This is a different take on Viha!
Boredom getting the best of him, he let out a long yawn and turned towards one of his best friends seated right next to him, who had fallen asleep long ago. Ignoring his asleep friend, he takes a look at his professor and tries to concentrate on what he was trying to teach, but all these efforts just go in vain. And even he knows the reason for his focus being lost, because all of his attention was fixated on one and only one object of his interest.
No, it wasn't a fancy or costly item; it was the simply dressed girl who was sitting right across him in the adjacent row on his left. He looked at her from the corner of his eye, trying to figure out her expression-whether she was actually concentrating on the lecture or was she bored or pretending to concentrate.
From the past three days, he tried talking to her and tried to grab her attention but nothing of that sort worked for him. It seemed as though she never knew him at all; all the time and conversations that they shared seemed non-existent. But he tried and tried and still tried.
Getting desperate, he was now determined to go to any extent to grab her attention and finally find his answer.
He first tried tapping his foot a bit loudly which turned a few heads sitting ahead of him, but she didn't look.
Then, he tried again by moving on his seat causing a squeaking and thud sound of his desk due to the movement. All of his friends turned to look at him with questioning looks; he dismissed them but she still didn't look at him.
But he tried again by dropping his pen on purpose on her side; letting it slip from his fingers and pushing his desk as he got up from his seat to pick it . This time, not only did he wake his asleep friend; but he grabbed the attention of his friends as well as her team-mates along with a few other classmates. But she still didn't look at him even though he came close enough to her seat.
Finally, he tried again by faking a cough a bit loud, louder and even more louder. This time, he grabbed the attention of the entire class including his professor. He ignored the concerned as well as irritated looks of his fellow classmates. But yet, she didn't look at him; she didn't bother nor cared to tilt her head as he kept staring at her.
His professor asked him if he was okay and he replied with a faint nod, ignoring all of at stares around him, trying to hide his inner turmoil from being expressed on his face.
For a person, who was so expressive about his emotions, hiding the hurt and guilt that he felt, was too damn difficult for him. He felt a strange stabbing pain on his chest at her coldness and indifference towards him. All these emotions were new to him-the happiness when he saw her laugh or smile, the guilt when he makes her sad, the stabbing pain and uneasiness when she was with some other guy.
He held his jaw tight and his hand roughly held his pen, trying to ignore the pain and uneasiness he felt, he looked straight ahead, setting his gazes nowhere in particular. His reverie was short-lived as his friend tapped him on his shoulder telling him that the lecture was over.
He got up from his seat and starting stuffing his belongings into his bag as the chatters of his friends fell on his deaf years.
He looked at her one final time and saw that she was busy completing her lecture notes, in no hurry to leave.
"Dude ! What did you do? You've snapped my pen into two halves. Khudko Super-man samajta hai kya?", Nilesh exclaimed irritated, holding the two broken parts of the pen.
"Main tuje doosra laa doonga.", saying this much he left the classroom.
His behaviour surprised all of his friends. No arguments, no lame excuses, no stupid remarks and most of all remaining silent, was out his character. They all exchanged confused looks at each other and decided to confront him about the matter but he was nowhere to be found.
She silently heard the conversations of her rival team discussing about his odd behaviour as they left the classroom and she told her friends to leave as well.
It was their last class for the day, and since there was no dance practice today, she decided to wait back and complete her pending notes.
Most of the college was empty by now, and she was sitting alone in the entire classroom immersed in her books. She heard faint footsteps from outside the classroom and lifted her head up to see him standing at the door. She expected him to try to talk to her again, but he didn't. He silently walked to the last seat of the room and sat down.
Deciding to ignore him, she continued writing her notes. She tried maintaining her composure in this uncomfortable situation, but his presence was too distracting as she tried to hide the tears forming in her eyes.
When she was finally done, she packed her bag and got up to leave but heard him shuffling and leaving as well. She walked out of the college premises and since it was late in the evening, the area around felt quite lonely and dark.
Though she didn't turn back, she very well knew that he was following her. Unable to control her composure any more, she let her emotions get the best of her.
When he reached her, she turned back and questioned him with furious eyes.
"Why you following and troubling Neha? Muje tumse baat nahi karni!"
