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Mystery Friendship Romance

   “One Mississippi, Two Mississippi, three….” Yeah, I started counting like Ross, from the FRIENDS series, ever since I watched that tanning episode. And this was AFTER I had finished counting all the hundreds of dots that adorned Thalia’s shirt, who was sitting in front of me. Seriously, do all the clocks in the school run at a snail’s pace?? Ugh, I couldn’t wait for Ms. Pink to complete sermonizing about random dudes who did not-so-random stuff and then leave the classroom.


 I can imagine what all of you are thinking. You might be wondering what is so important that I just couldn’t wait for my classes to get over. Do I have some secret life after school, where I run off to a different dimension and be a hero? Go on quests and save innocent people? Spying on the bad guys?


 Well, I hate to disappoint all of you, but the truth is, I suffer from ADHD and I’m like this in almost all my classes! (I know, I know…I hyped the situation a bit too much. Sorry!)


 After surviving yet another day of class, I was on my way to home, when I spied my crush, Jason near his bike.


I don't know why it happens to me, but I somehow manage to make a fool of myself in front of him every single time! Once, I stumbled over a rock when he turned my way. Another time I accidentally spilled paint on my skirt when he smiled at me in the art class (And guess what color the paint was? Yep, it was red!). Yet another time, he heard my mom calling me using my nickname at home, "Piggy"! (Don't even ask me how I earned that nickname).


Ugh, I tried to act all cute and smart around him so many times, but surprise, surprise, he never turned his head in my direction during those times!


That day, I decided not to give the universe yet another chance to humiliate me in front of him, so I put my head down and walked to my bike, when I heard him call out my name! I was so surprised and startled that, in my haste I dropped my bag pack and all my books came spilling out. (Thank you, universe! Please note my sarcastic tone)


By then, he had reached my side and helped me put all my books in my bag. My face was all shades of awkward red, when I finally looked up at him, only to find him stifling his smile. I had wanted to initiate the conversation in a flirty tone, but the words that came out was a squeaky "Hi!".


It seemed he had wanted to borrow my history notes as he had been on leave for the previous class. After a few minutes of casual conversation, he thanked me for the notes and went on his way, while I went near my bike, thinking of all the things I could have spoken and made him fall for me! For the next time, I planned on preparing a script before talking to him!


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Finally, I reached my street and then checked the letterbox to pick up the letters for my parents before entering my home, when I noticed that there was letter addressed to me!


 I was a bit shocked, as hardly anyone sends me personal letters! With all the different types of social media available, people of our generation rarely send letters, right? Once, I received a similar letter, only to realize later that it was sent to the wrong address by mistake!


 The envelope was white in color. I opened it to find a very bizarre letter inside.

 The letter carried brief instructions: 'Meet me at the corner of the street at five in the evening today', it read. (That’s all! Nothing else! Sounds shady as hell, right? Who in their right mind would even consider going to that location?...........Um, the answer is, ME!)


 I was bursting with questions. Who was it from? Also, why were the letters cut and taken from some old magazines? Was it because the sender is someone familiar to me and didn't want me to identify his/her handwriting, or was it because the sender was involved in something shady and didn't want it to be traced back to him/her. I knew reading too many mystery novels was going to mess with my head someday! (sigh)

 Now, the million dollar question....Should I meet this stranger, or not?? Immediately my mind came up with numerous crazy ideas. What if I have some secret twin who had finally tracked me and wanted to get to know me? (Wait…that would mean I was adopted! Oh my God, does that mean my elder sister Maya was actually telling the truth when we were kids?!!) Or what if someone had planned on kidnapping me and sending a similar note to my parents later to ask for a ransom? Or what if...it was a serial killer who takes strange pleasure in freaking out poor teens and getting on their nerves, before finally hunting them down and killing them!!!! Oh God, if that was the case, then no worries, as the killer had achieved his goal, at least partially!


 "Alright, no use freaking out, just think of something to solve this issue, Clara" I said to myself. Yes, I know, talking to myself is the first symptom of losing my mind!


 Finally, once I'd gathered my thoughts, I called my best friends, Alexa and Eric to come over. I showed them the note...and no surprise, both of them freaked out just like I did.


 Initially, they tried to convince me not go, etcetera etcetera, but honestly, they were also as curious as I was, and dropped that thought within a few minutes. Instead, we brainstormed for ideas on how to go on this mission, and come back safe and sound, and also catch the criminals and become the town’s heroes. (Did I tell you that I like reading mystery novels a lot? I think I did)


 Finally, we came up with an idea. I told them that I was going to go and meet this person, and asked Eric to follow me at a safe distance while Alexa was to wait near the police station.


  In case it really was a kidnapper, then Eric would immediately call Alexa and let her know the situation. She would then alert the police about the kidnappers and provide them all the details and come to my rescue! There, easy and simple!


