A Savored love tinge – Love Story of College Girl
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L I F E – is it that simple as it is to spell n write…wonder if any had a life as simple as the word seems to be…I had always wondered …much as every boy or girl thinks … been crazy, n, at times philosophical, much to my convenience ,few for adjustments ,and, few more for my own pleasure…but when I try to figure out what exactly life means or is all about I am left clueless…
‘’will miss u dad’’ saying this I hugged him tight
‘’destiny decides everything..i never ever dreamt of leaving n staying away from my princesses…But see I am leaving u n going , I love u beta ..n I trust u too …u promised me u will score good…study hard n make ur dada proud….I saw tears in his eyes and before I could say anything dad turned back took his language and walked away for the station. I silently came inside.
This was what I wanted …dad knows very well I wanted to come here, stay at granny’s place n study , it was not destiny who wanted me to b here. Ofcourse even I never had in my weird dreams imagined to be away from mom n dad n bro but… and dad has always been so protective about me …protective??? Or possessive??? Or love?? Or ??fear ??? of ?? losing??? Me?? …I jerked my thoughts out of my mind to avoid chocking…
My first day in school started at 6:30am eleventh class…section b …mbipc section …to make u understand let me elaborate it… its maths biology physics n chemistry group …
all cribbing of the early morning class ‘’can’t they make it 7:30 instead of 6:30’’ whispered one
I personally cherish n love the morning time…The sunrise…The fresh cool breeze…The birds chirping.. the sounds of holy bells in temples… colored flowers …all made the day perfect.
First period was an intro hour for all …this school was a bit different from others…Different in the way it also gave admission to students from nepal too. I wonder that we Indians go abroad for study n job purposes y they coming here n studying?
Me n my cousin, Pari , were the odd ones, as that school usually had two sets of students one of locals n one of Napalies…we were given the tag delhi kids, literally by our clothing n talking style even though our parents are hailed from rajasthan, which means we too are , but brought up in north, as our parents shifted to delhi on job purpose, even before we were born.
Our section had 30 students in total. Out of 30, 12 were girl’s n remaining boys. Girls use to sit on the left side of the class n boys right side. Days were passing on…We were having fun n studies… bunking classes now n then … going to the back side of the campus, n sitting there gossiping n enjoying.
Me n my cousin competing at the sametime for who scores better than the other…we had our different groups in the class room too . sometimes she stood first sometimes me ( which she use to hate it )…she couldn’t digest me getting marks better than her..there’s a genuine reason behind her hatred.:-p . she use to study hard, very hard, infact whole day in front of books n reading n reading , n I was the one who did the last moment study ..i usually gave the topic a reading n then go according to my knowledge n understanding…what to do, no two persons r same:-p
One day was busy in English class taking down notes ..one of my bench mates Shristhi elbowed me n said’’hey listen … I want to tell u something listen, but promise u wont get angry ok??’’
I promised her won’t get angry..
‘’U have to look where I ask u to look ,ok?’’ she directed
‘’aww disgusting, where u want me to look at’’- I frowned
‘’Just look slowly to your right side …the boys row …1st bench corner seater n she started giggling
I raised my head …first row –first bench –corner seater … hmm ….a boy very fair with spectacles kept starring at us without blinking his eyes a sec…
What the hell ‘’who is he ? why is he looking at us? ‘’I asked her
‘’not us , he is looking at you’’ she replied still giggling..
‘’what the heck y is he looking at me?’’
‘’its not only today but he’s been looking at you since long, whole of the class knows dumbo except u… n now when I had told u, u are asking who is he ? u r impossible, girls r crazy for him n he for u ,n u never noticed this.’’
I just rolled my eyes to him but that was not much of help
everyone was making fun over him …i gave damn bad looks to him still he was not looking away
Got to know his name that day ‘Raaghav’ aka Ragz.. ‘’I had never even noticed him!!’’ I wondered …in these 2 months of my joining.
(3)
So, I decided not to give a damn to anyone…Just be cool as I use to be n enjoy.
