Luck- Good luck, bad luck. I don't believe in it. I do however believe in the pure idiocy of mankind. And I am a walking talking magnet for those idiots. I also believe in Murphy's law. You know, 'whatever can go wrong will.' Well undoubtedly! I'd like to find that Murphy guy and shoot him. Especially on days like this when that law seems to govern my life. Case in point: I am at this very moment on the phone with my very own carjacker. Yes, Seriously.
"Suhaani! Let me borrow your phone."
She corked an eyebrow at me, her expression reading somewhere between 'make me.' and 'say please.'
I scowled.
"Give me that dang phone! Someone stole my truck."
Her eyes widened.
"What? Are you sure you didn't forget where you parked it?"
I narrowed my eyes at her. You misplace your car once and convince yourself that it's stolen and no one will ever let you live it down!
"What." She demanded, seeing my expression. "Someone stole 'the chumbucket?'" She finished with an unconvinced look.
I huffed. So my truck wasn't exactly the most attractive piece of metal on the road today. It had personality! Plus it was one of those boats that you always see completely intact, without a scratch at the scene of an accident- right next to the little imported car it just totaled. My friends had a problem seeing it that way though. Adhiraj was the one to come up with the charming nick name back in college. I wasn't sure what was more disturbing- that the name stuck or that a grown man was obsessed with SpongeBob.
"Someone stole it." I repeated. "Nupur and I went to the store earlier to get ingredients for dinner tonight. Of course she insisted on driving so I left it parked right in front of her house."
She nodded slowly, following my story.
"But when we got back it was gone!"
There was no way I had just forgotten where I had parked the thing. Mayank and Nupur's house was big but there was just no way. It's kind of hard to miss a big, rusted, red truck. I had run across the street immediately to borrow Suhu's cell phone because Nupur wouldn't stop talking long enough for me to get hers.Mayank had gone somewhere with Adhiraj earlier or I would have borrowed his. He was by far the most logical of us.
"It's... gone?"
I rolled my eyes, snatching the cell phone away from her. She glared at me but didn't say anything about it.
"So, are you calling the police?" She asked, letting it go.
I shook my head.
"I'm going to." I said, dialing the number and listening to the ringing on the other end. It was a long shot I know but I had to try... "But first I'm calling my phone. I left it in the glove compartment."
She shot me a look like I had just grown two heads.
"I saw it on Oprah." I said, waving a hand at her when she started to protest.
"What kind of an idiot would answer the-"
"Hello?"
I smirked at her and her mouth dropped open. Never doubt Oprah!
"They answered?" She shrieked.
"Ssh!" I hissed, cupping my hand around the phone.
"Hello?" The voice said again.
I took my hand away from the receiver, taking a deep breath in preparation.
"You a-hole!" I hollered into the phone.
There was the static of the silent phone line for a moment and nothing else. I tapped my foot impatiently.
"Pardon me?" they eventually said.
"You stole my truck! What the hell are you thinking?" I fumed. My dad had given me that truck!
"Your truck?" The voice on the other end of the telephone asked timidly.
I huffed, pacing back and forth in the entry way.
"Yes!" I snapped. "My truck. You know, the one that you stole."
"Huh." the carjacker said, sounding slightly amused. And then the jerk laughed. He laughed!
Suhaani threw a couch cushion at me.
"What's going on?" She asked, watching me intently.
"He's laughing." I ground out through clenched teeth. Her eyes widened and I nodded indignantly.
"What the hell is so funny?" I demanded.
The laughing stopped.
"Nothing." he said but I could tell he was still laughing on the inside. Douche bag. "So... Debussy? I'm impressed."
I blinked. Whoever this was they were seriously deranged. Completely unbalanced.
"What?"
He chuckled.
"Debussy." he repeated as if I just hadn't heard him. "It's what's in your CD player right now. It's one of my favorites."
I swear a vein popped in my forehead. No one touched my stereo- especially not someone who I didn't know, definitely didn't like, and had STOLEN my vehicle.
