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***********************************************************************************PART - 4: ME AND YOU
COLLEGE CAMPUS:
Samrat's red bike was hitting the speed on the empty roads in the midnight... Gunjan's scream didn't help her much to make Samrat slow down... All she could do was to clutch onto his shoulder tightly; almost hugging him, enough reason for Samrat to accelerate the bike to eighty kilometres an hour... But at the same time he didn't want to reach the campus early, hence taking a long route and stopping by a roadside ice-cream parlour to spend some more time seemed a good idea... Gunjan had never experienced such an adventurous ride with someone whom she had known for only couple of hours... But it happens; you can completely trust someone you have met for the first time and sometimes years of acquaintance and friendship turns into vain... Gunjan's friendship with Samrat surely comes under the first category, or that is what she thought until her phone vibrate when she was standing in front of the girls' hostel...
All her memories of the beautiful night, the party, the ride, the chit chats at the ice-cream parlour, the night winds messing with her hairs and dupatta and that one smiling face and a pair of hazel brown eyes she will never forget took a back seat... Reality hits her back when she received the call from the private number...
Voice: How was the party??
Gunjan: Good, everything went pretty well...
Voice: Now listen carefully, Sheena and Ranvijay will be reaching the campus tomorrow... Sheena will be staying at room no. 309 with Annie, just opposite to your room...
Gunjan: But why did you made the arrangements like this?? It would have been better and easier me and Sheena staying in one room...
Voice: It's not my arrangement; it is the rule set by Indira Shergill, freshers are not allowed to stay together... With you and Sheena joining Excel this year makes both of you same as fresher...
Gunjan: Fine...
Voice: You know the rules... Follow them strictly...
And with this the call ended leaving Gunjan alone in the dark... Slowly she headed towards her room burried in deep thoughts... The hostel corridoors were dimly lighted by the pale green night lamps within few distances... It was lightening the pitch blackness of the corridoor, but the darkness of her mind she could not even lit up in the broad daylight, forget about night... And now another thought was eating up her peace of mind... Thoughts about Samrat... Samrat definitely knew nothing about her; he doesn't have any idea about the fact that she is not someone she is pretending to be... All of a sudden Samrat's notion about her seems to be the utmost importance to her forgetting everything else; but the reasons behind this she doesn't know... Samrat is just a friend who has been nice to her like Nupur, like Mayank... But then what was it about Samrat that made her feel him to be different and special!!...
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EXCEL COLLEGE:
Gunjan entered the college building... Dia was probably upset with her; her friendly intimacy with Samrat to be precise... She had gone to bed the last night before Gunjan's arrival and had left the room early with Annie in the morning without informing her... Today was the first day of the session and there was only one class that too after the lunch hours... Well, she was least bothered about the class; she was becoming hyper about the information of Ranvijay and Sheena's arrival... They will be joining the college too from that very day but the time of their arrival was not informed to her for obvious reasons... She was getting impatient; this wait was killing her... But this is not what should happen; she will have to calm down and compose herself while meeting them...
Gunjan was lost in her own thoughts when someone patted her shoulder from back making her jerk a little and turn around hurriedly, breaking her chain of thoughts... Samrat stood there all smiling... "What happened Chashmish?? Did I scare you??" he asked sensing a nervous expression on her face... Gunjan could not answer to that question; yes, she was nervous... For one moment she thought it was Sheena, stupid thought; she knew it but still couldn't help... All these secret activities and tensions were not helping her to think properly... But right now standing before this one boy who had invaded her dreams the last whole night, every worries of her seems to fade away... What was there in that smile and in those eyes that makes her forget everything, she wondered... Chashmish!! Samrat called her once again, this time in a much softer tone seeing her puzzled looks... He had started to address Gunjan by this name since their way back after the last night party...
'Huh' was the only word that managed to escape her lips making Samrat break out into a grin... "Are you lost somewhere??" He asked, but Gunjan could not answer that either to Samrat's wonder... "Not fare Chashmish, I know that I am handsome and girls drool over me, but that doesn't mean you will forget everything else", Samrat teased her to which Gunjan present him the sweetest smile ever... "I was not drooling over you", she said softly with a gentle smile..."I was just looking for Dia, she is upset with me I guess", Gunjan tried to hide her anxiety and all those weird feelings she was having since the last night about Samrat by changing the topic and casting the spotlight on Dia... It worked... Samrat was equally aware of the same as Dia was avoiding him as well since morning... But right now he wanted to wave off any thoughts about Dia; she needs to understand they are just friends... But all thanks to Indira Shergill, Dia could not let go off her thoughts about she and Samrat being a couple... "Don't worry about her Chashmish, she will be fine... I will talk to her later", Samrat tried to reasoned with her not wanting to waste this valuable time which he wanted to spend only with this doe eyed girl...
