Boy who cannot smell

"Is it done now?". asked the boy.

"No".

"Now".

"No".

"Now".

"Stop it". Can't you do it for yourself? I really wonder why your nose blocks every time we have chemistry laboratory and seriously I am fed up of smelling your stuff and telling you the answers. I feel like your personal sniffer dog".

"Hey, I am sorry" said the boy.

He knew he irritated his friends by asking for such favors during the practical examinations especially when strict examiner was around. He thought he would wait till she came back on her own. Today was their internal for chemistry lab. They had to smell the odor of chemical reactions to know what chemical substance they had been given. The problem was that he could not smell any kind of odor. He had anosmia - the absence or loss of the sense of smell. Like any other teenager, he felt very uncomfortable telling people about his weakness. He and his family came to know about his disease when he was 10. This happened when their house was about to burn down due to a defective electric cable. He was inside the house which was full of pungent burning plastic odor and was completely unaffected by it but it was another story. Now he was in the first year of college.

"It’s magnisium oxide" said his friend looking around not to be caught by examiner.

"Thanks". He smiled back at her. He knew she would come back.

"I really wonder what you would do without me" his friend said with smile on her face.

"Well thats a difficult question. I guess I would have to hire an assitant then". Said the boy

"Loser" said his friend and smiled.

After completing there internal they reached cafeteria for lunch.

"Lets sit there" said the boy.

"No, its very near to the kitchen and very smelly".

"I like the smell of food."

"I know you like all the smells except that of magnesium oxide."

They both smiled. She looked for a place near the window while the boy came back with two cold drinks and a sandwich from the new vendor.

"Hey, do you think it got rotten". asked the girl

"Let me see"

He picked the food and brought it near his nose.

"Well its smells ok but to judge the food you have to taste it..."

He took a bite of her food and swallowed it.

"...as smell is very deceptive...phewwww. Yes its rotten and What the heck was it and it tasted awful"

"Well it tasted good last time I ate it 2 months ago"

He looked at his friend and smiled. She had a nice smile. He heard his classmates saying she smells extraordinarily good. He loved her but could never smell her.

They were sitting on the library after lunch making notes for the next examination.

"Dude, you stink!!" he said to fat boy sitting ahead of them. He turned around and gave him a nasty look.

"I thought you had a choked nose today".

"Yes you thought right. I have choked nose not chocked ears". Said the boy without looking at him.

"Hey I remember my brother came from Paris". She opened zip of her bag and put a hand rummaging something. "I asked him to bring you good perfume. Here it is".

He remembered in the last annual day to impress her he put lot of strong perfume. Though it was a story from 27 months ago, people still laughed and claimed they could still smell that fragrance in the school campus.

Perfume from then always brought a smile to his face. He brought the bottle close to his face. "It’s awesome. Thanks" said the boy.

Suddenly the bell rang. "Let’s go. I'll drop you home" said the boy. Also I need my sniffer dog for buying a fresh bouquet for my mom and dad's anniversary.

They both smiled and start walking towards parking lot.