But after about 10 odd days …
Me n Pari were on our way back home …walking , one of our friends got a letter n handed over to me n left saying ‘’Its for u from someone’’. …I opened the letter n found in it written…
I love you…
signed by Raaghav …
‘’shit’’ my eyes popped out
‘’does he even know the meaning of love (as if I knew it all :-p’’) n threw it away …
Pari immediately picked it up n read …n shouted ‘’hey that Raaghav wrote I love you in this’’ …
‘’yea then when r u accepting his proposal Pari??’’ … I smirked at her and gave her a teasing look …
‘’stupid its for u , n how dare he write this to u?’’
that’s y I threw it away ,so my jhasi ki rani do the same n ignore …this is common u know na boys do such things so just chill…be cool he’ll forget in few days n find someone else…in this age this happens ..Pari interfered n said ‘yea u r right miss super cool’
We reached home, as soon as we reached home our other friends suddenly dropped in (Jyo, Srishthi n Sara)…they said ‘we came to know that u got a love letter from Raghav , we need to talk ‘…
All were taken to Pari’s room , n doors n windows closed so that no one can lend an ear…
’’our mission – to make him learn a lesson ‘’they said …my eyes bulged out in surprise n shock …
‘’what !! What r u girls up to …r u going to murder him?’’ ‘’No not murder but most horrifying than that ‘’ they grinned..
I can see my friends getting cruel in their intentions.. Srishthi stood up n said ‘’girls he is not only one who has to b taught a lesson there’s another boy too’’ all stared at her ‘’who’s that?’’
‘’HE IS AKHIL…’’
‘AAAKHILLLLL!!!!!!!…
yes Akhil’ she said ..He wrote a love letter to Sara… we all turned towards Sara …She started crying … ‘’what is this, y is she crying now? Its just a letter he didn’t hit u’’ -I said. .. I stood up n said ‘’see girls don’t make this an issue, just chill not a big deal…to which they all gave me a dirty look’’:-p ….
‘’u just shut up, u still a child u doesn’t know what has happened, stay away we will handle the matter’’ my cousin ordered…
I got up from there saying ‘’do whatever u girls like don’t drag me into anything ‘’
…later it was our study hour time, we went to school (evening classes at school used to b like tuitions classes …if any had doubts those were cleared in the evening study hrs) .. Don’t know what my devil sissies did that evening no one was in the class.
Next day morning we were again in the class … I was chilling out with friends … suddenly two of our teachers came in n asked me to go out of the class for sometime along with my cousin , sara n jyo.. I moved out wondering what’s the matter ? I asked Pari ‘’what’s the matter is something wrong?’’ ….she said ‘nothing wrong my dear siso …Now everything gonna b perfect just wait n watch’’ …loud sounds of hitting someone with sticks were heard all of a sudden … n that sound n intensity could be felt inside me , my heart started beating louder n louder with every sec .. They were punishing Raghav by hitting him badly with a thick stick… I could see him…He was not moving neither was he crying, he stood still… Pari n friends they were saying ‘’see how shameless he is, not even saying sorry for what he did’’..The teachers continued hitting him for 25 mins …n he stood still.. But dint say that sorry word ones..Then one of our English sir went to him, donno what he said to Raghav at last he said ‘’sorry” n everything stopped.. I looked at Pari …My eyes were with tears…
I was hurt ‘’u shouldn’t have done this Pari’’ i ran away to the football court…I cried n cried I donno y but I cried
Later after an hour I went to the class, I wanted to see him whether he is alright..How can he b alright.. 25 mins he was beaten like an animal just for a pity reason that he wrote a his feelings…Is that, a, that big sin? Our biology class was going to begin, sir entered the room, all of us stood up to wish him n I stool a glance n looked out for him… There he was right side- first bench… There was no sign of pain over his face..His eyes were blood red, he was looking at me…I looked down, I was sorry for what had happened…I never wanted all this I said to myself
Days passed n rumors started…Pari n my friends use to warn me to b cautious as he is dangerous …He is a drunkard n that he takes drugs and now he is wounded animal too who can attack anytime….drugs just imagine that very word was horrifying for me..stories came up like he is a spoilt child , had been troubling parents too a lot, so he was dumped here in hostel ,so that he can b put straight ,but here too he does all sorts of rebellious actions..n what not.. he is a flirt takes every girl as a challenge n now am the one on his hit list…after all this, which girl would dare to go to school .. as a result my attendance started showing low … I use to go alternate days to school n if ever by chance I saw Raghav I use to run away from there..n this continued till the final exams were over, that session was over …all were promoted to 12th ..n this time ,Raghav was in a different section which relaxed me a lot..
