Re-Union Pt22 Pg44 'Acceptance' - Page 6

Kripa opens her front door and closes it when she's inside, "damn that Angad Khanna, how dare he think he could make everything ok with a kiss, if that was what he thought then he was highly mistaken" Kripa mutters curses for Angad under her breath while she puts her shawl and bag down. She thinks back to when the evening began and realises she should never have accepted the lift, none of this would have happened if she had gone in her own car, but Angad and his charms worked on her once again. Kripa sits on her bed and breathes deeply, she opens her bedside drawer and takes out a framed photo of her with Angad, who knows why she had saved it for so long, maybe part of her wasn't ready to part with it yet, or maybe she kept it as a momentum, but whatever the reason Kripa runs her fingers over the glass and closes her eyes and thinks back to high school, back to the year 2000

Kripa Sharma was elected for high school prom queen, Kripa Sharma! Of all the girls in senior year, it was Kripa. Her friends squealed in delight as they read her name off the paper stuck on the bulletin board. Yes there it was in black and white

"Prom Queen Electives"

"Mishty Bose"

"Ria Malhotra"

"Tanya Kapoor"

"Kripa Sharma"

The name stood out to everyone, the other girls, Mishty, Ria and Tanya had been elected the previous years so there was nothing new to everyone there, but for the first time had a rebel been elected as queen. Maybe because that rebel was dating Angad Khanna, he may have only joined the school 3 years back but he had sure made a name for himself, much quicker than the guys who had been attending the school for around 5 years. Kripa ran her finger down the sheet to find the prom king electives and yes, there it was, above everyone else's, Angad Khanna. Great, Kripa thought, both of them were elected and with his popularity and her well dating him, they were sure to win. Her friends point out Angad standing aside from the crowd, Kripa smiles and runs to him, she wrapped her arms around him and squeals "we've both been elected!" Angad looked puzzled; she hit the side of his head "for prom king and queen, you and me"

"Oh, is that it?" Angad replied. Kripa glared at him and hit his arm

"What do you mean is that it? This is a big deal"

Angad nodded his head and wrapped his arm around her shoulder and the two began to walk "yeah for all the other girls in the school, but not for you, I didn't think you would care"

"Well I do" Kripa replied as she rested her head on his shoulder, she looked around and noticed everyone whispering, no doubt about her and Angad, but unlike all other times, she simply couldn't care less of what people were saying, all that mattered to her for now was her and Angad being prom king and queen.

Kripa couldn't decide between the red and gold gown or the blue and silver, her and her friends had come shopping for their prom outfits, and if Kripa was to be elected then she needed to look perfect, but right now she needed help. She reached out for her best friend Nisha, and shoved her in front of the two outfits. Nisha looked from Kripa to the outfits "what am I looking for?" Nisha asked. Kripa shook her head "dumbo, what shall I wear to prom, the red or the blue?"

"Oh" Nisha's head bobbed up and down like a doll, she again looked from Kripa to the dresses and nodded her head again "the red one, totally prom queen material, it's got gold on it as well, and what else will a queen like, besides gold?"

Kripa nodded her head in agreement and picked up the dress and went into the changing rooms to try it on, she looked at herself in the mirror, the dress literally clung to her chest but Kripa didn't care, the frills at the foot of the dress came just above her ankles but the back of the dress was longer. The upper part of the dress was backless with golden ties across the middle. Kripa was content with this dress and she was sure it would look perfect when she was wearing the crown with it. She changed back into her clothes and took the dress to the till and purchased it, normally Kripa wouldn't have bought it at such a high price of 150, but this was prom, price wasn't in the equation.

"you're wearing red understood" Kripa announced to Angad over the phone as she sat on her bed eyeing up the new dress she had bought. It was inevitable for her and Angad to match, how else would they look like a couple? "Erm, ok then" Angad replied, well at least he agreed, Kripa thought as she hung up. She could just picture them dancing together while everyone else watched, it would be their moment, their song, their dance, and there was no one else who could steal that right from them. Kripa hugged herself in glee as she fell back onto the bed imagining the outcome of prom night.

Kripa had originally told Angad to pick her up but now as her friends stood at her doorstep, she had to call him "Sorry Angad, the girls turned up, so could you meet me at school?" Kripa asked "sure thing beautiful" Angad replied. Kripa talked with him for a few minutes before hanging up and leaving her house with her friends. She sat in Nisha's car as Nisha's mom drove them to school; Kripa was getting more excited every second and didn't know how long she could hold her excitement in, and hoped Angad would reach there soon and both could be crowned. Kripa had made sure her hair was loose so the crown wouldn't get stuck, and she had decided to leave it hanging in loose curls, the last thing she needed was her hair getting in the way.