"Right now you are coming with me", Samrat announced... Coming with him!!! What??? Where??? Why??? She has been trying hard all these time to keep a straight face and forcing herself not to stare at him like there is no tomorrow, but spending some more time with him would definitely make things worse... What is wrong with you Gunjan, he is just a friend... How much she tried to compose herself but all in vain... "Stop touching your specs Chashmish and come with me", Samrat's words made her withdraw her hand that keeps on adjusting her specs every now and then... Where?? She asked...
The next one hour she first spent with Samrat, Benji and Uday in the canteen over coffee for fifteen minutes and the next forty five minutes in the Music Room with Samrat which according to him is one of the best places in the whole college, the other being the Basketball court... Gunjan too loved the Music Room... It was painted in sky blue with patches of white musical notes drawn on them... Guitars, Mandolin, Piano, Saxophone, Trumpet, Drum set and many other musical instruments were arranged in the room for students... And on one side of the room several CD racks were neatly arranged according to alphabetical order... Samrat is the one student who frequently visits this place, or better to say Music room and Basketball court are the two places he spent his maximum time...
Gunjan was trying to comfort up with a guitar; she always had a keen wish to play guitar, but sometimes what you want doesn't always happen... A faint tune of the song Naa tum jaano naa hum played in her mind... A face all brighten up; standing by the window playing the string of the guitar and singing-
Kyun chalti hai pawan, kyun jhoome hai gagan...
Kyun machalta hai mann, naa tum jaano naa hum...
Kyun ata hai bahar, kyun loot ta hai karar...
Kyun hota hai pyaar, naa tum jaano naa hum...
A ten year old Gunjan would sit on the table and listen to him while munching chocolate and swinging her legs... She loved the music; she loved his singings but she was too little then to understand the feelings... The feelings of being in love...
Samrat snapped his fingers before her which brought back Gunjan from her thoughts... "You are lost again Chashmish", Samrat took a seat beside her...
"It's nothing", Gunjan tried to change the topic once again but this time something betrayed her...
Samrat wiped away a lone drop of tears that was rolling down her cheeks... "I can see it's something"...
A calm silence prevailed between them; the only tinkling sound of the wind chimes in the room emphasized the raw silence even more... They just sat there having no clue what to say and what to not... Sharing your pain helps to lighten the pain, but is it always possible to share your sorrow; especially with someone you hardly know, probably not... Samrat too feels the same; he had never shared any of his pains with anyone except Nupur... Then how could he expect Gunjan to share her thoughts with him... She will if she thinks him to be appropriate person to hold her secrets or her feelings... Samrat waited patiently watching her while Gunjan was busy composing herself... Everything about her was so gentle and soothing; her words so soft, her every feature; her smile, her lips, her eyes, and even the red salwar suit she was wearing was mysteriously calm and delicate... Her open hairs left an urge in him to touch them... Sometimes only one meeting with a person is enough to leave a deep impact on you, Gunjan has been that someone for him since the last night party...
Samrat gently put a palm on her shoulder; he wanted to say something... Anything that may make her feel better, that may help her open up to him and share her secret sorrows with him... Would she do that; Samrat wondered, will she trust him if he says her so... What it could be; something about her family, studies, financial problems... She was lost after holding the guitar, does that signifies anything, may be... Samrat desperately wished to know the reasons behind her tears that were definitely not matching to her cute angelic face... "Chashmish, if you are shedding this valuable tears because you can't play a guitar, then please don't, Samrat is always here to help you... I can teach you how to play a guitar"... Samrat tried to lighten the gloomy atmosphere of the room...
"How do you know I was crying actually because I want to learn guitar", Gunjan's cute honest reply left him speechless...
"Chashmish, I was just kidding... But seriously you were actually crying for this", Samrat exclaimed...
"It was my dream Samrat to play guitar like him... He had promised me to teach but never kept his promise", Gunjan replied dreamily...
"Who was he Chashmish??" Samrat asked, a tint of jealousy waved in his tone at her mention of the word He...
"No one"... Gunjan replied hastily leaving a startled Samrat... No one!! What was that suppose to mean?? He was about to ask her about this No one but just then the speaker adjacent to the music room roared...
Special announcement from Tamanna Mam, asking each and every students of second and third year to gather in the Assembly Hall within fifteen minutes...
"I guess it is about the Talent Parade and the Fresher's Party", Samrat said to Gunjan hearing the announcement... "And yes Chashmish, two other students will be joining our department this year apart from you... Sheena and Ranvijay"...
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