************
High school board students, now we were the seniors in our block… new books, new class…n new higher spirits. last yr finals I topped the class with 94% as a result my sweet Pari sissy was now very disturbed n desperately needs a first rank this time to satisfy herself :-p… so that means we were not sharing a healthy relationship this year…more of rivalry from her side.. For me it was not a big deal. This time Raghav not being around in class gave me much space to chill pill:-p … but I kind of got habituated to his staring n missed them in the initial days :-p…I was all of sudden feeling freed of some type of bondage … time fly’s ..we use to b busy with studies, exams …n gossips…hot gossips ..:-p one fine morning the moment I reached the class all my sissy’s dragged me to a corner n started gossiping… know what!!! ‘’Sara n Akhil kissed each other in the auditorium last evening’’ …my lower jaw fell down hearing this …horrifying to hear:-p that n then my Pari siso targeted me n said ‘’be careful Raghav might take advantage n kiss u too’’ …. n this was a good throw siso u got it direct on my skull I murmured … gossips r damn interesting until they r not about you and when they are about you they turn out to b the worst nightmares ,i realized that day . Raghav’s class was next to ours , hardly 20 feet far …while going to canteen, we many a times use to come face to face ..n I the mss cool use to run away from that place:-p…. once I literally banged into him while talking to one of my friends n was to fall off , but he held me and said be careful… I said ‘sorry to
him I might have hurt u’… he said ‘no u din’t, u never had hurt me dear’ : -) his eyes were cool brown eyeballs…I wondered something magical which left me just staring in them… he was so very polite while talking, I wondered how can he have a negative shade.. That night donno y, but for the first time I was thinking of him…i recollected the last years thing.. he was beaten like a wild animal for nothing, just a letter..I cursed myself for not being firm, n warning my sissy’s not to make it an issue…’’ shall I go n say sorry to him?..he seems to b a good one, may b all r creating stories of he being a bad one…but then saying sorry for something which has done the damage, is not justifying, at least not for me … its like to murder someone n then say sorry …it won’t make things right, I never believed in saying sorry for the mistakes..realization is imp n never repeating it, is what’s more imp, n I have both, n now better I go to sleep, coz, tmrw there’s a slip test’’…I told myself n slept …damn when something is troubling I never can have a peaceful sleep.. ‘’Ragz just give me a break n let me sleep yaar’’ I said it loud…covered my face with one of the pillows n went off to sleep..
It was the month of dec , we had finished our half yearly’s n were busy with the annual day function in school . Many programs were going to b conducted along with prize distribution . I was participating in one of the group dance … many games competitions too were held..For boys n girls separately. I won the medal in kabbadi, badminton n kho kho …’three cheers to me’ I said. In boys raghav won all the games not sparing a single game… that was pretty impressive , after that he became a hot topic, for, almost all the girls… many girls proposed him too , as per one of the gossips :-p heard around…. Annual day was over, n soon a day came when we were asked to fill forms, for board examination, so that hall tickets can b issued. I gldance at my watch it was 10 am, we were standing outside principal’s office in a line, for the form submission purpose…all of a sudden I found a form along with the wind near my feet , I bent to pick it up , while picking it up mine fell down ..another hand reached out to pick up mine…’Kaajal’ she read my name on the form …’nice naam’ she smiled n said …I too read her name from her form n said ‘Neha’ n gave a smile ‘ur’s too is a nice name’’ I said . ‘Which section?‘ I enquired while handing over her form n getting mine back… ‘Section a’ she replied with a sweet smile. A tall girl 5.8 ht…Long hair nicely tied up…beautiful eyes like of a deer… n a lovely smile…She was perfect n the way she spoke was impressive …I wondered many guys must be after her with proposals for sure. Interrupting my observations, she confirmed ‘’u r from section c the spl eng class, n Pari , ur cousin sis isn’t it ‘’? oh that was cool she knew much about me
I said ‘’yea u got the right info dear I hope u not spying over me I winked ‘’…she meanwhile requested the guy behind me ( note : behind me in the line of form submission not the other way :p) to let her stand in front of him as we needed to talk …then a sec later she replied ‘’yea u right miss Kaajal I am spying on u, but, for the right reasons :-p ‘’ she winked back…’’don’t scare me saying so miss Neha’’ n we both giggled… I felt someone trying to snatch my form I resisted n neha said immediately watch out Kajuu… I turned while resisting, only to find our math’s sir who was collecting the form…’thadak’ a stick hit me on my legs but polity:-p ‘’leave choti chiti or else ur form won’t b accepted later…standing in line n chit chatting han?’’ groaned our botony sir, I giggled n said ‘’sorry sir didn’t notice it was u n handed over my form to him’. ‘How will u notice busy bee ‘’he countered n proceeded with collecting others forms in the line.
