PART 9
'You'll love it here! this one's my all time favourite!' Riddhima said as she led Armaan into one of the roadside diners...the place was not too packed and smelled of fries and other junk food..
'You come here often?' Armaan asked as he followed her in and took a quick scan of the place..it was pretty decent...how come he'd never been to this place before?? it was pretty close to his place and according to Riddhima the food here was amazing and reasonable as well...
'All the time,' Riddhima smiled, 'Hey Bobby!' she greeted the guy behind the counter who was busy wiping a plate with a cloth. The guy smiled a toothy smile at her and winked, 'Hey Ridz!'
Armaan grinned despite himself...Riddhima was so nice to everyone...she wasn't like one of those who wouldn't talk or look at the waiters because they thought it was below them to do something like that..Riddhima went right ahead and greeted all the waiters as though they were her best pals!!..that was another thing about her that he'd never realized..the way how she never ever discriminated between anyone..many people weren't like that...
The biggest example of this is myself, Armaan thought shaking his head..he remembered how he had never spoken properly to Muskaan and Riddhima earlier on because he had thought they were too desi for him!! talk about harsh...
Armaan watched as Riddhima smiled and waved at practically every second person..wow..this girl was just full of surprises...earlier on he'd thought that she was just nice..as in OK nice...but now..well...now he thought she was REALLY nice...
'What can I get you Sir?' the friendly waiter asked Armaan after giving Riddhima a high-five. Armaan just stared, 'Uh..well, what do you want Ridz?'
'Oh she'll have fries and coke. That's her usual,' the waiter grinned looking affectionately at Riddhima. He was an old man..probably in his sixties...Armaan wondered how they had still kept him employed...however, the smile and delight on his face at serving his favourite customer was very much evident..Armaan could guess that the old guy probably didn't get a lot of attention..he was probably one of those guys who was alone in the world..wife was probably dead and kids might have deserted him, finding him too tiresome... the fact that Riddhima cared was probably one of the brighter things of his life...he was looking at Riddhima as though she were his daughter...
'That's right..I'll have fries and coke,' Riddhima said as she exchanged another high-five with the old waiter...Armaan grinned...
'Well, then I'll have that too...'
Riddhima looked at Armaan, slightly surprised...however, even if she found anything wierd, she didn't say anything and nor did Armaan after the waiter took their order and left to get their food.
'Wow, you're a celebrity here!' Armaan chuckled.
Riddhima smiled, 'They are a friendly bunch,' she said indicating towards the waiters and other staff.
'Are you kidding me? they absolutely love you!'
'Now that you mention it, I AM a very lovable person,' Riddhima said, trying to look modest...there was a couple of seconds silence after which they both burst out laughing.
'You are!' Armaan admitted, tweaking her nose affectionately, 'thanks Riddhima,'
'For what?' she asked, looking genuinely curious.
'Well, for changing my mood for starters..' Armaan smiled as he looked around the place...it was definitely not posh, however, there was such a strong feeling of warmth and homeliness here...god!! he LOVED this place...there was a lot of noise...it was probably not even hiegenic..and the food would probably be too oily or too greasy or too bland or whatever...and yet, he could see why Riddhima loved this place...it was not about the food...it was about the people...he could see the kind of bond she had with these people and he was seriously amazed...
'It's OK,' Riddhima said, placing her hand on his, 'we all have our bad days,'
'I guess,' Armaan said, looking slightly awkward..now that the topic was mentioned, he remembered that he had actually cried in front of this girl who he had just about managed to become friends with...what would she think about him??
Well, what do you think she would think doofus?? he thought angrily, she must be thinking your a real wuss...!!! I mean, what sort of a guy just CRIES in front of a girl who he's not even that close to begin with??!!
'What's wrong?' Riddhima asked, sensing the sudden awkwardness.
'Well...I..uhm...I don't usually cry like that, you know...I mean, I don't usually cry at all!...it's..I don't know...I guess it's because it's the first time we lost a game or something...I-' Armaan stammered.
'Hey...it's OK,' Riddhima cut across him, 'I'm not judging you here,'
Armaan smiled gratefully at her...she had understood his plight and her answer really DID make him feel better...he was so happy that he had let her persuade him to come to this restaurant...not only did she offer him the much needed emotional support he needed at that time but she had really made him see his folly without rubbing it in his face...he really doubted if anyone would have been able to do that..including his coach!!
'Wow!! are you on a getting-fat-mode??' Armaan questioned as he saw the waiter place their plate of food before them...as expected it was greasy and oily..he couldn't imagine how any girl who was even a little weight conscious could digest that food..!
'Ha-ha,' Riddhima said sarcastically and then dug into her food.
'Do you like it?' she asked as she watched him take a bite of his food.
'Yeah, why wouldn't I?? It's got all the oil in the world!!'
Riddhima rolled her eyes and wacked him hard on his arm.
'Ouch!' Armaan yelped, 'what was that for?'
'Yeah, well...next time you might want to be a little nicer,' Riddhima scolded.
Armaan opened his mouth to argue but before he could say a word, she cut across him, 'Now just shutup and eat!'
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'Byeee guys!!' Riddhima waved before leaving the place with Armaan. He chuckled as he heard a chorus of 'See ya later' and 'Bye, love' behind them.
'What?' she asked when he continued chuckling even as they got into his car to leave for her place.
'Nothing,' he answered, 'These people love you!'
'Yeah, I guess,' she said smiling slightly.
'Why do you do this?' he asked out of the blue.
'Do what?' she asked, confused as he started the car.
