SS : Another chance at life (ch 10 updated) - Page 5

Bunty playing the cupid

Well good than Anu is opening up, lets see Anuj reaction to this Anu. 😆

Chapter 4

It had been a week since the announcement of the annual fest had been made. The preparations were in full swing. This time around, along with two dance performances, Anu had been determined to try her hand at drama skits. She had auditioned for one of the female leads in a romantic comedy, the results of which were still awaited. So here she was, sitting in the lecture and diligently taking notes, while her mind drifted away, speculating whether she would get selected.

They had taken auditions for the female characters first, leaving those of the male ones for later. The bell rang, gesturing towards the end of the lecture. The students began to file out the classroom. Hardly had she stepped out, when Harshita, a friend of hers in the science stream, nearly collided into her.

"Harshu, kya hua? Sab thik to hai?"

"Anu, thik kya! Bahut accha hai! Woh jo natak tha jisme tu hissa lena chahti thi, uske selection ki list aa gayi hai - aur tu role ke liye selected hai!!"

"Sach mein?!! Teen roles the jo mil sakte the, uss mein se exactly kounsa wala mila?"

"Woh nahi dekha maine, sirf selected students ke naam dekh liye."

"Thank you ha, main jaake dekhti hoon...."

Another of her dreams coming true....

***

"Anuj!! Oh bhai, Anuj... Sun main kya bataa rahi hoon, tere kaam ka hai,"

"Devika! Kya hua aise bhaagte kyu aayi hai?"

"Sun to le..... Aaj 3rd floor ke classroom 42 mein jo ladkon ke auditions hone wale hai, uss play mein tujhe Shantanu ke role ke liye audition dena hai."

"Lekin kyu?"

"Tujhe mujhpe bharosa hai?"

"Haan hai, bilkul."

"To main bata rahi hoon waisa kar."

"Aree par!!"

"Par var kuch nahi.."

"Accha accha thik hai..."

"Tu regret nahi karega"

He ended up getting a few friends of his to go to the auditions with him. Auditions were concluded within a couple of days. The following day, results came out. He had, indeed, aced the auditions, bagging the role of Shantanu. The play was being co-directed by two senior students of their college, one of whom gave him a copy of the script.

"Tu Cultural Secr. bhi hai, uske saath ye manage kar lega na?"

"Haan haan, zaroor."

"Toh ye dekh. Tujhe Shantanu ko play karna hai, joh ki hamare 3 male leads mein se ek hai. Uski family mein woh, uski patni 'Anujaa', aur do bacche hain, Saket aur Priya. Character sketch padh lo ek baar, phir aage ka batata hoon." Anujaa? Huh!..

Amused, he went over the list of cast -

'Mr. Rakesh A. - Devesh Mehta

Mrs Sanika A. - Devika Sharma

Sonal A. (their daughter) - Parul Shah

Mr Shantanu P. - Anuj Kapadiya

Mrs Anujaa P. - Anupama Joshi ......Anu?!!'

Momentarily stunned, he realised Devika's matchmaking intent. He mentally thanked her and resumed reading the script.

The first day of rehearsal of the play was overall a success. Both their characters were polar opposites of their real personalities. Where he donned the persona of a serious, introverted, yet unintentionally funny husband, she slipped into the character of an extroverted, bold and a bit dramatic wife. It felt pleasantly different, to be on the receiving end of her flirtations, even if their sole purpose was the play. He savored every bit of her company. And that name!!! Every time he called anu by her onscreen name, his heart did a flip.

As the practice session came to an end, Anuj along with Anu, both went to find their respective best friends, only to find them engrossed in deep conversation, stealing appreciative glances at each other every now and then. They approached them. The matching, mischievious smirks on their faces had Devika and Bunty worried.

"Dekho na Anu, hum logon ko dhoodh rahe hai, aur log yahan gup-shup kar rahe hain!"

"Anuj, Anu chup karo tum dono yaar...." chided Devika.

Raising an elegant eyebrow, Anu answered, "Kamaal hai, maine toh kuch kahaa bhi nahi!!"

"Tujhe acchese jaanti hoon main, tere dimaag mein kya chal raha hai, yeh mujhe janne ke liye tere kuch kehne ki jarurat nahi hain!"

Anu only offered soft laughter in response to her.

"Main Devesh, pehchana? But call me Bunty. Main woh uss din -"

"Haan, aap Anuj ke saath the, woh papers bikhar gaye uss din, mujhe yaad hai... Jai Shri Krishna ha!"

