So...wasn't really expecting to be able to update any time soon 😆...but was unable to study much last night, and this chapter appears to be the result of my distracted imagination. The title pertains as much to the chapter as it does to the fact that it crept up on me very unexpectedly😆😆. Hope you guys like it😳
CHAPTER 5: Unexpected
Atul and Angie inform Dr. Keerti about the case, and are given the go ahead to contact the police. Dr. Keerti also informs them that they would both have to stay back a little late to help with the emergency bus accident case that had come in that afternoon.
Later that night, outside Sanjeevani in the parking lot:
"Thank God the day is FINALLY over!" sighed Anjali to herself. "It felt like it would NEVER end!! She had a splitting headache, and her neck was killing her as well. She closed her eyes and rotated it from one side to the other to try and ease out the kinks. Glancing at her watch, she saw that it was almost 2 a.m. Long day indeed. As she walked towards her car, she saw Atul walk out of the main door, whistling to himself. "Oh god!" she thought. "I hope he doesn't ask for a ride AGAIN! I think I've had my Atul dose of the day."
She started walking more briskly towards her car, and had just unlocked the door and opened it when she heard him behind her.
"Anjali…."
Damn it! she thought to herself. Almost escaped! She turned around in irritation and said, "What is it, Atul? Please don't tell me you need a ride home now as well!"
"Anjali, I…"
"Look," she interrupted. "I understand that it must be difficult for you right now since your bike isn't here and all, but I'm really sorry. I can't help you out this time. I…uhh…I take a different route on the way home," she improvised swiftly. "It's in a completely different direction! Ok, how about this…If you want, I can call a taxi for you. Does that work? Hmmm, let me check if I have the number on my cell." She rummaged around in her purse for her cell, and as she pulled it out she glanced up at him only to see that he was smiling at her.
"And what is so funny NOW, Dr. Atulll?" she asked, gritting her teeth.
"Nothing!" he held up his hands, palms out in a gesture of surrender. "Nothing, Anjali…I was just…Actually, I'd just walked over to wish you Good night."
"Good Night??!!" she asked incredulously, staring at him dumbfounded.
"Uhh Yes" he said, a little unsure of how to react to the look on her face. "About my bike…Uhh..actually, I'd called up one of my friends to pick it up and get it repaired. He returned it to me here at Sanjeevani sometime in the evening. So uhhh…I actually don't really need a ride." he finished, fighting hard to stop the smile that was threatening to show on his face again.
"Oh." said Angie, recovering after a moment. "I see. Well, uhh…Good night then, Dr. Atull." And with that, she turned around quickly, climbed into the car and drove away.
Atul watched her drive away with a grin on his face. "That one backfired on you, didn't it, Miss Cheeni Kum? Socha kucch aur, aur hua kucch aur!" He would never have imagined that he'd actually see the Ice Queen lose her composure in front of him for a bit! Shaking his head, he walked over to his bicycle and climbed on.
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"Oh my God!" thought Anjali "How in the world?!! How had she managed to look like such an utter fool?! That too in front of that annoying geek!! ESPECIALLY when she'd actually been trying to help him!!" She shook her head in disgust. "See, Anjali! she said to herself. "THIS is why there is no point trying to help out people! It always backfires! And YOU'RE the one who ends up looking like a fool in the end!"
Taking a deep breath, she turned on the radio and tried to distract herself with some nice music. One of those request shows seemed to be on air. Someone requested a Jagjit Singh ghazal and soon the opening strains of "Tumko dekha to yeh khayal aaya" filled the car. Anjali found herself relaxing with the soothing music, and started to hum along with the song.
Suddenly, she heard a loud popping sound, and the car started to wobble. "What the?!" She maneuvered the car to the side of the road, and brought it to a halt. Climbing out, she walked over to the front, and saw one of the front tires was flat.
"Damn it!" she kicked the tire in frustration. "Perfect! Just. Perfect! The perfect ending to a perfect day! This was all she needed!" Cursing under her breath, she walked over to the back of the car to take out the spare tire and change the tires. She opened the trunk, and lifted the flap, only to see that the spare tire was flat as well. She stared at it stupidly for a moment wondering why it was flat. Then she remembered that she'd forgotten to get it fixed the last time she'd had a flat tire. Closing her eyes, she tried to control herself from screaming out loud in frustration.
After a moment, she opened her eyes and looked around at her surroundings for the first time. She seemed to be just on the outskirts of the city, and no one seemed to be around at this late hour. Looking back at her twin flat tires, she sighed to herself and walked back to the front. She took her cell phone out of her purse and started to dial the number for the local taxi service when she saw a small blinking light in the top corner signaling that the battery was low. She tried to remember if she'd charged her phone this morning before leaving. "Guess not," she muttered in frustration. She'd just started to browse her list of contacts for the number, when her screen suddenly went completely blank! She stared at it in dumbfounded shock for a moment. "No!" she cried. "This can NOT be happening right now!! No No No!! Oh god, please no!" she shook the phone in frustration as if that would suddenly make it start working again. The entire long day finally seemed to catch up with her, and leaning against the side of the care, she found herself precariously close to tears of frustration. "No Anjali! This is NOT the time to cry!" she told herself as she brushed away the few tears that had escaped. "Think! There's got to be a way!"
Suddenly, she heard a noise from up the road. "Was that a car?" she thought. "It sounded…different." Puzzled, she pushed away from the side of the car, and walked forward to try and catch a glimpse. "It looks…like someone riding a bicycle…wait…no…it couldn't be!!…was it really..? And was he singing??!!"