 Of course, I could very well ignore the note and continue to carry on with my work, but I had to admit, the situation was too intriguing to let it go! Yeah, yeah, I know what they say about curiosity and the cat, but…meh! So, after the thorough planning, I set off to my brave mission, fully equipped with a can of pepper spray, and wearing my converse shoes (in case I had to run!).


 Mustering up all my courage, I went to the spot.......only to find Jason grinning at me sheepishly, and waiting with a bouquet of flowers in his hand!! I couldn't believe my eyes!


 He approached me and confirmed that it was he who had sent the note. He told me that he knew I loved a good mystery and so he thought of asking me out in that manner, hoping I would be impressed.


  I was speechless for minute. When he realized that I still hadn't said a word, he started shuffling around awkwardly and asked me, " So, Clara....would you like to go out with me on a date now?" Only then did I come back to my senses and replied a bit too enthusiastically that I'd love to.


 After explaining to him the reason for my momentary surprise and told him (and my friends who were still waiting for my distress call!) the entire story, we had a good laugh and then proceeded to go on for our date. 


 Thinking back about that day, which occurred ten years ago, I recalled that it was such an amazing and memorable one, as it was the day I went on my first date with my husband! 


December 15, 2020 18:33

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58 comments

Hi Akshaya! I am so happy that you posted a story! I loved the way this entire story just went, and it perfectly fit the prompt! Such a great job!

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08:48 Dec 19, 2020

Hi Haripriya! Thank you so much! I'm glad you liked it!! :D

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11:40 Dec 20, 2020

Let me know when you have posted another story. I'd love to read them. :)

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Aww, thank you!!

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17:20 Dec 21, 2020

The pleasure is mine! :)

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Akshaya Sutrave
02:51 Dec 16, 2020

Hi Akshaya! Once again, a fantastic story! I loved the way you wrote Clara's thoughts, so we got to know what was going on in her mind. The ending was really sweet :) and unexpected. Maybe you could have mentioned the crush's name, and probably a little about him earlier, so we could know beforehand, his personality as well? Other than that, amazing story! I really enjoyed reading it! Keep writing! :)

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04:21 Dec 16, 2020

Hi Akshaya! Thank you so much for your feedback! I was kinda having trouble to even reach the word count this time as it had been a while since I wrote my last story! Yes, you are right! I could have written a bit more about the crush! I think I shall edit my story then! Once again, thanks, Akshaya! Happy writing! :)

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Akshaya Sutrave
04:48 Dec 16, 2020

Of course! You can edit the story, but I was only giving a suggestion :) Happy writing to you too!

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05:02 Dec 16, 2020

And I really appreciate that! :) :)

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Akshaya Sutrave
05:27 Dec 16, 2020

:D

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06:42 Dec 16, 2020

:)

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07:27 Dec 16, 2020

I've edited the story and added a few paragraphs about her crush! Thanks for the suggestion, Akshaya! :)

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Akshaya Sutrave
07:35 Dec 16, 2020

Wow, Akshaya! It's amazing now! Everything adds up precisely and I loved reading the extra paragraphs you added recently! I'm certain the ending can be understood much much better now since we have a bit of information about her crush beforehand. Marvelous job!

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07:48 Dec 16, 2020

Thank you so so much for your support, Akshaya! I'm really glad I got a friend like you! :)

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Kate Winchester
04:43 Dec 21, 2020

Cute story! The Friends line drew me in. :)

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16:39 Dec 21, 2020

Thank you! I'm a huge fan of FRIENDS series! :D

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Kate Winchester
17:15 Dec 21, 2020

😊 He was Clara’s lobster. Haha

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16:25 Dec 22, 2020

Perfectly said! Lol! XD

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Kate Winchester
16:29 Dec 22, 2020

😂

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Niveeidha Palani
04:28 Dec 17, 2020

Hi Akshaya, A lovely plot and a great flow to the story. It was nicely penned together. However, you need to watch out for certain things. 1. " I was on my way to home, when I spied my crush, Jason near his bike." The sentence doesn't sound appropriate. Maybe you didn't intend to put "to"? It would sound better like this. "I was on my way home". You could remove the "to" 2. "I was so surprised and startled that, in my haste I dropped my bag pack and all my books came spilling out." A comma after "haste" makes the sentence easier to read...

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08:34 Dec 19, 2020

Hi Niveeidha, Thank you so much for the constructive feedback! I'll keep these points in mind the next time I write! :)

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Niveeidha Palani
01:07 Dec 20, 2020

No problem. :)

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11:55 Dec 20, 2020

I followed your suggestions and wrote my next story. If you don't mind, would you read it when you are free and let me know if this is better?