’’Off to respective classes all’ came an order …n all started dispersing I smiled at Neha n said ‘’it was nice talking to u ‘’ and before I could say bye to her she offered her hand n said friends ? (I was surprised that she was showing a lot interest in me), I accepted n said ‘’yea friends “ we shook hands n then said bye to each other ….that evening study hrs were going on …but no teachers ,as they had a meeting held for them…was sitting alone in the class ,all others were sitting outside , places one preferred to..i wanted to b alone coz I can’t study with lots of distractions around …while I was busy with my books I felt someone came n sat besides me ..i looked up n was surprised to see neha smiling at me …Isaid ‘’heya hi , u here? What’s up?’’
‘’Hmm I was just crossing by n happened to see u alone in the classroom, so came in ‘’…she said… ‘’Hope am not disturbing u Kaju what r u studying by the way ‘’she asked .. I said ‘’ was trying to solve some problems …n was going to tell her but she continued n I know ‘’u hate math’s , once ur dad came to school to warn our botony teacher of not being rude to u in the class or ever punish u if u fail to solve the sums ‘’ I was like what the hell ,she is a different section student, never had I ever met her ,still she knows a lot about me ‘’ I was totally confused n she found it by my face n giggled saying , I told u, am spying on u, now, don’t give me that puzzled look Kaju… ‘’ok , now tell me what all u know about me let me how much stuff u got about me ms spy :-p ‘’I said …. She started off ‘’ that u a very pampered child of ur mom n dad n of course a younger brother’s heartthrob…u pretend to b very cool tomboy types but its not u ..u the most shy a person…who has got a beautiful heart ..a beautiful soul..Everyone wants to b friends with you … being with u gives lots of positive energy …u love flowers , u r afraid of butterflies, u love rains but afraid of thunders ‘’’ ‘stop’ ‘stop’ I said my lower jaw fell down n I was speechless how do u know am afraid of butterflies? She winked at me this time too n said ‘’I know it all ‘’ … ‘see this is pissing me off ,I am not afraid of any butterflies ,I don’t like such cheep pranks ,now r u going to tell me the truth or else am up ..i am gonna leave ‘’ I said this n I got up to leave she held my hand n said ‘’ok ok ,chill ,sit down .. am going to tell u how I know all this about u ‘’ she smiled …somehow I liked that smile of hers a lot .. I sat back…n gave her a look saying go on now puke the truth baby…
She cleared her throat ‘’see don’t be angry , am not here to do any harm to u or anything wrong … hope you won’t stop talking to me after u know the truth’’ .. I said ‘’see I won’t b angry neither will I stop talking to u say it now my drama queen ‘’…
‘’ u know Raghav? Isn’t it?’’
‘’y the hell she taking Raghav’s name now n here, what’s all this to do with him?’’ I thought…
‘’ yea , I know him’’’’ what has this to do with him anyway ?’’ I said
“I am his younger sister ‘’ ‘’ we r twins ‘’ she said in a flow
I was clueless for how shall I react to this now? ‘’Shall I run away but then she won’t kill me even if I stay’’ …’’Raghav’s sister means ‘’is she here to take revenge for what we did last year to him?’’ All sorts of foolish thoughts pilled up in my mind …I chunked them all…she was trying to read my face meanwhile… I broke the silence n said smiling to her ‘’hmmm so Raghav’s little sister…u must be happy to see ur brother win all medals in game competitions last month’’… (I wanted to make her feel that didn’t disturb me at all, being Raghav’s sister was absolutely fine with me… but inside I know something was not ok) … her eyes twinkled at my note , she clapped her hands n said ‘’yea I am happy after all he is my darling bro..The sweetest of all ‘’ I was touched to watch a sister rejoice her brother’s victory …’’ u r a darling too’’ I said…She hugged me at that… n I felt y did I say this to her? But then I told myself‘’ Kaajal stop thinking so much she is happy yaar nothing else’’.
That evening I made a new friend …sweet one …’’I liked her’’ I said to myself …
Next day again Neha joined me, this time I was sitting outside the class in open. We had decided to study physic’s problems together as she told she can help me as she is pretty good at numbers. That day we solved many sums …after an half and a half she offered to go n have some snacks in the canteen… I agreed n we went to the canteen, sat down on one of the round tables there n waited for the samosa n tea which we had ordered. Yesterday’s conversation has left me with no.of doubts… so I decided to ask her my first doubt …Neha how did u come to know so many things about me? You joined the school this year itself, you were not here last year, am I right?
