I was ten. And Hari was the new guy in class. For reasons I couldn't understand then, I liked him very much. I was the most dominating guy in the class and I loved to be in power. Hari was the new kid there and he was intelligent to befriend me but for the first time I felt lucky for being friends with someone. Hari was also the first guy I would do favours for as a monitor of my class. Others were never spared and they were quick to realise that we were good friends. I would end up on his bench everyday during recess. I had no friends as such, people would talk to me because they were scared of me. Why? I don't know for sure. I wasn't a huge kid, in fact just the opposite. I hated kids who would not notice my presence. Those who did were given access to my school notes, treated well by me, not reported against to the class teacher and would escape indiscipline as long as it was within my jurisdiction. The system however funny worked really well both for me and for my class. It amused me to find a lean boy bully over huge ones only with a propaganda. In the years of my school until fifth grade, no one ever contested against me for the Monitorship of the class until Hari decided to. I did not respond for reasons again I did not understand. I did not feel threatened but it did make people believe that my tyranny is over after all. It actually was going to. But, I did not cared, not as long as I could talk to him and sit and have my lunch with him during the recess.
One day, when we went to the playground, it became evident to me what was happening with me. We were playing around the ruins of an old building in the school and Hari came across to me and kissed my cheeks. And he smiled. I felt something, actually pleasant but for unknown reasons I yelled at him and he still smiled. That offended me. Not his kissing me but his oblivion to my anger however superficial that was. That day when I went home after the school I processed what happened in the school that day. I couldn't understand what was happening. It felt good but I wanted to pretend that I didn't like it. I would act as if it hadn't happened. We would still have lunch together. I had lost my tyrannous behavior but people still feared me. I would still be the one who would take most decisions because Hari would always look up to me for deciding. I would love to answer him and decide for him just as he did to ask me. I would lend notes to absolutely anyone even those who were at odds with me and though they felt it was a hand of friendship gesture, I would still ignore everyone. Only one thing in class could take my attention other than the blackboard and it was Hari. It goes without saying that I was the ace student of my class. I decided that we were best friends. I still wonder if it was the kiss or Hari that changed my way of looking at things.
It was certainly not the first one. I mean the kiss. My first kiss was a year before I believe, when I had kissed a girl who lived next door. Ruchi, that is what her name was. She was ugly to be frank but kiss was the only contact I ever made to her, at least so I remember. I had just tried to copy what I had seen on the television. I believe it was some movie of Shah Rukh Khan. The next was by a pretty girl Reena. She was the diva of my class and my only competitor when it came to scoring grades. She was all teachers' favourite. But, we shared the top positions alternately. She was way too fashionable for her age. She loved movies, hair bands(she changed them every second day), she had 'mini-cut'hair style and I found her awesome. But we were always at odds. She was also power hungry like me, as I remember. One day she invited me to her home to 'play'. Guess what? I went to her quarter. She was alone and I asked her what she wanted to play. I was shocked when she replied with a kiss on my lips. I was traumatised having been kissed by an enemy. Moreover, I had never heard of a kiss on a lip. I thought she didn't know how to kiss! Those days bollywood had no lip kisses or smooches. I believe she had watched a hollywood movie. But I wanted to correct her. I told her that she didn't know how to kiss. And she insisted she was right and I was wrong. And that was a grave mistake to make (telling me on my face that i am wrong). We ended up arguing and the altercation ended with me slapping her in the class in front of everyone. I remember very clearly, I had loved to see her cry. She took her revenge a day later as the class teacher ordered her to slap me in front of the class like I did. At that age it was the most humiliating thing to have happened to me. After that day I would ignore her and I learnt then that ignoring is the worst thing you could do to someone.
Reena came to me to ask for apology. And things changed. She again invited me to her place and this time didn't kiss me though I was waiting. We were not best of friends as she wanted us to be largely because Hari would always grasp my attention. She was aware of it and I remember she hated to see me with him all day. But, neither me nor Hari or Reena were mature then to understand things -- things I took another ten yers to understand very painfully.
