New RagNa SS: Un-Conventional [DISCONTINUED] - Page 2

You don't have to ask whether you should write. I'm sure whatever you and Jiya pens down, it's going to be fab. But please try and give regular updates... ...Most importantly don't forget to pm me. It's Kiara, incase you forgot. 😆

First, thank you for the warmest welcome ever people! You guys are absolute delights to entertain. We do apologize for taking a month to update. I do know that a lot of you wanted more frequent update. I so hope that we're able to from this point but I can't promise anything because it's my friend's last year for bachelor's and she's been very busy as well. BUT we are here with an update for you guys!

Now onto this story!

"This way!" she took his hand and led him towards the stairs leading towards the back of the high school. They kept on running, without looking back, and she kept her hold, guiding him.

When they finally reached their destination, she let go. "We lost them," she said in between shallow inhales and exhales of breath. Raghav could only gulp and hyperventilate to let more air into his lungs.

"Thanks," he managed in between short breaths.

The girl hummed noncommittally. After they both calmed down, she turned to stare at him for a really long time as if trying to assess something. After a little while, he started to feel uncomfortable under her scrutiny. She seemed to see his discomfort and sighed. "I don't see it," she had said.

Before he could ask her what she was referring to, she walked away.

He felt oddly unnerved, baffled that he was wishing that she wasn't referring to his attractiveness. Why had he even wanted her to think that he was attractive anyways? He didn't even know her from before. Which brought him to his next question - who exactly was she?

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She clicked her pen, and started writing:

There are a lot of times people say incredibly corny and pretentious things like, "You never really know the value of something or someone, until you lost that person or thing." I personally think that this term in its entirety is very exclusive to the people, who actually are capable of feeling that loss. What about the other people who don't have anything to value? Or what about the people who, despite having so much to value, still don't end up doing that even after that thing or that person is gone? Or what about people who have psychopathic tendencies and don't give a crap about other people or having any lasting relationships? That's why the statement in itself seems to be very biased towards the people who do have the means to have a valuable person or thing - "You never really know the value of something or someone until you lost it." That's why I think it's a crap of a sentence.

Alright, so I am really getting off-topic right now. What can I possibly say at this point? Even if that statement is the one I hate, it's kind of the description of my life. Skipping all the dramatics that went on in my life, with my parents being poor and me almost always being neglected due to them trying to earn more money to make ends meet, I just want to take you to a very specific moment in my life. It seems so insignificant right now, but it's something I had always kept close to my heart to ensure that I remember to never hold on too tightly to anything. Everything in life is temporary, and giving too big of a value to one thing will only hurt you as a person. I learned this the hard way.

From a very young age, due to my parents' money troubles, I had always learned to share with others. I had trouble calling anything mine. So when I did finally have something that I had associated with mine, it only goes to naturally mean that it would be eventually taken away from me. I am sure you already know since I talk to you all the time, Ma. Before I say anything further, I hope all is going well up there though. Because I am in the middle of another writer's block and my advisor has been pestering me to finish the first part of the research paper by this weekend. Tell me, how is --

"Kalpi!"

Kalpi jumped, abruptly closing her journal and trying to steady her heartbeat. She inhaled sharply and looked up to glare at the approaching figure.

"Pakhi, I swear! Mera naam itni zor se chillana zaroori hai? Pura cafeteria dekh raha hai hume. Yeh university hai, tera ghar nahiin," she hissed at the girl who merely just smirked and said opposite to her at her table.

"Of course, it's important yaar. I have to tell you something abhi. So, ab listen, ok?"

Kalpi shook her head and sighed. She quickly slipped her journal in her bag and tried to give her full-fledged attention to Pakhi. She pursed her lips and prompted Pakhi to continue.

"Ok. I have to tell you something! Mujhe mil gaya!"

"Kya mil gaya?" Kalpi asked confused.

"Arre yaar! Tera case study. Mujhe pata hai teri thesis ke liye sirf aik case study chahiye tha na? Woh mujhe mil gaya baba!" Pakhi squealed in delight. It was actually something to be delighted about. The reason that she couldn't finish the first part of her method's section of the paper for proofreading was partly because she was missing the initial interview for one more subject, before which she would need observe the subject for one more month and adjust her thesis based on the evidence she got.

She mustered a smile. It had been by far the best news in the whole day. "Achcha kaun hai woh?"

"Kya yaar Kalpi? Tu bhi na! Not even a little enthusiasm? I just told you that I found you your last case study that you needed in order to finish the first part of your paper due this weekend, and that's all you can manage? You're seriously na disappointing me!" She shook her head but took another breath to wait for dramatics before exclaiming...

"RAGHAV SINGHANIA!"

Kalpi felt her insides clench in an untwistable knot. She started feeling her insides go cold. "No." she stated firmly to Pakhi. Pakhi pouted but didn't back down.

"Kalpi, he's coming to India today. Come on yaar! We've known him since forever. Besides, I kept in touch with him and he's coming here to establish partnership with another friend of his anyways. If you ask, he will for sure say yes! Come on yaar, it will be amazing to actually be able to observe him in the field. You can use his extensive experience in the market to contribute to your thesis. I am sure he won't mind being your case study!"

Kalpi sighed again. "You said that he's coming to establish a partnership with a friend of his. Who's this friend? Do we know him?"

Pakhi raised her eyebrow at the obvious diversion. Finally, she spoke up, "His name is Samarth. I am not sure if you remember him from college?"

Kalpi froze. "Wait a minute. You're talking about Samarth Shergil? Didn't all three of you hang out together during undergrad?"

Pakhi perked up, "Yes! That's him. I was just as shocked as you. Who knew that they would actually follow through with their plan from when they were young? Dude, did you know that they made a silly pact with each other that they will both establish themselves and partner up? Wow, this is a damn small world."

