Part 3
Why was he making it so hard for her? The more efforts she was making into forgetting him, the harder he was making it for her to do so. The talking parrot, the phone-calls, the sweater, and standing under her balcony day and night. what did he think of himself? That she will melt and forgive him? Well, he thought wrong. She was not that weak, to be blackmailed into forgiving him. And WHY was he so interested in her forgiveness anyway? He got what he wanted. he won the bet. What was left now?
Torturing herself with this series of thoughts, Naina lay awake until the early hours of the morning. she was not weak, definitely. but that did not mean that she didn't care. deny it as much as she wanted, she still cared that he was outside her house, cold, hungry, and alone. She didn't want to see him, didn't want to be anywhere near him, but could not stop herself from walking out into that balcony to see if he was still there- hoping he wasn't- but still to ensure. Couldn't stop herself from tricking Preeti to let him know that calling the telephone would be of no use since the receiver was not put back properly. Too worried about him, but too hurt to show it to him or to give up and talk to him, Naina lay in her bed hoping that he would just put her out of her misery.
Sameer Maheshwari. standing outside a girl's house, waiting for her glimpse, a chance to talk to her, to earn her forgiveness- it was all new territory, and boy it was a difficult one. A few times, even he thought of giving up. She was not ready to budge- it was no use; she was too stubborn. But his heart was equally stubborn, if not more. Every time that his feet would start walking backwards, his eyes would refuse to leave her balcony. "Just a little bit more,"- this thought would strike his mind each time, and he would stay. Munna and Pandit had tried to convince him, but it was fruitless. And so here he was- at 2 AM, outside her house, sitting underneath a streetlight, wearing the sweater she had so lovingly made for him- the last essence of the warmth she had radiated for him; the last piece of evidence for the love she once felt for him. The warmth, the love that he had lost because of his own foolishness of not realizing what he had, and what he had bet on.
The episode with Arjun which happened a few hours ago replayed in his mind. Arjun's words were sharp, and a little unnecessary, yes, but he didn't want to start another feud. Especially one that would impact his chances of winning Naina back. A fight with her brother would definitely be on his Not-to-do list. God knows what problem Arjun had with Sameer. There was an ill-feeling between Rakesh Sir and Sameer, yes, but Sameer had never directly had any problem with Arjun. Even the thing with Rakesh Sir was solved, somewhat, so why Arjun was reacting was a question mark even in Sameer's mind. But it wasn't a priority to fret over. So he had stayed silent and told Munna-Pandit to do the same. Naina was the only thing on his mind at that time and would remain till he hadn't convinced her. Once she forgave him, he could deal with everything else. "Bas ek baar maan jao Naina... Please?"- chanted Sameer to himself, as he closed his eyes and rested his head back against the streetlamp.
"Uth Jao Prem! School ka time ho raha hai! Pehla din hai tumhaara. Jaldi jaoge to logon se baat karne ka mauka bhi milega" Sandhya called out.
"Utha hua hun maa. Bas ready ho ke aata hun," came Prem's reply. 45 minutes later, Prem was out of the house. Fixing his bag in the carrier of his Bicycle, Prem bid his mother a goodbye and started his journey towards his new school- and a new life. A mere 10 minutes later, he was parking his bicycle in the numerous bike-stands and making his way to the school office to complete any formalities. Collecting his school ID, he was directed towards his class, which he found empty. there were still around 35 minutes before the school began, and not many students were in the classes, though they were starting to pour in through the gates. Prem, after having a tour of the school, went back to the classroom, to find just one person there- a girl- with her back turned towards him, who appeared to be searching for something in her bag.
"Hi," Prem called out, startling her, and causing her to jump.
"oh, I'm so sorry. Main aapko daraana nahi chahta tha." Prem apologised.
"Its okay. Mujhe umeed nahi thi ke itni jaldi koi yahan hoga." the Girl replied.
Prem: "Vaise mera naam Prem hai. Main yahan naya hun. Aaj mera pehla din hai."
Girl: "Hi Prem. Mera naam Naina hai. Aapka humaare school mein swagat hai. Aapko kuch bhi chahiye ho, to mujhse pooch lena."
Naina smiled at him kindly, and Prem smiled back.
Prem: "Vaise Naina, actually, ek cheez hai jo mujhe chahiye."
Naina: "Kya?"
Prem: "Ek Dost. Kya aap mujhse dosti karogi Naina?"
Prem forwarded his palm and Naina's smile dropped a little. Friendship. With a boy. She had just had a very bitter experience with one, shaking her faith in friendship a little. and in boys. Seeing her hesitation, Prem stepped back a little. A friendship between boys and girls was not a very common occurrence in those days. While Prem didn't believe in this gender differentiation, Naina might be uncomfortable with the prospect. Prem's instinct kicked in, and for some reason, instead of protecting himself from the awkward situation that it was on the way of becoming, his instinct was to put Naina at ease.
Prem: Naina, aap chinta mat karo. Main jaanta hun k Ladke-Ladkiyan aksar dost nahi hote. Aur shayad aap uncomfortable ho. agar aapko dosti nahi karni, to koi baat nahi. But trust me, main ek acha insaan hun, aur aapki choice ko respect karta hun- fir vo haan ho ya na- aur aapko bhi. aap ek bahut achi ladki ho, aapne mujhe welcome feel karvaane ki koshish ki, aur iss naate, main aapko ek dost ki nazar se already dekhta hun, fir chahe aap mujhe uss nazar se dekho ya nahi. lekin sirf ek cheez kahunga Naina, ke dosti ek bahut hi pavitra rishta hota hai- izzat ka, sacchai ka aur kadar ka. aur ye rishta kabhi ladka/ladki ya duniya ke mudde pe bhed-bhav nahi karta.
Naina was a little surprised at his words. Though he was unaware of the reason behind it, he had understood her hesitation instantly. And his words, they had a genuineness in them. His voice was making her heart want to trust him, and the worst part was, there was no resistance from her brain. Not all boys are the same. Whatever Sameer did, it shook her faith, on others and on herself. But talking to Prem, she felt like she could trust him. And a part of moving on from Sameer was also to not let him influence her decisions. That was what she was doing then!
Naina: Prem, thank you. Aapko nahi pata, lekin mujhe aapki ye baat sunne ki. Aap sahi keh rahe ho. Dosti jaisi pavitrata to kabhi thukraate nahi. Acha dost ya bure dost- bhagwaan ke diye hote hain. Acha dost saath dete hain, aur bure dost sabak. To haan. Main aapse dosti Karungi.
Forwarding her palm and placing it lightly on Prem's, and for the first time in a few days, a genuine smile appeared on her lips. Prem smiled back at her, happy to have made a friend, and that too, such a nice one. While both stood in the empty classroom, shaking hands and smiling at each other, happy at their new-blooming friendship, they failed to notice the presence of a third person standing at the door. A person who had witnessed the scene that had pierced his heart like a needle-cusion is pierced by needles, a person whose heart that was now starting to break into even smaller pieces than before, a person who could not do anything but feel the pain that threatened to destroy him bit-by-bit, and a person who felt all of these emotions without realising two things- what he was feeling, and why he was feeling that way- Sameer Maheshwari.
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