The Misfit Angel

There was plenty of murmuring going on and it was blatantly obvious throughout the class, even to the subject of these murmurings. It wasn't a coincidence. There was a new boy in the class, though he was hardly a boy. In this class of 20-something, he was perhaps the oldest. But what was it about him that made him the center of attention?

Suddenly there was a creepy silence, the professor had arrived and he was quite late. His frustration was clear; it was written all over his face. Out of all the professors in the college, he was perhaps the most dreaded and feared.

Just then he turned his face and looked into his eyes and smiled, a boy whom he had never seen before but the professor knew exactly who he was.

The professor announced rather proudly, "Class, I'm sure you have met him by now but I would like you to meet Alex. He's come here all the way from London and is the newest top scorer of the university's entrance exam." The new student couldn't help but turn a blush shade.

The murmuring began once again, louder than before. Any doubt that had circled around the room this morning regarding his identity, to Alex's dismay, was gone. His cheeks were still pink displaying his shyness, something which the professor should have researched into while looking at Alex's records. But of course, high school reports don't tell these things, do they?

"Now, let us get back to the subject shall we?" The professor asked his class not knowing that the subject was no longer his to decide. How could it be? After all, it's not often that an English prodigy comes to India to study, no matter how prestigious the college is.

The professor started his lecture, trying his best to impart his wisdom to the young minds in front of him. Young minds which were full of questions. Sadly, none of them were related to the subject. The whispers, no matter how soft, made it clear to Alex that he was still the center of attention. Alex wasn't like other men of his age, he loathed attention.

"Do you think he has a girlfriend?" Someone whispered from behind.

"Well, of course he does, look at him." Another voice replied.

You would think that this would make Alex feel good about himself but this made him as uncomfortable as a Llama in a flock of penguins. The fact that the reply regarding his personal life was dead-on accurate made him cringe. At this point it wouldn't have been a surprise if he would have started crying for her.

Alex thought he was no beauty contest winner but there was no doubt that he was as cute as you can get. The sheer innocence of his face made him stand out. His big blue eyes, almost angelic, made him irresistible. But at this point, Alex wished he was invisible.

Just then, the college bell rang, signifying the end of the class. Alex wasted no time in bolting out of the class. He walked up to a thick tree he saw earlier and sat down on the cool grass. He liked this spot because for one, it was quite far from the college campus but also because he found its features to be similar to the ones back home. And so, he sat down with his legs spread wide to provide maximum comfort and took out his little orange notebook. He liked scribbling random thoughts; it gave him a sense of sanity.

Just then, he heard some faint girlish chattering and it was getting louder by the minute. Alex felt a cold familiar sweat. He saw "it" coming. Approaching his comfort spot was a group of girls. There were three of them and Alex didn't recognize them all. They had to be students, after all no outsiders were allowed in or near the campus. Being unable to recognize them, Alex assumed they were undergrads of some other programme.

As the trio continued their stroll across the park, millions of thoughts raced across Alex's mind. Are they coming towards me? Maybe they are on their way to some other place. Why are they talking so softly? Have they noticed me? Perhaps now would be a good time to tell you that Alex had ADD.

Alex quickly calmed himself down, to avoid any potential embarrassment. He quickly glanced at the trio to determine where they were and accordingly adjust his position to get a camouflage. As he ran his eyes across the park and onto the girls, he caught the eyes of one of the girls. He saw her dark brown eyes looking straight into his. This was more than enough to send him spiraling down into a pit of fearful darkness, shades of pink rushed through his cheeks and he began breathing faster. The girls started giggling at the sight of him and the state he was in.

He saw the shoulders of one of them raise a little high with excitement and the trio separated. Two of them were soon out of sight leaving just one behind, the very one who caught Alex's eye. Slowly but surely, she started walking towards Alex, displaying signs of boldness. Alex was always fond of boldness in girls, but this was different for some reason.

"Hi", the girl said when she arrived. Alex suddenly felt a little uncomfortable. He always had a knack for greeting people and knew at once that this conversation wouldn't be any different. His eyes twitched a little, rather cutely to the girl's pleasure. He smiled at her and with his big blue eyes looking at her he said "Hello."

"My name is Nikita"

"Pleased to meet you, I'm Alex."

"Why are you sitting here all alone?" the girl asked curiously

Alex hesitated a little; he didn't know what to say.

"I like this place" he said. He realized that it made little sense and then quickly reinforced his reply. "I don't have another class for an hour... didn't know what else to do."

"Do you mind if I join you?"

"Not at all, it's a free country" Alex replied with a little smile

Nikita giggled at this. She put her bag down on the grass and helped herself down keeping a comfortable distance from Alex. "How long have you been here?" She asked

"Not too long. About a month."

"Funny, I've never seen you before." The conversation flowing now.

