It was a windy Saturday morning, the sun shining brightly through the floral curtains of Agarwal residence.
"Parlay babu, zara jaldi doodh pilo" entreated Taiji, whose stubborn offspring quickly turned up his nose at the proffered glass of milk.
"Pralay..." the deep baritone of Tauji rang with unspoken threat. Sensing danger, the young boy gulped down the contents of the glass with minimal fuss. Taiji ushered him over to Bela chachi's house, whereupon Pralay grabbed a red covered notebook containing his English homework and left for school with his father.
Silence reigned after the hustle bustle of the busy morning. Taiji made herself comfortable on the wide swing in the hall.
"Bela, arre oh Bela" she called out.
"Aayi Bhabhiji" said Bela, coming out of the kitchen, wiping the sweat off her forehead with her pallu.
"Bela, Sar phata jaa raha hai, zara chai banake pila...aur haan, acche se elaichi daalna"ordered Taiji.
"Ji Bhabhiji" sighed Bela, quite used to this.
"Waise dono maharaniyan kidhar hain? Ab tak so rahi hain kya?"
"Bhagwan jhooth na bulaye bhabhiji, woh dono toh kaalej ke liye jaldi nikal gaye aaj. Naina bata rahi thi ki koi piraject aaj teacher ko dena hai".
"Neh wah Bela, un dono ne kuch bhi keh diya aur tu maan gayi? Padhayi me dhyaan kam, aur baaki sab cheezon me dhyaan zyada.Sab tere aur Anand babu ki di hui azaadi ki wajah se hai. Zarur koi aur karan hai kalej jaldi jaane ka".
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"And then you should have seen her face when she couldn't find the notebook! Jisne bhi uska book chupaya,main toh use phool bhejunga!" laughed Pandit,casually leaning against the bike stand."also did you know..."
"We know" groused Munna."you told us the story around six times already. Chal tera uss Mitali se badla pura hua,ab chup baith".
"Kaha kho gaya bhai?"Munna asked,slinging an arm around Sameer's shouders.
Sameer started,quickly shaking off a daydream where he and Naina were out on an icecream date."kuch nahi yaar...bas aise hi..."
Munna, however had spent enough time around Sameer to know exactly what the dreamy look in his eyes meant. Smirking, he said, "Relax kar yaar, Bhabhi aajayegi".
On cue, Naina and Preeti entered the college. Preeti notices that her sister has eyes only for one person, and drags off Munna & Pandit with her so that the lovebirds have some semblance of privacy.
Sameer smiles, and resolves to thank his amazing to be sister in law at some point today.He notices that Naina has on the flattering blue suit he always likes to see her in. Unable to resist, he reaches out to tuck a rebellious strand of hair back into place, taking the chance to lightly brush his fingertips along a soft cheek.
"Chalein?"Sameer asks, smiling slightly at her blush.
Naina nods, falling into step beside him, walking close enough that their arms brushed occasionally.
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"Let me remind you all that this assignment makes up 20% of your overall grade.so when I come during the last lecture,I expect every single one of you to be ready with the assignment, is that clear?"
"Yes JBR" chanted the class dutifully.
"What if the assignment is accidentally incomplete?"asked Munna.
"Then 'lll accidentally mark you zero" said JBR, smiling widely. The rest of the class tittered politely, waiting for the inevitable 'Bad Joke', which, oddly enough, never came.
JBR scowled at the class and stalked off.
"Yaar,lagta hai iss baar sachme JBR serious hai assignment ke baare mein" groaned Munna, pulling out his half finished assignment.
"Maine bhi khatam nahi kiya...kal raat ko chalu kiya,phir neend aayi toh so gayi" sighed out Preeti.
"Jhoot mat bol...kal aaram se baith ke chitrahaar dekh rahi thi,aur beech beech me thoda thoda sa likh rahi thi.Kal raat ko hi khatam kar sakti thi na?"asked Naina, completely unimpressed.
