Here it is, Chapter 4! This time one day less than two weeks....I'm just getting better and better at this. 😆 Btw, a few people were confused about this so I want to clarify. I'm posting this story in two different places...The MJHT section and the FF section. Please check to make sure where your name is on the PM list, so you don't get confused when you don't see your comments in the other version. I'm gonna post the actor names in parentheses once more...I don't think they should be needed after this.
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Recap
The seven main characters and Carissa meet for the first group activity of their "Indian American Identity" class. The prompt they discuss relates to how culture and parental expectations play into an Indian American college student's choice of major. Due to arguments breaking out between Aditya and Hina as well as Rehaan and Deepali, they decide to take a break. While they're walking towards an ice cream shop, Carissa gets hit by a pickup truck, which immediately drives away.
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Chapter 4: Desperate Measures
Aditya (Mohit Sehgal, Samrat) took another look around the group. Rehaan (Shahid Kapoor) and Hina (Deepika Padukone), who happened to be standing together, exchanged tense glances as if hoping that the other would understand what to do. Deepali (Rati Pandey, Nupur) had taken her phone out of her pocket when it had begun to ring moments before the accident; it was still ringing as she clutched it tightly now and gawked in shock at Carissa's (Vanessa Anne Hudgens) unmoving form.
"Everyone, stay calm," Aditya directed, his mind racing with thoughts on how to proceed. "Deepali, can you call the police?" Deepali nodded, cancelled her incoming call, and swiftly dialed 911. "Does anyone here know CPR?" Aditya continued, making it a point to keep his voice steady.
"I do," Samira (Amrita Rao) replied, shakily. "I volunteered at a hospital last year, and they trained me."
"Perfect," he stated. "Let's go. There's no time to waste." With a hand on Samira's shoulder he led her across the street. The rest of the group followed, except for Deepali who was still on the phone.
Samira dropped down on Carissa's right side, assessing the state of her condition. Carissa was lying flat on her back, clearly unconscious. Her arm was badly scraped and one leg bent at an awkard angle, but Samira was relieved to see that she was breathing. Taking her wrist, she felt for her pulse.
"Her respiratory rate and pulse seem to be stable," Samira informed the group after a moment, "but I'm not sure how to determine the extent of her injuries. We probably shouldn't move her in case her spine is-"
Neelam (Sanaya Irani, Gunjan) interrupted her. "Wait a second!" she exclaimed in alarm. "She's bleeding!"
Following her finger, they all found a small pool of blood forming on the sidewalk. It appeared to be originating from Carissa's left lower back, which they now noticed, was slightly elevated compared to the right side.
Rehaan walked over to Carissa's left, and bent down. Careful not to move her more than was necessary, he searched for the lesion.
"Oh wow," he finally said with a gasp. "She must have landed on a broken bottle. There's a curved piece of glass lodged in her side."
Samira had come around to join him. "What do we do now?" she questioned, desperation just perceptible in her voice. "I'm still scared to move her, but we definitely can't let her bleed out." Everyone sat on the ground next to them, thinking about their options.
"Zaid, why don't you call your dad?" Aditya asked. "I'm sure he'll be able to help us."
Zaid (Ranbir Kapoor) shook his head. "He has a five hour surgery scheduled tonight. I think he's already in the OR."
"Are you absolutely sure that's not on some other night?" Aditya was familiar enough with Zaid's traits to know that he had the tendency to confused days and times.
"It's today," Samira affirmed, eliminating any doubt that Aditya had.
"I know!" Hina spoke up. "I'll call my brother. He's a second year med student." She yanked out her phone and began to search for her brother's entry.
Neelam waited with bated breath, praying that a year of medical school was sufficient to learn the basics of trauma medicine. She glanced apprehensively at Aditya who was sitting next to her. Returning her gaze, Aditya squeezed her arm reassuringly.
Deepali finally joined them, crouching down beside Neelam. "My phone lost reception as I was giving directions to the dispatcher," she told them. "Never occurred in three years, but it had to happen the one time I'm calling 911. Anyway, they police and ambulance are on their way." Samira nodded with a slightly relieved expression as she took Carissa's pulse for a second time.
They all glanced up as Hina spoke into her phone. "Yusuf bhai?...Yes, actually something is wrong. We really need your help..." As briefly as possible, she described the accident and Carissa's condition to Yusuf. "...and the pool of blood seems to be growing...Well, Samira knows CPR so she's taken over for now. Here, I'll put you on speaker so you can talk directly to her."
Hina hit a button on her phone, and after a moment of silence, a pleasant yet concerned voice emanated from it. "Um...Samira?'
"Yes, I'm here," Samira responded. "Carissa's pulse has weakened significantly, so I think we should act fast."
"How much blood has she lost?"
"I'm not sure. Maybe half a liter. It's not a very rapid loss, but it seems to be constant."
"The first step is to stop the flow," Yusuf(Rajeev Khandelwal) advised. "Apply pressure with something absorbent. If she loses much more blood volume, she won't have enough perfusion to her brain."
