Payal snickered as she felt Khushi tapping her knees, asking if it was finally safe for her to come out of hiding. She motioned for her to come up, chucking at her disheveled state after sitting under the canteen table for so long. Khushi Kumari Gupta was being sabotaged. With prom only a few weeks away, and every male specimen of her University interested in accompanying her, Khushi had to spend lunch under the canteen tables, as to avoid a line of drooling men pleading her to attend the dance with them
"Khushi. You need to get a date pronto, yaar. Unless, you plan on going solo", Payal said, crinkling her nose. Akash had already asked her months in advance, and they had been urging Khushi and Shyam to go to the dance together, the two being the most likely to be crowned Prom King and Queen. Khushi had flatly refused, recognizing Shyam Manohar Jha as the creepozoid he was. Behind those beautiful black eyes and perfect smile was a man that objectified and mistreated women. She had dated him as a freshman, and when he had offered her a quickie but satisfying one-night stand, she walked away and never uttered a word to him again. Being his prom date was out of question.
"Payal. Let's drop it naa. I don't want to deal with this." She stood up quickly and irritated. These prom talks were aggravating her. She had no interest in dressing up like a princess and linking her arm with some gorgeous guy... only to be awarded a plastic crown that meant guys wanted to bang her. As a kid, she had dreamt about some perfect boy showing up at her doorstep, and whisking her away in his arms. Prom would be about him and her and their togetherness, not what the other thousands of students thought about them. But reality was a disappointment.
She was walking down the hallway lost in thoughts when she bumped into another student, his drink and food spilling all over and ruining the clothes she was wearing. She looked up disgusted, only to be further infuriated at seeing a nasty smirk on the face of Shyam Jha.
"Aah. Khushi, you clumsy lil gal" He clicked his tongue teasingly. "Now that's upsetting...You should change out of those clothes before they get stained. Don't worry. Seeing you in your little bra and panties will be a delight for all of us". He bellowed in laughter, and the entire cafeteria joined him mercilessly. As he walked away he gave a slight, but public pinch to her backside. "You know my dirty fantasy, sweetheart". With tears threatening to break loose, Khushi ran from the cafeteria to find some secluded corner for herself.
She scurried to the lockers next to the University's gymnasium, falling to her knees and crying softly, afraid someone would catch her in this pitiful condition. Her fears soon came true, because after a minute or so, she felt a hand grasping her shoulder. Afraid that Shyam had followed her to her hiding spot, she flicked the hand away and looked up in rage, embarrassed to see confused chocolate brown eyes peering down at her, not the midnight black she so strongly detested. Arnav Singh Raizada.
The nerdiest math twerp in the entire University
The kid that would bring dosas in his metal tiffin everyday with a love note from his mommy
The kid with the irritatingly large glasses who played the sitar and memorized the periodic table
The kid who wore unforgivably ugly, plaid pants that didn't reach his ankles
The kid with the frizzy hair that was parted in the middle
The kid who brought professors cupcakes on their birthdays
That was the kid handing a tissue to Khushi at this moment when no one else would. But Khushi was still appreciative; she took the tissue from him and blew her sopping nose, muttering a barely audible thanks to the boy standing above her.
"I work during my free period in the nurse's office, and she said she had left over clothes that I could offer to you. I'm sorry they're not of your standard, but I thought you might need them."
Khushi looked at the crumpled duffle bag in his hand, and then up at him. What she saw in his eyes was the upmost concern and respect, something she had very rarely witnessed in the boys she had met and dated in college. Perhaps he was not the most popular and the most polished, but he was genuine, and Khushi felt a smile play across her lips as she took the bag from him.
"I'm no Shyam Manohar Jha, Khushi, and I'm sure you hear it daily, but you're a beautiful young woman; gorgeous on the outside, and even more stunning on the inside. Don't let the tears ruin it."
And leaving her dazed and open mouthed, he patted her hand, and silently left.
Part 2-- page 3
Part 3- page 5
Part 4-Page 8
Part 5- Page 12
Part 6- Page 14
Shiv Shakti
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