"Jai Shri Krishna Anu bhab- uhh.... woh.. I.. I mean Anupama..." Bunty stammered and broke off awkwardly, as he noticed the pointed glare that Anuj was giving him. Anu pretended not to notice the little slip-up, while Devika's eyes were brimming with mirth.

But Anuj was saved from any teasing, as he was approached by a couple of members of the cultural team, regarding the planning of the event.

Anu and Devika excused themselves and headed out of the hall.

"Kya lagta hai Anu tujhe kya pukar raha tha woh Bunty - Anu bhabhi, shayad, hmmm?"

"Chup kar!! Kya baat kar rahi hai? Aur koi sun lega toh? Waise bhi, hamare play mein usse mujhe yahi bulana hai. Issiliye nikal gaya hoga muh se."

"Anu, yaar, poora college jaanata hai, tu kaise nahi dekh paati?"

"Kya?? Aur meri baat rehne de, tu bataa, badi pyaari baatein ho rahi thi teri aur uss Bunty ke beech..."

"Kuch nahi..... woh to bas aise hi..."

"Haan haan -"

***

"Yaar tu ek din marwaa dega mujhe!!"

"Woh, sorry yaar Anuj, galati se nikal gaya.... Tum dono ki aage jaakar shaadi hogi, toh waise hi pukarunga na, toh bas issiliye..."

"Accha thik hai, jaane de.. By the way, tum aur woh Devika wahaa pe....ek minute.... Bunty? Tu blush kar raha hai?!!"

"Aisa kuch bhi nahi hai, tu chashma lagaa le.."

"Haan re, ab tu yahi kahega..."

Tbc

I savor the simplicity of your story. No drama, no machmach bas pure relaxation and positive vibes.

Glad to know, Anuj and Anu are getting closer. But there is one thing I'd really love to see, her awareness of Anuj. She did know of his feelings before coming to past right? Anuj ka toh we all know😆 but I badly want to see this 40 year anu in the body of 20 to bask in anuj ka crush.

Nice update and character development of other characters.👏

Wonder if Anu should be more foward as Anuj seems happy to be included near Anu. 😆

It's simple and beautiful re...❤️

Mujhe tho aise hi stories pasand tha.. thanks for writing this and pls do update often..

Too good!! Loved “Anu bhabhi” wala slip up. Reminds me of my friends when we were in college 😂

The best part is Bunty-Devika pair.. I am sure we won’t mind if they show it in show even now😃

Brilliant!!

Please update soon

Chapter 5

The annual gathering had been a smashing success. Everyone had enjoyed a lot. This had truly been a new experience for Anu, and she had enjoyed it thoroughly. As they say, nothing succeeds like success.

So many things had changed this time around. The accident that lead to her father's untimely demise did not come to pass - that in itself was a great blessing for her, to have the protective hand of her father firmly on her head. She had enrolled herself in the 'Earn and Learn Initiative (ELI)'. She had also started conducting dance tuitions for school children. All this enabled her to fund her education independently. It had taken a lot of convincing for her parents to agree for this - she shouldn't have to work right now, instead studies should be her focus, they had said. But she insisted on working. Her primary fear of being married off before she made her career fueled her efforts.

She was adapting to her new schedule. Now she had to arrive at the college two hours prior than otherwise, but she was happy.

As she was on her way to the college, she noticed that she was being stared at, stalked by a boy, a student of a nearby college, it seemed. Feeling his disgusting stare at her, she upped her pace of walking. What a hooligan!!

Anu entered the college gate. There were many students around, going about their own schedules. A sudden noise from somewhere behind caught her attention. A crowd had started to form there. She went there to see what the matter was. As she went nearer, she promptly recognised Anuj, who had his back to her. The scene there shocked her, though. Anuj was brutally fighting someone - no, Anuj was beating him up. It was the one who was stalking her; she realised with a start. His condition was downright miserable. The mad fury in Anuj had unnerved everyone around. No one dared to step in between. Anu approached him to calm him down. The murderous rage contained in his eyes, though, made her step back a bit in fear. He caught the movement and felt a pang of hurt. A rush of guilt immediately went through her as she detected a hint of hurt in his eyes. Placing a gentle, placating hand on his arm she pulled him away to get him treated for the split lip and bloodied knuckles he had gotten, along with any other injuries on him.