Ary dear , yes u r right I am new here joined this year itself, but as you know I am Raghav’s sister …and my bro shares everything with me …not only me but my parent’s too know about you …’’what?’’ I was shocked …
My inner self spoke ‘’what did he tell …that I was the reason behind that punishment? Obviously his parents might have come to know about their son been beaten badly, and the reason they might have found out too ‘’ ‘’ and that’s me’’
Last year he was home for diwali holidays, we saw his whole back was having rashes n marks of been beaten badly. That time he said ‘’he was punished for, he had hurt someone unintentionally.’’ On
forcing him to tell what was the matter, he told that ‘’he had written a love letter to a girl, and, teachers came to know that n punished him.’’ She paused. After some pause she laughed n asked me ‘’guess what must have dad asked later to bhaiyya?’’. ‘’Must have for sure asked for that girl’s address so that he can have the revenge. ‘’ I replied. ‘’No kaju ‘’ dad asked bhaiyya ‘’ is that girl beautiful?’’ n she burst into laughter again. I don’t understand how to react that moment. I kept silent with a smile. She paused as she noticed I was feeling bit awkward n said ‘’ hey Kaju chill yaar , these all things are normal at our age u didn’t hurt anyone ok… if at all fault lies ,it lies with the administration… the teacher’s behavior …actually they must have counseled bhaiyya in a right manner instead of beating him up. But leave that all, past is past, don’t keep any guilt in yourself, u did nothing. You were wondering how I knew so much about u na? Because, bhaiyya told me all these about you. U yourself don’t know what you did kaju…u had changed him…for good. And he respects you a lot. Now this was something making me go crazy …so I offered her the tea n samosa which had been served to us. She continued again after taking a bite of samosa n tea sip ,’’what all bhaiyya told about you was right I can say …u are an angel’’ I smiled back to her coz I was totally confused of how to react to all this. We finished are snacking came out of canteen it was 7:45 pm … I gave her an excuse of some work at home n that we will meet up tomorrow and moved out of there as I wanted to have a break … actually all went over head … I was damn puzzled.. that whole night the thoughts kept me awakened …next day morning didn’t feel like going to school … I needed ma … I decided to make a call to her and talk … ma had always been my guiding support , I can share with her anything and everything. I decided to talk to her casually without discussing any thing messy. I went to a nearby std booth as those days we didn’t have mobiles. I dialed the landline number of my home …it was 11am dad must have left to his office n bhai to his school , ma will b alone at home and free too right time to call I thought…phone started ring three rings…and ma answered…
HELLO
‘’Ma its me how are you?’’ I said
‘’baby ..am fine how are you? Is everything ok? You didn’t go to the classes today what happened? Is your health alright?’’
‘’Ufff ma ma maaaaa stop now, I am fine, nothing wrong, just didn’t feel like going today so decided to stay back home n study, u know na my exams are near’’ I said
‘’Oh ok ‘’ hope you not hiding anything from me’’ she said
‘’ no ma nothing all is fine here’
‘’ baccha remember this is life, ppl will come n go… situations too are similar, the situations u might be facing today will be gone tomorrow leaving u in another situation… so be strong, do not loose the sight of ur goal. U know na why dad allowed you to stay far from us n study …u remember your promise made to ur dada, so don’t loose sight of your goal, concentrate, that’s more imp than anything’’ as she said
(9)
these lines I felt like mom had unknowingly helped me out … she made me come back to my track … I felt light n back to my high spirits …
‘’ma I love you’’ kissed her n said I remember my promise mom …shall try my best to score well… tell dada kaju will be back soon forever n won’t ever go anywhere … give love to bhai … bye maaaaa…
Next day evening when we met Me and Neha made a deal just on concentrating on our preparations nothing else till we are finished up with our last exam. Any discussions except studies gonna ruin our results n studying was the priority. We started doing combined studies…surprisingly even when my sisy Pari invited me for combined studies I preferred Neha only… she was very helpful in every manner … a brilliant student damn good at physic’s numericals … so two months completely we studied day n night…finally the hall tickets were given out n centres were told n luckily Neha n Me got the same centre… Pari, Jyo, Srishthi and Sara got some other centers… we did good in all the exams… I was not that satisfied with my performance … but now its into past that one can never change whatever will be the result will be… so happy with what so ever comes now… I can’t sit back like Pari n keep regretting over what could have been done
Final day of school the farewell party time …most awaited day by all …an emotional part… dad had bought a beautiful orange and blue salwar suit for this day last time when had visited me, it had a lovely dupatta with heavy embroidary… I had it on, I clipped my hair …wore matching bangles, nail polish, and applied kaajal to eyes… all our friends decided to meet u at our place then shall move to the school auditorium all together… we all reached the auditorium by 6:30 in the evening time as said… the principal and teachers gave speech’s , wished best of luck to all of us, and, many tips on how to plan our future in a matured way, they said we are the hope for a brighter future of India to which most of the boys howled aloud… later we had group photographs clicked section wise with all the teachers and principal… there after the fun time music, snacks, soft drinks, food followed… we hit the dance floor… all were singing n dancing in full swing… we danced for half an hour but I felt like moving out of the crowd cause it got suffocating so told Pari that am going into the open…if anything required find me there…n left.. there it was silent out calm …cool breeze flowing …lots of lighting all around the campus…loved everybit of the decoration… suddenly felt a hand on my shoulder n I tured around… it was Neha ….
