Chapter 24
Sunday, may 15
"I m here, outside your school.. Sanjeevani" Nandini's cell beeped.
"Are mat pucho.. I m stuck in an extra class. Can u wait for like 20 mins?? " she texted back.
"No, I cant. No one makes Manik Malhotra wait. Tell me where u are, I m coming rightaway."
'Yeh larka aiyappa.. Iski nak pe hamesha gussa kyun rehta hai? ' No matter how old she grew, she would perhaps never outgrow the habit of talking to her aiyappa. Not that she was at fault, at an age when young girls clung to their mothers.. Nandini had not only lost hers, but she also had to be one for her baby brother Rishab. Aiyappa had been her secret keeper all through.
"Ok do one thing.. Walk to the right from the entrance and you would see a football ground. Walk along the field and right behind it you will find me with the kids, we are pretty much out in the open."
"What? Tum class hi le rahi ho ya bail chala rahi ho miss Murthy... waise what a great welcome !!... khet ke peeche..whatever..m coming."
She couldn't help smiling at his message.
If sound travels faster than light anywhere in the universe, it has to be here. When he was halfway through the ground, much before he could sight them, he heard their giggles fill the air. And then he saw them, a bunch of tiny tots swarming around something.. Or was it someone?
"Nandini? " he called out softly.
A beautiful smiling face emerged from within a sea of white uniforms. Her eyes twinkled as she waved at him.. Her hair was a mess, loosely braided together, and a bunch of strands fell over her eyes. Her innocent smile slowly dissolved as she kept staring at him for a while before lowering her eyes. Restless, She gently tucked away her locks behind her ears and her left earring glittered in the afternoon sun. Did she just blush or was he imagining? And boy how did she manage to deal with this bunch of cute monkeys falling all over her.. But he had to admit, it was an amusing sight...definitely not something he had expected.
Her heart stopped for a while when she strained her neck to check who was calling her name. There he was, and she didnt have the right adjectives to describe him. Dressed in a casual white tee and a jacket, he was simply a sight to behold. The breeze had left his hair ruffled, his sun kissed face with a day old stubble was just as handsome as it was hot and his mysterious eyes...they could tell a thousand stories. They always made her weak in her knees.. Always. He was tall and lean but broad and strong too. She knew, because she knew exactly how he felt to her bare touch. If only, she could just run up to him now and wrap her arms around him.. If only she could stand up on her toes and touch those lips.. If only..
She swallowed the lump in her throat and looked down. He must have noticed her staring at her.
'Get a grip on yourself nandini' she rebuked herself, fixed her fake smile and looked back at him.
"Hey Manik... Welcome to the jungle" and started giggling.
"Did you just message me that you were taking a class? This is your idea of a class...?"
She gave him a 'can-you-please-shut-up' look.
"Ok baccha party, chalo cake khatam abhi back to hostel time. Tomorrow is holiday.. So no homework..Enjoy."
There was a unanimous shout "NO, aur cake chahiye."
"Awww aaj to itna hi tha..next week pakka, but only when you behave, make a queue and walk back to you hostel like good children."
"Promise Mam?" A tiny little kid retorted back.
"Nandini promise." Manik was amazed to see that they actually listened to her and followed her instructions.
Just then that same kid who had asked Nandini to promise, came up to her and asked "Who aapka boyfriend hai?? He is so cute."
Nandini was surprised at the audacity of the little child. She mocked an angry expression and the lil boy ran away. But, this cracked up Manik. "How did they appoint a kid to teach other kids? I should complain to your management."
"If you have come here to make sure that I am fired from my job, to tum wapas ja sakte ho MnM."
"OOO ooo Nandu ki naak pe gussa?" and he started laughing.
She got goosebumps...did he just say that? Nandini couldn't take her eyes off him, his smile... was angelic. Despite her conflicting thoughts, she prayed to aiyappa to always keep it on his face, no matter who he ended up with.
She packed her stuff in her jhola (Indian side bag). "Chalo lets go. I need to go home first."
"Miss Murthy, I have exactly 15 hours till tomorrow morning when I have to go back to Pune to meet my father. So I don't have much time to waste, 10 minutes is all u have got."
"Fine...10 minutes it shall be."
He drove up the hill through some of the most scenic streets, leaving behind schools, hotels, luxury holiday homes for the rich and lush green trees covering them all. On her instruction, he parked outside a small one storied house right on the edge of the hill.
"Won't u come inside?" She asked
"10 mins Miss Murthy and the stopwatch starts now." He replied looking at this mobile.
She rushed inside while he waited for her in the car. When she returned, she was gasping for breath. She looked the same, she had not had a change in attire, her hair was still a braided mess and she still carried her jhola. He wondered why had she gone inside, but chose not to enquire.
She guided him towards another site some 10 kms uphill. The place was desolate and he couldn't locate another human being anywhere within his sight. The only inhabitants there were a herd of chirping birds.
"I thought you will take me to a club or something, but this is a jungle."
"I thought I'll show u the sunset and the sunrise and everything in between...should we change the plan?"
He smiled. This girl was different from any he had met before. She was free-flowing like a stream, gentle and fierce at the same time. "No, this sounds interesting. Just make sure all that adventure doesn't land u up in hospital like last time, miss tipsy." He enjoyed teasing her, to see that angry expression on her face. She looked cute that way." He opened the door of his car but she caught his wrist.
"Its not me, its you who is starving. Main tumhare liye poha layi hun..pehle kha lo.." She dug into her bag and continued "And I have a name MnM."
He made a face. "Poha!!! Like seriously, lana hi tha to kebabs lati, veg poha kyun???" He didn't show it, but he felt choked with emotion. How did she know he had skipped lunch? He hadnt told her. He wasn't used to people caring for him. In the two weeks he had spent in Mumbai, his mother hadn't bothered to show up and his father, even though he loved him had other and higher priorities in his life. So that's y she needed to go home. He felt a tinge of jealousy for Neel.
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Don forget to let me know if you like the update. I would like to give a special shout out to Aashna for spreading a word amongst her friends and reader. Right now I am down with fever. Wish me a speedy recovery so that I can continue to entertain you.
Love
RK21
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