"Arre, lunchtime me khatam kar dungi, bohot kam bacha hai vaise bhi."
"Tera kuch nai ho sakta,kabhi nai sudharne wali hai"groaned naina rolling her eyes and shifting her attention to Sameer, who passed her a chit surreptiously.
Preeti grinned, digging through her bag & pulling out a red notebook which contained her notes. She flipped through the book, expressions on her face shifting rapidly from stunned disbelief to horror.
"Naina..."She whispered,almost inaudible.
Naina was giggling at Sameer's note, and looked up to wink flirtatiously at him ,whereupon Sameer proceeded to pretend to faint.At this point, Preeti tugged on her sleeve impatiently.
"Kya hua?"Naina asked,slightly annoyed at being interrupted.Her annoyance vanished instantly at the sight of Preeti's pale face,and concern took over.
Preeti silently handed over her notebook to Naina,whose brows furrowed at the messy ,childish writing penciled in,with a fair few red marks of correction.
"Yeh toh..."she began
"Pralay ki hai" finished preeti faintly."lagta hai galti se mere economics book ki jagah main uski copy leke aagayi,kyunki cover same tha."
"Tu chinta mat kar,mere notes lele,aur apna bacha hua assignment pura karle" naina told her reassuringly.
Preeti,however,remained silent,eyes downcast.Ab kya?asked Naina,slightly suspicious of her bubbly sister's odd behavior.
"Baat notes ke baare mein nahi hai..."
"toh phir?"
"Woh actually...woh book mein kuch aur tha"
"Kya?"
"Ek love letter"
"KYA?"screeched out Naina,attracting a few inquisitive stares from their classmates as well as their friends.
"Dheere bol" hissed Preeti,glancing furtively around.
"Sorry...from whom?" Naina asked,lowering her volume to an appropriate amount.
"For whom" Preeti corrected."I wrote it...on the last page" she stuttered.
"For?"
Preeti looked even more hesitant,and muttered an inaudible name.Naina frowned at her and said "thik se bata"
"Karthik"
"What! Preeti, have you lost your mind?"
"I wasn't going to give it to him!" preeti protested"stts just that you were always so happy reading through jijaji's letters and notes...and anyways I knew you'd react like this so I dint tell you."
Naina sighed, knowing that it wasn't easy for the singles in their group to be around her and Sameer, and now, more recently, Swati & Munna.However, Preeti's increasing interest in Karthik was not something she was happy with, knowing that he wasn't a good fit for her amazing, cheery sister.
"Wait...Naina said,with a growing sense of horror,as an entirely unwelcome thought occurred to her.If you have Pralay's notebook,then it means...
"He has mine" finished Preeti grimly.The sisters looked at each others pale faces.
"If anyone reads that letter,Im dead" moaned Preeti.
"Its ok,Its ok...we can handle this.You still have to do the assignment,so here,take my notes and finish your work.Meanwhile,Ill go home and check if the book is there.Its Saturday,so its half day working for Pralay.He'll be at home,so ill switch the books and bring yours back to college.
"Par tu ghar pe kya bataegi ki college se jaldi kyun aayi?quizzed Preeti.
"Kuch na kuch bahana bana lungi...Chachiji vaise bhi zada kuch nahi puchengi.Tu chinta mat kar.
With that,Preeti headed to the library,and Naina left the class,intending to get an auto so she could reach home quickly.
Sameer was waiting outside for Naina,and beamed as soon as his girlfriend made an appearance.He had already understood that something was afoot,especially since Naina & Preeti had spent most of the lecture speaking in hushed whispers.Now,looking at her pretty,troubled face,all he wanted to do was solve all of her problems and bring out that sweet smile she reserved solely for him.
"Kya baat hai Naina?Kidhar jaa rahi ho?he asked,closely observing her fidgeting with her dupatta.
