Chapter 4 – Supriya

William sighed, having to explain.

He had always hated explaining, and this happened to be something he practically covered for Supriya for over a decade on account of their mothers being friends. 

But it was time to let the cat out of the bag.

Moreover, he was reluctant to hide things from the petite girl and let her misunderstand him, a thought which terrified him just as much as it surprised him. 

“Do you remember when we were kids, she used to chase me around and pretend that we were childhood sweethearts who would get married when we grew up?” William asked Pete. 

Pete rolled his eyes, “Don’t we all know that?”.

William sent him a glare which made Pete stammer. He smiled hesitatingly and asked him to continue. 

William shook his head helplessly, which made Rosaline squint her eyes at him. 

“Well, she wrote me a love letter which read like she was begrudgingly replying because I stalked her. And she made sure to get caught. That got me in trouble.”

“She testified to the teachers that we were dating. She even went as far as vaguely hinting that we were intimate to an extent.”

“I was disciplined because of that. And was told to reflect on my behavior.”

“10 laps every morning and evening daily for 30 days.”

“Only one half of dinner or lunch for 60 days.”

William calmly finished as if he was talking about someone else rather than himself. 

Pete was confused.

He murmured, “Are you serious? It would get recorded in your profile. And being a military school, you might even have gotten expelled.”

William’s knitted brows relaxed a little. Pete was more concerned about his reputation than Supriya.

‘Perhaps he is not hopeless, after all,’ William mused before continuing. 

Rosaline noticed this slight change in his expression and hid her smile. 

‘Turns out, they are good friends.’

“Well, apparently, she had overheard me telling Ria, my sister,” William added as he glanced at Rosaline which made all his friends gawk at her, “that if I saw her again after five lifetimes, that would still be too early. She told me to beg her to clarify that mess for me and start dating.”

“It was her revenge for my lack of interest.”

“For a 10-year-old to be devious enough to frame someone simply because she did not get what she wanted - let’s just say that I did not think she was simply mischievous.”

Pete stared at William with wide eyes.

“Well, long story short, our parents came, and her parents clarified the matter. It’s not in my record.”

“Since our mothers are friends, the whole thing was hushed up. So, she is in the clear too.”

Rosaline was dumbfounded.

‘How can people be so evil while so young? Isn't this supposed to only happen in movies?’