ALEX:
Whether she knows or not, I can feel Vidya's hot stare burning into my skin. She's tapping the end of her pencil against her notebook in slow movements. Across from me, separated by the wooden table's desk lamp, she sits in a white blouse with a flowery lace pattern that shows only up close. It's buttoned to the pale underside of her brown throat with the collar folded crisply. Trying to hide my gaze from her, I focus on the table. Vidya's forearms rest on the table atop an open notebook which is covered in her neat scrawl of writing. Her science books are stacked messily to her left, but each one is unopened. When did she close them? The sleeves of her shirt are rolled up to her elbows which reveal thin wisps of black hair against her dark forearms. She carries two rings on her left hand: the first rests against the second knuckle of her middle finger while the other only hits the first.
We're in the same Science class, although our interactions are limited. She hardly ever raises her hand in class to participate and sits on the other side of the lecture hall than I do. We've spoken a few times-once she wound up at my dorm door knocking for George's girlfriend. They were out but would be returning within ten minutes, I had explained.
Although she most likely doesn't reciprocate the sentiment, there's something I enjoy about spending brief moments with Vidya. She's shy. She never raises her voice. She speaks and laughs quietly. It sometimes takes her a few seconds to get my jokes, and she hardly ever replies with any, but it amuses me to watch her navigate our interactions. I like the way she looks so intensely at me as if she's calculating every move she should make in response to me. It might be mean because, yes, I am laughing at her.
I had invited her into my room, let her sit at my desk, and watched as she spun slowly in the chair, taking in the cramped dorm room. She surveyed all the posters, raising an eyebrow every now and then at bands she didn't recognize. Desperate to fill the silence, I asked her to explain something we had learned in class that Monday, but, in all honesty, I didn't need her to. She had gotten the memo and resumed the lesson in her quiet voice, her eyes hardly meeting mine.
Vidya looked grateful when George and Maya returned. After Maya kissed George goodbye, the two girls left. When the door was kicked shut behind them, I was almost sorry to see her go.
I snap out of the memory as I watch her prop her left elbow on the table and rest her cheek in her hand. I let my eyes follow the movement.
"Is there something I can help you with?" I ask, meeting her black eyes. Vidya's eyes widen with a start, and she lets out a sharp no.
"Really? I was under the impression that when people stare at you so intently, they usually want something. Especially in a library," I say, leaning back in my chair until the first two legs are off the ground. "So, you sure you don't need anything?" I try not to smile in amusement as I watch her face darken with a blush. She's silent for a few seconds, her eyes wide as if she's a deer caught in headlights.
"I was zoning out," she murmurs.
"You sure you just weren't admiring?" I ask, gesturing to my body.
