Chapter 4

 

I used to wake up early at 5 am. After doing the chores I got ready for my tuition and school. To catch the tuition class at 7, I needed to leave my house at 6:30am. After attending the chemistry class I had to go to school with Harshit and after getting dismissed from school, again we need to attend our physics class. Approx 4 in the evening I used to reach back home and again I had to work at home and give tuition classes to middle school students. This was my daily schedule. It literally felt like mental breakdown to me repeating the same stuff everyday and having no friend at home or neighbor with whom I could talk or go on walk.

 13 September 2014      

I was going for my chemistry tuition. I looked around for a cab. I found a cab and settled on a corner seat. I saw a boy wearing the same uniform as me. He was sitting near to my seat in the cab. ‘May be he was from one of the commerce faculty. I started thinking. But I had never seen him before, neither during any classes nor during inspection days or even in playgrounds. ‘May be he would be going to his tuition too’ I said to myself because it was not right time for the school. Soon I reached my tuition centre.

‘Hey bro, what’s up today?’ I asked to Harshit. He hugged me and said ‘hey bro’.

We went to our school after finishing the class. We enjoyed a lot in the school. I was happy to have fun during lectures as we had bunked more than three classes. We reached for the physics tuition before our teacher arrived so we needed to wait for him. I always occupied first seat in the coaching and Harshit as well joined me. I saw someone at the first bench so I got there to check out the person. I found the boy exactly the same I saw in the cab in the morning. Harshit sat on one of the last benches that day as all the front rows were already occupied.

‘I have lunch. Come back.’ Yogi shouted out for me.

‘Ya sure, I am coming’ I smiled.

As we all were grabbing a bite, I saw that boy sitting alone.

‘Hey boy! Come and join us’ I asked him.

‘No thanks, I am stuffed’ he noded his head.

‘This is my seat’ I said to him like the seat was bought by my dad.

‘Oh sorry! I am new and I didn’t know’ he felt a bit ackward.

‘No, no, it’s okay!’ I sat beside him. Our teacher arrived in a short while. We became attentive for the class and my eyes got fixed on the board.

When the class got over we moved towards the cab stand. He was again there. We were in the same cab. I asked for his name and he replied to me politely ‘Samir’.

‘Are you coming for the tuition tomorrow?’ he asked me.

‘Yes, of course.’ I replied and stepped down the cab to bid him bye and shut the door.

‘Wanna join me? I will bring my bike tomorrow.’ He added.

‘I don’t want to be a hitch hiker’. I replied back.

‘You’re taking me in the wrong way. I just want to join you’ he exclaimed and clarified before I could say anything else.

‘Okay’ I nod my head, turned back, smiled a bit and moved away.

‘Yeah, Meet me here at 6:45 tomorrow’ he smiled and waved his hand after shouting out the time so loudly like he would had met his dream boy. Lol! Just kidding. Cab drove him away.

v   

I was a bit late as I slept late the last night. So I was in a hurry and skipped my breakfast too. I rushed to the taxi stand as soon as I could but could not see that guy. May be he left me cause I was a bit late. I couldn’t see a single cab then. After a couple of minutes I saw a bike coming towards me. Yeah, it was him. He stopped the bike in front of me and asked ‘how are you buddy?’

‘Good, I guess, I thought you have already left for the tuition class.’

‘No, actually I woke up late today. So I got me late’.

Till then I didn’t know he was going to be my closest friend in the coming few days. He drove me to the tuition and dropped me back home. We used to go to tuition and school together. He came to pick me up to my home at 6:30 and then we came back home together in the mid day.

23 September 2014

The dawn was out of bedlam. I was bang on dot that day. I was at the taxi stand as usual without having a single morsel. When Sam came, we left for the tuition. Harshit was waiting for me. He looked a little thunder.

‘Where were you boy?’ he bursted on me.

‘I had got stuck.’ I answered.

‘The fuck. I was waiting for you!’ he hooted up.