'You know..the whole going-out-of-your-way-for-these-people...I mean, with all the 'hi guys' and the waving and smiling,'
'Why? you find that wierd?' she asked, a sharp edge to her tone.
'Well...more like unusual. It's not something everyone would do,' he said carefully...he was actually regretting bringing up the topic..he could sense from her voice that she was taking this in the wrong way...she felt he was taunting her..putting her down...but that's totally not what he intended...he actually liked the way she treated them almost as though they were her family..he had never really seen anyone behave in the manner Riddhima did today in the restaurant...it was ridiculous and yet extremely sweet at the same time...he should have been embarassed but he really wasn't...
'I'm not everyone,' she said in a firm tone.
'That I know,' he said, smiling at her fondly...
Riddhima sighed as she looked out of the window, 'I understand if you were embarassed by my behaviour in there. Any normal guy would be. Well, it's just...at the end of the day they're humans too...so what if they have jobs that are considered 'low-society' by many?? they are like any of us.. with feelings, dreams and aspirations...they deserve a bit of consideration and affection too...and if I can provide them just a little bit of happiness by simply treating them as an equal or as a friend, then I'll do that...I don't care how embarassing I may seem to the other customers..I probably won't even see any of them again...and even if I do, I don't care if I'm the wierd-girl-who-befriends-all-the-waiters for them..'
Armaan smiled deeply as he heard her sincere explanation...gosh, the girl really was a sweetheart...how many 19 year olds actually thought of stuff like that?? or actually thought of ANYONE beyond themselves?? not everyone, that was for sure..no one he knew would ever do something that Riddhima had done today..it wasn't a great act..it was such a simple gesture on her part and yet, the reason why she did do this was so sweet and touching that he wanted to hug her...she was crazy...and yet, adorable...he had really never met anyone like her....
'I didn't find you embarassing at all Riddhima,' he said, squeezing her hand gently, 'I swear,'
Riddhima smiled slightly as she felt his hand on hers...so much had changed in one day...he had gone from this guy who she had a huuuuge crush on to a friend...he had gone from being Armaan Mallik, every girl's dream guy, basket ball star to just plain Armaan....he had gone from being an infatuation to a guy she genuinely liked as a person and not just because he was this amazingly cute guy and basket ball star and all that...she had to admit that before this she did like him for those reasons because at that point she didn't know the REAL Armaan...at that point, she was just bowled over by his looks and attitude..they had never been close as friends and she didn't know too much about him except for the obvious...and so, she had fallen for the obvious..however, today, she realized that Armaan Mallik wasn't just this famous guy from university who also happened to be her best friend's boyfriend's room mate but also this sweet guy who really cared about every game he played and took the whole captaincy thing very seriously..she realized that behind the killer attitude, there was a small boy who was afraid of losing, afraid of failure, afraid of seeing the ugly side of the world after being exposed only to the popular and good side of it...he was a nice guy...just a little vulnerable. She had seen that side of him today...it was probably the break down he had today or probably the lunch with her..however, whatever it was, they had bonded today...emotionally...they had accepted each other as friends truly..probably because he had let her come so close to him emotionally...he hadn't meant it that way...he hadn't meant to let go of his emotions in front of anyone...however, he couldn't help it today...he had been so broken after losing the match and not to mention, Riddhima was offering the much needed support...it was just so easy to talk to her...she never once let him feel stupid or dumb for crying in front of her...he didn't know if that would be true if any of his other friends were in her place...but whatever the case, at the end of the day you couldn't share something like that and not end up being close friends...sometimes it take a lifetime to get close to a person and yet sometimes, even a moment is enough....
'Here you go,' Armaan said, as he stopped the car in front of her house.
'Thanks Armaan,' she said, smiling and got out of the car.
'I should be thanking you,' he said, running a hand through his hair.
'I told you there's no need,' Riddhima said simply.
Armaan nodded...maybe there was no need...after all, there were no 'thanks' and 'sorrys' in friendship...atleast that's what he'd always believed in...and Riddhima was definitely a friend. Giving her a last smile, he waved and then drove off.
Riddhima smiled as she watched him drive off...yesterday at this time, she would have never thought her relationship with Armaan would have changed to this extent..it was wierd how one emotional breakdown could change so much...if yesterday Armaan had touched her hand the way he had today in the car, she probably would have fallen down, blushing...maybe because yesterday it would have been 'Armaan Mallik' touching her...however, today she hadn't felt that way...because today, 'her friend Armaan' had touched her...there was a big difference... yesterday, she would have never thought of scolding him and hitting him like she had today in the restaurant when he had commented on the food being too oily...yes, everything had changed..she wasn't so conscious around him and she felt that this feeling was mutual...he had seemed equally relaxed in her company today at the restaurant...he had joked with her, laughed with her and even attentively listened to her advice earlier on in the changing room...maybe his viewpoint regarding her had also changed...
Did she still like him?? had that feeling also changed?? she thought...well, it was difficult to answer..she still felt something for him...however, the reasons had changed...till today she had liked him for different reasons but today, the reasons had definitely changed...she realized he was very different from what she thought he would be..he had seemed unreachable earlier on and yet today, he had wept in front of her on losing an important match...well, she supposed, only time would tell how this relationship would fare...for the time being, it was better not to analyse it so much...
Smiling slightly, she shook her head and went home, looking forward to a nice loooong nap...
heyyy guys...k thts part 9...thnk u soooo much 4 understandn abt my results n also d gud wishes...i did pretty well actually so yea, balle balle!!! ehhehe...nyways...here u go...part 9...enjoy readn n plzzz post ur honest comments:) Edited by barkha_90 - 16 years ago
Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi 2
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