The hall was decorated with red and white balloons, red and white banners, even the tables had red and white cloths on them, Nisha was right, red was prom colour. As Kripa looked around, she noticed most of the students were wearing blue or white, but only the Prom Queen Electives were wearing red or gold, was there some written rule that she wasn't aware of? Kripa shook the thought off as she looked around for Angad, she couldn't see him inside so she looked outside but his car wasn't there either, so she whipped out her phone and rang him "Where are you?" she questioned "Just about to get into my car" he replied. Kripa told him to make it quick before she hung up and went inside.

Kripa must have called him about 3 or 4 times more to get Angad to hurry up, the announcements would happen soon so it was crucial for Angad to arrive soon. She paced up and down the paving outside the hall, she argued with herself whether to call him again but dismissed it thinking he was probably stuck in traffic, she mumbled under her breath as she looked at her watch, Nisha came running outside and asked about but Kripa reluctantly informed her that Angad hadn't arrived. "They've begun the announcements" Kripa frowned and hesitatingly followed Nisha inside.

The Vice-Principal of the school was standing on the stage with the microphone in his hand greeting the guests, Kripa wasn't bothered about his speech, her eyes continue to drift to the door hoping Angad would barge into the hall, but as fate would have it, there was no barging and no Angad. Kripa looked up as the Vice-Principal held the envelope with the names of the king and queen in his hand. Kripa's heart began to race and panic began to ensue "Nisha, he isn't here, they're about to announce his name and he's not here" Nisha looked at Kripa helplessly and shrugged her shoulders, Kripa was in a right mind to leave but then it happened

"Prom Queen, wow we have a new winner, I'm sure you're all aware of who the queen is so I should say her name anyways, Kripa Sharma"

The crowd clapped and cheered for Kripa, she smiled weakly at them all as she made her way through the students who congratulated her on the way, she gave them her thanks and was helped onto the stage, the Vice-Principal crowned her and congratulated her, the crowd clapped once again and Kripa bowed in front of them. She smiled nervously as the Vice-Principal opened the second envelope to reveal the king's name and as predicted "Angad Khanna" was said aloud. The crowd again erupted into cheers but soon died down as no one came forward, the Vice-Principal repeated Angad's name but again no on came forward, the crowd began whispering, the Vice-Principal looked over at Kripa and asked her about Angad, she had leaned forward and notified him that Angad hadn't reached. He addressed the crowd and told them the situation, Kripa could hear them all whispering, now she had had enough, she jumped off the stage and pushed her way through the crowd.

When outside she called Angad again, and this time she got an answer. "Angad" She shouted, but she got no reply, she could hear his voice so she called out to him again but still he wasn't answering her, Kripa called out a third time before she heard another voice "Mishty?" Kripa was surprised as heck, Angad was with Mishty? Millions of thoughts were running through her brain but she rid her mind of all thoughts and decided to go see for herself, after all Mishty lived near the school, so it would be ok for her to walk it there.

What Kripa saw at the window was enough to keep her from knocking on the door, she had peeked through the glass windows into the dining room and could clearly see Angad lying on the sofa, her first thought was maybe he had fallen asleep, but she then spotted an arm wrapped around his chest, and pretty soon saw Mishty's head lying on his chest, Kripa stepped back and covered her mouth with her hand to stop her from screaming out his name, she continued to step back even as tears flowed from her eyes, she couldn't believe he had ditched her on prom night for Mishty, she thought he loved her, but boy was she wrong. Kripa turned and ran from there as fast as her golden shoes could take her.

Kripa had avoided Angad as much as she could, she would stay with her friends in school and not answer his calls, she refused to speak to him, slowly everyone began to realise they had a bust-up and slowly so did Angad.

**********************

Angad is lying on the hood of his car parked in the deserted car park which had once belonged to a supermarket. After Kripa had ran off, Angad had gotten into his car and drove, not even he knew where he was going but before he could change his mind, he found this car park and decided it was the perfect place to sort out his head. What had he done wrong? He thinks to himself, he only kissed her, and she has returned the kiss but then something happened to her and she pushed him away. That isn't the only thing Angad is baffled about; in fact, there are quite a lot of things regarding Kripa which he was baffled about, even from years back.

Angad knew he would be elected prom king, after all he was one of the most popular guys, in the 3 years he had been there, he joined the football team and became the school's highest goal scorer, and that along with his killer looks, made him a star overnight, so it was no surprise when his friends informed him he was elected as prom king for the second time running, last year he had won the crown along side Mishty, what did surprise him was Kripa being elected for queen and he was even more surprised when Kripa expressed her joy for being elected, he had thought she wouldn't want to become queen but Angad was fooled.

