chapter 40
Niyati was fidgeting in her seat, as if somebody had dumped a can full of worms on her and forced her to sit still at gun point. She felt like a ticking time bomb just waiting to explode. The trepidation had been killing her all day. She had boasted in front of her brother that she was ready to face Parth, but she knew it was far from the truth. Parth hated her with passion and she knew he wouldn't be considerate enough to leave her the hell alone. From the moment she had stepped into the college, she had expected him to spring out from some corner and do some ridiculous drama to embarrass her or worse; tell everyone the truth.
Stop! she mentally rebuked herself. She wasn't going to do down that road. Bhai had reassured her that Parth would not spill the beans. Promised her that he had taken care of him and she need not worry at all. And she had to trust Bhai. She didn't have to fight her demons alone. Now she had her Bhai and her sister flanking her sides. She just had to hang on for two more days and then Taani would finally be here. Unsurprisingly, those two days seemed like two centuries to her. She always thought time has the weird ability to sprout wings when one was happy and content and give a snail a run for its money when nothing seems to be going right. She heaved a sigh and focused her attention back to the class.
Somehow, Professor Chopra seemed to be very flustered. He looked rattled to the core. Not only was his appearance disheveled, which had never occurred before today as he always presented himself pristine to the class; but he also seemed to be very out of depth of his subject. He fumbled through-out his lecture, messed up a simple balancing of valences in the equation and had forgotten the symbol for Plutonium. Maybe, she wondered, I am not the only one who is having a bad day. It was difficult to watch the teacher make cringe-worthy mistakes so she directed her attention back to her internal musings. At any rate, the way the class was proceeding, it was highly unlikely that she would miss anything at all.
She was so engrossed in her thoughts, that it completely escaped her notice that Professor Chopra had ceased his disjointed droning and was calling out her name. It wasn't until someone poked a pencil in her back that she emerged out of her reverie. And the sight that welcomed her return to the world of the living confirmed her worst fears. Standing there, grinning maniacally like a mad Cheshire cat was none other than... Parth...Virendra...Rathore. All her faculties prickled at the audacity that man still possessed to even look her in the eye. She felt disgusted to be present even in the same room as him. In order to get the unpleasant things out of the way, she focused her attention back to Professor Chopra needing to know why he singled her out in the first place.
"I am sorry sir, I didn't quite catch you. Aap chahte hain main..." She left the sentence hanging because she absolutely had no idea what he had wanted her to do.
"I said", the teacher repeated slowly as if speaking to a toddler, "that Parth mere bohot hi ache dost ka beta hai and I would like you to give him a tour of the college. Taaki woh St. Louis se ache se acquaint ho sake."
"But respectfully sir, Kria ko already assign kardiya hai ise settle down karne mein help karne ke liye". Parth raised his right eyebrow quite subtly on hearing her refer him by 'ise'. Niyati chose to ignore. Interesting, he mused.
"Yes. I am aware. But Kria kya yahan is waqt hai? And aaj ye classes dhoondte huye late hogaya tha. Ye toh acha hua ke use main mil gaya. I don't want to hear a single complaint against him."
"But sir...", Niyati tried again. She didn't want to be within a 10-meter radius of the poisonous tentacula, leave alone walk next to him.
"Niyati!" Professor Chopra cut her off sternly, "Are you disobeying my direct orders? Don't think I didn't notice! Tumhara class mein dhyan tha hi nahin and tumne ek word bhi nahin likha hai notes ke naam par. Do as you are told and main tumhare behaviour ko excuse kardoonga. You will be given attendance. Now off you go."
Niyati might be many things, but she still was a chicken when it came to breaking rules or disobeying authority. She didn't have it in her to refuse sir and had to resign spending the next three-quarters of an hour showing the way around St. Louis to someone who clearly was in no need of it. She assembled her things and began ambling towards the door pointedly ignoring Parth who kept blocking her path.
When Parth saw that slumped shoulders, he mentally whooped in delight. He knew he had succeeded and he looked at the teacher giving him an approving nod. Professor Chopra visibly relaxed. But when his gaze returned to Niyati, his smugness on managing an one-up on her seemed to fade away. He watched her carefully, taking note how her eyes remained fixed firmly downwards, her tucking her hair behind her ear and her careful collected steps that would inevitably bring her right in front of him. He stood for a moment longer before giving her some room to pass and while she did, picked the fragrance of the perfume she was wearing. Musk? Alluring and tempting. He shook himself free from the daze and followed her out before he could make a fool of himself.
************
Vicky, Nil and Rey were chilling in the canteen while the rest of the gang was busy with one thing or another.
"Rey, chal na , kuch aur khane ko lekar aate hain!" Vicky pleaded.
"Abbe kitna khayega? Pet hain ya kuaan? mera saara pizza toh tu thoos gaya!" Nil complained.
"Oye! mere khaane ko nazar mat lagao tum log! Khaate peete ghar ka hoon! Badhta nau-jawaan hoon! Itna khana toh banta hai na guys!" Vicky defended.
"Dekh! Tu woh jawaan hai jo 9 logon ke jitna khane ki capacity rakhta hai!" Nil answered irritated. Before Vicky could argue further, Nil interjected, "Ab zyada bhao mat kha aur mere liye pizza lekar aa!"
"Acha baba! rona bandh kar! Laata hoon tere liye! Bhalai ka toh zamana hi nahin raha."
Coincidentally, the moment Rey and Vcky left, Simmi, Rini and Neha entered the canteen. On looking around, they found Nil sitting alone and made a beeline for him. Nil caught Simmi's eye and and awkwardness settled heavily between them. Neha and Rini oblivious to the tension stretched between the two babbled away.
"Tum log khade kyun ho? Baitho na? Join us." Nil offered, being the gentleman that he was.
"Arre nahin! Rini answered. Sharon hamari help chahiye. "Hum bas yahan kuch khaane ko lene aaye the."
"Chalo Simmi!", Neha called out once she realized she wasn't following them.
"Haan, tum chalo. I'll join you," Simmi replied while looking at Nil who was stoically avoiding eye contact.
"Nil, kitne din hogaye hain! Kya tum mujhe forgive nahin kar sakte? For old times' sake?"
"Maine tumse pehle bhi kaha hai Simmi. Forgiveness ka question hi nahin tha. Tum mere liye hamesha special rahi ho. Maine tumhe forgive bohot pehle kar diya tha. But I can't forget ke tumne mujhse jhoot bola. You played with my feelings Simmi. Mere trust ko toda hai tumne. I am sorry. Ye sab main forget nahin kar sakta."
"Kya phir mera koi chance nahin hai? Hamara koi chance nahin hai? Kya kabhi kuch bhi pehle jaisa nahin ho sakta? You know I have been trying so hard. Tumse countless times apologise kiya, promise kiya ke future mein akbhi aisa nahin karoongi, yahan tak ki apne words ko prove karne ki kitni koshish ki. Kya tumne kuch bhi notice nahin kiya? Tumhe koi fark padta hai ya nahin?" She asked with tears in her eyes.
"Simmi! tumhe kuch chahiye kya?" Rini hollered from across the room.
"Nahin. Tum log le lo. I am not hungry," Simmi replied and left the canteen.
This whole exchange didn't escape Rey and Vicky who stood a little distance away holding their trays of food.
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