Vyasa was quiet in school. He always stood on the outskirts, watching. Most everyone, especially the girls, were repulsed by him. He didn't dress well and may have skipped a shower or two in his day. But he did have one friend, well, if you can call her that. They didn't talk but they were always together. Both outcasts, they had that one thing in common. Vyasa didn't even know her name, but he never minded her company. She sat with him every day at lunch. They ate in silence while all the other high schoolers chatted away about the latest gossip. No one ever really paid the two any mind, and that was a-okay with them.
There was a school winter dance and since it was his senior yea, his parents forced him to go. Vyasa was relieved to see his friends face when he walked into the school. They greeted each other with a smile, no words. For the entirety of the night they were wallflowers. Watching their classmates dance and catching the occasional corner make-out sesh. You could say they were more of chaperones than students at this point. After a night full of punch, terrible music and more grinding than they cared to see, the dance was finally over. Afterwards, Vyasa finally spoke to his friend.
"My names Vyasa, what's your name?"
"I'm Suri." She said quietly.
They smiled at one another then got into their separate cars and went home.
The next day at lunch Suri asked "Did you have fun last night?"
"I mean, it was okay. At least it was entertaining. Did you?"
"Oh it was definitely not boring. But I'm glad I didn't have to stand against that wall alone." She looked up from her sandwich and smiled.
"Yeah, it was nice to have some company. It always is." Vyasa smiled back at her.
For the next couple weeks they began talking more and more. Slowly, they began to open up to one another. Vyasa had never really had many friends because he had never learned how to interact with others. He was forced to be on his own at a very young age. The isolation he experienced in his past had turned him into an extreme introvert. But he was finally learning what it was like to enjoy another human being. One day he finally asked her on a date to a drive in movie theater and of course, she said yes.
Vyasa drove a truck so he loaded the bed with pillows and blankets and even remembered to bring snacks along! He was really getting the hang of this whole social life thing. From the start of the movie Vyasa had been eyeing Suri's hand. He wanted so bad to reach for it, but how? He had never done anything like this before. Finally halfway through he did it. He intertwined his fingers between hers and was surprised at how much better it made him feel. Suri laid her head on his shoulder and they stayed like this for the rest of the movie.
"Thanks so much for coming with me tonight Suri, it was a lot of fun." Vyasa said as he was saying goodbye to her on her doorstep.
"Of course. You know, I always enjoy your company." She stood up on her tippy toes and kissed his cheek, "Get home safe Vyasa, I'll see you tomorrow."
Vyasa was on cloud nine. He had never felt this way. All he had known was the feeling of rejection. No girl had ever shown anything but disgust for him. But Suri, she adored him. When his head hit the pillow that night it was full of sweet dreams and his stomach was teeming with butterflies. There really was someone out there for everyone.
Author's Note:
This week I suffered from major writer's-block. I don't like this story that much. I wanted to write something about Vyasa and the three women who bared his sons, but I decided to focus mostly on Vyasa and the servant girl. She was the only one out of the three who happily welcomes Vyasa. The other two were terrified of him, due to his appearance but the servant girl accepted him completely. I thought this made for a sweet story. Although I feel I veered too far from the original story-line. I don't know, my brain is mush and hopefully next week I can write a better story!
Bibliography: The Mahabharata: Karmic Revolution by Epified TV (India)