Anu had not withdrawn her grip. She could feel his heated gaze on her. When that stalker had stared at her, she had felt rather disgusted. But Anuj's gaze made her feel all warm and fuzzy. His firm biceps felt really nice under her hand.

They entered the medical wing. His passionate, adoring orbs were yet to leave her face.

"Wo tumhe pareshan kar raha tha, mujhse rahaa nahi gayaa..." He offered his explanation on what occured earlier.

"Thank you, sach mein, meri wajah se itni chot lagi hai, dekho to.."

"Anu please,"

"Nahi, nahi, meri wajah se aapko.... I....I mean....woh... kisi ko bhi dard hona mai seh nahi sakti." She replied, blushing away.

It was nearing 8:00 am, Anu had to leave if she wanted to be on time. As she stepped out of the room, she thought to herself, 'Kyu unke aas pas rehne ko dil karta hai.... mujhe yeh kya ho raha hai??'

Her words had stunned him to silence. They rang in his ears, played like a tape in his mind on a loop. She had awkwardly corrected herself to 'kisi ko', but he had heard her initial words. His soul yearned for her and for the first time, it felt that she desired him too...

Lunch break was about to end. Students were getting back to their classrooms. Anu entered her classroom and went to sit beside Devika. The professor gestured the students to settle down as there was an announcement.

"There is a field trip scheduled next week. A total of fifty marks have been allotted to it. You will have a few assignments and a project, along with a viva on the same. You will be doing all this in pairs, as per your roll no.s. The list of pair groups will be displayed on the notice board later. So, baadme jaakar usse check karo, theek hai? Field trip ki details bhi baadme milenge."

"Yes Ma'am," came the chorus.

Their last lecture got cancelled. Students started crowding around the notice board. The notice had details regarding the timings, essentials to be brought, do's and don'ts, etc. The venue was quite far from their college.

Noting down all the details, Anu headed home. This was an educational trip, and a compulsary one at that. Getting the permission for it was quite easy. Besides, her father had always been quite open minded. The trip was scheduled on Sunday. Students were supposed to reach college at 7 am, where buses would be arranged for the journey.

It was a fine morning indeed, Anu proceeded towards the classroom for the first lecture, having completed her work from the ELI. As the class settled, the professor announced, "Attention please. The list of groups of students in pairs for the study field trip has been given to me. Main announce karti hoon, aap note kijiye. Yeh pairs roll no.s ke basis par decide huwe hain. Saath mein aapko allot kiya huwa project topic bhi hai. Toh apna roll no. aayega tab dhyaan dena."

Roll numbers had been allotted to students in the alphabetical order. So Anuj having known that he would be paired with Anu, was in a joyous mood. Their group number was 2. On the other hand, Bunty and Devika ended up in group 12.

The topic of the field trip was a hot favourite among students. "Great, Anu!! Tujhe bhi permission mil gayi!!"

"Haan Devu... waise papa kabhi rokte nahi mujhe. Kaafi broad minded hain. Maa bhi hai, lekin chintaa bahut karti hai. Dono hi supportive hai, toh waisi koi baat nahi thi.. Ab to sunday ka intezaar hai bas!" Anu answered, smiling.

"Haan!! Main to bahut excited hoon!!"

"Study visit pe padhai ke saath saath majaak masti bhi karenge!!"

Aree haan bilkul, yeh bhi kya kehne ki baat hai?!!"

"Sun, Anuj, Sunday ko ek saath chalte hain college, thik hai naa?"

"Haan, chalega...... Main bohot excited hoon yaar!"

"Haan, haan, chehra dekhtehi pataa chal raha hai...."

"Bhai tu shuru mat ho..."

"Theek hai, ab tune toka hai, kya hi bolu mai,"

"Tumhara grouping wo devika ke saath huwa hai na, bun- na na, Devesh??"

"Haan, chod woh sab, par haan- excited to main bhi hoon."

"Study trip hi kyu na ho, dosto ke saath na toh majaa to aayega!!"

Tbc

Tagging....

Sorry if I missed anyone

Aaj ka epi itna acha tha ki mujhe maan withdrawal symptoms ho rahe thhe🤣 Mann main aaya ki kash koi story daal de and there you did it. Tussi khush kar ditta😆

Onto the update, your detailing of college life is amazing.

And yay! Anu ko kuch kuch hua

Ab toh field trip ki baari hai, upar se dono young bhi hai🤪(sanskari bhi hain i know but kya karu) I will dream😳