Blame Flame

Deep down inside, she knew why the tube of red paint wasn't in her bag. She had been thinking of Shyam as she packed her bag, and thoughts of Shyam distracted her ... to say the least.

He was the nicest guy she had met in all her sixteen years. He was funny, he was polite, he was so handso– but here, she had to giggle and stop herself. She had to admit, Shyam's looks were not his strong point, but that didn't matter. The crooked teeth were adorable when he smiled, and the button nose reminded her of a puppy.

Vinitha had been thinking of Shyam, and how they'd stand their easels by each other at art class, and how he'd whisper because talking wasn't allowed. Thank goodness talking wasn't allowed, she loved the way he sneaked close to whisper, right in her ear. It tickled so sweetly.

So when half the art items were missing from her bag, she couldn't admit that she'd gotten absent-minded. That she had done some art at home, and had her head in the clouds at the time. "I don't know, maybe my younger cousin took them out to use ..." she said, rather feebly.

"Blame It on the Large Hadron Collider," Shyam advised, handing her his tube of red paint.

And so on, for the missing .04 brush, the missing palate-knife, the missing anything. "Blame It on the Large Hadron Collider," was Shyam's cheerful dictum as he handed over his.

The thing is, he never seemed to need the things himself. Was he slacking on his own work, or was he actually carrying two of everything, to be able to supply what she had left out? She blushed at the thought. If he had bought two of everything, he had spent all his pocket money.

Vinitha smiled to herself as she thought what he'd say about pocket money that was no longer in his pocket. Yes, yes. He'd parrot the usual phrase of blaming it on ...

But in reality, she was to blame and she had to be less selfish. She had to remember her stuff from now on. She set her chin resolutely. She wouldn't forget to pack anything again, after an art session at home.

So, the next time she did art at home, she made a checklist. She ticked off each item as it went in the bag. She was totally focused on putting it in. All the items were packed. Now, for the first time in ages, she wouldn't hear Shyam blaming it– she smiled as she pictured him making a similar checklist to buy stuff to cover for her, and began to hum a little tune as she recalled how he had handed each item over quickly, stealthily, behind the art-master's back.

Her Dad was blowing on the horn. He was going to drive her to art class that day, her bicycle had a puncture. She climbed in, still grinning vaguely, and hummed all the way. When she got there, took her footwear off at the door as was the custom, and felt on her shoulder to hang her bag up in its usual place.

She blushed.

"Where's my bag?" she asked herself, in confusion.

The familiar phrase, far from not being heard that day, was heard within ten seconds of entering. "Blame It on the Large Hadron Collider."

They moved really close to each other, as they had to share everything that day. "Ride home on my bike?" he offered, as the class was dismissed.

They'd never done that before. Their meetings were confined to the class itself. But it would be tiring to walk home ...

He rode carefully, mindful that he had a pillion rider. One more point in his favour, he was caring - trying to ensure that she ride in as much comfort as she could, sitting astride a bike-meant-for-one. He took a longer road, too, to have a smoother ride with less traffic.

She still had that grin on her face as she walked through the door, and she was humming.

"What's the matter with you?" a high-pitched voice suddenly interrupted her daydream.

"What?"

"Vinitha, I've been talking to you for two minutes and all you do is smile and sing. What's the matter with you?"

It was her younger cousin, the one she had tried to palm the blame on.

She looked at her. "Sorry, Divya," she replied. "I am not all there. I guess you could say I've lost my heart and can't find it."

"Lost your heart and can't find it? Blame It on the Large Hadron Collider," her cousin advised.