"Stop listening to my music, get off my cell phone, and bring back my truck!" I seethed. "Now! And what makes you think I care if you're impressed?"
What nerve! What kind of person does this? Steal a random truck, talk to them on the phone,(THEIR phone!) and then give their casual opinion of their music?
"Fair enough." he chuckled. "Under the circumstances."
I narrowed my eyes. If he didn't stop laughing I was going to hunt this man down and make him pray for death.
"Would it make you feel any better if I told you I didn't mean to steal your truck?" he asked, sounding hopeful.
A short cynical laugh slipped from my mouth. How do you accidentally steal a person's vehicle?
"I thought I was pranking my cousin." he explained. "I knew he had just bought a new truck and a friend of mine dared me to move it."
"Do you do everything you're dared to do?" I countered. Was he twelve? Oh my god! Was he twelve? No, he couldn't be. He sounded like an adult. His voice was extremely masculine as a matter of fact.
"Yes." he answered simply.
I rolled my eyes.
"So," he continued. "it's all just a simple misunderstanding. But I am terribly sorry."
He stopped talking long enough to change tracks on my CD. I could hear it in the background.
"Forgive me?"
Was he kidding me?
"No!" I snapped. This guy had more nerve than anyone I had ever met. Scratch that- he probably had more gull then everyone I had ever met combined.
"And stop touching my stereo!"
"You have quite the temper, don't you, Ms..." he trailed off. "Uhm... I apologize. I don't think I've had the pleasure. What's your name, miss?"
"I'm not giving you my name." I huffed. I watched Oprah after all! What if he decided to stalk me after he was done getting his kicks from stealing my things? He was a criminal after all.
"Fine." he said easily. "I'll just call you, beautiful."
Suhaani was still watching me intently and I shook my head at her, throwing my free hand out in exasperation.
"Does that ever actually work for you?" I asked in a monotone. I didn't wait for his reply. I just continued with a roll of my eyes.
"Beautiful is not a name." I informed him icily. "It is a description."
Suhu cocked her head to the side.
"Who's he calling beautiful?" She whispered.
I turned around, ignoring her. She would demand all of the details later but I was busy right now.
"Awe." the cocky, arrogant, jerk sighed. I could hear the smirk in his voice. "Beautiful is also a term of endearment. I could call you, my love, if you'd rather."
Oh. So he was one of those guys. I wasn't sure which was more annoying and disturbing; a carjacker or a lady's man. I'd met his type before, those guys that will hit on anything with breasts just because they could. The ones that liked the chase even if they didn't like the girl.
"You've never even seen me, you arrogant little-"
"I have seen you." he interrupted my rant.
I stopped short, my mouth snapping shut. I looked around anxiously as if I was going to spot him looking through a window or something. Who was this guy?
"Well, at least I'm assuming I have." he corrected, nonchalant as anything.
"You know what they say about people who ASSume." I countered. "They make an ass out of you and me."
He laughed like this was the funniest thing he'd ever heard.
"I do believe I've heard that somewhere." he agreed amiably. "Regardless, there is a charming photo on your cell phone of three very lovely ladies."
I blanched. Crap. The picture was of me, Nupur, and Suhaani from a party last weekend. I hadn't wanted to have the picture taken but they had made me. As a matter of fact I hadn't wanted to go to the party but they made me do that too. I threw a thoroughly confused Rose a nasty look over my shoulder. She had insisted that it was a good picture of all of us and had taken the liberty of setting it as my background. I had to admit they looked gorgeous just like always and I looked halfway decent so I had kept it.
"You don't even know which one I am." I sniffed.
"Oh. So you are in the picture." he said smugly.
Crap. Again.
"You're right, I don't know which one you are." he allowed. "But they are all very beautiful so the name works regardless."
I scoffed. Man was he going to be disappointed when he realized he wasn't talking to Suhaani or Nupur.