Kalpi hummed thoughtfully. "Do you think Samarth would be alright with being my case study?"

"Hmm maybe. Not sure," Pakhi said thoughtfully, "though I kind of already gave Raghav a head's up, so keep that in mind in case Sammy isn't able to do it. He will for sure do it if you ask. I am not sure about Sammy though. You should ask him. I will text you his contact information, okay?" she finished off as she tapped away on her phone.

"Thanks yaar! Achcha now I need to go TA for Management 10. I will see you after that. Bye!" Kalpi finished off in a rush as she grabbed her things and started rushing towards her class.

Kalpi really hoped that Samarth would say yes, because she really didn't want to work with Raghav. It wasn't like something major had happened between them and that became the reason for her not wanting to work with him. It was simply because it would be very awkward. She could carry conversations with anyone, except Raghav. After graduating from high school, where they used to be on fairly good terms, they always had those stilted awkward hallway conversations that started with "how are you's" and ended with "have a nice one." They were barely acquaintances at best and she would much rather interview someone she could feel comfortable around. That's why she quickly made a mental note to email Samarth during her class, since she already had her laptop with her.

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Kalpi grinned as she saw Pakhi again. "He said yes'!" she exclaimed and threw her hands around Pakhi. Pakhi was only startled for a second, but quickly recovered and hugged her back.

After containing her excitement, she let Pakhi go and gave her a huge smile again. "It's finally coming together, Pakhi. I can finally breathe in ease. My day just got so much better!"

Pakhi smiled back and nudged her towards the side. "Achcha theek hai baba. Your day is actually going to keep on getting better for now!"

Kalpi looked at her, confused. Pakhi took her hand and started walking towards the parking lot.

"Pakhi, yaar, I am not done yet. I still have things to do on campus. I just wanted to see you before I do them." However, Pakhi kept her firm hold on her hand and dragged her towards the parking structure. After a few moments, she stopped abruptly. Then, she waited.

After few minutes of silently waiting for something to happen, Kalpi turned to Pakhi and cocked in head in confusion. Pakhi gestured Kalpi to look behind her. So, when Kalpi did look behind her, she wished she hadn't - because the person approaching them was no one other than the very Raghav Singhania that she had been hoping to avoid, with his closest friend Samarth on his right.

Her day was just turning out to be bizarre. If she had known that Samarth was coming within an hour after she was done with class, then she would have just waited to ask him in person. She felt slightly off-footed, especially since she had a distinct feeling that there was something going on that she couldn't put her finger on.

Regardless, she tried to be pleasant and plastered a smile. Pakhi raced towards them and started talking to them excitedly, while Kalpi stayed behind and just observed. It didn't make the ordeal any less awkward, because Kalpi kept on feeling like she was intruding. She had to fight off her instinct to make an escape just so she didn't seem unprofessional. There was a reason that Pakhi had brought her here.

After few minutes, Pakhi turned towards her and waved her over. Kalpi slowly made her way and greeted them with smiles.

"Mr. Shergil, it's an absolute pleasure to meet you," she said while extending her hand. Samarth grinned at her, "Mr. Shergil, Kalpi? Really? Sammy is fine. Just like old times!" he told her firmly.

Ah, and now the gates to memory-ville were flooded wide-open as Kalpi remembered that Sammy was actually in very good terms with her during undergrad, when they were all still going to the same college. Both of them hadn't really remained in contact, but they still remained pleasant whenever they had met after that. Of course, there weren't many occasions for them to meet especially when Kalpi decided to go for graduate studies after her Bachelor's. She had gotten too busy with studies to keep up with her social life.

Sammy let go of her hand, after final shake. "And I am sure you already know Raghav," he gestured towards the menacing presence of the very person Kalpi wanted to avoid eye contact with, "We all did bachelor's together. I think you both went to the same high school as well, correct?" Sammy asked curiously.

Kalpi swallowed. She really didn't want to be reminded of those high school days. It was a hard pill to swallow but she had gotten over those days. "Yeah, we were acquainted in high school. And yes, of course I do know Raghav." She smiled at the man whose jaws were set and whose teeth were clenched as he stared at her.

When Raghav didn't return her cheerful gesture, which would be the acceptable social cue at the moment, she had been prompted to fill the silence. "So, how are you doing, Raghav?" she had asked casually, not really interested in the answer because she had badly wanted to escape instead. This is exactly what she had meant by stilted conversations. They just weren't the same after graduating from high school. While she would have called Raghav her close friend back then, she would hardly call him an acquaintance now.

She saw Sammy nudge Raghav slightly. Raghav snapped out of whatever he was thinking and attempted at a smile, which looked more like a painful grimace. Kalpi took that as her cue to leave. "Well it was nice seeing both of you again. Unfortunately, I do have to go back to work now though," she smiled apologetically at them, even if she was glad to muster up a believable escape.

Sammy grinned at her, "I will let you know of my schedule so you can come in to interview me when I am free. And we all need to get together and catch up." Kalpi smiled hearing this and nodded. Sure, she would definitely meet up with them...never. She would not go through another awkward exchange like that even if someone paid her enough to never need to work another day of her life. And that was not only because she actually liked working, unlike most of the other TAs in her program.

She wandered off, hoping that she wouldn't encounter Raghav again.

So, naturally, it was just her luck that she had to interview Sammy in the same office that he temporarily shared with Raghav, where Raghav was present at that moment, and from where Raghav was glowering at them.

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Thanks again for the amazing response. The story is barely starting up and still has a long way to go. Don't be disheartened that there wasn't a lot of RagNa interaction. It's yet to come and it will definitely get there! Now, onto the comments! =]