Naina,on her part,usually had no problems sharing everything with Sameer,but she was well aware that it was Preeti's secret,and not in her place to tell Sameer about the love letter,and anyway,he disliked Karthik.So she explained the story in brief,omitting the love letter part,and instead just said that the book contained something Taiji would disapprove of.
Sameer realized that Naina was being deliberately vague to protect her sister,and decided not to pry.
"Toh phir thike.Main tumhe bike pe ghar chod dunga Sameer tells her,and is gratified to see the instant blush rising on her face.
"Par...Naina trails off,hesitant,remembering their last disastrous bike date and the subsequent waxing saga that followed.
"I promise iss bar nahi girogi...pichli baar jaise nahi hoga,main tumhe main road pe hi chod dunga,taaki koi nai dekhega Sameer tells ter,correctly interpreting her thoughts.Ab saali sahiba ke liye itna toh kar hi sakta hoon...usne hamari kitni madad ki hai...aur vaise bhi madam,kabhi toh boyfriend ka fayda uthao,banda aapki khidmat mein hazir hain.he finished,winking flirtatiously.
Naina agreed and followed Sameer to the bike.Carefully,she took a seat,placing her bag inbetween them like last time,and met Sameer's eyes in the rear view mirror.A shy smile appears on her face, and Sameer grins adoring her blush.Naina bit her lip,and seriousness of the situation notwithstanding,felt butterflies erupt in her stomach.She shifted her bag onto her lap,and moved closer to him,even though she avoided holding his shoulder.
Sameer was elated at her sitting so close,he was slightly disappointed that she wasn't comfortable in holding onto him,but he was happy that they were making progress.
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"Main idhar wait karta hoon,tum jaldi se book leke aajao.said Sameer,stopping the bike some distance away from Nirmal Jyoti Society.
Naina nods,quickly getting off the bike and walking down into the society.She sneaked upsxtairs,quickly formulating a few excuses to give Taiji & Chachiji.On reaching her floor,however,she realized that Taiji's house was bolted.
Maybe they are all in chachiji's place' she though,surprised at this turn of events,and turned to their door.
On cue,the door opened and Bela Chachi stepped out of the house.Bhagwan jhoot na bulaye beta,par tu idhar kya kar rahi hai?she asked,surprised to see Naina just outside.
"Itne jaldi kalej khatam hogaya?
Naina started,trying to wipe off a guilty look from creeping up on her face.Woh chachiji,main ek book ghar pe bhul gayi thi,aur ab lunch break chal raha hai toh laga ki leke chali jaati hun...vaise Taiji aur Pralay nai dikhayi de rahe hain?Naina asked,trying to be subtle with her questioning.
"Beta,woh kya hain na,aaj Pralay ke iskool mein...woh kya bolte hain...haan,parent meeting hai,toh bhabhiji udhar hi gayi hain...abhi kuch 10 minat pehle nikle who.Aaj bhaisaab seedhe daphtar se wahan jaayenge.Bela said,cheerily;toh ab main bhi bazaar jaa rahi hun,aise Khushi ke mauke baar baar thodi aate hain?Chachiji said,with a wink.
"Toh...iska matlab hai ki pralay school mein hai?Naina stuttered with a growing sense of horror.
"Haan,aur kya?Beta ek kaam kar,tu apna copy lele,aur mere saath chal,main tujhe kalej chod deti hun
"Chachiji,koi baat nahi,main khud chali jaaongi...aap takleef mat karoNaina said weakly.Mujhe jaldi hai,toh main abhi nikalti hoon
With that,Naina raced off,before chachiji could even understand what she meant.Heart hammering,Naina realized that the only way forward was to get to Pralay's school before anyone,specially Taiji read the letter.
Naina practically flew down the stairs and was out of the society in record time.Sameer was whistling a cheery tune,quite happy with this unexpected bike date,when he spotted Naina hurrying towards him,a worried expression prevalent on her face.
