Getting to Know Him

                                    

                                          
“You know, that was cold!” a voice boomed on my ear. I looked up. It was Zayn.
                          
Today was our second class. He sat beside me again.
                          
“What was cold?” I asked, clueless.
                          
“The way you ditched me yesterday!” he put on a serious face. But there was hint in his voice that he was joking.
                          
“Oh. I just thought that you already had enough company.” I said, “Didn’t want to overcrowd your party, you know!” I winked at him.
                          
“Yeah, right!” he rolled his eyes.
                          
I grinned.
                          
“Forget it. Look what I had received yesterday.” He said, pulling a little strip of paper out of his pocket, “Again those bullshits!”
                          
“What?” I asked, somewhat eager to know what he had received.
                          
He handed me the paper. I looked at it and it read, “Zayn Malik – a TERRORIST! :p”
                          
“Aww! Zayn, I’m so sorry! I know how you’re feeling right now!” I put my hand on his shoulder in order to comfort him.
                          
“Nah! It’s nothing. I go through these kind sitch every once in a while! I even had to change schools twice when I was a kid because of these! I still get these stuffs alongside all the fanmails!” he crumpled the piece of paper and threw it away, “But I never actually thought that grown, adult students of MIT would act this way! It’s just sick!”
                          
I nodded my head, “Yeah, I know. It’s what you have to face when you’re from an Islamic country.”
                          
He looked a bit angry and said, “This is just shit, you know! I mean, it’s like I’ve hardly ever been toPakistan!”
                          
“I think they’re just jealous of you. Everything’s so easy for you because you’re famous and they’re not!”
                          
“Guess so.” He sighed.
                          
There was an awkward silence for a moment. After what it seemed like ages, he finally broke the silence, “So where are you from? I’m positive that you’re not fromEuropeorAmericajudging by your skin tone and accent.”
                          
“I’m from Bangladesh.” I responded.
                          
“Oh. So do you like music?” he asked.
                          
“To death! Music is my life!” I grinned, somewhat proudly.
                          
“Whoa! That’s just awesome! Good to have so many things in common with you!” he smiled.
                          
“We have one more thing in common.” I gave him a mysterious glare.
                          
“What?” he asked impatiently.
                          
“We both like to draw.” I beamed.
                          
“You draw too?”
                          
“Yeah. When I was sixteen, I sent you my figure sketches of you and the other lads. I guess you don’t remember.” I said.
                          
“It’s kinda hard to remember actually. I have like hundreds of things sent to me in a day!”
                          
“I get it.” I nodded.
                          
“Never mind. Sketch me another picture, I’ll keep it forever!” he flashed another gorgeous smile at me.
                          
“I will. I still sketch a lot.” I smiled back.
                          
Mr. Wolfsmith entered the class.
                          
“Wait.” Zayn tore a strip of paper from his notebook and wrote numbers on it. When he was finished, he handed it to me, “This is my number. You can text me, call me, whenever you want if you need any help with study or just to … you know, if you feel like chatting with DJ Malik!” He said, cheerfully.
                          
“Hey, thanks!” I took it gratefully and tucked it into my wallet.
                          
“But listen, don’t spread it, okay? I’ll be in a whole lot of trouble then!” he whispered.
                          
“I won’t. You can trust me on this.” I smiled reassuringly to him.
                          
“Thanks.” He smiled back.
                          
Girls weren’t as crazy today as the last day. A few girls smiled and winked at him while he passed by them. He smiled and winked back, in return. A few girls from other departments came to take his autograph and picture. But it didn’t take much long. So after he was finished, we both walked out together.
                          
“You know something?” he spoke first.
                          
“What?” I turned to look at him.
                          
“You’re not like the other fangirls!”
                          
I stared, “What do you mean?”
                          
“You’re just not so crazy about me!”
                          
I snorted, “Yeah, right! I SO am!”
                          
“At least, you don’t act that way. You’re not asking for my autograph. You’re not fangirling! I’m amused, to speak frankly!” he winked.
                          
“It’s called self-control, you know?” I huffed, “And I got your number now. I can get your autograph anytime I want!”
                          
“But still…you’re really friendly and fun to be with. You treat me like a normal guy.”
                          
“Listen, if you ever talked to some other fangirl the way you talk to me, they’d be friendly to you as well!”
                          
“I know, they wouldn’t! They’d just faint! I’ve experienced it loads of time!” he sighed.
                          
“I told you that I’d faint too. 3 things matter on this – age, place and time. All of those were in my favor so I didn’t faint. Or else I’d have fainted as well, when I saw you.”
                          
“I don’t think so.” He shook his head.
                          
I shrugged, “Well, whatever.”
                          
We were out of the building now. We strolled down the lawn toward the parking lot where Zayn’s car was parked. My dormitory was just across the parking lot. So we decided to walk together.
                          
Zayn suddenly turned back at me again, “You’ll call me tonight, won’t you?”
                          
“Yep, alright.” I raised my eyebrows.
                          
We’ve reached his car. He smiled and said, “Alrighty then! Talk to you soon.” he rode on his car, put his black shades on and revved up the engine. He turned back to me and waved. I waved back, grinning. With that, he drove off.
                          
I stood there for a minute, thinking about what had just happened today. I feel the crush getting stronger again. My teenage crush. I smiled at my unconscious mind. It’s just a celebrity crush and he already has a girlfriend! I don’t have time for these childish stuffs anymore! So why am I thinking all these? It’s just insane! Thoroughly insane! Stop thinking about him! I told myself.