‘’Hi Neha , how r u ? and why here not enjoying the dj inside with everyone?’’
‘’Am done how about you?’’ she asked me
‘’Am done too, can’t stay there in lot for long, gets bit suffocating’’..I replied her
‘’so can we talk now?’’ she said
‘’Yea we are talking na, aren’t we’’ I said…
’’I meant about something which we decided not to talk about till exams were over, and now that we
r up with the session, and this is our last day, I think we must talk’’ she paused saying this
I looked up to her as I understood what she meant… n kept silent…
suddenly a voice called up Neha..we turned around… it was Raghav there…
‘’hey what are you both doing here , its cold out here, come inside n here Neha mom wants to speak to you’’ saying this he handed her a mobile,
Neha took the phone n while talking she walked away from us…
I wanted to run away from there now … my heart started beating at double its speed… I excused myself to get water n walked away from him to the buffet area n asked for water and waited there… a glass of water was handed to me I looked up saying thanks…n went speechless it was Raghav,
‘’ how were exams, hope u did well’’ he asked…
‘’yea did well , but not satisfied must have done bit better ‘’…’’how did ur exams go?’’ I asked him…
‘’lets see no idea how I did, but one thing is for sure will pass’’ he replied…
’’u going back I guess to ur parents, are the tickets done?’’ he enquired…
yea tickets are of tomorrow morning, this is the last stay here for me’’ I replied…
‘’shall we walk and talk if u don’t mind kaajal, its bit awkward standing like this and talking’’ he insisted… ‘ ok ‘ I said n we started walking towards the garden…’’ what are your future plans .. going to opt microbiology I guess as kaajal is afraid of problems , let be it in books or in life, am I right?’’ he said looking towards me n smiling…
‘’hm yes will be opting microbiology but not because I am afraid of problems but because it’s a thing called interest or love towards something better than problems ‘’ I justified…
well in that case I wish all success in your future endeavors, saying this… he took out a cigarette and lit it. I was shocked n said what’s this you just wrote your 12 th boards … you smoking? He smiled and said oh shouldn’t I smoke? I said ‘NOOOO’
‘’Ok here this goes off forever now’’ saying this he threw that whole pack.. I smiled and said ‘’Neha knows that you smoke?’’ ‘’Yes she knows’’he replied…
‘’I wonder how she allowed you to smoke then?’
‘’Actually she stopped me, many a times, but ones you into such habits, its difficult to stop’’ he said…
‘’ so you drink too?’’ I blurted out even before I can stop
he looked at me n asked me back ‘’ what do u think I drink?’’… I donno, but heard that you drink and take…’’ I paused …
‘’and take what? Complete the sentence’’… he prompted
‘’take drugs’’ saying this I stepped back 2 steps….
He laughed aloud waving his hands in air n immediately running intohis silkyblack hair… you girls are impossible… ‘’ my dear I don’t drink, neither I ever took any drugs, note this down, and let know your gossip queens this.. will you do this?… I laughed along with him and said ‘’alright I will let them know this for sure… ‘’
All the while I was just able to see his face in dark as he kept walking opposite to lights …n I thanked that I was not able to see him as that made me less panicking of walking n talking to someone who my friends had pictured as a wounded animal which might harm me anytime
Neha walked up to us and said ‘’wow this is something pleasing to my eyes …my bro and my best friend together…i feel like celebrating this very moment…’’
I became cautious n became silent…
Raghav scolded Neha ‘’not to speak anything rubbish, we are just talking casually’’
‘’bhai did I say you both were romancing …I just said am happy to see you both talking together’’ and before Raghav could say anything else Sara called up Neha inside for some work …and she left saying you guys continue have fun, am going’’, and she left.