"Gunjan." Suhaani hissed, shooting me a look that could make grown men shake in fear. She may look like Barbie but Barbie never perfected the throat punch. "What is going on?"
On the other hand if he had done this to either of them they would find his address, sneak into his home while he was sleeping, and preform a very painful castration. So, maybe he should just count his blessings hm. They were by far prettier but they were meaner too. I smirked at Rose and she huffed, crossing her arms, and plopping down onto the couch- aggravated at being left out.
"But," he continued smoothly. "I must admit- I'm hoping you're the brunette."
"Well," I snapped. "Tough luck Buddy! I'm-"
I stopped short. What had he just said? I must have heard him wrong. Had Suhu or Nups dyed their hair brown while I wasn't looking.
I actually looked at Suhu's over my shoulder really quick. No, her hair was still a silky black color. And Nup's long pony was a jet black. Don't get me wrong, I wasn't unattractive I suppose. But Suhaani and Nupur were gorgeous. So gorgeous in fact that no one usually even noticed me if I was standing beside them. I was just Gunjan Bhushan , unnoticeable and average.
"You're what?" he prompted, pulling me from my reverie.
"I'm calling the police." I finished, back to the ice queen.
There was a pause on the other end of the phone and I smirked, feeling fairly proud of myself. So, smooth talker has nothing to say huh?
"Is that really necessary?" he asked finally. He had the nerve to sound like I was the one being immature.
"Yes." I clipped furiously. "I do think it's necessary to report my stolen truck."
"It's more like a borrowed truck." He said, sounding a little nervous.
"Borrowed involves asking permission to use said vehicle." I quipped.
He scoffed.
"You are very into technicalities."
He didn't give me time to retort.
"I'll have it back as soon as I can."
"How soon would that be?" I asked. I could call the police but that would be a lot of paperwork and I wasn't sure how they would feel about me reporting a stolen vehicle when the person had volunteered to bring it back...
"I don't know." he replied easily.
I took a calming breath- in through the nose, out through the mouth.
"If it's not back in ten minutes I'm calling the police." I informed him in my no nonsense voice.
Suhu waved her hands in the air, trying to get my attention.
"He's bringing it back?" she whispered, clearly confused by just hearing my side of the conversation.
I nodded and she looked even more confused.
"How about half an hour?" He said.
My grip on the phone tightened. Was he bargaining with me?
"This is not up for debate." I said dryly. "Ten minutes."
"How about twenty?" he asked.
I let out an angry exhale.
"I'm calling now."
"Okay, okay." he chuckled. "I'm right around the corner. I'll be there in three minutes."
I threw my hands into the air, almost dropping the phone.
"If you were right around the corner why did you try to barter for more time?" I asked, flabbergasted.
The volume on my stereo went up a little.
"Because you're so easy to rile up. It's kind of fun." he said simply. "I'll see you soon, Beautiful."
And then the phone line went dead. I took the phone away from my ear, looking at the screen- unblinking.
CALL ENDED
-Chapter#2.
It turned out he wasn't lying when he said he could have it back in three minutes. He got there in two. I know because I was watching the clock the entire time.
"So someone did steal the chumbucket?"Suhaani asked, her eyes wide.
I rolled my eyes. Hadn't we already gone over this?
"Yes." I said dryly. It wasn't that unbelievable. Maybe someone saw the true potential of my old truck.
"And he's bringing it back?" She continued to question. "Just like that?"
I turned to look at her then.
"Yes." I said slowly. I didn't get it either. Is this really how people got their kicks these days? 'I'm bored today... I think I'll go steal some random truck. It's okay though! I'll return it.'
"Weird." She exhaled.
I nodded in agreement just as my truck came screeching around the corner faster than I've ever seen it move before. I hadn't even known it could go that fast.
"Be careful!" I yelled as it came to a stop in the exact spot I had left it parked earlier today.
The person chuckled as they got out of the cab and I marched over, practically spitting fire.
