CHAPTER 6
Bella stared at Mahir in open mouthed surprise. Even Yuvi and Bultu who had accompanied her were wearing similar expressions.
Mahir: What? Why are you all looking at me like that?
Bella: Did you just say that you will help me?
Mahir: Yes provided that you accept some conditions.
Bella: I accept all of your conditions. But why...
Mahir: Why am I helping you right? Well I would have done the same thing if it was someone else in your place. I like teaching.
Bella: Wow thank you so much...
She went forward to hug him but he stopped her.
Mahir: Condition number one. You WILL stay AWAY from me. Like five feet distance at any given point. Understood?
Bella: Why? Do you think that your izzat will come under threat huh? (Wink)
Mahir: Condition number two. No useless talk. We will discuss only related topics i.e. mathematics only. No chatting and gossiping.
Bella: But what's the fun in that? I mean...
Mahir: Rule number 3. No arguments. You will do as I say. The moment you argue, I stop tutoring you. Come to my place tonight. 8 PM sharp.
Bella: But I am supposed to attend a birthday party today. Kuhu will kill me if I don't go to her party. Can we start tomorrow?
Mahir: Rule number 4. You will ALWAYS remember that I am doing you a favour by helping you. No parties or late night outings for you till the examination. Understood? And rule number 5. You will be PUNCTUAL. I will not wait for you to come beyond 8:15. Got it? Give me your number, I will text you the address.
BeHir exchanged numbers with each other and then went their separate ways. As soon as Mahir was out of their earshot Bella turned to Yuvi.
Bella: That was HOT! When did Mr. I Am Shy Nerd become Mr. Bossy Pants?
Yuvi: I think he is in his element when he is teaching. All the best sweetheart. You are going to need it.
Well out of Bella's reach, Mahir was trying to calm his racing heart. It had taken a TREMENDOUS amount of courage on his part to say those things to her but they needed to be done. When he heard Bella trying to convince Prof. Niti to help her with the subject, he had heard real desperacy in her voice and had felt bad for her. He loved teaching and so he decided to help her but under the condition that she accept all his rules. He had not expected that she would agree but she had. And now he was scared. In closed confines of his room, it was going to be just the two of them. Bella was the kind of girl who was very comfortable in physical proximity with guys, but being around girls, especially ones like Bella made Mahir really nervous. There were no walls around her. Initially he had thought that she was rowdy and unruly but the conversation that he had had with her that morning had changed her perception about her. She was just straightforward. She was someone not afraid to speak her mind and she knew what she wanted. There was no filter around her.
He had heard a bitter tone in her voice when she confessed that she wanted her mother to lose the deal. To an inexperienced ear it would have sounded like jealousy, but Mahir who had the ability to not just hear the other person but to actually listen to them detected a strange loneliness and hope hidden under the resentment. She had tried to mask it but, hiding things being unnatural to her personality and Mahir being more perceptive than most had caught it. He did not know what was the deal with Bella and her mother, but one thing he knew from newspapers and gossip magazines, Bella shared a bitter relationship with her mother. In that instant he connected with her as even he shared a very bitter relationship with his father. He knew the feeling of being constantly told that you are a terrible disappointment. He sympathised with her because as far as he knew she had no one other than her mother. He did not believe half the stories that the newspaper guys ran about her but all of them were constant on one thing; Bella Sharma only knew her father by his name. She had never met him nor did she even have his personal number. And she had been publically called the biggest mistake of their lives by BOTH her parents on multiple occasions.
Something about her no filters unapologetic nature, the confidence with which she carried herself made him admire her. Just a day he ago he did not even know her but after meeting her a couple of times, he had begun to strangely admire her for her openness. In the meanwhile no one had ever gone out of his/her way to help Bella ever. Her own mother had never given a single moment without reminding her a thousand times that there were far better things that she could be doing instead of wasting her time with her. So she was pleasantly surprised that Mahir, a practical stranger, the one whom she had threatened and tormented just a few hours ago was happily ready to help her. She felt sudden fondness for the stranger who had promised to help her so readily. She went and informed Kuhu that she would not be able to come to the party and promised to make it up to her the next day.
Mahir went home after the college ended. As soon as he reached home he informed Sumitra that he would be having his dinner early that night.
Sumitra: Early?
Mahir: Yes ma. I will have my dinner at 7:30 instead of 10:00
Sumitra: But why? So early? You will feel hungry later on...
Mahir: Well yes, but don't worry I will eat something later on if I am hungry. Bella is coming home tonight...
Sumitra: As far as I know no person in their right state of mind will name a boy Bella. That means Bella is a girl. Who is she and why is she coming here? Are you two dating? When did this happen?
Mahir: Whoa Ma! Slow down. Bella is a classmate who needs some help with mathematics. I am simply helping her.
Sumitra: Oh!
Mahir: You look disappointed.
Sumitra: Well it is your age to bring home a girlfriend and not a classmate whom you are tutoring. When will you learn Mahir? This is the age the age to have fun. I am not saying go around being a Casanova but at least be social. I know I have always encouraged your reading habits but a guy also needs some friends.
Mahir: My ma is my best friend. I need no one else in my life. And I don't want a girlfriend. I will marry the [8000 words completed] girl my ma chooses for me.
Sumitra: Awww. My darling son. Now go and complete your studies. I will send up coffee for you.
Mahir went upstairs to study for some time. At around quarter to eight the door bell rang but Mahir did not get up. He thought it was someone who had come to meet his ma. But he was wrong, it was Bella. She had decided to drop by a little early. That was the first time Bella met Sumitra Sehgal, Mahir's greatest strength and his most staunch supporter.
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