Kripa had told him what colour to wear, which made things easier when Angad was standing in front of his wardrobe figuring out what to wear. Unlike Kripa he hadn't gone out shopping, he reckoned his wardrobe would be enough. But as he placed the three red shirts he had in front of him, he was having a tough time deciding which one to pick, so he did what he normally did and closed his eyes, waved his hand about then stopped, opened his eyes and saw his hand pointing to the red shirt with faded designs so he picked it up and slipped into it. He had already decided to wear a beige formal suit, he didn't own a gold one and he didn't really want to spend money on something he would wear once and never again.

Angad eyed himself up in the mirror, the beige and red was a good combination, now he was ready to leave. As he was by the door he heard his phone ringing and grinned seeing Kripa's name flashing, he answered and frowned as Kripa told him to meet her there, he had wanted to pick her up just so he could see how beautiful she looked, but now he would have to wait until he got to school, Angad shut his front door after bidding farewell to his father, he sat into his car and backed out of the driveway to make his way to school.

Angad had only got past his neighbours house when Kripa's first call came telling him to hurry up, Angad laughed at her eagerness as he took a left turn, he stopped at the traffic lights when Kripa's second call came, Angad answered and hung up within 30 seconds. This happened 2 more times which irritated Angad a little, when the phone rang again, Angad answered, ready to give Kripa an earful, but stopped as he heard Mishty's voice on the other side "Angad…." He stopped the car on the left and spoke to her "Mishty? What's wrong, you sound upset?"

"How could Kripa be elected for queen?"

"Forget about that" He told her, glancing at his watch, he had to get to the hall or else Kripa would kill him, he made some light talk but it was clear from Mishty's voice she was drunk. "I need you Angad, please" Angad looked at the watch, Mishty's house was nearby, so he would have enough time to make sure Mishty was ok before heading out to the school, and that's what he did, instead of turning left towards the school he turned right.

Angad knocked on Mishty's door for the third time, why wasn't she answering he thought, panic overcame him, he bent down and lifted the plant pot and picked up the spare key, he shoved it into the key hole and turned the lock and let himself in. He put the key on the table in the hallway before running upstairs to Mishty's room, he barged in but the room was empty, he checked the rest of upstairs but they were empty as well. Defeated he went downstairs into the living room and that's where he found Mishty sprawled over the floor face down with a bottle of whiskey lying nearby.

He shook her first but Mishty wouldn't respond, he turned her over so her face was no longer on the floor, he called out her name a few times but Mishty wasn't replying. Angad rushed to the kitchen, he could hear his phone ringing, knowing very well it was Kripa, but he couldn't answer right now. He filled a cup of water and took it back to the dining room, he splashed water on Mishty's face but she was refusing to gain consciousness. Angad sighed and lifted Mishty into his arms, he placed her on the sofa and picked his phone up, he went into the hallway and called Prithvi

"What do you mean she's drunk?" Prithvi asked from the other end of the phone, he and his mother had gone to a family function while Mishty stayed home. Angad told him about Mishty's state and Prithvi replied "just stay with her for now Angad, don't leave her alone" Angad hung up and fearing the worst, he had no other choice but to stay with Mishty, he was about to call Kripa when he heard Mishty mumbling inside, he hurried into the dining room to Mishty's side. "I need you Angad" mumbled Mishty, Angad shook her again trying to bring her back to her senses but Mishty continued to mumble, he heard his phone ringing and reached into his pocket to take it out, his finger pressed the answer button when Mishty pulled Angad's arm causing the phone to fall from Angad's hands.

Angad sat up on the sofa and began talking Mishty into waking up but Mishty wasn't hearing him and persistently kept muttering. Angad shook his head and went to the kitchen to grab a drink for himself, he gulped it down then went back to Mishty who was almost falling off the sofa, Angad made her lie straight on the sofa and lay down himself, heck Mishty knew how to tire a person out. Angad threw his head back and closed his eyes, he felt Mishty bring her arm around his chest, it didn't bother him, after all she was drunk. He felt her lay her head on to his chest, he kissed her forehead affectionately then glanced at the clock, the announcements had probably been made, Angad breathed deeply imagining Kripa's anger, he sighs thinking he would make it up with her in the morning.

But Angad had no chance of making things right with Kripa, that would only have happened if Kripa spoke to him, but throughout the day she avoided him, Angad knew she was angry but presumed her anger would be short lived and she would be ok within a week, but the days went by and so did the weeks. Angad tried to call Kripa but she wouldn't answer his calls, and Angad began to think there was something else to the matter but whenever he would try and get close to Kripa, she would make an excuse and run off. Gradually Angad realised Kripa wanted nothing to do with him and he backed off, he spent his time with Prithvi and Mishty trying to take his mind off her. Slowly the months turned to years and Angad indulged himself in his studies but Kripa would never leave his mind, even while working he would think as to why Kripa blew him off like that, Angad was determined to find out one day, even if it took him a lifetime.