"Zindagi ek safar hai suhana! Yahaan kal kya ho kisne jaana!" sang Atul merrily to himself as he bicycled his way home. He took a deep breath to start the yodeling portion of the song, when he suddenly saw a car parked to the side of the road up ahead. "Looks like someone's had car trouble. That too this time of the night!" he thought sympathetically. "I should go and see if I can help."
As Atul drew nearer, he saw that there was a girl standing next to the car. "She looks familiar for some reason, he thought. Suddenly, her features became totally clear as he drew abreast of the car. "Anjali??!" he said. "What happened? Something wrong with your car?"
Anjali took a deep breath and looked upwards asking a silent "Why me?" from God for what seemed like the hundredth time today. Resigning herself to the situation, she walked forward towards him.
"Hi Atul. My car's tyre got punctured…
"Don't worry, Anjali! I'll fix it in a jiffy for you!" Climbing off his bike, he started towards the car, when she interrupted him.
"No point. The spare's flat as well," she said in a weary voice.
"Oh wow, really? Hmmm…Well, uhh…do you want a ride back then?" he asked, gesturing at his bike awkwardly.
Anjali glanced at his bike with an expression that he was unable to fathom. She seemed to struggle with something for a moment, and then said. "Yes. I could really use a ride right now."
"Ok then, climb aboard!"
Anjali grabbed her purse from the car, and walked over to where he was waiting for her on his bike. She looked at the bike for a moment trying to figure out where to sit.
"Uhhh…I'm sorry, Anjali. It doesn't have one of those carrier things in the back. Would it be ok for you to sit in the front?"
"That's alright. I'll be fine."She awkwardly perched herself on the rod in the front of the bike.
"Ready? Hold onto the handlebars carefully, ok?" She nodded in reply.
As he pushed off, she fell back against him for a moment, and he felt something shift inside him in that one split second. She steadied herself again. He realized that he was suddenly feeling short of breath. Taking a deep breath, he tried to steady himself. And then he sensed the scent of flowers. "Jasmine and Lillies," he murmured, inhaling deeply once again.
"Sorry?"
The sound of her voice jerked him back to reality. "Huh? Oh. Nothing! Nothing really."
"Did you mention Lillies?"
"Huh? I did?? Uhh…yeah! I did! I just saw some growing along the side of the road!" he said, gesturing animatedly with one hand to the side of the road. "They're my favorite flowers!" he finished a little lamely.
She turned her head slightly, and gave him as much of "the look" as she could, then turned to face forward again.
"Ok, what just happened there for a moment, Atul??!!" he thought to himself. "Get a grip, man!! This is AnJALI!! The Ice Queen! You can NOT be losing your head over her!!" He took a few calming breaths once again. "Momentary lapse! That's all! That's the only explanation for it!" He mused over it a bit more. "It was probably the perfume…he really liked the smell of Jasmine and Lillies, so it was just a natural reaction to that! Natural reaction! Nothing more! He couldn't possibly be attracted to her!... could he??" He jerked a little at the thought, and the bike wobbled for a moment.
"Careful!" admonished Angie.
"Sorry" he murmured, steadying the bike.
"That's alright. So….why were you singing so loudly in the middle of the night?? What if some random person came and mugged you? This isn't exactly the safest means of transportation in the middle of the night now, is it?"
Atul smiled at that, figuring it was safe since she couldn't really see him. "Actually, I love to sing! And I always sing whenever I'm riding my bike especially…I'm my own personal music system in a way, you see! She smiled at that, but he didn't catch it.
"And I look at this as more of an environmental friendly means of transportation! So very much needed with all the other vehicles on the road spewing fumes 24/7! No offence to you or your car of course! he hastened to explain, hoping she wasn't offended again. Angie just shook her head, and said, "It's alright" her smile widening. His fumbling around was actually amusing her for a change instead of irritating her.
"As for safe? I am well equipped to protect both myself as well as my bike!"
"Really?" Asked Angie in an amused tone. "And how is that exactly?"
"I'm a black belt Karate Champion!" he said proudly.
Angie paused for a moment, turned slightly to look at him and then burst out laughing. Atul was totally taken aback! He watched her, mesmerized by the abandon with which she was laughing! Not really caring if she was laughing at him either! "It transformed her!" He thought in a daze, "It was like….she was…glowing!"
Anjali's laughter finally subsided. "Really Dr. Atull? Black belt champion? That's fantastic! I'm glad to know that all three of us will be safe tonight all thanks to you!" Her shoulder shook with the effort to contain her laugher once again.
Atul blinked and shook himself out of his daze as she said that. He smiled at her, but didn't say anything. Looked like the Ice Queen had a bit of a sense of humor after all! Even if it was at his expense.
"Ok, just take a left at this upcoming intersection, my house is the second one on the right" she pointed.
Atul braked to a stop in her driveway. She slid off the bike, and turned around to face him, expecting him to chatter excitedly as usual. But he didn't say anything. In fact, he seemed to be unusually quiet. "Why is this feeling awkward?" she thought in her head. He looked like he was getting ready to turn around the bike and leave.
"Atul," she said.
He stopped, a little in surprise and said, "Yes?"
She took a long pause, and then said, "Thank you…very much. I don't know what I would have done if you hadn't shown up in time tonight. So…Thank you for giving me a ride home." She finished awkwardly.
Atul looked at her in surprise for a long moment, and then he quietly said, "You're welcome, Anjali. Good night once again"
"Good night" she said, turning around to walk towards the house.
He turned his bike around, and glanced back at her for a moment again. She was opening the door to the house, and soon disappeared inside it. Atul watched the closed door for a moment, and then finally pushed off. As he rode back home, he wondered why it felt as if something inside him had changed irrevocably.
Shiv Shakti
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