What Gunjan wants, Gunjan gets End Page 18 - Page 4

"No Samrat, I am not hungry, I will just have some soup and go to sleep, its been a long day" Gunjan mumbled as she suppressed a yawn. Samrat looked at her and smiled realizing how beautiful she looked to him even now, with strands of her hair falling out of the ponytail she had tied in the morning, her eyes droopy with sleep, the end of her nose turning red due to the chill. He came to an abrupt halt and turning her to him kissed her on the nose saying,"I love you".

A bit surprised Gunjan looked at him in confusion but blushed when he kissed her nose. It must have turned red thanks to the cold and the intense rubbing she kept doing to stop herself from sneezing. She looked at him as she touched her nose,"Its red, isn't it???".

Samrat nodded happily at her,"You know I love it when your nose turns all red, it makes you look sooo cute, just like a small kid, and then you rub it with your fingers while frowning and muttering to yourself, you know you never look more beautiful".

Gunjan looked at him in disbelief,"I look beautiful to you when I am in pain".

"You are not in pain baba, its just a small cold, and neways you have it whenever it gets a little chilly" Samrat said pinching her nose lightly. Gunjan rolled her eyes at him and continued walking, trying to ignore him. Samrat caught up with her and hugged her tightly to himself as he rubbed his face over hers. Gunjan giggled when she felt the famaliar tickling due to his light stubble.

"Hehehe Samrat, don't do that, you know it tickles" Gunjan said trying to stop him.

"First say you are not angry with me" Samrat asked as he continued to rub his face over her cheek.

"I am not angry with you, now stop" Gunjan relented.

"Say you love me" Samrat asked again as he rubbed his face over her neck.

"Hehehe Samraaaaat, not there, yes I love you, now stop, hehehe" Gunjan answered as she tried to back out from his tight hold.

"Say you will come to my game" Samrat asked again hiding a mischievious smile.

"Yes I will, now stop" Gunjan agreed. Samrat stopped and looked at her as Gunjan realized what she had agreed to,"You, you, why....................you tricked me" she accused pointing a finger at him.

"Everything's fair in love, baby" Samrat said kissing her pointed finger and half dragging her back to her dorm before she could protest. Gunjan crossed her arms in frustration as she looked at him smiling in truimph. She should have realized that he wouldn't give up easily and find some way or the other to convince her to come. Sometimes she seriously wished she could be stern with him and not give in so easily to his charm. "I hate you" she mumbled as they reached her dorm. Samrat looked at her, amused the way she was pouting at him, just like a kid whose favourite toy had been taken away. It amazed him how she could be mature one minute and act like a petulant kid the next. She still retained a small child inside herself and he wished that she would always have this quality in her.

"And thats why I love you" Samrat said kissing her on the cheek and winking at her. Gunjan graced him with a small smile before waving him goodbye and entering her dorm.

"Hey Nupur" Gunjan greeted her dorm mate as she took off her heavy overcoat, grateful that the heater was running. Nupur looked up at her,"Its cold outside, isn't it???" making it sound more like a statement than a question. Gunjan shrugged her shoulders,"Ya a bit, why???".

Nupur simply pointed to her nose while hiding a small smile. Gunjan hmphed at her and went to her room muttering things like,"Calls herself a friend". Nupur shook with silent laughter and followed Gunjan to her room. Gunjan glared at her and pretended to ignore her as she picked up a book to read. "Sooooo important game coming up huh???" Nupur said trying to divert the topic.

A bit surprised Gunjan looked at Nupur in confusion wondering since when had basketball games interested her. And then it dawned, this year Mayank was playing too. Ooooh this was too good, maybe she could set them up during the game, she would talk to Samrat and see if there was a private spot where these two could be left alone for sometime. Acting innocent she asked,"Game??? What game???".

"You know the basketball game" Nupur said gritting her teeth. Sometimes Gunjan could be really irritating when she didn't know what I am talking about or just having fun at my expense, Nupur thought.

"Oh that one, ya whatever, its just a game, Samrat is excited" Gunjan said casually as she flipped the pages of the book enjoying herself.

"Who all are playing???" Nupur asked casually wanting to confirm what she had heard recently.

"Umm well there is Samrat, ofcourse, then James, Bobby, Benji, Sam......................and................I am not so sure. You know how the players keep changing always" Gunjan said forgetting an important name smiling to herself. This year she was gonna get these two to confess no matter what.

"Oh..............umm who's the vice captain this year???" Nupur asked getting frustrated with Gunjan's useless answers.

"I don't know Nupur, why don't you ask Samrat, I am really sleepy, ok, goodnight" Gunjan whined as she kept the book aside and laid on her bed pulling the blanket over her head to cover her silent laughter over Nupur's obvious distress. Nupur wanted to snatch the blanket away from Gunjan but decided not to push her luck too far. Gunjan could be really cranky if she was disturbed when asleep. As for getting the answers to her question, there was no way that she could call Samrat, knowing who his dorm mate was.

Samrat lay on his bed listening to music as he shuffled through his notes when Mayank came in looking serious. Samrat looked up and raised his eyebrows at him in question. Mayank seemed to hesitate a bit but then turned to Samrat,"Is Gunjan coming to our basketball game???".