Raghav apologized for her overexcited words …
and I assured him ‘’no need to be sorry, I have been too with Neha for 6 months now, and, I know her nature…its absolutely fine with me‘’
’’Lets go and have dinner, its getting late already 8:30pm…better you have dinner and leave to home soon’’…he said
Oh my raghav’s authoritative tone …something very new to me as I never take orders…neither by my mom n dad nor by my teachers or seniors… but something made me obay his words n accepted to what he had proposed in his authoritative way
So, we moved out to the buffet place, I looked out for Pari ,Jyo, Srishthi ,Neha, and Sara… no one were yet there …
‘’ all still on the dance floor I guess ‘’ he said… Its fine, let us begin, they will too join later… he got me a plate too along with his and looked out for a table for two to sit… we went to one of the tables … he helped me by pulling back my chair and I got seated..He sat in front of me on the other side of the table… and we started off with our dinner…
‘’so, you are from delhi? He asked… ’’ yes’’ I answered ‘’actually mom n dad belong to hereonly , this very beautiful place in rajasthan , but dad has his job there so we are brought up there’’…
‘’and then how come here, there studies not good or what?’’ he asked
‘’studies are much ahead from here but we wanted to stay with ganny for some time and study here so came here’’ I replied
‘’where are you from?’’ I asked him
‘’ parents basically from Andhra but dad has job at pune, so, me n Neha are brought up in pune, and, for why here? the answer is that my dad thinks, I am his spoilt child, and needs some lessons to be learnt, so he dumped me here in hostel as this school belongs to my uncle.
I felt my blood heating up under my skin n that was unstoppable …but I kept trying my level best to be cool with him around …What was going on inside me was very new …I was not able to make myself familiar with the feeling as it was not normal…was it fear of him or whats it …whatever it was …I felt strange…I felt new under my own skin…I felt as a stranger all the time he was around…
He is charming I could not stop admiring him in the lights sitting opposite to me those big brown eyes …sharp nose … his lips deep pink in color oh …his strong jaw line…no wonder why he is awe to anyone eyes…and of course a tough cookie
Breaking my foreign feelings analysis …raghav waved his hand in front of me
I was struck in his eyes all this while which I failed to notice…immediately cleared everything on my mind and came back to the present outside world…
I apologized for I was lost somewhere and that I lost the track of the discussion
Com’on don’t apologize coz where ever u were I wish that those thoughts must follow u as they leave ur face pink in color and that way u look angelic … his eyes grew darker and narrowed his eyelids as if trying to read my mind which I would never allow him to do and I kept blushing the rest of the eating time calmly …
Din’t know after how long pari n neha returned to where we were sitting with their plates …raghav got up n got two more chairs for them n helped them get seated comfortably by pulling chairs for them both…
Pari kept eyeing me every now and then … god knows what she wanted me to understand, out of those signals she was passing…
breaking the silence between us four ,neha started telling how much she enjoyed the dance floor with akhil … ‘’he dances so well you both should have been there to watch n feast ur eyes a bit ‘’ she said looking up to raghav and me pointing with her fork
‘’don’t point at anyone like that with your folk Neha …atleast have simple manners when u r at table’’ immediately Raghav snapped at her
And Neha for the first time I saw her getting bit fearful and immediately she asked for apology
To which Raghav gave a half smile and said ‘’this girl won’t ever change …god save us ‘’
I couldn’t anymore stop my amusement ‘’how can you point out at neha for just a small thing and what about u smoking?’’
Pari and Neha both had their mouths popped out seeing me HOW so free heartedly pointed his smoking
Raghav raised an eyebrow at me
‘’ oh miss kaajal well good point but u see I smoke ,not when on dinner table, and, winked at me … and I must let u remember that I left smoking some 2 hrs back…
That reminded me of being with Raghav from last 2 hrs that was the maximum time I had with him in these 2yrs… I felt like an achievement … coz I din’t run away or try to hide which I usually use to do whenever he came in front of me :-p
We finished our dinner and moved in to the hall where still all were celebrating passing out day as if it just started…neha n pari joined others on dance floor excusing for 15 mins and assuring not to delay thereafter n hit the road for respective homes…me and raghav decided to get o a corner and keep an eye on these two..
‘’so , what r ur plans for ur future?’’ raghav prompted
‘’its decided will go for medicine’’ I replied had always dreamt of name as dr.kaajal…and smiled back to him
‘’good …u are always focused at what u want to achieve in life ‘’ saying this he leaned back to the wall behind him and folded his arms
‘’yea I like that way … coz I don’t prefer to go by luck …I like to change it and mould it such that it paves path to my destiny…and my destiny is to be a doctor who will serve the needy whole of her life…saying this I just saw his way only to find him staring at me in bizarre …
He paused for a moment blinked his eyes thrice looked away from me and back again to me
‘’I always knew it, u are different …different from many here n out there’’
‘’ awe so u knew it ?’’ I teased him to which he laughed saying ‘’yes ,I did ‘’
Its 10pm …girls must make a move now…he snapped..
