Arshi FF: Jeene Laga Hoon (NOTE pg. 68) - Page 2

As Arnav had guessed, the three of them arrived at the station at 11:15. They boarded the train and watched the rest of the people board. They noticed other people their age getting on the train, probably to go to Manali as well. Since there was still plenty of time, Arnav decided to go out to the platform and take a few natural shots of the hustle and bustle of the station. He planned on making an entire album to show Di and Nani when he returned, starting from their departure and ending with their return home. Meanwhile, Akash and NK were placing their things in their compartments before settling themselves on the long, leather seats.

"I can't wait to get to Manali," NK said. "The sights are going to be amazing! Not to mention the ladies."

Akash blinked at NK through his glasses, "Really? We're going to Manali...THE Manali, and you're thinking about the ladies?"

"How can you not? We're on vacation! At least try to come out of your shy shell and say hi' to a girl!"

"I talk to girls!"

"Name one that you have talked to that wasn't with Nanav."

Akash opened his mouth to speak, but closed it as he couldn't come up with an answer. NK grinned and wiggled his eyebrows as he knew he was right. Ever since they were little, Akash was always the quiet one. He was fine talking to guys, but when it came to girls he was a nervous wreck. The poor thing was most likely to have an anxiety attack when they were younger. Although he is doing much better now, Akash still had much more shell to break through.

"At least try to do something," NK said. "Let's make this trip unforgettable."

"Alright deal," Akash replied.

NK looked out the window and scanned through the people on the platform, "Where did Nanav go?"

~

Payal glanced at her watch for the fourth time in the last three minutes. As always, she was the punctual one among her friends. She stood on the platform with her bags in her hands, tapping her foot incessantly. Dressed in her favorite torn jeans and gray Mickey Mouse T-shirt, she looked more like she was going on a trip to Disneyland rather than Manali, being the feisty spirit she is. However, no one would dare say something like that to her. Payal glanced at her watch once more. It was 11:20. The train was going to be leaving in ten minutes and there was still no sign of Lavanya. She looked back at the train to make sure it wasn't departing. Suddenly, she heard the sound of people calling her.

"Payal!" shouted two female voices.

Payal turned to the direction the voices were coming from, only to get the shock of a lifetime. Carrying bags in their hands, smiling and waving cheerfully at her, were Lavanya and Khushi. Payal grinned from ear to ear seeing them. What surprised her the most was the fact that Khushi was actually there. As they closed the distance between them, Lavanya and Khushi hugged her tightly, almost taking her down in the process.

Payal broke the hug and looked at Khushi, "I can't believe you are coming too! I'm so happy!"

"What can I say?" Khushi said. "La can be very persuasive when she wants to be."

"I told her she should've studied Law! She would be a great lawyer."

La shook her head and laughed, "No way! You know I'm passionate about Fashion and always will be. Can we save the conversation for the train? I'd like to go to Manali this year."

Payal linked arms with Khushi, "Come on! Now that you're joining us, I know this is going to be an unforgettable trip."

Khushi smiled. The two of them began walking towards the train with Lavanya in front of them, talking while walking backwards. She explained about how she made a list of all the things she wanted to see, the things she wanted to try doing, and so on.

"I want to climb the mountains," she stated. "I heard the view from up top is breathtaking. Definitely something every tourist should see. Plus, we'll be there when Holi takes place! I mean we've played Holi, but it was just the three of us. Imagine hundreds of people! It's going to be amaZING-."

Lavanya was so consumed in what she was saying that she failed to notice the uneven pavement. Lavanya's heel snagged and she felt herself losing her balance and falling backwards. Before Khushi and Payal could reach out to catch her, Lavanya was caught by her shoulders. Khushi and Payal paused and stared at the man that caught her. The firm hands held Lavanya as she stumbled back a little more before straightening out. The man stumbled back a little more too before balancing himself. Once he was sure they weren't going to hit the cold concrete, he retracted his hands. Lavanya caught her breath and checked herself to make sure she was okay.