"I didn't join the college until yesterday. It took me some time to adjust." He replied

"I'm from Delhi by the way."

"I'm from London." Though his lips no longer smiled, his eyes made his mood clear. Alex was a nice person to be around. He had always been polite and enjoyed helping others. The atmosphere around him was always happy even if he never was.

"There have been talks about you in the campus lately; you are the hot topic of the week." She waited for a pause, hoping he'd talk, "I'm studying dentistry, what about you?" Nikita asked

" Bio-medical..." but just as Alex was about to finish, the college bell rang. It was an hour already. In his mind Alex damned Albert Einstein and his theory of relativity. Time flies by quickly when you are enraptured by a girl, doesn't it?

Alex stood up gently and with ease, courtesy of his athleticism and brushed the dirt off his jeans. He then looked at Nikita, with her fairly toned skin and dark black hair, and like a gentleman offered his hand. Nikita smiled, grabbed his hand and allowed him to help her up.

At 5"8, she was fairly tall for a girl and about half a foot shorter than Alex was. She too brushed off the dirt from her jeans and then groomed her bangs which hung over above her left eye, covering her forehead, and smiled at Alex.

Alex, realizing that he was getting late for his class, he grabbed his bag and looked at Nikita. With Nikita walking besides him, he started making his way to the campus, trying desperately to increase his pace without coming off as a jerk. They must have hardly walked some distance before Nikita called his name.

"Alex...Some of my friends are having a party tonight; I was wondering if you would like to come?" Nikita asked in a shy tone.

This was a bit too fast for Alex but realizing that this could be his chance to break away from that glass ceiling and avoid social awkwardness in future, he decided to give into it. "Of course, I would love to. Let me know what time. I'll pick you up.", he said in a sweet manner, knowing that Nikita was as uncomfortable as he was.

Alex quickly grabbed a pen and paper from his bag and scribbled his phone number on it. He handed it to Nikita, nodded and left for his class. It wasn't until his class was almost over that Alex realized that he had just given a woman his phone number.

*****

It was 7 P.M now. About 2 hours before the party and it was time to pick Nikita up. She had messaged him the time and place they would meet shortly after they parted ways but Alex still wasn't ready. He was a mess really. After all this time, he was starting to think and worry about what kind of party he was going to. Was it a formal party? Or was it casual? He decided to go with his instinct and put on his favorite white t-shirt and dark blue jeans. No better way to look decent enough for a formal party and still be wearing casual clothing.

He left his home and walked up to the garden where he and Nikita had decided to meet only to find Nikita already waiting there. Alex looked at her in awe; he never noticed how beautiful she was. She stood, wearing a sexy white lace t-shirt and black pants with her hair hanging in front of her shoulders, just touching her stomach. She was smiling at him, obviously happy that her date had arrived.

Alex composed himself and said, "You look beautiful."

She looked at him with her beautiful, sexy smile through her sultry yet beady eyes and said, "Thank you..." Nikita stopped herself. She was going to say something but thought better off it. Not wanting to sound too forward, she thought it could wait. "Let's go, we don't want to be late," she said hastily to change the subject.

The young couple called a rickshaw and made their way to the club where Nikita's friends were waiting for her. Alex was happy to see that the two girls who accompanied Nikita earlier were nowhere to be seen. There were about 5 men and 4 women, all of them Indian and of about the same age as Nikita but younger than Alex. The group got inside the club and headed towards a table which was already reserved for them. All the couples took their seats on a maroon couch of curvy shape leaving Alex and Nikita with one seat each, on opposite sides of the couch, far away from each other.

The lads talked about their dates, families and education while the ladies talked about the same but in a more feminine way, barely boasting but still maintaining a "live" atmosphere. Alex remained reserved throughout the conversations. He never was fond of boasting, showing off just wasn't his nature. While the men tried to top each other with their qualifications, Alex decided to be the bigger man and not tell them that he already had a degree and was heading for another one. However to make sure he's not mistaken for a social outcast, he occasionally cut into the conversation, usually asking the ladies about their families and answering questions about him in as concise a manner as possible, making sure his personal life remained just that, closed and personal.

"Come on guys, let's have some drinks," said one of the guys to the rest

So, the men headed to the bar, leaving the ladies behind. The group was now separated on the basis of gender, giving a good chance for stereotype to pop in.

Alex was sort of "straight-edged", he never drank or smoked. In other words, he was the definition of an angel. While the other men enjoyed cold beers, Alex ordered a plain coke. He knew that this party was a lost cause, for him at least. Every other sip of the drink became longer than the one before, he made his best attempt to avoid getting involved. Most of the time the drink barely made it down his throat, he just held the glass close to his lips, pretending to be drinking.