Immediately he made a call to someone and signaled pari n neha to back-off from the dance floor…sara shrishti and jyo were also standing besides me …all were starring at me
‘’what’s it ???stop starring at me like that u all now’’ I muttered
‘’what does he think of himself is he our guardian to shu off us like this ,when we want to stay back for some more time?’’ pari questioned impulsively
‘’pari if u like to stay back u can… not a compulsion that u girls have to be out of here … raghav signaled to jyo, shristhi n sara at the same time ‘’
‘’but u both make a move I’ll first drop kaajal at her place then neha to her hostel’’ he dictated us
yes he did that … he literally dictated …and we were left with no option and I can’t think of not obeying him for two reasons… and what were they?? They were… he is right at what he said ,late night, girls outside home , not safe and secondly even dad took promise from me that I won’t stay for long in the function …so we started to make a move from there …saying bye to all …
pari narrowed her eyes at me in displeasure…
I smiled back to her saying…’’ its late n he is right its not safe for girls , u wish u too can come ‘’
but then pari is pari she just got disappeared in the dance floor…
Me and neha were standing near the parking waiting for raghav to get his car .
‘’u know dad had gifted bro a new car and you going to love it …its that cool a car’’ she grinned
Oh a car for a 12th pass or to the one who just appeared for the 12th board and results yet not declared !!!
And the very next moment my jaw fell to my feet …VOLVO S 60 – black, a car worth 25th lakhs …this is his present from his dad … my brain cells went numb for a while.
He came out of the car and offered to get inside…and my feet refused and instead of forward steps I took 2 steps back and said ‘’ I would prefer to walk down the lane … my house is not far away , you guys carry on , its not that late for me to walk down I hope’’
I turned back to neha n wished her goodbye n best wishes for her future…whished raghav too best wishes for his future endeavors …
And started walking down the lane without daring to look back at them .
Neha all of a sudden called me ‘’hey wit we two will also lock and walk , will drop u at ur place and will be back …saying this she ran towards me while raghav managed with his long legs to walk and keep up with her speed…
‘’here your autograph book which u had asked to me to fill for ur memories’’ she handed me my book
‘’oh I just forgot abt this one… how can I !!! this is precious for me’’ I smiled at her n kept the book close to my heart and started walking
‘’be in touch will u’’ asked neha
‘’yea sure I will be in touch’’ I smiled at her
‘’by the way did u ask bro for his autograph?’’ she enquired
But before I could reply raghav warned her to behave …for what that was neither understood by me nor neha
But I thanked him from inside for saving me from not answering her question , for some reason I felt disheartened for a nano second…for what??? For not asking him…I wanted too but at the same time din’t want to….
As we neared my home I noticed my granny standing outside the home … obviously waiting for me n pari .
‘’where is pari ??? kaju??’’ granny enquired me
‘’she will be coming in a while… granny…meet neha and raghav …neha’s brother ‘’ I introduced them to her
Both of them touched her feet ..took her blessings and as courtesy demands …she offered them to come inside…
‘granny its late and we need to move now ,will come some other time ‘’ raghav requested her to which she agreed and asked me to see them off
Neha hugged me tight ‘’ hope to see u soon please stay back in one of the colleges here itself… it will be fun we will continue to be here together‘’ she whispered
‘’I promised my dad I won’t leave him n stay away from mom n him neha, and I want to be with them …with my family’’ I replied her softly
Her face went blue as if she will cry …
I assured her ‘’we will be in touch through letters… it’s a promise’’
Immediately she again clinged to me ‘’ ok done I will write to u every week and u have to reply’’
‘’It’s a done deal darling’’ I smirked
All the while raghav just kept looking at me … I kept trying not to meet his eyes but failed everytime…it was unknown to me ..what is that I felt for him ….but can sense me getting nauseatic …
We said bye to eachother…din’t even attempt to say anthing else just turned our backs and walked away…atleast I can say for myself I din’t look back to them … I din’t want too either
‘’ITS OVER’’ … mom said situations n ppl will come n go… so this phase ends here today..tomorrow will be a new day, I hope much better n brighter .
That philosophical lines were not of any worth, coz, that whole night raghav’s eyes kept haunting me…result I had a sleepless night …
