FF: Unexpected: updated 06_27_09 - Page 7

Nishi! That was just too cute! I luved the way Amar put his forehead against hers as he was trying to console her...........just toooo adorable! Hopefully, the lucky charm will work! Please update again! Pleaseeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! Bye! Luv ya!😊

Thank you so much everybody! You guys are the best. Unfortunately I couldn't reply to each of you individually but I loved all your warm comments..they light up my night, brighten my day...Love you loads...

Part Five: Mystery Dream Girl

I was pacing back and forth in front of the baggage carousal, running my hands through my disarrayed hair. All the planes from NY had landed already. Where was she? Last night Nabila called me up and told me that Divya was coming for a campus visit for two days and I had to pick her up from the airport. I hadn't seen Divya for almost two and a half years. Last summer we went on a Europe tour. This summer I didn't go home because I was working as a research assistant for one of my profs. Actually the last time I saw Creep Gyp was at my last football match. The image of her running away from me hearing the rude comments of my friends replayed in my mind. I sighed; I never got to apologize to her. I wonder if she had changed at all. The idea of meeting her after all this time made me a little nervous.

I looked at the bracelet she gave me, it was my favorite thing in the world. The lucky charm worked after all. We won that day and I did look for her after we had our crazy victory party but couldn't find her anywhere. She completely vanished. I went over many times, called her many times to say bye to her before leaving for Palo Alto but she was never home, which was rather strange. Even Nabs never mentioned her. When I asked her, she just said I was the greatest moron of the century and left it at that. What did she mean? I pressed her numerous times for an explanation but she wouldn't budge. Girls could be so cryptic sometimes.

Nabila already decided to come to Stanford for college. I was ecstatic about it. Even though she joked that it would be hard for her to find a date as her macho over protective brother would try to scare away all the potential candidates. I assured her I wouldn't interfere in her personal life if and only if she didn't interfere in mine in return. Divya on the other hand was still undecided; she got offers from many good schools. Nabs was trying to sway her mind to Stanford and that's the whole purpose of her visit. If she liked the campus enough, she would come here. Nabs nearly threaten me to give her the royal treatment and seal the deal!

I started to worry. Surely Divya must have gotten on the wrong plane or something. She should have been here already. It was more than an hour since her plane landed. We got along quite nicely in high school I thought, that Creep Gyp and I. We had a strange sense of understanding. The memory of my nearly kissing her in her basement attacked me all of sudden and I felt my cheeks burn with embarrassment. She was sweet in a way but definitely she was not my type. I assured myself. It would be awkward again seeing her. More importantly even though I cared not to admit to myself, I was secretly scared that all my friends in their effort to tease me, might humiliate her again.

Poor thing! She was so talented and smart and beautiful but the aura of eeriness she portrayed made her totally friendless! I made a mental note not to introduce her to any of my friends. What if she decided to come to Stanford? Part of me thought it would be fun, like old times, three of us could hang out like we used to. She was fun and intelligent; I never met a girl like her. I realized I did like her a lot--as a friend my inner soul corrected me! I smiled to myself. But part of me didn't want her here because of the situations we ran into especially when we were alone or when other people were around.

I was debating about calling Nabila and informing her that Creep Gyp was missing or wait some more. I couldn't wait here forever. I started playing with my bracelet in my indecision, as I always did. Should I just leave? To my utter disbelief a gorgeous tall girl walked up to me and smiled shyly. I forgot to blink! Was she real? If she was, she was unquestionably the most beautiful girl I had ever seen.

Then she spoke. "I am sorry you had to come and pick me up. How far is the campus from here?" she said apologetically. Her soft voice reminded me of Debussy's compositions. I got totally lost in her deep expressive eyes. My subconscious mind was playing tricks with me, her eyes--her eyes seemed so familiar. They were relaying some message to me which I didn't comprehend. I couldn't look away from her eyes, it's like she bewitched me or something.

I still couldn't find any words. I wanted to pinch myself to see if I was awake. I wanted to say something smart to make up for my insane behavior but before I opened my mouth she purred softly, "I am really sorry to bother you like this. I called Raj but unfortunately he had an appointment with one of his professors."

Raj? So this is Raj's doing. I remembered our bet two weeks ago when we were talking about my non-existent social life--the part involving dating and having a relationship. I smugly told him that I would never go out with a girl just for the sake of it, no matter how beautiful she was. There had to be some connection, some sparks. One's personality was more important to me than one's look. But I would love to lose that bet hands down if I ever get to spend an hour with Ms. My Universe standing in front of me. I could feel the energy around us, whoever this girl was, she had me enchanted, I was her captive and I was extremely happy about it.