As the drink kept coming in, Alex got more and more uncomfortable. He peeked over his shoulders to check in on Nikita and saw her enjoying herself. Nikita caught him peeking and smiled at him, he smiled back and then turned back, pretending to be enjoying the company of the lads.

It wasn't long until the bartender stopped serving the five young men; clearly it was time for them to leave as there was nothing left for them in there. Alex, still on his first drink, quickly drank his coke and assisted some of them to their girlfriends. Though he may not have enjoyed the night, Alex had unknowingly, earned plenty of brownie points in the eyes of the ladies.

"It's getting late. We should be heading back to the campus, don't you think?" Alex asked Nikita who was bidding her friends farewell.

"Sure", Nikita replied.

The two took a rickshaw and asked the driver to take them to their campus.

"So, did you have fun tonight?" Nikita asked

"Of course, the guys were a friendly bunch." Alex replied

"You were bored, weren't you? I'm sorry I shouldn't have dragged you into this"

"Don't be silly, I really enjoyed myself tonight." Alex said with a smile

Nikita looked at him and felt a chill running down her body. She placed her hand firmly on the seat, leaned towards Alex and slowly touched her lower lip with his. Receiving no reply she withdrew her lips and closed her eyes. She wondered if she took it too fast. She bent her head a little with embarrassment, an eye lid away from his, and then looked up straight into his eyes and gave him a fully-lipped kiss. With her eyes now closed and her lips still caressing his she moved her hand from the seat and onto his hands, grasping it softly.

She wanted him. She needed him. She placed her fingers right between the gaps of his and held his hand. He REPLIED! Alex held her lips between his and kissed. Oh so softly. He freed his right hand from hers and placed it on her back, pulled her closer to him and then grabbed her left hand with his and locked the fingers back again, just like before.

Nikita soon freed her hand and grabbed his waist with both her hands, hugging him closer to her. She crossed her leg over both of his and then caressed his chest with one of her hands. "Why are you so sweet?" she asked candidly.

"Because you make me want to be," he replied with cuteness.

She grinned, ran her fingers slowly through his soft blond hair and said "I'm glad that you came with me." She gently crossed both her arms behind his neck and pulled him for a kiss. He hugged her tightly and kissed her just beside her lips. Nikita sunk into the pits of pleasure and her body shuddered as she moaned softly.

"Oh God," with all her passion she flung at him, kissed him on his cheek and then dragged her lips down to his neck, kissing it all the way through. She was bewildered with the array of places she wanted to kiss him. She was going berserk with passion, her soft lips, flavored with raspberry balm, trembling with excitement, looking for that one more place to kiss. Nikita then brushed her cheeks on the side of his neck and repositioned herself, resting her head on his shoulders.

Alex let his body a little loose to give her a comfortable surface to rest on. He got himself closer to her and smelled her hair. He looked at her eyes, staring somewhere below. They were hesitating, sparkling with some crazy idea. She was thinking about something over and over again.

"Huh?" she said, coming back from a world of her own, forgetting that Alex was still with her.

Nikita sat straight up with her body facing Alex's. She placed her hands gently on his cheeks and gave him an open mouth kiss, forcing her tongue into his mouth and then suddenly slowed it down. She licks his tongue's bottom and as she was withdrawing it, Alex caught her tongue with his lips and sucked it back inside.

Alex wiped her tongue with his, and then again. He caressed the back of her neck with his hand, still kissing her tongue with his own. He started playing with her tongue and Nikita, not wanting to be left behind, did the same. The two mercilessly flicked their tongues together and explored each other's mouth until there was nothing left to explore. Nikita then bit his tongue with her lips and dragged it out. She sucked it a little from the side and then started kissing it, literally. She was enjoying it, kissing and sucking his tongue every which way, not giving him any chance to pull it back inside and...

"Ahem"

They heard a voice. Everything had stopped. The rickshaw driver embarrassed with the position he got himself into, peeked over his shoulder and looked at Alex. He raised both his eyebrows to signal that they had arrived at the campus.

Alex's eyes were wide open with shock; he was blushing like he had never blushed before. He wanted to jump out of the vehicle to avoid his shyness. Nikita saw this and smiled. She leaped on to him, hugging his neck tightly. Alex was petrified. Nikita had to drag him out of the rickshaw. She paid the driver his fare and thanked him.

Alex felt a little guilty at the sight of this. He apologized immediately, "I'm sorry, I should have paid him."

"You have paid me enough for today." Nikita said, winking at him while she did.

The young couple held each other's hand and walked all the way to the girl's hostel.

"This is it!" Alex said, with a little disappointment.

Nikita laughed at this. She turned towards him and gave him a romantic kiss.

"Thank you," she said and wished him a good night.

As she started walking towards the front door, she heard something.

"Any other party this week?" Alex asked gingerly.

Nikita giggled and gave him a child-like wave, promising to see him soon.