10 Things I hate About Her (10 Things #1)

3. My Name is 'Blank'

While preparing for her final exams, Juliana stopped wearing makeup. As for clothes, she dragged on whatever was closest to her hand and didn't smell. Since their parents had raised them on hot chocolate, she and Val couldn't stomach coffee, so Juliana drank chai tea with three spoons of sugar to keep her energy flowing. Her Indian acquaintance, Shivi, short for Shivendra, would laugh and say that saying chai tea was the equivalent of saying 'tea-tea', but Juliana didn't care.

She sat on the ground, a blanket draped on her lap, as she reviewed her Geography notes. A cup of chai tea waited near her hand. Ice rain tapped the window, and she knew the sidewalks would be slippery within a few hours. Val had left early in the morning; she had scored a gig with an alternative pop group she sometimes filled in as a pianist for. They had a show later that day, so they were practicing.

Juliana sat alone.

Usually, Val would leave her some scrambled eggs or a few slices of French Toast, but Val had been in a rush that morning, so she had simply run out without cooking anything.

Juliana thought of having cereal, but her competitive spirit kicked in, and she got lost in memorizing the main exports of five African countries and taking note of the challenges that prevented them from raising their GDP. The TV played in the background; Juliana didn't watch it, but it kept her loneliness at bay.

Juliana took a break and went to the gym at noon; she worked out for an hour, which proved to be a mistake.

Her stomach squeezed in pain, and she felt a fierce hunger that made her think of eating a table of food. Sweat dripped down her toned abdomen as she picked up the water bottle she had placed in the stationary bike's holder. She paused by a rowing machine; it was something a senior had taught her to use as a freshman and she had fallen in love with. It was fun and burnt a lot of calories. Half an hour more wouldn't hurt. So, she sat on the sliding bench and strapped her feet into their anchors.

Half an hour passed while she pushed and pulled. Her cropped black hoodie grew soaked; her stomach and head hurt, and she felt so tired after exercising she dropped on the rubber mats lining the floor and lay on her back, waiting till she felt a bit sturdier to leave. A boy with bronze hair was playing with a dumbbell while watching her. He smiled. She took out her phone and pretended to be busy texting someone, so he wouldn't bother her.

In reality, she was simply punching random letters onto her notepad app. She stood, and the room spun. She leaned against the wall and tried to appear normal and not dizzy, which only caused a headache. Juliana sat again, closed her eyes, and waited for her heart to calm down. Eventually, she felt stronger and cleaned the handles of the rowing machine with some antiseptic wipes she had found on a wooden table.

The boy made his way over to her. He was handsome, having a lean, rugged face; a light scattering of brown hair covered his jaw. "Hey, do you want to grab lunch or something?"

"I'm not hungry."

Her stomach whined in protest, and her face warmed. "What I meant," she continued, "is I prefer to eat alone."

"Alright. Could you at least tell me your name?"

"Oh, I don't have a name."

He chuckled. "Come on...."

"My parents didn't know what to name me, so they left that line blank. Everyone calls me 'Blank'. You can call me that too if you want." Juliana hated giving out her name to strangers; it often led to them stalking her social media profiles and lashing out when she didn't respond.

The boy smiled. "Alright, then, I'll see you around, Blank."

"Enjoy your lunch," Juliana said, then quickly fled the room, carrying her heavy bottle.