tiny ..hair" did you mean something like: the growth of manhood appeared ... or growing hair on my face is something I... etc... If you could elaborate a little more about the face hair, or remove it altogether may help to move the story along. Since this story is over one thousand words, I may send you my review by email. It's a good first draft, that I believe could be revised a bit to make it more publishable. Favorite part of the story: Use of description --"I followed her every step and when she was about to bend to the teacher to show the notes, I leaned forward and extended my lips slowly. " The last part of the sentence is what I'm referring to: " ..I leaned forward and extended my lips slowly." Incredible! The first part of the sentence could come after this part, (a swap of sentence parts). By starting the sentence with the pronoun: I, it gives the story a bit of a run on feeling. If you could use more of the descriptive type of writing in the story, I think you'll find the opportunities for publishing this story easier. The beginning and end could use a bit of work. One suggestion is to engage the reader through dialog as in a scene, to being the story and end the story. I enjoyed reading your story very much. I'm going to rate it for now a (2), however, it could rate much higher with slight revision. Good job! -- Katina When you revise it, please let me know so I can review it again and offer another review (with a different rating). PS. I tend to be stingy with rates higher than 2 unless I think the material is "ready to submit to a publisher, or to enter in a writing competition." When I read something that has a lot of potential, I try to offer feedback that could help the author improve the draft for the purpose of publication. Thank you for sharing your writing with us here. I'm sure I'll be reading a lot more of your work soon!

Grade:Average


Given By: raenie
Critique Date:03/09/2010

Critique:Hi again srinivasan :) I can't help but smile as I read this very entertaining short story of yours--Your  introduction and conclusion served their prupose well. I also liked the inserts that you included, it made for a more humorous read. Though I am no IT and Math expert, you still managed to downplay the use of some jargon that you used, and made it relatable :) A really fun read--thanks for sharing this, it actually reminded me of my own blooper with my Math professor--haha perhaps I might submit it here one of these days... 
[View Replies]

Grade:Excellent


 
One-Stop Write Shop LLC Copyright 2007-2008
visitors since November 2007!
1279 total writings, and growing!
Designed by Developjet
Members Only
Writers Station
Logon
User Action Menu View Portfolio View Public Profile View Blog Send Private Message Send IM via Yahoo Send IM via MSN
User Action Menu View Portfolio View Public Profile View Blog Send Private Message