It Had To Be You (Part 11) AR ff pg 131 4/26/10 - Page 30

Awww 2 kids and uv learnt alot frm dem...cute.

great update bheegi...sory for late comment so much going on with uni n stuff.....the part was awsum...bless him ..alwayz on the receiving end...... i get the feeling this is just the beginning for him....was it abhi hu was behind getting both AR into trouble? cant wait for next update continue soon

thanks Prernn, Tarm and Shilpa4eva....love ya all

Here comes part 4

PART 4:

(Some sections of this part might seem outrageous to some of the readers but remember this story is based in the US and these incidents are reflective of the schools and society in the US- even amongst desis.)

"Blessing in disguise." Years later, I overheard dad saying that to mom about my six month transfer to the alternate school in fifth grade. Looking back after all these years, I couldn't agree more. What started out as a punishment for being a 'bully' and a 'cheater' turned out to be a turning point in my life. Surrounded by other 'bad boys' or 'troublemakers,' made my parents appreciate what a gem of a kid they had given birth to! Bad is a relative term, and it didn't take much time for them to realize that Armaan was actually a good boy- he just did bad things once in a while. Suddenly, their negativity towards me switched to positivity. At least, I was not a thief, a kleptomaniac (obsession with stealing) or a pyromaniac (obsession with setting fires) although I have to admit, I have always been fascinated with fire and fireplaces (come on it's that hunter instinct within us males that draws us to fires.)

For a change, dad decided to take on the controls while I was in the alternate school; mom was relegated to the passenger seat for six months. Not only did he drop and pick me up from that school, he made sure I joined the local basketball league to focus my endless energy and restlessness into my passion. Staying away from my usual gang helped me make new friends from the league. Mom and Padma aunty also drifted apart in those days- so much for being best friends forever! Maybe, Shashank uncle had something to do with that. I recall mom's tearful conversation with Padma aunty on the phone one afternoon, "koi baat nahin Padma. Waqt sab ghaav door kar deta hai. Agar bhai saheb nahin chaahte ki hum kuch din miley, tho aisa hi hoga Padma, but remember you will always be my best friend!"

One afternoon, towards the end of my tenure at the alternate school, I was surprised to see you and Padma aunty in our living room.

"Hello Armaan beta!" Padma aunty greeted me cheerfully, "how was school?"

"Good!" I replied hesitantly and ran upstairs to my room. Even though it had been a while, my guilt at having let Padma aunty down six months ago got the better of me. The principal's office, his anger, Padma aunty's disillusioned expression and your tearful face all came back to haunt me once again.

I was shocked when I saw you follow me upstairs.

"What?" I turned around, "what do you want?"

"Armaan, don't lie again." You replied.

"What? When did I lie?"

"You lied in the principal's office. That's why you are in the other school. I know that. Lying is bad Armaan."

"You don't tell me what to do!" I just slammed the door on your face and flung my backpack angrily. So, that's why you all were here? To chastise me for my lies. Is that what everyone else thought too? I was sure all the kids were making fun of me- liar, cheater, bully! How I wished that I could stay in the alternate school forever- at least no one called me a liar there. I know I never cared for what others thought of me, but you calling me a liar, cut through those old wounds from the principal's office. Somewhere deep down, my 10 year old heart was expecting gratitude from you, but instead you were back in my house after six months, just to call me a liar!

A lesson I learnt early in my life- have no expectations especially when you expect them the most.

A few minutes later, after taking a few breaths and refusing to take my anger out on my fists or my bedroom walls again, I stepped out to get ready for my league practice. You were still there, outside my door with misty eyes and an envelope in your hand.

"What now?" I snapped.

"I wanted to invite you to my birthday." You handed me the envelope and dashed downstairs.

That was indeed a surprise. A birthday invitation for me? From you? Without opening the envelope, I ran downstairs to be stopped by Padma aunty's voice.

"So Armaan beta, we will pick you on Saturday evening. I am sure you are excited."

"Excited about what?"

"Arre tumne invitation nahin padha? Riddhima beta Armaan ko card tho de do."

"I gave it to him." You frowned.

