Monster

We first met in the public library— she helped me replace some books that were scattered on the floor, smiled, and left. A minute ago the same books had fallen from my hands on the sight of her coming.

Over coffee, Arjun got excited— "Will she ever— you—You of all people!"
"I know. Shy. Introverted. Short. Weak. Pot-bellied. Some would say anti-social."
"Uh, yeah. But if it wasn't for you I'd still be in high school, man."—he took a sip—"I owe you. Now lets work on getting you that girl —what was her name—Divya!"

And so it began. On Arjun's instruction, I hit the gym every morning. He made me lose the beard and got me a new hairstyle, changed my giant goggles to more trendy spectacles, got me heels that made me look much taller. The way I dressed changed, thanks to his girlfriend and stylist, Geethu. He even made me  chat with her for hours to let go of the fear of talking to girls. Then I graduated to going to parties with him where I met more girls to talk to and dance with.

Two months passed.

"You're ready man," Arjun exclaimed, "Divya must be here any moment. Don't be nervous. I'll be at the coffee shop." And he cleared the library hall. I felt uneasy. Worried.

After ten minutes Arjun found me in his direction, head down. "She's committed now. Met someone last month." I said, and he let out a swear word. "All this for nothing?" he took a deep breath, "Well at least look at yourself man. Some good certainly did come out of it..." he winked,"... and there's plenty of other fish in the sea," he consoled.

In the park, a week later, I spotted Arjun hurrying at me— was that a hockey stick in his hand? It was.

"You inconsiderate bastard!" growled he, and hurled the hockey stick on to my face. I dodged. Next I blocked his punch and stuck one straight in his eye, thanks to the hours I put in at the gym. I kicked him left and right, before I noticed that people were gathering.
"I trusted you, helped you. Hell, I made you, man!" he said sobbing, lying in the ground, as I was getting ready to leave.

I clasped Geethu's hand and we headed to the exit.

Strangely, I felt like I was some kind of monster.