&time stood still:MayUr FF(Last Pt Upted ,pg.31) - Page 3

---------- & Time stood Still -pt.3 ----------

She was unlike any other girl he's met before. Or it may be because he hardly knew any women anymore, with an exception of his Mom and Neha, both of whom he was really close to. Her effortless wit and her over-the-top or putting it in her words '' out-of-this-world'' obsession with bollywood movies, the way she knew the lyrics to every single song , her confidence , her way of making people feel better, infact , Nupur as a whole , never failed to amaze him. Are all girls like her?? He wondered. He knew the answer to that one, "Definitely, not". An unwelcomed bad memory, crossed his mind for a fraction of a second that very moment, but he managed to block it out as quickly as it had come . ''Only good memories are to be remembered ''- Nupur had once told him. Ofcourse, she had her bad side, her anger was at the tip of her nose, her senseless talks, her wild imaginations, when she starts insulting someone she hates........... But, even her bad sides mesmerized him. She was real. Unlike most girls of today. Again, this was entirely hypothetical since it wasn't him to be friends with a girl, infact, he didn't even know alot of boys. He had seen enough of this world to know, ''what you see is never what you get'' .

Nupur beside him looked far from nervous. She was humming a bollywood song, some song he hadn't ever heard before, as usual. Mr.Gupta called out their names looking almost half-asleep. Being a teacher was indeed a hard job, boring at times. But Mayank always wanted to be one. He knew it was the perfect job for his love and passion for learning. Sometimes, Mayank felt abnormal, abit too old for his age. He was 22, he had never tasted alcohol in his life .He wasn't into partying and girls like the rest of his age group. He never did any sports although, he loved Cricket, but then which Indian doesn't? Since, his childhood he had been a very studious child, his studies were always his priority and becoming a teacher had always been his dream. He had never admitted that to anyone before he met Nupur, "it is a little embarrassing ", he had decided. (it always took him by surprise , how easy it was for him to be himself with her) .She laughed insincerely at first but she apologised for it as soon as she realised he was serious. But, there was one thing that would hold him back from his ambition , his stage-fright. He knew this was his chance , to get over it. Once and for all. He looked at Nupur's confident face ,the half-asleep teacher , took a deep breath and started. It wasn't that hard after all. Their timing and co-ordination was perfect. They had done great, and they knew it. The smile and admiring nod from Mr.Gupta , assured them of their success. 👏👏👏

After the lesson , when most of the students had already left , excited and relieved , Mr.Gupta slowly marched towards the two of them with an admiring smile on his face , exclaimed ''Full Marks!'' , and left quietly. In excitement , both of them went for a involuntary hug. It was the first physical contact of any kind between them. He put his arms around her , band vice-versa. Nupur hugged him tight, barely conscious. She was saying something. He could hear her breath, and smell her hair. He half listened, half lost in thoughts. Those, bad memories were running back into his head. He shook his head, hoping he could shake his thoughts off at the same time.''wahhh mayank , hamari jodi toh no.1 hai '' she said. He pulled himself apart from her . She tried so hard not to smile or blush. Her adrenaline levels were way too high with thousand butterflies in her stomach. She felt like a 16 year old , who just had her first kiss.😳😳 She looked at Mayank; he looked like he was in a deep thought. She stopped speaking, and tried to read his expression. It was blank. For the first time, Nupur knew there was something that disturbed Mayank time to time. Some secret he wasn't telling her. But , she was determined to find out. Seeing him happy ,had become her recent priority.

With alot of things running in their head, they said goodbye to each other. They had spent alot of time together for the past weeks, because they were paired for a project. Nupur was worried, if Mayank's company had been pure professional and they would go back to being strangers after the project. Mayank was confused. Why did Nupur remind him of all those things, he had long chosen to leave behind .He knew he had to make a decision and quick.

They walked in opposite directions, not knowing what tomorrow would bring about. Till now they had no choice then being with each other , but from now on it was entirely up to them , what they wanted to do with their friendship.

That night, both of them lay in their own beds , thinking about nothing but each other. But were they thinking about each other in the same way ???