"Beta, Padma aunty and Shashank uncle want to take you, Muskaan, Abhimanyu, Rahul and Nikita to a Knicks basketball game for Riddhima's birthday this Saturday," mom smiled at me.

"KNICKS!" I couldn't believe my ears, "REALLY?" I had never watched a real professional team play live; I was in seventh heaven. My anger and guilt all melted in a heart's beat. "YES, I WANT TO GO! CAN I GO MAMA….PLEASE? I have always wanted to go and see the Knicks!"

"Yes, of course beta. This was Riddhima's idea as she wanted all her best friends to be invited for her birthday this year." Padma aunty came forward and caressed my cheek, just like she used to before. It felt good- she had finally forgiven me.

Best friends? I glanced sideways at you; your smile came as a surprise but forced me to return that smile, "thanks…yes, I will come, but….but you like basketball now?"

You just shrugged your shoulders and then disappeared with Muskaan. "Riddhima! Please come and play with me." My sister pulled you away as I hopped, jumped and yelled with joy all the way to my practice.

Blessing in disguise? I will never know, but now when I look back, my first ever Knicks game would have never happened at that age if I had not lied in the principal's office. Even Shashank uncle was really nice that evening. He made sure all of us had enough soda, pizza, popcorn and noisemakers as we cheered for the Knicks at the stadium. I had not felt this happy in a long time; it's only when I was with all my friends that I realized how much I had missed them all and missed you the most.

Strange, isn't it? An almost 11 year old boy missed his 10 year old friend who happens to be a girl? It was an inexplicable, but yes, I was very happy that evening.

I will always remember my first Knicks game- not only because my favorite team won in front of my own eyes, but also that was the first time you held my hand. You might never recall it, but as we were exiting the stadium, a throng of people pushed us away from the rest of our gang. You panicked when you found yourself alone, but that relief and smile on your face when you spotted me is still etched in my mind. You ran towards me and squeezed my hand, "Armaan…please don't leave me."

"I won't Riddhima! I promise!" With your sweaty, clammy hand in mine, we walked out to the parking lot where a frantic Shashank uncle was waiting for us.

Shashank uncle was of course back to his usual self on our return journey home, "Riddhima beta. You had enough fun today, now back to studies tomorrow okay beta? I want an A+ in math again. Lately, your grades in math have fallen….hope you will work harder now."

There was pin drop silence in the van as I realized you were embarrassed by our dad's public declaration of your grades. You, the perfectionist, had failed your perfectionist dad, but why? How? Math was your thing- you were the human computer, weren't you?

"You failed in math?" Abhimanyu added salt to the embarrassment.

"NO! I GOT AN A-!"

"Oh, I got a B! A-is great Ridz….don't worry," Nikita pacified you.

"I know," you were annoyed, "I..I just don't like the teacher!" Your first sign of rebellion against your dad or did the math teacher remind you of what happened between us? Did you start hating your math teacher because he kicked me out of the school? I have always wondered, but perhaps will never know the truth. I bet you don't even remember it any more.

I know an A- was like failure for you and your dad, but to me your A- had in a weird way, made a connection with me that only an imperfect guy like me could relate to.

"Yeah, he is mean….he was mean to bhaiyya too, that's why bhaiyya went to another school," Muskaan interjected innocently, "Riddhima you can go to bhaiyya's school too if you don't like the math teacher."

Muskaan has always been a stress buster in a way…and still is.

"Come on guys! Anyone for ice cream? Shashank, let's stop at the ice cream place nearby," Padma aunty at the rescue once again, diffused the situation as ice cream flavors took precedence over our math grades.

………………………………………………………………………

Middle school! Yes, I was finally in middle school with all my 'regular' friends rather than the 'bad boys' of the alternate school. Middle school is a tumultuous time for all kids. I still remember how between 6^th and 8^th grades, my mind and body went through so many changes, ups and downs, topsy-turvy emotions, hormones, pimples, croaking voice, body odor, body hair, sweaty feet, deodorants and of course- GIRLS!