‘Babe I am here, don’t be angry now.’ I gave a huge smile.

The school was over and I was badly tired. I had to give tuition classes too after I reach home. Sam looked a bit hazy too. ‘What’s your plan for to-eve?’ he asked.

‘Nothing. I am home only.’

‘Would you like to go on a walk with me?’

‘Okay, fine’ I replied suddenly as I had not gone on walk for so long already.

I was dictating the questions to my students. I was about to leave them as it was the last few minutes of the class. ‘Do those equations in your homework okay?’ I shouted out.

‘Okay sir.’

‘Aadi! Aadi!’ I hear a noise. I remembered the voice so I went outside to check if the guy is the one I was expecting to shout out my name and luckily that was him, ‘Samir’. ‘Are you ready?’ he gave me a cute smile.

‘Yes I am.’ I locked the door as I came outside.

The weather had come down cool. The needle of the watch stuck exactly on seven. The sky was clear and it was not yet dusk. As we started moving, I saw a group of parrots soaring in the sky and their chirping made me more relaxed. The sun was almost about to sink behind the mountains. He took me to the Canttonment area. The strange thing was that I had never been there before even it was very close to my house.

‘It is my first time to be here.’ I said to him.

‘Really!’ he made exclamation and his eyebrows came a little closer when he looked toward me.

‘Yes, because I don’t like to go outside alone, without any friend.’

‘Without any friend?’

‘I don’t have any friend in my neighborhood.’

‘Oh! I see.’ He smiled. ‘Neither have I.’

It was my first experience when I encountered finally somewhere with a friend. I didn’t know anything about there. Not a single street or even a shop. He was constantly telling me about everything. I did not remember when I was that much happy for the last time. As we moved further, we got stuck to a sign board. ‘Mini-Mussoorie’. When I tried to read that sign, Samir spoke it loud. I was exclaimed because the thing what I was thinking was already spoken out by him. My attention was suddenly drifted away and I was compelled. I mesmerized to see the present scenario which was just in front of me. I had never seen such a heart taking place earlier.

I stood on the footpath holding the rails. ‘Oh my goodness!’ these words escaped my lips suddenly. There were big and marvelous hills of Mussoorie in the occident. Between the hills and me, a dale of wild flowers was seeded up throughout the valley. It was almost damask in the sky. The queen of mountains was straightly falling in front of me. There were a bit of mist which was making the dale more heart choking. Huge birds were riding over the sky with their wings broadly open. A cold breeze slowly went through my ear. Sun-n-n-n-n! My ears filled up with rustling sound of the dried leaves. Slowly and slowly I tried to catch the beauty inside me. The light from the houses were emitting out of the hills which resembled the moonlight when it reflects the silver fishes in the pond when it is full moon. I repent the nonce on myself. I didn’t have any cell phone or camera. I wanted to capture a few pictures but I could not. I wanted to become a marauder to maraud the beauty of the dale and hills. I wanted to fly over the endless sky with those pretty birds. I wish I could stay there a little  longer but alas! We had to come back home.

 

06 January, 2015

My cell phone flashed and I woke up between my sleep to check it. There were 8 missed calls from an unknown caller. My brain puzzled and in a short while my phone again rang to play ‘No body wanna see us together but that don’t matter No..’ I rubbed my eyes thoroughly to see the caller name but it again showed unknown. So I received the call and said in a confused way ‘Hello!’

Generally I didn’t get any call from anyone except Sam, Harshit, Abhishek, my parents and of course spam calls. It was too late to get any calls from friends and family. I had not even checked any notification on my FB for last two days and how could I? My recharge already had expired and I even didn’t bother to recharge too. I couldn’t call anyone even couldn’t text. I was going to meet Sam in the morning anyway and that was already enough for me.

‘Hello’ a sweet voice of a girl hit my brain and I was wide awake. It was like finally raining in the dessert after decades. I cleared my throat to sound more good. ‘Who?’ I spoke just this shit as if I was frozen.