"So you noticed?"
"Yes. Par tum ek baat samaj jaao ki muje tumse baat nahi karni. So you not troubling me! "
"But why? Muje samjane ka chance to do!"
"Par muje kuch nahi samajna! So you go! Waise agar ek weakling tumse baat na karna chahe to tume kya farak padta hai ?"
"Bahut farak padta hai,Neha! Please don't do this me. It hurts.", he held her fist tightly, forcing her to look into his eyes to see the pain in them.
One month earlier
He kicked the tyre of his car that had broken down in the middle of the road, and the area around was unknown to him.
He walked around for a while searching for a garage nearby, but refrained from asking anyone, finding them below his standards. Finally he dared and asked a shopkeeper but learnt about one garage which was very far away. In search of a taxi, he wandered around but there wasn't one in sight.
He saw a girl standing near the road waiting for a lift as well and she looked awfully familiar to him. Her kurti, hair and fragile body reminded him of her a particular girl who seemed to be getting into his thoughts a lot lately.
Without a second thought, he walked up to her realizing that it was actually her.
"Vicky, you why here?", she asked him shocked to find him at a place like this.
So long, he was lost admiring her looks unknowingly; but snapped out when she spoke in broken English which he always found annoying.
'Miss Verbal Diarrhoea aur yaha! Geez, where else would I expect her?',he thought to himself.
"Hello, Vicky! Tum yaha kya kar rahe ho? Gaadi karab ho gayi kya?", she asked him again waving her hand in front of his face.
"Tume kaise pata?"
"Guess kar liya!"
Just then, she waved out to another guy who seemed to be the same age as them. The other guy asked her if needed a lift but she gracefully denied it.
When the said boy left, he asked her with a certain urgency and irritation in his voice, "Wo ladka kaun tha?Aur wo apni byke par tume lift kyu de raha tha?"
"Uuse tume kya farak padta hai? Hai koi jaan pehchaan ka!Aur tume kuch kaam hai to baatao,mujhe ghar jaana hai"
"Bahut farak padta hai…………No…..I mean,mujhe kyu farak padega wo kaun hai…..aur muje tumse kuch kaam nahi hai tumse…..aise hi dekha to soocha Hello bol dun.Waise tum yaha kaise??"
"Tum aur ek weakling ko Hello?Izzat kam nahi hogi tumari?? Main toh yaha par roz shyaam ko ek baache ko tuitions deti hun."
"Oh!"
Just before they could speak anymore, a rickshaw stopped by her, and she got into it.
"Vicky tume lift chaiye kya?"
"Me, in a rickshaw! No way!"
"Thik hai fir college mein milte hai!"
Just when the rickshaw was about to leave, he stopped it.
"Ruk jao baaisab! Muje lift ………cha…chaiye……nearby garage tak drop kardogi??"
"Ok!Aandar aajao!",she chucked slightly as he got inside and eyed each corner of the rickshaw like a small child looking around at the new surrounding inquisitively.
Long moments of silence passed them as none of them spoke during the ride.
"Tume roz yaha aati ho aur issme travel karti ho?",he asked her breaking the silence.
"Haan….!"
"Aur wo ladka kaun tha?"
She gave an amused smile, when she suspected that he was jealous.
But without answering him, she told the driver to halt at the side and asked him to get out of the vehicle as well. He offered paying for the fare but she denied him flatly.
"Vicky Garage vaha hai!Mera ghar aage hain……main chalti hun. "
"Ok thanks!...Kal milte hain?"
She replied to him with a sweet smile and bid him goodbye, whereas he waited till the vehicle went away out of his site.
Next day, in college he behaved indifferent to her as usual; but she found him waiting at the same place they meet yesterday in the evening after her tuitions at the same time. This time she approached him and asked him about his whereabouts here.
"Wo main gaadi garage se collect karne aaya that….fir yaad aaya ke tum yaha tuitions deti ho………to soocha aakar tume kal ke liye thanks bol dun."
"Wo toh tum collge mein bhi bol sakte the na!", but to this question of hers he had no answer.
And the same other boy from yesterday, greeted her from far again and vice-versa. He asked her the same question again but yet she didn't reply and changed the topic.