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Niveeidha Palani
21:52 Dec 20, 2020

Of course! :)

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Philip Clayberg
17:53 Dec 16, 2020

Great story. Thank you for writing it. I know how it feels to be nervous around other people (especially people that I really like). It seems like basic coordination just goes out the window and doesn't come back inside until much too late. And then there's the jumbling of thoughts and feelings and trying to straighten them out without looking like there's something seriously wrong with me. No one said that being human was easy, after all. Just a couple possible problems: then proceeded to go on for our date. [I'm not sure why "for" ...

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08:41 Dec 19, 2020

So true! It's like, your body just decides to act clumsy around your crush and then remind you of those embarrassing moments every now and then. Ah, yes! I accidentally added that "for" over there. Thank you for letting me know. Actually, the whole story is written in past tense...as though it is a memory being recalled.

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Philip Clayberg
16:29 Dec 19, 2020

You're welcome. My clumsiness around the opposite sex tends to be more social/emotional/mental rather than physical. But her first date wasn't with her husband; they weren't married to each other yet. He was still a friend or boyfriend or fiancee, etc. Here's my own example (based on an experience in my own life): "When I went out with my female best friend, I guess you could say that it was our first date. But I hadn't fallen in love with her yet, much less proposed marriage to her, so it was still strictly casual (you could even say ...

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11:51 Dec 20, 2020

Oh, I get it now. I guess I didn't phrase the sentence properly. I usually say the wrong things when I'm with my crush, and then end up regretting it after he leaves. So, I was able to relate a bit while writing this story.

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Philip Clayberg
18:38 Dec 20, 2020

I'm not sure when I last had a crush (30 or 40 years ago?). But I've been through two breakups, and neither one was that pleasant. Not anything ugly, mean, or violent. Just unpleasant. The second one showed that she and I were better friends than we were boyfriend/girlfriend (the romantic part lasted about three or four months back in 1997). The first one is the on-off-back on again-back off again, etc. long-distance relationship. I imagine right now that it's probably off again. Which may actually be better for both of us, but I do m...

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17:11 Dec 21, 2020

I'm sorry to hear that. I haven't really dated much, so I'm actually at a loss of words when it comes to this topic. I get your point though. I'm more of an introverted person, and if anyone asks me what I'd love to do during the weekend, my reply would be to stay in, read some books, watch some movies and maybe play some indoor games, and I'd like to be with someone with similar interests. That's actually one of the reasons why I don't date much. Almost all the guys I know love to go out and have fun, or play online games in their free time.

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21:37 Dec 15, 2020

Cute story, Akshaya!!! I enjoyed every second of it! A quick and fun read. :) One critique I have is about the characters. They were very loveable, and I loved the friendship between Alexa, Clara, and Eric. But I would have liked to know more about them, especially her crush. It would make the story more intriguing if we learned of Clara’s crush earlier in the story. It would add to the end, when it was her crush who was trying to surprise her. Or if we knew his name... ;) Aaanyways, great story Akshaya!! As always, keep writing!!

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04:16 Dec 16, 2020

Hi Katie! Thank you soo much for the feedback! I'll be sure to add all those points in my next story! It had been a while since I wrote my last story, and I kinda struggled to reach the word count! You are right, I could have written a bit more about her crush! Sure! You too! :)

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07:28 Dec 16, 2020

Hi Katie! I edited the story and added a few paragraphs about her crush! Thanks a lot for the suggestion! :)

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19:15 Dec 16, 2020

Hello again! I like this version of the story a lot. It makes the end that much sweeter and more fun. :) Anytime!!

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19:04 Dec 15, 2020

Hi all! It's been a while since I had posted my last story. I tried to stick to the prompt, but halfway through the writing, I got a different idea and ended up writing this story. I'd love to hear your constructive feedback/comments and what you liked about this story! Thank you and have a great day! :)

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Kendi Karimi
08:42 May 05, 2021

Oh my 😍 Immediately a fan because I was hooked right from the start. This is so wonderful I followed you immediately. Can't wait to read more of your stories. ❤️

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21:37 Dec 15, 2020

Cute story, Akshaya!!! I enjoyed every second of it! A quick and fun read. :) One critique I have is about the characters. They were very loveable, and I loved the friendship between Alexa, Clara, and Eric. But I would have liked to know more about them, especially her crush. It would make the story more intriguing if we learned of Clara’s crush earlier in the story. It would add to the end, when it was her crush who was trying to surprise her. Or if we knew his name... ;) Aaanyways, great story Akshaya!! As always, keep writing!! I...

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Hi Akshaya! Wow, it was very interesting! The ending was super sweet:) Loved it!

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04:10 Dec 16, 2020

Hello Varsha! Thanks a lot! I'm glad you enjoyed it! :D

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08:47 Dec 19, 2020

:)

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