Victoria’s sleep got disturbed by the most annoying sound of the alarm. She immediately shut it off without even opening her eyes.
Last night she slept very late and couldn’t sleep well. She cursed herself for staying up late at night. She rubbed her sleepy eyes and dragged her lazy body to the bathroom.
After finishing her shower she's dressed in black jeans and a casual blue t-shirt. She tied her hair in a high ponytail. Then Applied mascara and lip gloss before checking herself in the mirror.
A beautiful smile decorated her lips indicating she was satisfied with her appearance.
She grabbed her headphones, mobile, and notebooks and put them in her bag before leaving her room.
As it is already late Victoria decided to skip her breakfast. She thought it would take longer if she take the regular route, so she took another one.
The route was so empty and calm without people other than her. It
reminded the loneliness in her life. She was always alone. Her only companions are books.
She's always scared to become friends with others because of her introverted nature. Every time she tried to make friends, everyone used to avoid her. But she always wanted to have friends.
She always dreamt about going to school together with friends, eating together, and going shopping together. But, she never had a friend with whom she can speak her heart and spend together a lot of time.
She was walking alone in the deserted street. When she was engrossed in her thoughts she heard a loud noise.
Not knowing what happened she closed her ears with both hands before screaming and closing her eyes.
She was so scared to look at what had happened assuming that it might be a big accident. Judging from the sound someone might have been injured severely.
Victoria opened her eyes hoping not to witness any deadly sight. She gathered courage and searched for the person who might have been injured.
There she saw the expected scene at the end of the street, in the direction where the sound came from.
’, Oh my God! It was a hit and run ‘ she thought looking at the car that fed away. Within seconds it was out of sight. She couldn't notice the details as it is too far.
Victoria noticed an old lady lying on the road. She wanted to run to help her. Before she could start, a car drove past her at jet speed.
A guy came out of the car and he ran hurriedly towards the old lady and checked her. The lady was lying down there unconscious. He grabbed her and checked her pulse.
Victoria’s heart beat faster. She hoped that lady would survive. By looking at the relief on the guy’s face she confirmed that the lady was alive.
Without wasting a minute he grabbed the old lady into his arms and ran towards his car. He placed the old lady in the back seat of his car and drove fast.
Victoria silently prayed for the safety of the old lady and went to college.
The day went on as usual and everything was routine for her.
The next day at college Victoria noticed everyone gossiping about some rumor happening in the school.
She felt lonely because she had no friends to talk to about what is going on and what everyone is talking about. She felt alone again like every time.
Like every time she wanted to ignore them all but in the end, failed miserably.
Victoria wanted to know what is it that made everyone so engrossed in talking about it. Finally, she managed to hear someone talking beside her in the classroom.
They were talking about the accident she saw yesterday. They were talking that the one who did the accident was from their college.
Victoria thought that they were talking about the guy who hit the old lady and ran away in the car. She was surprised that the boy was from her college.
She was shocked to find that the old lady was confirmed dead at the hospital. She felt sorry for the old lady and strongly wanted the guy to be punished for his carelessness which took away an innocent life.
After the class, Victoria went to the cafeteria to have her lunch. Everything was normal until the guy arrived.
It was Alex the famous guy in the college. The most handsome guy and the best basketball player in the college. All the girls admire his handsome face and every boy is a big fan of his game.
Alex has a huge fanbase and wherever he goes he used to be crowded with people around him grabbing all the attention.
At first, she thought why do these people every time keep chattering about him?
Alex is a friendly person and he used to cherish everyone. Even when the girls used to create havoc for him but he never behaved rudely with them.
So everything about him is big news in the college.
Every time Victoria saw him with a lot of people around him, she used to feel jealous because everyone treated him as their friend and cheer him when he was playing.
When Alex comes into the picture the atmosphere will be changed to a cheerful one.
But this time it is different. Everyone was so calm and silent. Alex was alone.
'That's new' she thought when Victoria saw Alex alone and everyone distancing themselves from him.
She didn’t understand what was going on. The group of girls beside her table were talking and Victoria become curious to know what was going on.
She carefully concentrated on what the girls were talking about.
” Hey look Alex is here. What is he doing here didn’t the police take him away?” Hearing this made her more curious.
Victoria couldn’t understand what they meant by the Police taking him. It made her even more curious to know more.
She yelled in her mind ‘ can someone tell me what’s going on here?’ but she couldn’t say it out loud.
She was patiently waiting for the girls to continue whatever they were talking about. Then she got all the answers to her questions.
One of the girls was saying that
“ Alex was the one who did that accident yesterday. He brought the lady to the hospital but she was dead by the time they reached the hospital. I thought it would be a Police case and he won’t be attending school today. “ all the girls were surprised to hear her.
Even Victoria was shocked. She is the only one who knows that Alex was the one who tried to save the old lady.
Why does everyone think that he was the one who did that accident?
How can they judge the person even without knowing the whole story?
Victoria was surprised and at the same time felt sorry for Alex. He was the one who tried to save her but was being blamed as the murderer.
” My God! Will the police take my Alex away? “ one of the girls among them asked with worry written on her face.
Victoria felt the urge to say that he was not the one at fault. But she knew very well that no will believe her words.
She wanted to help Alex because everyone had been accusing him.
Victoria felt very bad because the guy who hit and run was freely roaming somewhere else but Alex was being blamed for being kind.
Victoria's gaze shifted to Alex who sat at the table and ate alone. She could imagine how Alex would be feeling right now.
