Chapter 7- It's Not Me – It's You…
"Hey Mahi, what's up?" Shabd sat beside her in the coffee shop. It was a small Starbucks, the type that was attached to a Barnes and Nobles only the bookshop was missing.
"Nothing Shabd." She sighed defeated, moving her purse from the seat beside her. Everyone knew he was going to sit beside her anyways.
"Oh. Well you know Suhit…from Indian Idol?" He asked hopefully. Who didn't know *and love* Suhit?
"Of course I know Suhit, I mean I don't personally know him but I'm like one of his biggest fans." Mahi was suddenly excited upon hearing the name of her favorite not-so famous –singer (yet.)
"Oh well, some people said he might be showing up to the Battle of The Bands." He sipped the coffee that had sat on the table. It was an iced mocha with lots of whipped cream. Wait, wasn't that hers?
"At the park?" She said sliding the drink back to herself.
"Yeah. You wanna go?" He slid the drink back to himself, taking another sip. She glared at him, and he laughed as a result.
"No Shabd, I don't want to go." She lied. "And if you don't stop following me, I'm going to have to call the police. I swear I will. You know I will." She warned. He faked a frown. What made him not scared of her? Why was he following her? Is this some strange bet he put up with his friends? Wait, he's new here…he doesn't have friends.
"Oh, you know the commissioner or something?" He tried not to smile. She wishes he would out and out smile, this was awkward.
"Yes I do." She lied confidently.
"Oh…" He sounded disappointed; he then whipped out his cell phone. "You want to call him?" He said like an excited child.
"No."
"Let's call him."
"I said no."
"No really, let's call him." He dialed a series of numbers and waited as the phone rang.
"Shabd. I said no." Before she could continue, Shabd began talking to the commissioner.
"Hi dad!" He exclaimed, Mahi sighed. Gosh, she is an idiot. "Yeah, my friend Mahi wanted to say something to you." He shoved the phone to Mahi quickly, he expected her to say something pleasant and unnerving but instead,
"Hello uncle. Yeah, I'm Shabd's…nothing actually. Could you please tell your son to stop following me before I report him? Thank you sir, now talk to him please." She handed the phone back, mirroring his initial gesture.
"But.." Shabd argued over the phone, you could hear the yelling from the other end. "Dad, I wasn't…" More yelling. "No, she was… But I…Dad I lov…" He cleared his throat. He loved? What did he love?
"I'll talk to you later." He sighed defeated as he clicked the phone shut, "You're more dangerous than you look."
"I look dangerous?" Mahi raised an eyebrow, she was satisfied at the sentence.
"Dangerously beautiful." He sighed dreamily. She disappointed herself again, why did she even expect a conversation out of him? He thought she was beautiful, she blushed despite herself. She cleared her throat to break the dizzy silence.
"So like…why are you following me? For real, I want to know."
"Because I missed you…" He muttered quietly.
"I don't know you." Mahi proclaimed as if trying to convince him.
"Oh. You don't remember me." Shabd said sadly.
"I don't know you." She said again, reassuring herself.
"You used to live in Lonawala."
"A long time ago. What does that have anything to do with this?" She thought back hard, who was he? She only had one friend there a girl named Alisha. Who was Shabd?
"Remember St. John's?" Her elementary school, of course she remembered. That was her favorite school of all time, she hates the students there but nonetheless, it was an amazing school.
"I remember St John's, I remember Alisha, I remember my house, I remember the haunted mansion down the street but I don't remember you…Are you sure I know you?"
"You remember Bobby and Dev?" He asked hopefully.
"Yeah. They were mean little *****es. I remember they used to beat up on this kid I used to know…God, what was his name?"
"Shabd? His name was Shabd." He said smiling.
"No way!!!! It's you Chashmish!!!!" She flung her arms around him, and hugged him tightly. Mahi got carried away sometime. She had stood up for this kid so many times, he was Alisha's little brother, Alisha was two years older than Mahi so that would make Shbad…one year older then her? She suddenly let go.
He smiled at her childishness. "Yeah, Chashmish. Minus the glasses."
"And braces. And geeky clothes." Mahi finally got an excuse to openly check him out; she had done it already several times already but sneakily. This time was explicit.
"Yeah. I guess I have. So what say, am I still a creepy stalker?" He smiled implicitly.
"Yes…and how did you…" She gasped, "You were listening to me!" She smacked him hard on his head.
"Ow. Yeah. Sorry man, but for being Lisha's best friend, you didn't remember me at all." He frowned. She remembered him as Alisha's geek of a brother, but she had always stood up for him. They were friends in a sense. In a weird sense.
"I remember the geeky dude I used to call…" Mahi sat thoughtfully.
"Word. Making fun of my name, I remember." A little bit of humorous guilt crept over the two.
"So how's Alisha?" Mahi said awkwardly.
"Good. Married. Distant. How's um…" Mahi was an only child. "Your dad?" He said straightening. Mahi, like Niharika also did not have a mother. She did, somewhere in the world, but where that somewhere was she didn't know.
"Good." I guess. Something of the likes of that. They didn't talk. Vidya and Suhani's parents kind of worked as a free for all, they were all four of their parents in a sense.
"Oh." He knew what that meant.
"Shabd?"
"Yeah."
"Even though I know you, don't follow me. I need my space." She said a little less disappointed.
"Oh. Okay. I get it. I mean I was just following you for a while, so that maybe you'd remember me but I guess not." He sounded sad. Mahi hated hearing people sound sad.
"Okay. So I'm gonna go now." She said unsure. She reached for her iced coffee that she and Shabd had unknowingly been sharing. It was empty. She frowned.
"Here." He handed her some money indignantly "For the coffee. Just think that I bought my share." He left. Being offended wasn't something he was good or fond of and saying sorry wasn't something Mahi was good at either. Why should she say sorry? She didn't do anything, who was she to say sorry anyways?
She sighed and began to think of things to say to Shabd while she was apologized. She took the money Shabd gave her and bought another iced coffee and a large chocolate chip cookie. Shabd, you're a really nice friend but…was she his friend? She brushed the thought off. I was completely out of line to…what had she done again? I'm sor...those were very difficult words to say. Shabd, I like you but…what? This was turning out to be a rejection its-not-you-its-me type speech instead of an apology. Is that what she had done? Rejected him. What was he saying to his dad? She recalled, But dad I love…Love what? Love who? Mahi? No, of course not. It couldn't be…could it? She dropped her head to the table.
Defeated, she dug into her cookie. This was going to be more difficult than she thought.
Edited by kIrAn...E>GA<3 - 16 years ago
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