Thankyou , I replied .

By the time I came , Austin wasn"t there . He was called by my teacher as his speech was after mine . I wanted to talk to him , I wanted to ask him if I was good or no , I wanted to know his opinion . I was little upset that he had to leave just when I came. But at the same time I was eagerly waiting for him to give his speech .

I saw him talking to my teacher at corner near a pillar . After a while , the judges called his name . As he was walking towards the stage , the room which was silent until now was filled with the sound of students murmuring .

I could hear the conversation of the girls who were sitting behind me .

" This guy is so hot " said a girl .

" OMG !!! , he"s the guy I was talking about . I saw him while getting down the bus and I fell for him " came a voice of a girl .

" Who wouldn"t fall for him , wish I could date him , her friend replied .

Well , If you wanna date him you gotta ask his girlfriend"s permission first , said Veronica turning her head back and pointing her index finger towards me .

I was so embarra.s.sed and didn"t want to show my face to the girls who were sitting behind me .

What rubbish are you spouting Veronica , I hissed .

Aren"t you in relation ?, she asked me in a casual tone .

What !! no way , who told you that , I said .

You once asked me if I liked him or no , remember ?

When we were hanging out during weekends , I asked Veronica if she liked Austin or no , she told me that she liked him long back but not now as she is in a relation with another guy who was her relative . I heaved a sigh of relief to her reply.

Yes I do, so ? , I asked her .

I don"t know , the way you asked me was different . I mean you sounded like you were confirming something from me since then I had a doubt that you liked him and on elocution day I saw you talking to Austin and I thought you both like eacthother , I mean the way you both were talking ....I"m sorry I just thought like that , I didn"t tell anybody about this , trust me , she said .

We both like eacthother , wish that was true I said in my mind .

I shook my head and said , no I"m not in a relation and you don"t have to apologize , I understand . And then I gave a half smile and looked at the stage where Austin was waiting for the judges to tell him to start his speech.

And then the Judges who were sitting to the right side of the stage told him to start .

As soon as he started to give his speech , the room was filled with silence , everybody in the room was mesmerized by his speech . After he completed his speech everybody gave round of applause and it continued till he got down from the stage and walked towards his seat which was beside me .

Another person was called to give the speech.

I gave a bright smile looking at him while he was coming . He sat beside me .

That was great , I said .

Really ?, I couldn"t take my eyes off from you , Austin came closer and told me in low voice.

My heart started to beat faster . I looked at him widening my eyes .

I mean , the way you gave your speech was amazing , he said .

Thankyou , I said and smiled .

_____________________________

That was what I wanted , I worked hard so that I could do well in front of him but never expected him to compliment me .

That b.u.t.terflies feeling when you work hard for something and a person you like appreciates you for it is priceless?