
I dated a girl in 6th standard, stole ₹500 for her, changed my school subject for her… and still broke her heart.
Currently I’m 26, I still sometimes think about the girl I dated in 6th standard.
Not because it was some great love story.
But because that tiny little relationship had more innocence, more stupid sacrifices, more guilt, and more drama than some adult relationships I’ve seen today.
I’m talking about stolen money, Archies gifts, changing school subjects for love, secret midnight SMSes, a surprise train meetup, and then me ruining it all because I was a complete idiot.
It sounds funny now, but back then every single thing felt life changing.
A little context about me and my school first. I studied in a co-ed school, and the girls in my class were actually quite pretty. There was this trio of three super popular girls in school — proper Kareena Kapoor Pooh vibes — and somehow I was very close to them. That guy was me.
Now I wasn’t the most popular kid in the whole school, but I was definitely known in my standard. I was that studious kid who always scored 90 and above, but at the same time I had this huge mischievous side. I was super fun-loving, always cracking jokes, gelling up with people quickly, the kind of person around whom people genuinely enjoyed being. In short, brains of a first bencher, acts of a back bencher.
So one day these three girls and I were talking, and they randomly told me that I should date this one other girl from our class because she was cute and — listen to the logic — we were from the same caste so it would be easy to get married later and our parents would agree because both of us were single children. 😂 Imagine. We were planning marriage before even having a relationship.
Then these girls started teasing me in front of that girl, and I used to get all shy. Slowly this became a rumour in class that me and her were dating. Let’s call her Nikita.
She was cute, tall, very skinny, and had this tiny little mole on her chin which made her look even more cute. So me and Nikita started talking more. I would intentionally ask her for notebooks just so I could take them home and “copy work” even when I didn’t need to. She was always very helpful towards me. We would sit together and do all those tiny cute things that probably sound stupid now but meant everything back then.
Then we exchanged numbers. This was the Airtel SMS pack era — ₹19 for a whole month — and neither of us had our own phones. So every night we would wait for our mothers to sleep, secretly take their phones, and then message each other. Those night conversations became the best part of my day.
Eventually I couldn’t hold my horses anymore. I proposed to her. And guess what? Of course she said yes.
Just like that, our cute little relationship started. We would sit together, hold hands, I would pluck random flowers from school and give them to her. Whenever we came close to each other, our heartbeats would start racing and we would breathe so heavily like some full Bollywood romantic scene was happening.
She was such a sweetheart that one day she got me an Archies keychain with a guitar and fake diamonds on it, and she also bought me one of those Archies letters. Only problem was the letter said: “To the girl I want to marry.” 😂 Because she was too scared to buy one meant for a boy. So that cutie went back home, removed the word girl, and wrote man with her own hands before giving it to me on Valentine’s Day.
I was completely gone. But at the same time I felt so guilty because I hadn’t gotten her anything. Archies was a BIG thing back then and I had no money. So for the first and only time in my life, I stole a ₹500 note from my father’s pocket. 😂 Still guilty. Never got caught.
I went straight to Archies and bought her a card, a pendant with chain, and a ring. She loved all of it. And yes, before Valentine’s Day too I had celebrated all the mini versions — flowers, chocolates because they were cheap, even a small teddy whenever I could manage — but I had forgotten to get her something on the main Valentine’s Day itself, which is why she gave me gifts first and I gave mine the next day. She went crazy. She was so deeply, innocently in love with me. And so was I.
We even kissed once. Not a smooch or anything, just a tiny peck in our classroom after school when everyone had left. But back then that one peck meant the whole world.
Now comes the part that still melts me when I think about it. When we were getting promoted from class 6 to class 7, we had to choose an additional language — French or German. I was very good at French, so naturally my family wanted me to choose French too. But Nikita wanted German. And she was very upset because French students and German students would have separate classrooms. She didn’t want us to be apart.
On the final day of submitting the form, she was roaming around the classroom all anxious and restless. I asked my friend what happened. He explained everything. My form already had my parents’ signature. All I had to do was tick French. But for her happiness, I ticked German. Went against my family. Got scolded like anything at home. Still felt worth it.
But this girl had not finished being adorable. One time I was travelling back to my hometown. For context, both our hometowns were in the same state. I casually told her, “I’ll be travelling on this date by this train.” That sweet little psycho forced her family to book tickets on the exact same day on the exact same train, and I had absolutely no clue.
I boarded, said happy journey and all to her over text, and after a couple of hours I suddenly saw a girl crossing our cabin who looked exactly like her. She knew my coach and seat number, so she knew where to find me. She crossed once. Then came back. And I knew it was her.
I don’t even know what I was feeling in that moment — scared, happy, excited, butterflies, everything together. I told my family I was going to pee and followed her. We met two coaches away from mine. She told me all the efforts she had put in just to see me. I was almost crying. I hugged her. I held her hands. And that was it. Class 6. Indian train. Strict families. We were not that bold. I told her to go back. But the fact that she did all that just for me… I still remember that moment so vividly.
Things were great between us. Our relationship went on beautifully for a good 7–9 months. Until one random day, out of nowhere, I convinced myself that I was doing something wrong. This is not the age for all this. I’m wasting time. I stole because of this. She is a bad influence.
Mind you, she was not a bad influence. I was just a chutiya. But what do you expect, I was in 7th standard.
So one day, like the coward I was, I asked one of my male best friends to go and tell her that it was over because I didn’t have the guts to say it on her face. That scene is still clear in my head. I was standing at one corner of the classroom. She was standing at the other. My friend walked up to her and told her. I kept looking from a distance. The moment he said it, she looked at me. And I felt so damn guilty.
When my friend came back, I nervously asked him, “What did she say?” He said, “It’s okay. I understand.” That was all.
I never spoke to her after that. In fact I avoided talking to her because I was a pussy and couldn’t handle the guilt.
Eventually things started normalising. Around that same time, my family planned a vacation and I desperately needed that break, so I went away without informing anyone in class except one person — my male best friend.
Now let me introduce him. He was the topper of our class. Complete bookworm. Very smart. And he had a girlfriend who sat right in front of him. So naturally me and my best friend used to sit behind his girlfriend and her girl best friend. 😂
My best friend was Ritik. His girlfriend was Geet. And Geet’s best friend was Nayla — again, another very pretty girl.
So after I came back from vacation, my classmates started bombarding me. “Where were you?” “Do you know one girl was looking for you?” “She was so concerned!” “She kept asking about you!”
I was confused.
Guess who they were talking about?
Nikita?
No.
Nayla. 😭
Everyone started hyping me up. “Nayla likes you.” “She secretly admires you.” “She was worried for you.”
And me, being the crazy dumbass I was, I proposed to Nayla. 🥲 And of course she said yes.
Exactly one month after breaking up with Nikita.
Poor Nikita was completely disheartened. She started thinking I had broken up with her just to be with Nayla, but in reality you know what actually happened.
And this is where things started getting messier than any 7th standard child should have been allowed to experience because now it wasn’t just me and Nayla. It was me and Nayla, Ritik and Geet… and a full-blown double dating saga.
Part 2 if people are interested.