"Naina...kya...?he started,but Naina gestured him to quickly start the bike,and spouted off directions to Pralay's school.On the way,she explained the reason for the hurry.Sameer complied,effortlessly racing through tight corners.They stopped at a signal,where Naina was horrified to spot Taiji in the auto next to them.
She quickly turned her head the other side,squeezing Sameers shoulder in warning.Sameer had already seen her,and moved the bike subtly so Naina was out of Taiji's immediate line of sight.The second the signal turned green,Sameer sped off,following a shortcut so they could reach before Taiji.
"Aaj toh baal baal bachesighed Naina,relief evident in her voice.Sameer did not reply,simply enthralled by the fact that Naina was still holding on to his shoulder.Almost on cue,Naina suddenly realized where her hand was, and pulled away, blushing a bright red, trying to school her expression into nonchalance.Sameer, however, could read her like a book, and grinned at her through the rearview mirror.Much to her relief,he did not press the issue, and silently entered the parking lot of Pralay's school.
"Andar kya bologi?he asked, turning off the ignition.
"Lots of people have come for the PTA Meeting, I'm just going to blend in the crowd" answered Naina, digging through her bag for the notebook.
"No one is going to believe that you have a child " Sameer tells her, unimpressed by her planning.
Naina rolled her eyes at him and told him to wait for a few minutes. With that, she quickly walked into the school.
Sameer got off the bike,leaning comfortably,his thoughts wandering to the girl he loved more than anything else,and the feel of her soft,small hand on his shoulder.A smile bloomed unbidden on his face as he remembered Naina's blush when she realized that she was still holding on to him.Sameer was well aware how much Naina trusted him,and the very fact that even unconsciously she reached out to him struck him as a sign that she desired to proceed further in their relationship.He also wanted her to make the first move,and only after she was comfortable.Clearly,it was time to have a talk about their relationship.
The object of his affections chose that moment to make an appearance,walking out sedately.The smile on her face told him that she had succeeded in switching the notebooks.
"Chalein?" he asks,smiling.Naina nods,seating herself behind him.
"Tum barabar baith sakti ho" Sameer tells her,while the pulled out of the school premises into the main road.
"Barabar hi baithi hun"
"No,I mean..." Sameer trails off,not entirely sure how to word his desire." sit the way you were sitting before."
Sameer was observing her in the mirror,and was exactly aware when his topper girlfriend understood what he meant.A delicate flush spread across her cheeks,and lovely doe eyes rounded.She bit her lip,and lifted a trembling hand to rest on his shoulder.Sameer let out the breath he hadn't realized he was holding,luxuriating in the feel of her small hand touching him.If it was this amazing through layers of clothing,how would he feel if Naina was touching his bare skin?
'Kuch zyada aage badh raha hai,Sameer beta', he reprimanded himself mentally.
Naina met his eyes in the mirror,smiling softly at his besotted expression.They pulled into the college grounds,and Sameer parks the bike,slightly unhappy that his time alone with Naina had come to an end.
Naina got off the bike,suddenly shy to face him.Main yeh book Preeti ko deke aati hunshe murmured,avoiding his eyes,and turning to walk away.
"Naina..."
Something in his voice made her look up,and what she saw in his soft brown eyes stilled her.He was silent,but she had always been able to read the eyes that haunted her dreams and promised her the world.In that moment,his eyes gave her courage.Taking a quick look around the deserted parking lot,she walked closer and slipped her arms around him in a quick hug.
Sameer was utterly floored,heart pounding and brain working in overtime to understand the plethora of emotions that rapidly consumed him.Almost involuntarily,his arms wrapped around her,marveling at how small and delicate she felt in his arms.Naina looked up,trust shining in those stunning,soft eyes.
"Main..." she began,pulling out of her impulsive embrace
"I know" he murmured,softly cupping her face conveying to her that they din't always need words.Smiling,he caught her hand, and lead her into the college.
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