Chapter 3:
Chapter 3
Captain O Captain
Captain O Captain
Chapter - 3
The next day, as soon as Manoj saw Akshita, he asked, “How are your fingers now, Captain?”
Akshita looked at him in surprise, as if asking, Who gave you the right to talk to me like this? Silence filled the air. The situation became very awkward. Akshita turned her face away and got busy with her work.
Manoj once again realized that even now, Akshita did not consider him anything. Whatever conversations had taken place between them during that one week no longer held any meaning. Yet, despite knowing everything, he kept acting foolish. This foolishness somehow gave him the strength to keep trying again and again, even after being repeatedly ignored.
One day, when lunch break began, Manoj secretly saw Akshita going somewhere. This had become her daily routine. Gathering courage, Manoj stood in front of her and asked, “Where do you go every day for lunch, Captain?”
Akshita did not like this at all. Saying, “That’s none of your business,” she disappeared into the crowd.
Manoj felt bad, but still tried to follow her. However, she had already vanished.
After lunch, Manoj found Akshita sitting at her seat, rubbing her hands with hand sanitizer.
“Give me some too, Captain,” Manoj said as he approached her.
Akshita didn’t even look at him and simply put the sanitizer back into her bag.
Akshita had a habit—she kept a small container of Vaseline in her bag and applied it to her hands after school. Manoj had become so bold that today he even asked her about it.
“How much cream do you use, Captain?”
Akshita took a long, deep breath and walked away.
Sagar, Manish, and the rest of the boys had now started saying that Manoj had completely lost all his self-respect. But Manoj no longer cared about anyone. He believed that someday the ice would melt.
Although he was aware that he was slowly turning into a rude, shameless stalker.
It was fortunate that Akshita was not on Facebook or Instagram, otherwise he would have started bothering her there as well.
Despite knowing everything, he felt that he was not doing anything wrong. Nor did he think Akshita found it wrong. In fact, he believed that deep down Akshita must be happy that someone cared so much about her.
Yes, that must be the truth. *Girls are like that.*
All these thoughts were running in Manoj’s mind. In reality, none of this was true. Manoj was very happy in his delusions. He thought from every possible angle—sometimes proving himself right, sometimes wrong. He would try to decide that from now on he wouldn’t trouble Akshita.
But the moment she appeared in front of him, he would feel butterflies in his stomach and end up doing something foolish again.
One day, in his madness, he decided that he would find out where Akshita hid to have lunch.
As soon as the lunch bell rang, he followed her. But Akshita was an expert at disappearing into the crowd. Manoj lost her.
Still, he didn’t give up. He took another approach and started searching every corner of the school. He even wandered near the nursery and kindergarten buildings, went to the playground, and finally, tired, reached the bicycle parking area.
Running his hand over his cycle seat, he muttered, “Couldn’t find her, man… what should I do now? I didn’t even eat my lunch.”
Just then, he suddenly caught a familiar scent—the fragrance of Akshita’s Vaseline. In a hurry, he started looking around. He moved toward the back and saw a large hole in the wall that separated the school from the fields behind.
He crossed through that hole and reached the fields. These fields belonged to the principal. Until today, Manoj had no idea about this place.
And there, nearby, he saw Akshita sitting.
He immediately said, “So this is where you come to hide.”
Akshita got startled. She quickly put the packet in her hand into her shirt pocket so fast that even Manoj’s sharp eyes couldn’t catch what it was.
Manoj asked what came to his mind, “Were you eating chocolate, Captain?”
But Akshita was not in the mood for jokes. She was angry. Still controlling herself, she said, “You do realize that what you’re doing is wrong, right? What if I file a complaint against you?”
The threat of a complaint irritated Manoj. He replied, “And what about you coming here into the fields to eat chocolate? I didn’t even know anyone comes here.”
He tried to cover up his side somehow.
“From now on, you will neither talk to me nor follow me. Otherwise, you’ll see!,” Akshita said firmly and walked away.
