Tara Ahuja's Golden Rules

4: Dahlia

 My dad always said that the first week of school was the warm-up before the marathon. Which is why to me, the first week of school was always the worst. I felt like that was even truer in college. The first couple classes, or at least the first one, are pretty tame. Ice breakers, Syllabus reviewing, intro chapters.

I was almost finished my first week of school. There were only about three more days to go. I avoided Ezra. I avoided Varun. Both of which weren't too difficult to do. Luckily, the class Ezra and I shared wasn't too interactive. It was a mandatory intro to business class. I wasn't even a business major.

Varun and I luckily never physically crossed paths since our awkward encounter. I'm sure he had probably come over to my house, but I just never saw him. That wasn't too shocking, though. We never really talked when he came over. He just went straight to Varun's room and drove straight home afterwards.

Enough about boys. I wanted to talk about girls. Friends, specifically. I made zero friends the first week and when I tell you, that was beyond saddening. I thought college would be my time to thrive, but maybe it wasn't.

Even though, I wasn't speaking to Ezra, I kept catching him around campus. What frustrated me the most about him was how sociable he was. It looked like he had already made a whole new friend group, and it was only the first week. I wished I could've been like him. All the friends he made looked so cool and nice. If I were still associated with him somehow, those might've been my friends, but I couldn't think like that because I didn't want anything to do with him.

I had an hour before class began. I stopped by myself at an empty bench in a shady area. I opened the book and began reading. It wasn't long before I felt a presence on the bench near me. On this bench, a raven-haired girl who appeared to be either my age or a little older sat oddly close to me. I didn't give it much thought. Though there were open benches nearby, this was still a good location. Did this girl intentionally sit next to me?

The girl cleared her throat and then faced me, "Hey," she said.

This was really peculiar now, but I couldn't lie, I was very excited. This girl was trying to be my friend, right? Did people just approach total strangers and strike up a discussion in college?

"Hi," I replied. I shifted around to properly face her. Wow, she was really pretty. She had shoulder-length raven-colored hair, and had beautiful brown eyes.

She smiled, "You're a first-year, aren't you?"

I nodded, "What gave it away?" I joked.

She shook her head slightly, pressing her lips together. "Oh nothing, it's just the nervous energy."

Oh god, I hope I didn't exude a nervous energy. I forced a chuckle.

"I'm Dahlia," the girl said, holding out her hand.

What a stunning name. "Like the flower?" I asked.

"Precisely," she said.

I grabbed her hand and shook it, "Tara," I said.

"Tara..." Dahlia said, "Tara, what?"

I paused and thought for a moment, "Uh... Ahuja?" I said. Was she asking for my last name.

Dahlia's eyes widened, as if she had just solved a puzzle. She straightened up and her smile brightened. "I knew it!" she exclaimed.

I tried to mirror her overly exuberant smile. Why was she so excited? I was starting to get creeped out.

"So, you know, Ajit Ahuja right?" she asked, inquisitively.

Ugh, of course, it was something about him. Did she like my brother or something? I didn't even realize Ajit was so popular. I held back a groan.

I nodded slowly, "Yeah, he's my brother," I said.

She hastily nodded and said, "So, you know Varun, right?"

Oddly, I felt my stomach drop at his name, and her excitement about his name. I swallowed. Why was I feeling so anxious all of the sudden. I didn't even feel like responding to her.

"Well, do you?" she asked, her voice hinting at impatience.

I simply nodded.

Dahlia's eyes scanned our surroundings excitedly, as if she were struggling to contain her excitement and trying to find the right words. "Uh, since we're friends and everything now, Tana, is there any way you could— I don't know, hook me up with him?" she asked.

I felt my mouth go dry. My stomach was twirling in aggression and angry butterflies. What the hell was wrong with me? I looked over at her. Her perfect hair, her perfect smile, and clothes. Varun couldn't possibly like her back, right?

No, wait, he totally could.

I swallowed again, and nodded quickly. "Of course," I said.

She pulled me in for a loose hug, and proceeded to thank me. Then, she scattered off, and would probably never think of me again.

I found myself fighting an inner debate of whether I would tell Varun or not. The right thing to do would be to tell him and let him make his own choice, but I don't know why some barrier inside me was making that a difficult choice.

It's not because I liked him or anything, but I just think it was because I was protective of Varun. If any girl was going to get him, it better have been a good girl, and Dahlia just didn't seem like that girl. She seemed like the furthest thing from it. Was that my choice to make though?

It wasn't. What if I forgot to tell Varun, though? What if I innocently forgot about this conversation because I was between classes? What if I wasn't even sitting on this bench today, then I would've never even met her. How would have Dahlia approached him, then?