"But there's a piece of glass in her wound, and the wound is on the left side of her lower back...a place that's sorta hard to access at the moment. We're afraid to move her in case of spinal injury." Samira's breathing was becoming more rapid and irregular with every passing second.
"Hmm, the glass makes it all more complicated. Okay, I'm not sure if this is the best stategy, but I can't think of anything else. You'll have to take a risk. Try to keep her spinal column as still as possible, and remove the glass as quickly as you can. Keep some cloth ready beforehand because she'll probably start to lose blood more rapidly the moment the glass is out. I know it seems risky, but it should give you better access to the site so you can stop the bleeding."
Zaid was wearing two t-shirts so he pulled off the outer one and handed it to Samira. "Here, use this."
Samira slowly took the shirt, but there was a terrified expression on her face. She looked into Rehaan's eyes, her own eyes wide and pleading. Rehaan understood at once and nodded. He gently tilted Carissa's body and reached under her for the glass. With a single fluid motion, he pulled it out.
Just then, three events happened in rapid succession. Carissa awoke with a painful scream, Samira pushed the bunched up t-shirt onto the gash, and Neelam turned away in tears, inadvertently burying her face in Aditya's chest. Realizing what just happened, Neelam quickly looked up and their eyes locked for a moment before she turned away.
"It's okay, Carissa," Rehaan said, breathing heavily. "It's okay. You're gonna be just fine."
"What...what happened?" Carissa said with much difficulty, wincing in pain. She lifted her head as if trying to get up.
Deepali pushed down on her shoulder. "Don't get up, Carissa. The ambulance will be here any minute." As Samira strained to stop the blood, Rehaan and Deepali continued to comfort Carissa.
Neelam wiped her tears with her face turned away from everyone, concerned that her sensitivity might cause Carissa to panic. As she joined everyone in consoling her, she noticed Aditya smile appreciatively at her.
"Guys, one more thing," Yusuf told them over the phone. "If you elevate her legs, it'll effectively increase her plasma volume and prevent hypotensive shock."
"I have no clue what that means, bhai," Hina replied, "but I'm on it!" Walking over to a nearby yard, she grabbed a lawn chair and dragged it back with her. She lifted Carissa's legs onto it before kneeling down onto the sidewalk once again.
The blaring of sirens was heard as an ambulance appeared at the end of the street. "Thank God," Aditya sighed, rising to a stand. As the ambulance pulled up, they saw two police cars park behind it. Aditya walked over to give the paramedics any information they needed, while Zaid and Deepali began talking to the police.
After hanging up with Yusuf, Hina also stood up and was watching the approaching paramedics when Neelam tapped her shoulder. "Hina, can I speak to you for a moment?"
"Sure, what is it?" Neelam took hold of Hina's forearm and pulled her away from Samira and Rehaan, who were too attentive to Carissa to notice anything.
Neelam took a deep breath and stared gravely at Hina before disclosing her shocking revelation. "I know who was driving that truck. I saw his face."
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When the paramedics had taken Carissa away on a stretcher, Samira put her face in her hands and stayed seated on the ground, trembling in a strange combination of anxiety and relief.
Rehaan sat back down next to her and put a hand on her shoulder. "You did an excellent job, Samira. The paramedics said she'll be okay. It's a good sign that she was talking coherently as they took her away."
As Samira took her hands away from her face, Rehaan was surprised to find that she was not crying, nor was her face tear-streaked. The whole ordeal had been rough on her especially because Carissa was her roommate and friend, but it wasn't enough to cause her to break down. Not only was Rehaan impressed with Samira's courage, but it also reminded him of his own approach to difficult circumstances. His philosophy was that crying never accomplished anything, and consequently he hadn't shed a tear in at least ten years -- not even during those moments when his broken heart caused him anguish.
"I know and I'm very relieved," Samira replied. "It was just hard to see Carissa in so much pain. And the thought of everything that could have gone wrong..." She shuddered.
"I can't say that I wasn't terrified when the truck hit her," admitted Rehaan. "But I think we all made a pretty good team, na?"
Samira nodded, a smile finally lighting up her face. "Thanks so much for pulling the glass fragment out. I don't know if I could have done it. That one sign of support from you made all the difference for me today."
"I'm glad I could help, but really you're the hero tonight." He touched her arm affectionately.
She grinned, but shook her head. "That would be Adi. Without his initiative, we may not have been able to think clearly enough to do anything."
"True. Aditya's a born leader. I got the feeling tonight that he's destined for greatness."
Rehaan noticed Zaid walking towards them. He gestured for Zaid to take his place and talk to his sister. As Zaid took a seat and began to comfort and congratulate Samira, Rehaan rose and started walking toward the police car, where all the action was now.
On the way, he was stopped by Deepali's voice. "Hey Rehaan." She appeared beside him. "I believe an apology is in order," she said grimly.
"You're right," Rehaan responded, reminded of his earlier realization of guilt. "I was about to tell you that-"
"I'm so sorry that I totally overreacted." Deepali cut him short, speaking on high-speed as always. "I tend to misunderstand people the first time I meet them. Since I didn't know anyone in the group, I had this irrational thought that you would all team up against me. And then, you and Carissa kept turning down my suggestions, so I figured that my worst fears were confirmed. But now I know that there was no reason for you to hate me. It was all in my head. So anyway, you think we could start over?"