This time he stopped a rickshaw and he offered to leave her, though sceptical she got inside with him. Surprisingly, they shared a lighter conversation on the ride to her home and when she reached her destination, she got down paying for the fare but he stopped her.
Thanking him, she bid him goodbye but before leaving she asked.
"Waise tum kahan jaa rahe ho,garage to piiche chut gaya?"
"Wo mein…………", he became wordless again.
She gave him a knowing smile and said, "Waise wo ladka mere student ka bada bhai hai aur sirf friend hai"
This led him to give a fulfilled smile to her and called her by her name for the first time, "Neha,Main tume kal college mein milta hun."
Same way, they met every evening at the same and he had a silly reason to be there every single day. He dropped her to her place and they shared conversations each day understanding one and other better. First few days, their mode of transport had been a rickshaw then he forcefully changed it into his car.
He never knew why he felt the need to see her everyday, but he was enjoying it.
Days turned into weeks, and after two weeks he asked her to join him for a coffee.
She refused him initially, but agreed after much pestering from his side. They kept their meetings a secret from their friends.
Day by day, these friendly meetings seemed to be much more than that.
Both of them knew that what they shared right now was definitely something special and what they felt about each other was also something special. However, they never bought it to their lips.
He was now used to her filmy craziness and unique English; she herself grew used to his varying attitude and goofiness. They grew comfortable around each other and shared a hug or so on rare and uncalled situations from him. At first, when he held her hand she was uncomfortable but soon got used to it and liked it then. Their new-found relationship led them to live in two worlds-one with only the two of them and the other with the rest of the world.
She assumed that these unspoken words were conveyed through his actions.
But in college, they were complete strangers to each other, though in moments of sudden eye contacts and touches, it was hard for them not to smile or blush.
Their friends asked them often if they were hiding anything, but plain dismissal was their only tactic.
She felt guilty about hiding such a trivial matter from her friends but was scared of the then consequences.
Nearly a month had passed since their first unexpected meeting and they were just walking together to her place.
He silently slipped his fingers with hers intertwining them and she blushed at the contact.
She wanted to know how long this was going to be a secret so she asked him but his reply was not what she expected.
"What about us?"
"Vicky, tum jaante ho main kya keh rahi hun."
"Neha what about us? Aisa kuch bhi nahi hai humare bich jo humare friends ko batana padega."
This crushed her heart to bits and pieces, not believing her ears.
On the other hand, he knew what he said was wrong, absolutely wrong. He had dreaded this moment from long, and now that it came he thought of nothing else other than straight forward denial, and then he regretted it the most. He didn't know how he was supposed to explain this to his friends.
What he got later was a slap across his face, unanswered calls and complete ignorance for three whole days. She didn't even come to the tuitions anymore and he dreaded to loiter near her house because of her father.
This led them both to the current state they were in.
Present day
She knew the pain that she felt when she cried for two straight days and she ignored him because she did not have the strength to deal with him.
But here she was staring into his eyes, still sensing the guy she fell for.
"Neha please understand. Muje pata hai,muje wo saab nahi kehna chaiye tha.I was stupid. Forgive me please."
"Paar tumne wo sab kahan kyu?"
"Mein behwakuf tha.Mein daar gaya tha ki mein aapne friends ko kaise face karta."
"Stupid. Mere liye bhi kaunsa aasaan tha! "
"Pata hai. I'm sorry.", he said wrapping his arms around her waist, enveloping her into a hug, which she didn't protest to his relief.
"Waise maine Rey ko already bata diya……….wo baakiyon ko bata dega………Tumare friends ko bhi……..aur yeh bhi bol diya ki hume phone na kare."
"Aab kya? How Neha showing face to them tomorrow? ", she said looking up to face him, shocked as well as embarrassed about facing her friends and others.
"Jab Pyaar kiya toh darna kya!", both chuckled at this filmy line of his.
He dipped down his head, letting his lips meet hers as they shared their first kiss, professing their love to each other.
However, her shyness caused to pull away from him, blushing as they confessed their love to each other for the first time.
He loved her, she loved him and others had to accept this fact and to their surprise, they easily did.
A.n:Pasad aaya then hit the like button n do comment! I knw its a totally diferent take on Viha...but anyway did it!
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