‘Harshita!’ Before I could utter anything she replied again. ‘Why didn’t you reply my texts on FB? I have been constatntly texting you for last two days. Are you mad at me? Am I that bad? Why don’t you say anything? I wanted..’

‘Sorry I ran out of balance and could not recharge my phone so I didn’t see any text or notification.’ I interrupted in between. ‘Is there anything I can help you?’ I murmured in a low voice wishing not to hear any sound for help, though I faked it.

I had just met her once and all those images were constantly hitting into my subconscious mind. The girl in the skirt with a spectacle and cute blossom lips, a clip in the hair, a nose pin and my brain was playing this exactly like the Korean drama.

‘Who do you like?’ a question arrived again from nowhere. Her voice trembled and gave me a perception of a drunken girl. I was totally confused what to say in reply after getting into such a conflict between asking her why she called me all of sudden and putting such a nonsense question on me out of nowhere or if she is drunk and out of her mind. But she is just 15. Ain’t she! May be she is just cold that is why her voice is shaking or anything. I was still in dilemma what to act as far I knew her family, her parents won’t tolerate her after seeing her in this condition.

‘Why are you so silent? So it’s true that you really got a GF and you are already in a secret relationship.’ She was constantly bugging on the call without letting me say anything back. Before I could say something again, the call got disconnected leaving the abstract in my mind why she suddenly called me up at mid night asking about the girl I like.

My phone again made a sound and I unlocked it to check out the notification, it was a text from Harshit ‘Brother sorry to bother you, she is drunk and out of my control. Mumma is not home too. Can you just text her back that you like her and ask her to go to bed. I know she won’t disobey you.’

What an earth can put a brother to ask his friend to text his own sister and say I like you? I was so much confused if I should feel happy or mad. Imagine a random girl calls you at midnight proposing you and feel totally blank what to act. ‘Nobody wanna see us together…’ again my cell phone started playing this music. It was Harshit. When I received the call, he asked me to say those imaginary words to his sister. ‘But…’ she snatched the phone from him and starts crying.

‘Please do not listen to him and tell me honestly. Do you like Preeti? I know I am drunk but I want to tell you that when I first saw you with Harshit, I just froze. My eyes stuck on you. I liked you. You exactly look like Vatsal Sheth. I fell for you there at first sight.’

I was feeling myself floating upon rainbows. And ofcourse why I would not, she was exactly saying the words which I wanted to hear from Sapna for soo long.

         ‘I am calling you today gathering my all strength. I stole your number from harshit’s phone and I needed some liquor to be brave enough to dial your number so I am already drunk a bit and wasted. So who do you like?’

‘I like you. Can you please go back to bed now?’ I started smiling. Though I did not like her that time still it gave my spine a chill pill.

‘Really! Do you really like me? I can’t believe. Are you kidding or I am just dreaming about this or maybe it’s just a delusion. It can’t be true, I know…’ and the call disconnected again. I raised my head to see the clock and it exactly showed 02:56. I laid back in my bed pulling the blanket to cover my head.

‘I ran out of balance. I can’t call you now. Sorry. I miss you so much. I need to hear your voice. I can’t tell you how badly I miss you. I am very happy. Can you come meet me in the morning please? I will probably forget everything till dawn so please remind me this. Please save my number and text me a good night message if you can. You are really really cute. I miss you, please come to me na. I need you. GUD9TTTTTTTT and SWEET DREAMSSSSSSSS SOOOOOOOO MUCHHHHHH….’

‘Whatever. She sounded cool anyway. What a cute voice she has. I wish I could just sleep next to her tonight, even its cold too. I won’t mind getting a body heat with her. She would sound more better while moaning too. Why is she that far away? I wish our houses were near so I could just jump in her house and sneak inside her bedroom.’ I wonder just her voice can even turn me horny to this level. Or perhaps it’s just because of this teenage. That was all that my brain could function to manufacture any thought, though I finally managed to calm my energy and went back to continue my sleep.

v   

I reached Rawat classes in a hurry to meet Harshit. I turned around to look for him but he was nowhere. When we left the classes, I tried calling him but it was switched off. I went to his home to check out the reason of his absence.