Rehaan gaped at her wide-eyed, then burst out laughing. "I almost thought I'd never get a turn to speak," he said with a grin. "Deepali, I was actually about to apologize to you. I was quite tactless in the way I rejected your ideas. But I want you to know that what I was really trying to do is make Carissa feel more comfortable in a class full of Indians. I'm surprised that I didn't notice that I had upset you, but I guess my attention was on Carissa at the time."
"Don't worry about it," Deepali assured him. "But can I ask you a question if you don't mind?"
"Sure."
"Right after we were divided into groups, I noticed that you kept shooting strange glances at me. It seemed like you were trying to make judgments about me based on my mannerisms."
"I guess I was in a way," Rehaan shrugged. "When Leah mentioned spokespersons, I thought we would be able to select our own. So I started wondering who would be the best for the position in our group. Just to let you know, I was about to nominate you before Leah selected me."
"Aw, thanks!" Deepali grinned. "And to think I was planning to avoid you at all costs."
"Good thing it's all sorted out. Shall we head over to the police car and see what's going on there?" Rehaan could see that even Zaid and Samira were engaged in the discussion with the police now.
"Oh yeah. Right."
As Deepali and Rehaan approached the group, Hina was standing a short distance away planning what she was going to say to the officers. It was a strange coincidence that the person driving the hit-and-run vehicle happened to be Todd Mitchell, the second year student who had knocked Neelam down in a fit of anger at the convenience store a couple weeks ago -- which was when Neelam had first met Aditya. Even more interesting was that as soon as Neelam mentioned Todd's name, Hina knew exactly who she was talking about. Todd Mitchell had done almost everything in his power to get Hina to go out with him during the previous year, including harassing and threatening her. It was only when she retaliated with the warning that she would inform the campus security about him that he finally gave up. When Neelam told her that she had seen Todd in the driver's seat, Hina was absolutely certain that she was right because she suddenly remembered that Todd did, in fact, own a dark blue pickup truck.
Hina warily approached the group, just in time to overhear an officer asking Samira if she had any idea who would want to hurt Carissa.
"Officer, I know who it was," Hina interjected, seizing the opportunity. "The driver of the truck was Todd Mitchell. He's one of our classmates here at Penn." Everyone seemed shocked at this disclosure, except for Neelam who stood silently, her expression nervous.
"How are you so sure?" the officer questioned.
"I caught a glimpse of his face as he drove by," Hina lied. "And I recognize his truck."
"Why didn't you say anything until now?" he interrogated with a hint of mistrust.
Hina quickly made up a story that had some truth to it. "Well, I've known Todd for almost a year now. He made all kinds of threats last year to try to get me to date him. I guess I'm still a little scared of him." She quickly put on the most innocent, 'damsel-in-distress type' expression that she could come up with.
"All right," the officer conceded. He gestured towards Aditya. "This young man here has already given me a complete description of the perpetrator's truck. I'd like you to give me any other information you might have that could help us arrest and convict him. There's also the possibility that you may have to testify in court."
"That's fine," she agreed. She proceeded to give the officer a detailed description of Todd Mitchell, the name of the dorm building where he currently resided, and the color of the shirt he was wearing when he had hit Carissa (which was a piece of information that Neelam had provided her with).
"Thank you for all the help," the officer finally said to them. "I have all your numbers in my book in case I need to contact you again. I will inform the University security and the resident faculty members at Carissa Green's dorm building about this accident. I'm sure they will notify her parents pronto. I'll also pay a visit to Mr. Mitchell and take a look at his vehicle. You kids should get back to your dorms and apartments now. It's getting late. You can visit your friend at the hospital first thing in the morning."
They all thanked the officer, who promptly drove away, and then started to walk back toward Neelam and Deepali's house in contemplative silence. After a few minutes, Hina sped up to catch up with Aditya, who was walking in the front.
"Nice work today," she commented, smiling at him.
Aditya looked up in surprise. "Thanks," he replied skeptically.
"I was thinking," Hina began, "that maybe we should try to tone it down a bit -- I mean try to get along. For the sake of the group. I'll try not to rush the meetings anymore."
Aditya nodded with a slight smile. "That would be great. And I'll try not to get so angry. I really shouldn't have called you selfish."
Hina shrugged. "It's all right. I'm sure with time you'll realize that I'm not selfish."
"I really hope so."
"Thanks. I hope you don't mind if I walk with Zaid now. There's something I wanted to talk to him about."
"Not at all," Aditya replied. He smiled to himself as he looked back to see the elated expression on Zaid's face as Hina joined him.
When he glanced behind him, Aditya's eyes also fell onto Rehaan and Deepali, who were now engrossed in conversation like old friends. As unpleasant and terrifying Carissa's accident had been on the entire group, Aditya couldn't help but think that some good had come out of it.
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Question:
1. What do you think? Long comments please...if you have time. 😃
Edited by SuhanaSafar - 16 years ago
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