Yes- GIRLS! I am not sure whether it was basketball or girls that flooded my thoughts during those years. Suddenly, from yucky girls they all became hotties! It was as if overnight, girls had undergone metamorphosis in the most beautiful science lab of the world called PUBERTY!

Boys, including me of course, spent precious time checking ourselves in the mirror, and then checking out girls and their physical attributes (below neck level, always.) I am not even sure if girls even knew what kind of language we used for them.

"She is a 10!"

"Dude…..she is caliente (hot)!"

"That's a fine set of China there dude!"

"Hey…she is a kitten!"

"Hey…last night I got myself some cotton, dude!"

Thanks to my athletic built and good looks, that mom claims was one good thing I inherited from my dad, I soon became one of the most sought after hunks at school. Sixth, seventh and eighth grade girls swooned, ooh-ed and aah-ed when Armaan Malik, eighth grader, captain of the middle school basketball team walked by. God forbid if he gave them a smile- that meant CPR for many and a wink usually meant a trip to the ICU! Attention seeker that I was, I cherished each moment of this hollow admiration (yeah hollow- although it took me years to realize how phony those licentious looks were from the opposite sex.) As my fan following exploded, so did my ego and over confidence.

It didn't take me long before I started feeling and acting like a modern reincarnation of Adonis himself. I was christened with a tag of 'TOMCAT,' a term we boys used for a guy who could date many girls at one time. Not that I was going out on dates, but if given a chance, most girls would have given anything to have a date with me. I say most- not all, because there was one girl, who never gave me that love-struck 'Bella-ish' look when I passed her by- and that was you.

I was too self absorbed to even notice that even you had changed during middle school. From a skinny, doe eyed girl, one day, when you were a seventh grader, I noticed a bra strap (sorry, boys notice these things) peeking through a sleeve of your t-shirt. You were trying to squeeze your heavy backpack into your locker when your sleeve managed to slip off your shoulder. I admit, I was a bit uncomfortable at first and even felt my face flush for a few seconds. Quickly, I distracted myself and in sort of a rebound behavior for my uneasiness, caught hold of Susan- of all people- the self proclaimed diva of middle school, "Hey Susie! Do you want to sit with me at lunch today?"

Now that was a big deal- sitting together at lunch in middle school. For all practical purposes, that was a date between a boy and girl!

The hallway came to a standstill as Susan's jaw dropped at my proposal. You just walked away with a disgusted expression with your binder in hand, your shirt sleeve safely resting on your shoulder now.

So, that's how Susan became my first ever official girlfriend.

I wouldn't say it was all a waste, as she was quite the kitten, as my friends had warned me about her. She was just happy to be the cynosure of all eyes, the envy of all her friends and the luckiest girl in middle school. We flaunted our newly acquired status all over school. Abhimanyu was grumpy those days, as he had the 'hots' for the 'gori chick' as we nick named the white girls, but had been beaten by his arch rival once again (yes, he lost the captaincy of the basketball team to me too.)

Purposely, whenever we walked past you in the cafeteria, hallways or library (which I seldom visited except to kiss Susan behind the bookshelves), like an idiot I would place my arm around Susan and whisper sweet nothings in her ear -very loudly of course- trying to catch your attention. From the corner of my eyes, I would glance to see your reaction, but to my chagrin, you always let me down. Other girls would have turned green or clutched their hearts in pain, but for you, I was becoming more and more invisible by the day as you would just look through me and walk away to your classes.

The more you ignored me, the more I tried to tease you (so I thought) by acting out in front of you at the expense of other girls.

Middle school was also the time when I learnt how to play chess and awaken to my other passion in life (besides basketball and girls)-Photography! As fate would have it, both these hidden talents surfaced thanks to you. I am a master at chess now and an ace photographer (at least that's what I call myself) but it all started 14 years ago, a few days after my 14^th birthday after an eventful basketball game.

I remember we played one of our toughest opponents one afternoon. The score was tied and there was a minute left for the buzzer to go off. As I ran with the bouncing ball across the court, one member of the rival team tried to play dirty and tripped me across his foot- a big foul. The moment my leg landed on the floor, I heard a snap so loud that the whole arena came to a standstill. I had broken my femur (the thigh bone)!