At first, Manoj felt like shouting loudly, *arrogant bitch*, but then he laughed and said to himself, “Oh, I just love that arrogant bitch.”
Class 11 was about to end. Exams were just a few days away.
One day, a form was given in class to fill out, which would be needed in Class 12. It required basic family details.
Manoj filled in his name—just Manoj—and continued. Then came the section for annual income. After calculating everything, he wrote 8 lakhs. He was a little surprised—*Am I really that rich?*
But immediately, his eyes fell on Akshita’s form. It said: annual income – 16 lakhs.
Manoj was shocked.
Is Akshita the richest in all of Najafgarh? And if she’s so rich, why does she study in this cheap school? Why doesn’t she go to Dwarka?
Soon, a feeling of inferiority crept into his mind.
Sunita ma’am was taking the Hindi class. There was nothing left to teach, so she casually asked, “Tell me, who among you has the best reading?”
Without thinking, Manoj raised his hand first.
Ma’am made him read an entire passage. He read well.
“Good job,” she said, “but don’t sit yet. Now listen to Akshita’s reading.”
She made Akshita read the same passage. Even though Akshita didn’t want to, she read because Sunita ma’am was her favorite.
Akshita’s reading was exceptionally good—where to pause, where to emphasize, how to bring out emotions, how to recite verses properly—she paid attention to everything.
Manoj felt mesmerized. *Such a beautiful voice… forget the reading… if only you weren’t so quiet, Akshita.*
He was lost in these thoughts when ma’am spoke again, “So, Manoj, did you hear? Now you know where you can improve. And you also know who has the best reading in the class.”
That last statement bothered Manoj a little. The first thing that came to his mind, he blurted out:
“That’s not fair, ma’am. Akshita is perfect at everything. How can anyone compete with her?”
The moment the words left his mouth, he felt extremely embarrassed. His face turned red, and he lowered his head.
*What did I just say in front of everyone?*
Ma’am laughed loudly but didn’t take it badly. The whole class was laughing too.
Only Akshita didn’t like it. She felt that now this boy was troubling her in front of everyone—trying to flirt with her!
Chapter - 3
The next day, as soon as Manoj saw Akshita, he asked, “How are your fingers now, Captain?”
Akshita looked at him in surprise, as if asking, Who gave you the right to talk to me like this? Silence filled the air. The situation became very awkward. Akshita turned her face away and got busy with her work.
Manoj once again realized that even now, Akshita did not consider him anything. Whatever conversations had taken place between them during that one week no longer held any meaning. Yet, despite knowing everything, he kept acting foolish. This foolishness somehow gave him the strength to keep trying again and again, even after being repeatedly ignored.
One day, when lunch break began, Manoj secretly saw Akshita going somewhere. This had become her daily routine. Gathering courage, Manoj stood in front of her and asked, “Where do you go every day for lunch, Captain?”
Akshita did not like this at all. Saying, “That’s none of your business,” she disappeared into the crowd.
Manoj felt bad, but still tried to follow her. However, she had already vanished.
After lunch, Manoj found Akshita sitting at her seat, rubbing her hands with hand sanitizer.
“Give me some too, Captain,” Manoj said as he approached her.
Akshita didn’t even look at him and simply put the sanitizer back into her bag.
Akshita had a habit—she kept a small container of Vaseline in her bag and applied it to her hands after school. Manoj had become so bold that today he even asked her about it.
“How much cream do you use, Captain?”
Akshita took a long, deep breath and walked away.
Sagar, Manish, and the rest of the boys had now started saying that Manoj had completely lost all his self-respect. But Manoj no longer cared about anyone. He believed that someday the ice would melt.
Although he was aware that he was slowly turning into a rude, shameless stalker.
It was fortunate that Akshita was not on Facebook or Instagram, otherwise he would have started bothering her there as well.
Despite knowing everything, he felt that he was not doing anything wrong. Nor did he think Akshita found it wrong. In fact, he believed that deep down Akshita must be happy that someone cared so much about her.