"Are you determined to return it damaged?" I seethed, grabbing the keys out of his hand.
He didn't say anything and when I finally calmed down enough to focus on him I realized that he was just staring at me slack jawed. I crossed my arms over my chest, scowling at him. Didn't his mother teach him any manners at all?
"Well?" I prompted.
He shook his head, looking like he was trying to clear it.
"I'm sorry." He apologized but I wasn't sure what he was sorry about exactly. Was it the fact that he'd stolen my truck, pushed it past it's limit, or for the staring? Wow. He's made a wonderful impression already.
"That's just how I always drive." He admitted.
"Do you usually steal other peoples vehicles too?" I asked.
He looked like he was fighting off a smile.
"This would be a first actually." He said, mirroring my stance minus the scowl.
I huffed.
"I'm so glad I was able to witness it." I said sarcastically. "I hope you got it all out of your system."
"Don't know." he said amiably. "Just might need a getaway car for when I rob the bank later."
"I wouldn't doubt it." I snapped.
He raised an eyebrow, seeming surprised.
"I was only joking." he said slowly. And then he broke into a wide grin. "I robbed the bank yesterday."
I had never been a violent person but I had the strong urge to hit him-to just ball up my fist and let it collide with his absurdly handsome face.
"Do you think this is funny?"
He nodded, still grinning.
"Actually I do find it somewhat humorous." he admitted. "Think about it- my friend dares my to move my cousin's new truck and I take the wrong one?"
He raised one eyebrow, looking at me as if waiting for me to see the humor in it. Granted if it had been anyone else it just might have been slightly funny. But it had been me, and it had been one hell of a day, and I most definitely did not think it was funny.
"And then the owner of the truck turns out to be an extremely beautiful woman with the temper of an enraged viking."
I pursed my lips, lacing my fingers behind my back so that I didn't do anything I'd regret later. When I wasn't acting like an 'enraged viking.' God, he just piles on the charm doesn't he?
"Well I'd love to continue this little battle of wits but it seems you're unarmed. And I'm late for something."
He just laughed.
"Did you steal that from a Will Smith song?"
Dang! I did, didn't I?
"I'm late." I repeated, refusing to admit nor deny my plagiarism.
"Awe, but of course." He chuckled, leaning against my truck, eying me with evident amusement.
I narrowed my eyes at him but he looked truly unrepentant. I opened the door with as much flourish as I could muster while trying to pry the heavy metal door away from the frame. I managed to whack him in the knees in the process though so that's got to count for something. I clicked the lock on the door and shoved it shut again.
I turned to see him regarding me with a raised eyebrow.
"You never can be too safe." I said easily. "You never know when someone is going to come along and steal it."
He just shook his head, that infuriating half grin never leaving his face.
"I thought you were late for something." He reminded me.
"I am." I snapped, remembering. Although I'm sure Nupur would understand since she knew my truck had gone missing but I still didn't want to leave her to cook dinner by herself. It wasn't exactly safe and not something I liked to do since she had almost burned the kitchen down a couple of years back.
"I'm eating dinner with a friend."
His eyes automatically flashed to Mayank and Nupur's house.
"You couldn't have walked to their house from here?" he teased.
I cocked my head to the side.
"How did you know that was the house I was supposed to be at?" I questioned.
A faint hint of realization of what he'd said flashed across his face but a blink later it was just that same cocky grin.
"Lucky guess." he said easily.
I eyed him, still suspicious, for a second. But then I shrugged it off. The sooner this conversation ended the sooner he could be on his merry way, off to hold up a bank or steal candy from some unsuspecting children.
"Buh-bye." I waved snidely, walking back towards Suhaani who was still standing in her driveway watching the interaction with a lot less stealth than she had probably intended.
"Good bye, Beautiful!" he called to my retreating form.
I rolled my eyes. Good bye, a-hole.
"Thanks for letting me use your cell phone, Suhu." I said, handing it back to her.
