Chapter 34

Chapter 29

                   

    The morning session had just ended and the entire gang was in the canteen gorging down on whatever they had ordered. Final year was tough and they were expected to do tons of work and even more study. Kria had been doing her physio sessions in the evenings since a few days and was able to attend all her classes again and essentially be the part of the gang again.

"Twayam, kaita dost hai tu? Do do tanwith lakh kale ke bhi tale nahin kalta!" (do do sandwiches rakh karke bhi share nahin karta)

"Mera hota toh kab ka de deta. Ye Neeti ke liye hai. Subah se usne kuch khaya nahin hai."

Rey looked up at that. He didn't know if Swayam knew about their rendezvous last night. But one look at him and Rey knew that he knew everything. But he didn't appear mad or angry. If anything, Swayam appeared sympathetic. Mujhe Swayam se baat karni hogi. I know maine kal kuch galat nahin kaha, but even then. Swayam ki friendship ko lightly lene ka chance main nahin le sakta.

          Niyati made an appearance in the canteen and after scouting the gang at the farthest table on the right, made a beeline for them. As soon as she sat down, Swayam slid the sandwich towards her with a pointed look that clearly said eat-or-else. Smiling slightly, she accepted the food gratefully.

"Der hogayi tujhe aate aate", Swayam chided her.

"Haan bhai. Woh Vinita ma'am class jaldi chodti hi nahin hai."

"Tere internals kab se hain?"

"Date finalise nahin huyi hai. But sunne mein aaya hai next month mein honge."

"Hmmm. Do mahinon se zyada hua hai tujhe aaye huye. Ek bhi dost se nahin milwaya tune? Tere friends ko kahan chupa rakha hai Neeti?"

Niyati took a bite of her sandwich, just to put off answering the question. She hoped somebody might say something, crack a joke or pass a comment. Anything to distract her brother who was looking at her intently. But today didn't seem to be her day as the whole gang seemed to be intent upon the answer too.

"Meri zyada baat nahin hoti kisi se bhai", she said at last, not meeting her brother's eyes. Before Swayam could say anything, Niyati diverted the direction of conversation asking, "kaisa raha aap logon ka din?"

Everybody started grumbling about the amount of work they were assigned.

Kria flinched while trying to stretch her knee and that caught Rey's attention. How could it not? She was sitting right next to him. And whatever she had been trying to do clearly hurt her. This was the chance of righting one of the many wrongs. Clearing his throat, he asked "Kria, tumhara agla Physio session kab hai?"

"Kal. Aaj therapist out of town hai. Kyun?"

"Do you mind agar main bhi saath chaloon toh?"

Niyati, who was in the process of taking a bite of her sandwich stilled. She looked at Rey seated opposite her the same time he did. Both held their gazes for a couple of seconds, while memories of last night came rushing back to them. Niyati was the first one to break the staring contest and resumed eating her food. There was no point stating the obvious. She knew exactly why Rey had decided to accompany Kria.

"Sure". Kria affirmed.

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          Kria was shocked. She honestly did not expect Rey to accompany her again. When her physiotherapy sessions began, Rey would be present punctually. But over the time, she noticed that Rey would get a little restless. He never complained or made a fuss, but Kria got the feeling that he would rather be somewhere else than remain stuck there. So after a couple of weeks, she asked him not to come along and reassured him that between her mother and aunt, she would manage it. He hadn't argued much and had almost readily agreed leading her to believe that she was right. But Rey's out-of-the-blue request today threw her off completely.

          While she was pondering over the reason for such sudden request, she noticed Niyati going rigid the moment Rey asked Kria the question.  Their interaction went unnoticed by the gang whose attention was diverted the moment Niyati ceased to be the topic of discussion. But it hadn't escaped her attention. Strange, ye Shekhawat sisters itni bhi aloof nahin hai jitna maine expect kiya tha. Ek taraf Taani ne Rey ki life mein apni jagah almost ek saal se zyada banayi rakhi. Unhe control kiya. Aur doosri taraf Niyati ko aaye zyada time hua nahin hai, but woh abhi se hi Rey ko influence karne lagi hai. That look between them. I'm sure mere saath sessions par chalne ke decision mein kahin na kahin Niyati ka haath hai. Mujhe use baat karni hogi.

"Oye Amar?! Kahan ja raha hai yaar? Next class mein abhi kaafi time hai", Nil hollered.

"Thola impoltant kaam hai. Khatm kal ke aata hoon", Amar replied back as he exited the canteen.

"Aaj kal ye kuch zyada gayab rehne laga hai na guys?" Vicky asked. "Aisa kaunsa zaroori kaam ho sakta hai?" He suddenly had an epiphany. "Hey guys! Kahin koi aur chakkar..."

"Uhh... Baah...baab... kuch bhi bolta rehta hai! Sochta hi nahin hai yaar!" Nil tried to cover up as Rini, always so slow on the uptake was beginning to catch up.

 

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          Amar looked at his handiwork with pride and satisfaction. Vicky's birthday was a week away and he had been working on making a VM for him that showcased all their unforgettable memories. All those times they danced together, played together, fought together. The computer classes were really paying off. He had not only gotten better, but was excelling in incorporating effects, editing and was onto learning animations next. He had opted to take the unconventional route rather than stick to writing softwares. He didn't know it back then that he would do well. All he did know was that wanted to enjoy the work he did. Just the way he had fun while dancing.

         

          Dancing came naturally to him. It was his go-to mode for expressing himself. He had always shied away from speaking out loud because of his stuttering. Always refrained from letting others know what he felt. The first time he addressed a gathering of any sort was to surrender his post of GS to Shivam. His low self-esteem sunk an all-time low when that moron had brainwashed him into thinking he had won due to the sympathy of the students. He didn't want people to feel pity for him just because he had one disability. He wanted them to see there was more to him than just the stutter.

          The computer classes gave him just the screen he needed. He could showcase his work, without coming into the picture and let the people judge him solely on his finished product. He could choose to reveal himself or stay behind the screen. And if he was genuinely talented, everybody was going to love his skills. Skills he was going to put to test on Vicky's birthday. And he hoped dearly that he passed.

[NOCOPY]

[MEMBERSONLY]