"Are you okay?" the man asked her.

Lavanya turned around, "I'm fine. Thanks so mu-."

Her sentence remained in complete as the person who saved her came into view. Her eyes locked with his as their mouths both dropped in shock. Khushi and Payal, who were right behind Lavanya, watched as she and the man stared at each other. Both girls thought that if Lavanya knew the man, it wouldn't be a surprise. In school, she was very popular and knew all the good-looking guys. Calling this guy good-looking, however, would be an understatement. They watched and waited to see what would happen next.

Lavanya blinked and spoke with a sense of disbelief in her voice, "Arnav?!"

"La?!" he replied in the same tone.

She punched his arm playfully, "Oh my god, it's been so long! What are you doing here?"

"What the!" Arnav laughed as he held his arm. "It's been...what...almost a year? And what do mean what am I doing here? What are you doing here?"

"My friends and I are heading out on a little vacation," Lavanya turned around. "Khushi, Payal. This is Arnav. I know him as ASR. And ASR, these are my two friends Khushi and Payal."

Payal stepped forward and extended her hand, "Nice to meet you."

"Why are you so formal?" Arnav pulled her arm and gave her a hug too.

Khushi giggled a little, catching Arnav's attention. He pulled away from Payal and pulled Khushi forward too, who was surprised by the sudden action. She felt her cheeks slightly flush as she moved back a few paces. As she adjusted her glasses, Arnav smiled at her warmly before turning his attention back to Lavanya.

"So what are you doing here?" she asked again. "Are you secretly following me?"

"Of course," Arnav replied sarcastically. "I've been following you and kissing the ground your feet have graced their presence on. Ow!" He rubbed his arm where Lavanya hit again.

"Seriously ASR."

"Okay okay. NK, Akash, and I-."

"NK and Akash are here too?!"

"Yes, but can I finish my sentence?"

Lavanya gestured him to continue.

"NK, Akash, and I decided to get away from Delhi for a few days."

"Where are you heading?"

"Manali."

Payal gasped, "That's where we are heading!"

"You girls are going camping in Manali?" Arnav asked curiously.

"Not just camping. Hiking. Swimming. The works."

"Hey I have an idea," Lavanya chimed in. "Why don't we all go together? The six of us in a group?"

"That sounds good," Arnav agreed. "I'm sure Akash and NK would be happy to see you again."

"I'm up for a group trip," Payal rejoiced before looking at Khushi. "What about you, Khushi?"

Khushi, who had been silent all this while, felt a little nervous at the idea of a group trip. She was going to be camping in an unknown place with three additional people who were complete strangers to her. Khushi had always been shy, and not someone who had very many friends. People often wondered how she even had Payal and Lavanya. The idea of strange guys joining them was slightly daunting. She was about to deny that she was comfortable with it, when she suddenly remembered what she prayed for in the car. She wanted a memorable trip, something they would talk about for years to come. Khushi wanted to know if this was the first step. Well, she would never know if she didn't try. Plus, Lavanya knew them. So that was slightly comforting right? She looked at the anticipating faces of Lavanya, Payal, and Arnav.

Khushi smiled and gave a nod in agreement, "Sounds fun. Let's do it."

"Yay!" Payal cheered.

"Well then ASR," Lavanya said. "Lead us to the rest of the group."

Arnav nodded and the four of them headed into the train. Khushi watched as he led them down he aisle to the spot where two other guys were sitting. They both looked at Arnav before looking at the three girls trailing behind him. Lavanya went up and hugged the tall, skinny one with glasses. He seemed to have a gentle disposition, possibly due to shyness. As his eyes caught a glimpse of her and Payal, he looked away slightly flustered. Then, Lavanya went to hug the other guy, who seemed much more eager to see her. He spoke to her with an accent and broken Hindi, but he seemed much more calm and laid back than the other guy with the glasses.