She blushed an adorable shade of pink at my constant ogling. That brought me back to my senses. I know I was grinning stupidly. Raj, you win bro. Raj worked at the new student orientation committee. He knew Ms Universe was coming and probably set me up in an effort to win our bet. He must have sent her one of my pictures and that's how she recognized her ride to campus. Now things were making sense.

"No problem at all. The campus is 30 minutes from here. So you are going to Stanford?" I knew it was a stupid question but I just wanted to make sure.

She nodded and in her melodious voice softly uttered, "Thanks. I have all my stuff. We can go whenever you are ready."

"Great. Let me make a quick phone call and then we will be on our way." I still couldn't believe I would be giving ride to this beauty even if it was a part of a pathetic bet I was losing haplessly but gleefully.

I dialed Nab's number and she picked up at the first ring.

"So AB, did you see her?" The excitement in her voice made me smile.

"Nabs, Divya didn't come. All the planes from NY have landed and I have waited for almost an hour and a half. Check with her parents and if see she missed her plane."

"But, AB, we talked before she boarded the plane, it doesn't make any sense."

"Well, then she boarded the wrong plane. Listen Nabila you won't believe what happened. I was waiting for Creep-Gyp" I laughed hearing Nabila's growl on the other side and added, "A drop dead gorgeous girl came up to me and asked for a ride to campus. I think Raj is behind this. But I am not complaining. Nabs, she is just beautiful beyond description. She is more than just beautiful. I can feel that she is a very sweet individual. May be she is the one Nabs" I couldn't conceal my excitement. "So you can see I can't wait around any longer. There is no point either. There is no other flight from NY today. Let me know what happened to Divya. Okay? I got to go now, bye."

"No AB listen" my sister screamed, "What is this mystery woman like? What's her name? You never had a girlfriend since Sarah in 10^th grade and never showed interest in anyone!. Plea--se tell me." I could see her cute kitten pout in my mind and laughed.

"Nabs, I got to go. She is like a foreign model, may be Spanish or Italian, I have no idea. I didn't get a chance to ask her name yet. She is shy and through her smile you can have a glimpse of her heart, both breathtakingly beautiful" I said like a love stricken teenager. At 20, I felt like one. "Okay sis, talk to you later, she is waiting. Bye." I snapped my phone shut and walked over to her. I didn't even introduce myself, she must be thinking I was some sort of uncouth nerd without any etiquette or manners.

"Hello again. Sorry about making you wait. I had to pick someone else also and that person probably missed her flight. Let's go." I smiled widely as I led her toward my car. I grabbed her backpack from her, our fingers touched for split of a second generating enough electricity that could light a whole Christmas tree, sending shivers down my spine. I was amazed it affected her also. Her breathing became heavier, and her crimson face proved she could blush even a darker shade of red than before! I couldn't help grinning as I ran my fingers through my hair again.

"Oh! I forgot to introduce myself. I am Amar. And it is a great pleasure to welcome you at Stanford" I extended my hand towards her. Her expression was one of shock and surprise for a second. I couldn't read her eyes. But the next second she relaxed and she furrowed her brows and smiled a smile as if something amusing just happened.

She placed her small soft hand in my mine. "Nice to meet you Amar. I am..." she was interrupted by her cell. I had to let go of her hand. My hand seemed to ache for her touch. She excused herself, walked ahead as she answered the phone, mouthing "just a second." in my direction. I just nodded. "No problem, take your time."

I looked at her as she talked. She looked so graceful when she paced back and forth while talking. I felt I know her somehow. I noticed her facial expression changed quite a lot in this short span of time. From one of cheerfulness, to sadness, to amusement and finally to one of determination. She finished her call and looked at me. Her eyes were sad and it was heartrending. I hope there was no bad news. I wanted to make her happy and bring back that cheerful smile in her face again. When she came near me, she didn't look at me and whispered, "Sorry about that. Lets go."

We walked silently to my car and I tried to show the best of my manners by opening the passenger door for her. We started our journey in silence.

I tried to make small talk. Her melancholy mood was infectious. I earnestly asked, "Is everything alright, umm..Ms...." I didn't know her name and left my sentence hanging in the air.

"Sorry. Umm..I am umm Anjali, Anjali Mehra. And everything is fine. Thank you." Her curt reply sounded like she hated her name. Wait, that couldn't be right! So, Umm.. was she annoyed with me for some reason. What had I done?

The most pretty girl in existence was sitting beside me sulking for reasons I had no knowledge of. All I knew, everything else in the world became insignificant in the last thirty minutes for me, she took over center stage of my life. All I wanted was to be near her, to be her friend, possibly for life!