She pocketed it, her eyes still on the form of my carjacker.
"Want me to run him over for you?" She asked.
I laughed lightly, sparing a glance over my shoulder. The man was walking towards a silver Volvo parked half way down the block. That couldn't be his car! Was he going to steal another one? No. he wouldn't do that with me and Suhaani watching him.
"Hey!" I called. "You parked your stupid shiny Volvo just to steal my poor truck?"
"Borrowed without permission!" He called without turning around.
I shook my head. The man was crazy. Absolutely out of his mind.
"Gunjan."Suhu called, snapping to regain my attention. "Should I run him over?"
"No thanks." I sighed. I knew she would probably do it but that would mean more grand theft auto because there was no way she was going to risk denting her BMW M3. That thing was her first true love. Adhiraj knew he came second.
"Then do you want me to get his number for you?"
I whipped my head in her direction so quickly I almost got whiplash.
"Excuse me?" I coughed.
She smirked.
"Funny, attractive, tall," she ticked off on her fingers. She let her eyes wander back to his retreating form. "And his butt isn't half bad either."
I put my hands on my hips, shooting her a look. My car had just been truck-napped and she wanted to discuss how hott the criminal was! What did Adhiraj put in her morning coffee?
"What." She demanded, matching my pose exactly except she was much more convincing. Most of the time my bark was worse than my bite. Suhaani? Oh, you did not want to get on Suhaani's bad side.
"He called you Beautiful."
I pretended to gag.
"He also stole my truck so I should be calling the police." I pointed out. "It evens out don't you think?"
"Fine." She relented.
I smiled. I could count the number of times I had won an argument with Suhu on one hand. I must admit I was feeling just a smidge victorious.
"I'll see you at Nupur's. I'm going to help with dinner." I said, turning to walk to my other friends house.
"Don't let her burn down the kitchen!" She called once I hit the sidewalk.
I laughed, waving at her over my shoulder.
"I'll try my best!"
Nupur, Suhaani, and I had been best friends since college. Alice and I met first. We shared a dorm room that first year. Suhaani had been paired with a girl named Sheena. They didn't exactly get along. Suhaani might have threatened to burn all her hair off while she slept. She met Nupur at a coffee shop on campus and she volunteered to let her move in with us. With such tight quarters it was inevitable that we were going to be the best of friends or mortal enemies. It's a good thing we all bonded over chick flicks and ogling the boys football team.
That's where Mayank and Adhiraj come in.- They were on the football team. And it seems they didn't mind the special attention, at least not from Nupur and Suhaani. They started dating and our group expanded effortlessly to include them. They were like the brothers I had never wanted but ended up loving anyway. Our group was most definitely diverse but we meshed. We all just got along perfectly. It seemed like we had always known each other and after my dad got hurt and needed me to move back to Forks after college they all moved with me. Talk about the best friends a girl could ever ask for. Adhiraj and Suhaani got married a year ago this March and Nupur and Mayank were to follow soon. Their rehearsal dinner was tonight actually.
"Nups!" I called as I came in without knocking. "Get this! The truck-napper returned my truck."
Something clamored to the ground, echoing throughout the large house, and Nupur cursed. I rolled my eyes, walking to the doorway. Nupur was standing in the middle of the kitchen with her hands on her hips, looking at the ceiling as if praying for patience.
"Having problems?" I smirked.
She glared at me before finally just rolling her eyes and bending to pick the pan up off the floor.
"Who piled the pots and pans on the island?" she asked.
I snickered.
"Uhm... you."
She shook her head but before she could deny it any further I ticked the events off on my fingers.
"You bought all new Tupperware from that door to door salesman yesterday because you wanted to get his number for me-"
"Which I got." She interrupted me, grinning.
"I'm not calling him." I said stubbornly before continuing with my chain of events. "You realized you had no where to put 'the fifty-two piece set(!)'" I reminded her, using the same voice the salesman had used when describing the Tupperware- like it was the best thing ever invented. "So you removed the pots and pans from the cupboard and piled them on the island. You said you'd find somewhere for them today."