‘Om sai namoh namah!’ hah, it was the doorbell. After ranging the doorbell for more than approx 6-7 times, finally he showed up outside the gate halfly opened eyes and still yawning like a moron. ‘Sorry bro, last night was real rough. We slept late and I don’t know what time is it now.’

‘What the hell was that last night?’ I frowned but inside I was curious too.

‘She was wasted. She didn’t know what she was doing. And I had no idea that she reaaly likes you this badly man’ his voice seemed really stressful and his expressions told everything about how embarrassed he was so I did not bother to ask more.

‘Fine. I need to talk to her. Is she awke? Call her outside.’

‘Nah, she is still asleep. She caught a hangover and I just have given her the pills’ he replied.

‘Okay then I must be off to home. I stepped back and turned to move towards the cab stand after bidding him bye.

When I logged into my FB account, there were flocks of text messages from Harshita. For last two days she had already sent me more than a hundred of messages asking about the girl I like and my contact number. I just sent a laughing sticker in reply to her hundred of messages. It’s annoying I know to get just a sticker in reply for over hundred of messages but I did not know what to text. After waiting for an hour she texted me sorry and apologized about her behavior. Here I melted. I could not say anything. ‘It’s okay. It’s just because you were boozed so maybe you said those things, else you might not had said that.’ I waited for her reply but she said nothing. Gazing the phone’s screen for more than 5 minutes, finally she texted me back ‘What if I say I really like you?’

I was blank. ‘Really? But how? How can any girl like someone who is neither good looking nor even studious?’ My brain could not process anything. I kept on holding the phone and thinking what to text now.

‘It’s okay, I know you don’t feel the same for me but I am genuinely saying this from my heart. You don’t really need to pressurize yourself, take your time and just think upon this tonight and give me your answer tomorrow. I will get over you if you decline my proposal. Just pretend like this never really happened.’

‘Hmm okay!’ I did not say anything else because I knew she was sister of my close friend. I was confused about her. I switched my internet off and laid on the sofa to take a short nap but I couldn’t sleep. My mind was playing games with me by showing her images whenever I tried to shut my eyes. Soon the sun was at the horizon and Sam came home to go on the walk. I stayed silent throughout the time and he was worried, he asked me about my quietness but I did not tell him anything then. When we had almost reached his house, he held my hand and said ‘stop.’

‘What’s with you today? You generally seem lively. Is everything okay? If there is something, you can tell me. We are best friends after all.’ He kept starring at me for few seconds but I didn’t open my mouth. ‘Okay then if you don’t wanna tell me, I am going inside’ he let go off my hand and turned around to go.

‘Wait, it’s about a girl.’ I made a confusing face and he again turned back towards me.

He smiled and his eyebrows reached the peek in excitation. ‘Tell me tell me, who is she? What’s the matter?’ he placed his arm around my shoulder and started poking on my cheek with his fingers.

‘Hold on, hold on. There is nothing between us yet but I got a proposal today.’ I started smiling after seeing his stupid face who was already curious enough to become nosy in his best friend’s affair. I told him tip to toe and he was amazed to know that a Rakoon like me too can get a relationship proposal.

‘So my wiffy is getting offers to become someone’s hubby’ he cracked a lame joke and opened his shitty mouth.

‘Wiffy my ass! Stop playing around’ I made a face and hit his head.

‘What’s the confusion then? Go with the flow. And I believe in you, you will make it anyway’ he rubbed my head and went inside his house biding bye.

When I reached home, I again gave thought upon that matter and on what Sam had told me. I took out my phone out of my pocket, logged into my FB and texted her ‘Okay, we can officially date each other but firstly you need to clear things between you and your brother because I don’t want anything go wrong between Harshit and me. I don’t want to lose him by any means.’