Being alone was a regular thing for Victoria. But for Alex who used to be surrounded by friends, this is a sudden change and she could imagine how disappointed he would feel being alone like that.
Victoria decided to talk to Alex. In the evening after college, she saw Alex at the basketball court.
Alex sat on the bench and was staring at the ball in his hands. He seems to be in deep thought. Victoria knew what he might be thinking. She went near Alex and sat on another bench beside his.
“ Hey Alex! “ she called him hesitantly. He remained still staring at his ball.
'He surely got lost in his thoughts' Victoria thought.
“ Alex “ she called again. It seems like he didn’t hear her. She got up and went near him.
Victoria placed her hand on Alex’s shoulder and pulled him out of his thoughts. He felt someone near and lifted his head. There he saw her with mixed emotions in her eyes.
Alex couldn't figure out whether it was concern or pity for him in her eyes.
“What do you want?” Alex sounded irritated. Victoria can sense his distress.
Victoria withdrew her hand instantly.
” I want to talk about something with you.” she said in a low voice.
“ I don’t want to listen to anything,” he said before getting up. He threw the ball and with ease it went straight into the basket. Yeah, it's a goal.
' God! he is undoubtedly an excellent player.' Victoria was amazed at his basketball skills.
“I saw you saving that old lady yesterday.“ Victoria said hurriedly before he could leave. As she expected Alex stopped in his tracks and turned around.
Looking at Victoria with utter shock he asked, “ You were there?”
“yes, I saw the car that hit the old lady and ran without even stopping for a second. Then you came in and I saw you trying to save the lady and taking her in your car.” Victoria said with all the details so that he would believe her.
“Can you say the same thing to our principal and the police if required,” Alex asked hopefully.
“Of course, the criminal escaped. I don’t want the innocent to be punished,” she said assuring.
A smile returned to his face. Her timid heart fluttered at his smile. She decided to do anything to bring back that smile on his face.
They both went to the principal room where two men were discussing something.
Alex went inside and said that he had evidence to prove his innocence. The two men were his principal and the other one is a cop.
The principal’s face lit up with delight because he knew Alex would never do such a thing. Even if he did an accident he won’t run away like a coward.
“ Present the evidence you have immediately.” The Principal ordered Alex.
Alex came out and brought Victoria inside. They asked her about the incident and she said every detail of what she witnessed.
She even asked them to check the CCTV footage of the nearest shop entrance.
She said they can notice the car that hit and ran away. Even if they can't find the culprit, they can catch a glimpse of Alex saving the lady.
With that, even the police had convinced and left saying they would do further investigation.
The principal thanked Victoria for helping Alex and bringing him out of this situation.
Victoria just smiled and nodded her head.
Alex and Victoria came back to the basketball court. There they sat on the bench.
“ Thanks for saving me,” Alex said sincerely.
Victoria gave him a sweet smile in return. For the first time in the day, he's looking relaxed and even more handsome with his smile. She wanted to talk to him and know about him more. But afraid to speak anything.
They bid goodbyes and went home.
Victoria is expecting that today he is beside her but tomorrow he won’t be there with her. He would go back to his normal life with all the attention he used to have.
But to her surprise the next day Victoria saw Alex standing near her classroom.
Alex saw her and greeted her with his heart-melting smile. She is surprised and super happy to see him waiting for her.
“Hey what are you doing here?” She asked with a doubtful face.
He replied “ waiting for my friend.” She's dumbfounded. He referred to her as his friend addition to it he's super handsome. She thought maybe it was all a dream that she would never anticipate.
Understanding her confusion Alex
offered his hand Saying “FRIENDS” more like a statement.
Victoria couldn’t believe that he wanted to be friends with her. She gladly took his hand and said ”FRIENDS” smiling heartily.
"By the way, evening there is a match. I want you to be there." Alex said scratching the back of his head nervously.
Victoria is on cloud nine. No one ever asked her to come along to watch the game. Here the most famous guy, the basketball ball team captain wants her to watch his game.
Victoria's face is beaming with happiness. She nodded her head yes.
Alex's face lit up with excitement when she agreed " I will win this game for you." he sounded confident.
"For me?" Victoria asked to confirm whether she heard it right.
"Yes," confusion was written all over her face."If not for you I won't be playing for the team anymore." Alex clarified.
" You mean you were about to be kicked out of the team?" realisation hit her.
Alex just nodded his head. So this whole wrong accusation thing would have brought a huge disaster for him.
" So as a thank you and also for accepting to be my friend, I will win this game for sure," Alex said with strong determination in his voice.
'Friend...I have a friend.' this thought made Victoria's eyes moist. She lost words to express how happy she is to have a friend. She just stood there with the most joyful smile she ever had.
" You look pretty when you smile." Alex didn't know he just raised her heartbeat. " Ok, I've to go. Meet you at the battle." He winked at her and left after waving his hand like a crazy kid.
Victoria stood there staring at his back until he is out of sight. He just filled her tiny heart with thousands of emotions.
For the first time, she felt the warmth of a good friend. Now she knows that she won't feel alone anymore with her new friend beside her.
But what she doesn't know is Alex staring at her from a distance.
"For the past few days, the best thing that happened to me is meeting you," Alex said to non in particular but was unable to shift his gaze from her face beaming with happiness.
His heart fluttered seeing her grinning like a little girl who found her long-lost favorite toy.
Every incident happens for a reason because destiny has already planned it for you.
Destiny has planned their meeting.
Devi Ghantasala
Guidelines for the competition : https://www.fanatixxpublication.com/write-o-mania-2023