A bit surprised at the question, Samrat nodded in a yes wondering why was Mayank asking about Gunjan all of a sudden. Mayank asked again,"I mean she is coming with...................umm you know I mean she is coming right, Gunjan I mean???".

"Yes Mayank, Gunjan is coming" Samrat answered vocally hoping that it would be enough for him. Mayank seemed to dither a moment but then thought better of it and decided to go away. When he was near the door Samrat called out in a concerned voice,"Mayank, you ok???". Mayank turned to look at him and sighed in a yes and then walked away. Feeling a bit odd Samrat pondered on Mayank's actions for a bit, but thinking it to be nothing serious went back to his work.

The next morning at breakfast when Samrat was caught deciding between Coco Pops or Rice Doddies, Mayank came upto him and told him,"Ok go over there, and ask if Gunjan is coming". Momentarily distracted during his choice of cereal, Samrat looked at Mayank in confusion and turned to see where he was pointing to. A few tables away he saw Gunjan and Nupur sitting on the table eating breakfast and talking.

"When did they get here???" Samrat asked wondering how he had missed his girlfriend.

"When you were goggling at your food" Mayank cried exasperated at Samrat,"Now go over there and ask Gunjan".

"Dude whats wrong with you, I already told you that Gunjan is coming" Samrat said clearly wondering if Mayank had gone mad.

"Samraaaaat, I said go and ask Gunjan if she is coming" Mayank said gritting his teeth and nudging his head in their direction. Samrat rolled his eyes at him and grabbing the first cereal that came to his hand went to Gunjan and Nupur's table. "Hey sweetheart" he greeted as he bend down to kiss her on the cheek and placed his tray on their table sitting down near her. Mayank followed him with his own tray and smiled at Gunjan while ignoring Nupur. Nupur made a face at him and smiled sweetly at Samrat.

Mayank signalled Samrat to ask Gunjan the question while Samrat sighed and wondered why Mayank was trying to jeopardize his day. After a lot of effort Gunjan had agreed to come to the game and now if she refused, he would have to start all over again. Mayank warned Samrat to ask the question quickly and Samrat relented.

"Ummm...........Gunjan, you are coming to the game right???" Samrat asked smiling widely at her.

Nupur stiffened when she heard him and peeked a look at Mayank but his whole concentration was on Samrat and Gunjan. Frustrated Nupur attacked her sandwich muttering curses to Mayank in her mind. On the other hand Gunjan was wondering what was wrong with Samrat, he had pestered her the whole day and tricked her to come to the game and still he was asking her as if she had a choice left.

"Samrat, are you ok???" Gunjan asked looking at him suspiciously. Samrat gulped, this was what he was afraid of. He glared at Mayank who kicked him under the table to repeat the question. Samrat looked at Mayank wondering why he was stuck up with this question, just then Mayank's eyes flicked to Nupur for a second and Samrat understood. Ofcourse, he was trying to figure out if Nupur was coming with Gunjan or not. Sheesh!!!!!!!!! Why not ask directly instead of making me look bad infront of Gunjan.

Still for the sake of his friendship he repeated the question,"Ya sweety, I am fine, so are you coming?" wiggling his eyebrows at her so that she understands.

Nupur and Gunjan shared a look at Samrat's weird behaviour. Nupur shrugged it off muttering something like "Your boyfriend, you handle" while Gunjan was getting suspicious,"Samrat whats wrong???".

"Nothing..............nothing................I am just asking if you are coming or not???" Samrat said laughing nervously.

"You know I am coming, why are you asking again???".

"So you are coming???" Samrat's tape seemed to be stuck on the question. Nupur finally lost it,"By God, Gunjan ne kaha na ki woh aa rahi hai, tu baar baar kyu pooch raha hai???".

Before Samrat could reply, Mayank jumped to his friend's defense,"Tujhe kya problem ho rahi hai, Samrat aur Gunjan baat kar rahe hai na, har cheez main, apni taang ghusana zaroori hai kya???".

"Mayank mujhe tumse koi baat nahi karni" Nupur warned.

"Haan haan, to mujhe bhi koi tumse baat karne ka shauk nahi hai" Mayank shouted.

"To mat baat karo na, jao yahan se".

"Main kyu jao??? Tum jao".

"Main yahan pehle aayi thi".

"Tum kindergarden ya bus ki line main nahi khari hui, jo pehle aayi thi, to seat book hogayi".

"Mayank, awaaz dheere rakho".

"Tum apni awaaz dheere rakho, dekhe sabko problem ho rahi hai, tumhari wajah se".

"Tum..............tumhara kuch nahi ho sakta....................urghhhh" banging her tray on the table Nupur walked out.

"Tumhara bhi" Mayank shouted at her back and went the other way.

The whole cafeteria shook their heads and continued to eat after the pair had left while Samrat looked at his girlfriend in astonishment wondering how in the world would she manage to get those two to confess their love for each other and also bring some peace in the campus. Gunjan shrugged her shoulders at him, biting her nails wondering if her plan would work or not, but one thing she knew........................

What Gunjan wants, Gunjan gets.