Page 205 - The World's Best Boyfriend

‘Just so you know, if you come back, I will be there for you. I haven’t
experienced love, imperfect or perfect, and I don’t know how you can hurt me
but I know this that if you ever think about us, I will be with you. Just know that

I would be okay with making all the compromises that are to be made in a
relationship. No matter how desperate that sounds!’
‘That doesn’t sound desperate at all.’

Aranya started giggling at the ridiculousness of it all, a pathetic, self-loathing,
self-hating giggle. She plonked down on the couch, shook her head, trying to
absorb everything. Something changed in her; she could feel it. Like gears set in

motion, changing their orientation, slowly transforming her into another person,
a better person. A few minutes later, she spoke. ‘You know what, Sir?’
‘What?’

‘When I was little, I always craved for attention from the boys in my class.
But I also knew I was unattractive. Even as a child, I would look at other girls
around me and wish I could be like them. I would check my desk every day for

letters from boys who like me. There were none for me even as others got
dozens.’
‘Why are you telling me this?’

‘Because it matters.’
Raghuvir poured a cup of coffee for her from the flask and gave her the rest to
carry back.

Aranya continued, ‘So I started writing letters to myself and would keep them
where people could find them and give them to me. The teachers finally caught
on to it. I had to change my section because I was teased and chased down

hallways. My mother thought I had lost it. My father stopped talking to me for
an entire year. And so I started to teach myself to hate boys. Slowly, I became
good at it, so good that I hated almost everybody. I still wanted attention

though,’ said Aranya, almost wanting to share the details of her Skype sessions.
‘You don’t want to know what I did for it.’
‘You’re lovely, Aranya. That’s all I’ve got to say.’

Aranya should have been happy right now. This should have been her moment
when she could look back at the world and shout, ‘Fuck you, fuck you, world.
Look at me now. Raghuvir is in love with me. RAGHUVIR. Fuck you for my

body fat percentage, fuck you for the bad skin you gave me, fuck you for my
complexion, fuck you for my shitty body. Fuck you naturally fair and beautiful

girls with high metabolic rates. I have Raghuvir. What have you got?’