They all sat down as they felt the train beginning to depart. Girls were on one side while the guys were on the other. Khushi sat by the window watching everyone mingle with each other. It was understandable that Lavanya would immediately hit it off with them. But as Payal began casually conversing with everyone else, Khushi began second-guessing her decision of coming. This was just like when she was younger, and she would see the popular group conversing, while she sat in a table by herself in the corner. Seeing how they were all talking, she felt somewhat out of place.

Arnav was sitting and munching on chips across from Khushi. As he glanced over at her, he found that she was looking out the window, lost in her own thoughts. The landscape outside reflected on her glasses, but behind them he could see the deep dilation of her pupils. She was definitely thinking deeply about something. He wondered why she wasn't joining in the conversation. Did she not want to? Was she shy? She seemed like the shy type, the one to hide behind her books. But this was a vacation, and he sure as heck wanted everyone to enjoy this trip. Arnav was about to address her when he paused. What was her name again? Kamini? No. Kamli? No. Katrina? Not, that's not it. Payal? No, that's the other one. Dammit! What was her name again? He tried making sounds to get her attention.

Khushi was pulled out her thoughts by a voice, "Hey! Hello! Chasmish!"

She blinked before looking in front of her, to find Arnav calling her. He smiled at her once she finally looked at him. Khushi sat up a little straighter and gave a small smile back. He leaned forward and held out the bag of chips, gesturing her to have some. She shook her head in denial and glanced at everyone else. They were all too busy in their conversations to notice. She looked back at Arnav to find that he was still in the same position in front of her. He raised his eyebrow questioningly. In response, Khushi raised her eyebrow and gave a little pout. The action caused Arnav to let out a little laugh, and she too did the same. Her discomfort suddenly melted.

Lavanya looked over at NK and asked, "How long are you visiting India for?"

"For most of the summer," he replied. "I'll return to Australia two weeks before the next term starts."

"Even then his jet lag won't end until he is ready to come back to India," Arnav replied.

"Nanav!" NK whined.

Khushi, Payal and Lavanya looked at Arnav and spoke in unison, "Nanav?"

"That's NK's nickname for Bhai," Akash spoke. "It has been as long as he's been able to speak."

"That's so cute," Lavanya squealed. "ASR, do you have a nickname for NK?"

Arnav ate a chip before raising his eyebrow at her, "Yeah? It's NK."

"Wait, what is NK's real name?" Payal asked.

NK suddenly scratched the back of his head, slightly flustered, "Well...it's not really...you see..."

Arnav smirked, "Nandkishore."

Lavanya laughed, "That explains why everyone call you NK! But we should have another nickname for you. Something adorable."

"Isn't NK adorable?" NK pouted.

"No," the other five members spoke in unison.

"Hmm, what is a nickname for Nandkishore?" Akash wondered.

Payal spoke up first, "Nandu?"

Lavanya then said, "Kumar. Like Kishore Kumar."

"What about Nanhe?" Khushi suggested.

Everyone looked at Khushi, who nodded and continued, "Well Arnav is Nanav. So Nandkishore...Nanhe?"

NK pulled a bottle of juice out from his bag, "And the winner for the best nickname goes to Chasmish!"

He tossed the bottle to her and she catches it. The rest of the gang gives her a small applaud. Khushi smiled as she takes a sip. As the group goes back to conversing, she found Arnav shaking the bag of chips in front of her. She looked at him and found him smiling at her. He extended the chips out to her again, and this time Khushi took some. They turned their attention back to the conversation. This time, she made sure to pitch in at some points. Khushi realized that these guys weren't as bad as she thought. In fact, they were really sweet and nice. Khushi found herself talking with them as she did with Lavanya and Payal, which was surprising because of her usually shy nature. Khushi didn't know how long they had been talking and laughing until half the day was gone. As time continued to pass, Khushi began feeling hopeful for the rest of the trip. Manali, here we come!

**********

Well, what did you think? Let me know by leaving your comments and feedback below, please.

Next update: Action in store for the first night in Manali!

Thanks for reading!!