Yes, that must be the truth. *Girls are like that.*
All these thoughts were running in Manoj’s mind. In reality, none of this was true. Manoj was very happy in his delusions. He thought from every possible angle—sometimes proving himself right, sometimes wrong. He would try to decide that from now on he wouldn’t trouble Akshita.
But the moment she appeared in front of him, he would feel butterflies in his stomach and end up doing something foolish again.
One day, in his madness, he decided that he would find out where Akshita hid to have lunch.
As soon as the lunch bell rang, he followed her. But Akshita was an expert at disappearing into the crowd. Manoj lost her.
Still, he didn’t give up. He took another approach and started searching every corner of the school. He even wandered near the nursery and kindergarten buildings, went to the playground, and finally, tired, reached the bicycle parking area.
Running his hand over his cycle seat, he muttered, “Couldn’t find her, man… what should I do now? I didn’t even eat my lunch.”
Just then, he suddenly caught a familiar scent—the fragrance of Akshita’s Vaseline. In a hurry, he started looking around. He moved toward the back and saw a large hole in the wall that separated the school from the fields behind.
He crossed through that hole and reached the fields. These fields belonged to the principal. Until today, Manoj had no idea about this place.
And there, nearby, he saw Akshita sitting.
He immediately said, “So this is where you come to hide.”
Akshita got startled. She quickly put the packet in her hand into her shirt pocket so fast that even Manoj’s sharp eyes couldn’t catch what it was.
Manoj asked what came to his mind, “Were you eating chocolate, Captain?”
But Akshita was not in the mood for jokes. She was angry. Still controlling herself, she said, “You do realize that what you’re doing is wrong, right? What if I file a complaint against you?”
The threat of a complaint irritated Manoj. He replied, “And what about you coming here into the fields to eat chocolate? I didn’t even know anyone comes here.”
He tried to cover up his side somehow.
“From now on, you will neither talk to me nor follow me. Otherwise, you’ll see!,” Akshita said firmly and walked away.
At first, Manoj felt like shouting loudly, *arrogant bitch*, but then he laughed and said to himself, “Oh, I just love that arrogant bitch.”
Class 11 was about to end. Exams were just a few days away.
One day, a form was given in class to fill out, which would be needed in Class 12. It required basic family details.
Manoj filled in his name—just Manoj—and continued. Then came the section for annual income. After calculating everything, he wrote 8 lakhs. He was a little surprised—*Am I really that rich?*
But immediately, his eyes fell on Akshita’s form. It said: annual income – 16 lakhs.
Manoj was shocked.
Is Akshita the richest in all of Najafgarh? And if she’s so rich, why does she study in this cheap school? Why doesn’t she go to Dwarka?
Soon, a feeling of inferiority crept into his mind.
Sunita ma’am was taking the Hindi class. There was nothing left to teach, so she casually asked, “Tell me, who among you has the best reading?”
Without thinking, Manoj raised his hand first.
Ma’am made him read an entire passage. He read well.
“Good job,” she said, “but don’t sit yet. Now listen to Akshita’s reading.”
She made Akshita read the same passage. Even though Akshita didn’t want to, she read because Sunita ma’am was her favorite.
Akshita’s reading was exceptionally good—where to pause, where to emphasize, how to bring out emotions, how to recite verses properly—she paid attention to everything.
Manoj felt mesmerized. *Such a beautiful voice… forget the reading… if only you weren’t so quiet, Akshita.*
He was lost in these thoughts when ma’am spoke again, “So, Manoj, did you hear? Now you know where you can improve. And you also know who has the best reading in the class.”
That last statement bothered Manoj a little. The first thing that came to his mind, he blurted out:
“That’s not fair, ma’am. Akshita is perfect at everything. How can anyone compete with her?”
The moment the words left his mouth, he felt extremely embarrassed. His face turned red, and he lowered his head.
*What did I just say in front of everyone?*
Ma’am laughed loudly but didn’t take it badly. The whole class was laughing too.
Only Akshita didn’t like it. She felt that now this boy was troubling her in front of everyone—trying to flirt with her!
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