Chapter 6
It was the week of the final exams of the year, Raavi and Shiva were only studying 24/7. They forgot about sleep, food, and taking breaks. They were also studying during dinner time. Dhara was tired of asking them to eat, instead she went and began feeding them with a spoon.
âKya kar rahe ho do no? Sau se zyada number nahi aayenge.â Gautam said to the duo but they were lost in their books.
As usual, after dinner, Raavi and Shiva headed to the store to study there to avoid any disturbances in the house.
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Krish woke up in the middle of the night to use the restroom. As he walked past Raaviâs and Shivaâs cots he noticed that they were empty. He looked at the time, it was 3am and he got worried. They were usually back from the store by midnight. Krish woke Dev up as he was feeling tense.
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Raavi and Shiva lost track of time studying for the last exam of their engineering degree. Object Oriented Programming was the hardest subject for Shiva, he wanted to be as prepared as possible.
Suddenly as they were revising, they noticed that the bulb in the storeroom began to flicker.
âShiva, fix kar naâ Raavi said. âLagtha hai, bulb change karana padega.â Shiva said as he looked for a spare bulb.
âMil gaya! Arrey, I think Gaumbi seedi ghar pe leke gaye. Ek kaam karta hoon, main tujhe uta tha hoon, tu fix karleâ Shiva said handing over the bulb to Raavi.
He carried her up so that she could reach the light. Raavi removed the old bulb and fixed the new the light. âFixed! Neeche uttar mujheâ
Shiva slowly got Raavi down holding her. Her hands were on his shoulders, his on her waist, their eyes met and they froze. Time froze.
âAHEM AHEMâ Shiva and Raavi were bought back from their moment and they looked around to find Krish and Dev who were standing at the entrance of the storeroom.
Shiva and Raavi broke apart and Shiva began to say âKya hua? Kuch bhi toh nahiâ
âItâs just infatuation.. Woh ek ladka aur..â Raavi began to explain.
âInfatuation is only an attraction between a male and a female. It is a state of being completely carried away by unreasoned passion. It is as an unappreciated and a completely unwarranted emotionâ Krish and Dev recited verbatim.
âArrey bahut baar suna haiâ Dev teased them.
âChalo Raavi ghar chalte hai, kaafi pad liya. Kal last exam hai, sona bhi zaroori hai.â Shiva said all flustered.
âHaan haan, chaloâ Raavi quickly said, packing up their belongings.
âTake your time, hum bahar wait kar rahe haiâ Krish said as he and Dev stepped out.
The four of them headed home, and went to sleep without uttering a word. Raavi and Shiva didn't even meet eyes that night.
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The next morning as Shiva and Raavi were entering the exam hall, Rohan tapped on Raaviâs shoulder, said âGood luck Raaviâ and blushed.
âThanks Rohan! Tumhe bhi best of luck!â She responded.
Shiva and Raavi looked at each other with a grin on their face as they entered the exam hall.
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On their way back home after the exam, Raavi said with rather low spirits âShiva, aaj college ka last day tha. Maasi mujhe ghar vaapis bula rahi hai. Maine kaha, results aur job placements confirm hone ke baad hi main waha jaaungi.â
Shiva applied a sudden brake and stopped the bike and Raavi tightened her grip on him. âKya hua Shiva? Bika kharab hua kya?â She asked.
âHaan ek second, check karne deâ Shiva said as the two of them got off the bike.
Shiva sat by the wheel of the bike trying to see what the issue was as Raavi looked on from the other side. Just then, two boys came on a bike stopped by Raaviâs side. One of them whistled at her and said âOye! Lift chahiye kya? Hum drop karein?â
Shiva immediately got up in anger âAy, gadhedon, bhaago yahan se. Bade aaye ladkiyon ko chedne waale.â
The boys drove away immediately after looking at Shiva.
âShiva, itna gussa?â Raavi asked him in a childlike manner.
âMatlab, eve teasing galat hai naa.â He said nonchalantly.
âIn general galat hai ya phir mere saath kiya issliye woh galat hai?â She asked him softly and curiously.
Shiva sat back down trying to fix the bike and ignored her question. âOk Fixed!â He said and got up to start the bike as an ice cream vendor passed by them.
âWoh dekh Shiva. Ice cream khaana hai?â Raavi asked
âWhy not? Exams khatam hone ki celebration mein. No more early mornings and late nights!â Shiva said as he headed to the ice cream stand.
He picked up 2 cones and handed one to Raavi.
Raavi looked at him and said âShiva, agar tu finals mein first aaya na toh main tujhse kuch kehna chahati hoon.â
âRaavi, agar main first aaya toh main bhi tujhse kuch kehna chatha hoonâ Shiva said.