She eyed me thoughtfully for a moment.
"I did, didn't I?"
I chuckled.
"Yup." I said happily, popping the p'.
She shrugged.
"Well, I can't find a place for them now." She said, not sounding brothered in the least. "I've got too much to do. Can you believe the rehearsal dinner is tonight?"
I smiled. I loved seeing my friends happy.Nupur was practically glowing. I was so glad she had found Mayank. Or what she had so lovingly called him for the first week after she saw him at football practice, 'The one that got knocked down during the first quarter.' This was always followed by a blissful sigh. "Man, he's gorgeous."
"So, what happened with the chumbucket?" she asked. "Did you call the police yet? Man, I can't believe someone stole it!"
I grabbed a tomato and started cutting it into thin slices, making sure to cut away from my body. Nupur may have almost burned the kitchen down but I had almost decapitated myself more times than I'd like to count.
"I didn't have to call the police in the end." I said. "He brought it back."
She looked at me, her share of dinner forgotten. She plopped down onto the stool where I was working.
"What?" She shrieked. "What happened? Tell me everything!"
I laughed, slicing another thin piece of tomato.
"Start from the beginning." She demanded.
"Hey little sister."Adhiraj said, slinging an arm around my shoulder. "A little birdy told me your truck learned a new disappearing act."
I made a face at him. I didn't want to talk about what had happened earlier. It was Nupur and Mayank's rehearsal dinner. Besides, talking about it was only going to make me mad again.
"I'll tell you about it later, Adhi." I sighed.
He chuckled.
"Should be an interesting story." he grinned slyly.
"It is." I promised him.
"When are we going to eat?" he asked, distracted already.
I shrugged.
"Soon." Nupur chirped.
She was setting the table, her skirt swishing gracefully around her legs. This was why they had decided to have the dinner before the actual rehearsal. With Adhiraj involved food was a must and the sooner the better.
"We're just waiting for Mayu's cousin to get here." she said.
The words were no sooner out of her mouth when the doorbell rang.
"Finally!" Adhiraj huffed.
I rolled my eyes.
"It's not even five-thirty yet." I reminded him. "We were all just early."
It's easy to be early when you practically lived at the house that the dinner was being served in. All we had to do was change and we were ready. We probably would have been here without the rehearsal dinner.
Adhiraj shot me a look, something he did any time you were even in a roundabout way messing with food. But then he smirked, waggling his eyebrows in a cartoon villain way.
"You sure you want to take his side, Gunjan?"
I frowned.
"What does that-"
"Mom says hi. She can't wait for the wedding." A voice that I instantly recognized said from the other room. I could hear Mayank's voice too, getting louder as he walked his guest into the kitchen but I didn't hear what he said. I was too focused on the fact that I was ninety percent sure I was having an aneurysm. This could not be happening to me!
And then they rounded the corner, coming into view. Mayank was waving his hands about like he did any time he was discussing something he was excited about. And the other man, Mayank's cousin, was looking at him- listening to what he was saying no doubt. He was wearing a nice white dress shirt, un-tucked, with a dark pair of jeans. His hair was a messy disarray and I wondered how I had missed that unique color earlier. I really had been angry to miss that copper hair. His eyes slid around the room, scanning the faces, and I realized that Mayank was done speaking.
He grinned when his eyes landed on me and I cringed.
"Hello, Beautiful."
Dang! This is happening. Do you see what I mean now? Anything that can go wrong will happen to Gunjan Bhushan. Yes, that sounds about right.
NOTE: So, there's chapter#2. I hoped you liked it. Please review if you read it. Was there any favorite lines/scenes? . Bella is 23yrs old. She's been out of college for a year. The rest of the gang is around her age because they went to college together. Edward is two yrs older- he's 25yrs old.
Much love!
--MonZ--