"AHHHH!!" Everyone joined in the chorus as my pain echoed between the four walls of our school gym.

What followed was a long, treacherous and tedious period of 4 weeks in a cast and traction at the hospital.

At first, I enjoyed all the attention. I felt like a superstar as all my friends, girls, more girls, aunties, uncles, teacher, coach, principal all visited me at the hospital. Every corner of my hospital room was occupied with gifts, flowers, cards, posters, messages and get well notes. "Looks like you are really popular in your school, son," dad remarked proudly, "especially amongst the girls….aakhir baap par gaya hai!"

"Sharam nahin aati tujhey Armaan?" Mom would get mortified when she saw the cards and messages from the girls, "yeh sab kya hai?"

"MOM! What can I do if I am so handsome? Girls just love me…don't you?" I would tease her back and high five with dad.

By the end of the day, my cheeks and lips would be garnished by kisses and fragrances from various girls from the school. Susan visited me daily for a few days, then the visits became shorter and less frequent. I guess an invalid boyfriend was of no use to her. She couldn't waste any more time on me and I heard that she was now going out with Abhimanyu.

"Good riddance!" That was my first impulse and in a cocky way, I was thrilled that Abhimanyu inherited my discarded white trash (my way of thinking in those days was really reprehensible.)

Soon, I started to loathe my pitiable state and became restless by the day. I was not used to being still for that long, and that too with my leg up in the air and my neck trying it's best to raise itself to see what was going on in the room. My parents tried their best to keep me entertained with DVDs and video games but when they were so easily accessible, I had no desire to engage with them.

Then, one day, you walked in with your mom, books and a board game in hand. I am sure it was one of our mom's grand plan to get us together once again (I was beginning to see a pattern there…..it was all a conspiracy I think.)

''Armaan…I am leaving Riddhima here with you all day. Aaj school ki chutti hai, aur mujhey bhi kuch kaam hai. She will keep you company all day," Padma aunty explained.

"I hate books. I hate board games. You can go Riddhima. I don't need that crap!" I was grouchy.

"Beta, aisa nahin kehte," mom unruffled my feathers, "chalo padma, hum coffee shop chalte hain." Our moms left the two of us with your idea of entertainment.

"Ok, what book should I read to you?" You ignored my protests.

"Any book with lots of pictures and photos," I folded my arms, "and just show me the pictures. I don't care about the stories."

"How can you enjoy a book without reading it Armaan?"

"Because I can read pictures better than words Ms Riddhima! Pictures say a lot more than words can!"

You just kept the books away and without getting impatient, unlike me, opened the box and laid out a chess board on the bed beside me, "wanna play chess?"

"Chess? Are you out of your mind?"I almost jumped off the bed, "I am not a nerd!"

"But I am and I love this game. This is the best I can do to keep you busy today. Book or chess?" You looked at me assertively.

I was surprised at the way you confidently came back at me. You were definitely changing.

"O..Ok…chess I guess," I relented.

What started as a complicated, mind-boggling game that strained my grey cells a little more than I was used to, soon turned into an interesting, challenging game of strategy and tact. To my surprise (and I bet you were surprised too), I really really enjoyed the game. Of course, I was checkmated (is that a word?) out easily the first few times, but by our 4^th or 5^th game, I gave you a stiff challenge and almost had your king trapped.

"Riddhima beta, shall we leave now?"

We didn't realize that our moms had been watching us for some time and had not disturbed our intense sessions.

Thanks to your patience and persistence, I started loving chess and absolutely loved our game sessions. You made it a routine and every day after school, stopped over at the hospital with Padma aunty to play chess with me. Our moms loved their afternoon cup of tea together at the hospital cafeteria while we battled out our pieces on the checkered board. All day, I would lie in bed thinking of ways to trap you that afternoon. More than the visits from my other friends and other tongue wagging girls, I looked forward to our 'cerebral sessions.' You were the first girl who taught me that teenage boys and girls could be friends above their neck levels too!

I remember how crabby I'd get if you were a few minutes late. Of course, you had your after school geography bee, math bee, spelling bee and God knows how many bumble bees to attend to. To this date, I hate bees because I remember how I started detesting that word 'bee' as they kept you away from me (although in those days I never admitted to that. I guess I never understood why I felt so surly when you attended to your bees.)

One day, you gifted me your new digital camera that you had received on your 13^th birthday.

"Why are you giving this to me?"

"I think you will use it more than I ever will," you shrugged your shoulders.

"I have never used a camera before, besides, it's your birthday present." I felt guilty.

"That's okay. You like pictures and I like books, remember?"

"What about your parents? They will get upset, won't they?"

"It's my present, not theirs. Take some good pictures with my camera and you can gift me the pictures," you smiled.

CLICK!

My first photograph. I clicked my first picture- a smiling you.

"Hey..I didn't mean that you have to take my photo."

"I am just practicing. Not bad." I glanced at your picture and then started clicking random stuff around the room. Flowers, cards, cardiac monitor, hospital bed, nurse, call button, your nose, chess board, your eyes, window, door, your lips……

That's how it all started- my profession and my hobby- in the hospital room, at the age of 14, all thanks to you. I have to reveal a little secret here- no one, absolutely no one knows about it- all those random pictures I took that day, are still with me, in my bag, my best photographs that I've ever taken. They travel with me everywhere, all over the world. They are the only constant fixtures in my constantly changing life…..

After 4 weeks at the hospital, I was back in my eighth grade class, busy trying to catch up on my school work. Basketball was out for the rest of the season, but I regained my fan following within a few days of my arrival at school. Susan broke up with Abhimanyu and wanted to hook up with me again. I ignored her advances and promises to 'make up for lost time' with 'special favors and flavors' she had acquired in the last few weeks. I was just not interested. Of course, at the age of 14, I didn't know I had fallen for you and that's why Susan or for that matter, no other girl excited me anymore, but the foolish and self absorbed person that I was, I fell trap to my own insecurities.

"Hey dude, what's up?" Matt, another friend of mine asked me one day in the hallway, "looks like you have changed? Did chess mess up your brain or something?"

"What do you mean?"

"I heard you are into chess more than girls now…so that Indian nerdy genes have finally taken over, huh?" He mocked at me.

"Who said that?"

"I heard Riddhima saying that to Nikita in the cafeteria. Looks like you spent a lot of time with that girl?"

"What does she know?" I was infuriated. My reputation was at stake here. My idiotic mind, or rather over inflated ego was scared to lose his prime position as the 'cool dude' of the school. A tag of 'Indian nerd' spelt doom for an aspiring 14 year old Indian boy, who cherished his distinct image amongst his peers.

Like a game of chess, the battle lines had been drawn. Unfortunately, at that age, my image, popularity and reputation were under checkmate and like a traitor, I blurted out the most hurtful words from my mouth that day, "Are you crazy Matt? I was just being nice to Riddhima. I can't stand that frumpy girl. She means nothing to me!"

Smug faced, I looked up from my locker and was stunned to see you staring at me with the biggest droplets hanging from your eyelashes. You didn't say anything, but I am sure, "I hate you Armaan," was all wanted to say that day….once again, I deserved it and this time more than ever……

…to be contd…

AWWW

Originally posted by: miiroxxsweet

AWWW

Di you always put sooo many emotions into these ff's at once.

loved the way they became friends and then how he would get mad at her if she was late, that was really very sweet!!!!

But the end part was so sad and all because of his "image".

love reading ur ff's

Mira

thanks Mira. yeah, the insecurities of those teen years.....aaahhhh😭

lovely lovely part

the last part was so sad

wow wow and another wow

Hey Beeghi di,
Your FF is amazing, like the previous that I read of yours.
All parts were amazing and I really liked the fact that Armaan lied just to save Ridhima :).
This part was full of emotions, I mean so much happened.
They became friends and played chess, moreover whenever she got late he got angry.
That was so sweet of Ridhima to gift Armaan her camera.
But was Armaan said at the end also broke my heart, I mean how can he do that? I hope he'll make everything correct soon.
I am loving this FF of yours, please continue soon and if possible please PM me :).

Luv u<333
Kashish