Ajeeb Ladki Chapter 1: Mulaqaat

It was a two weeks into the new term for PVKM School, and the students stood around on the grounds and in corridors talking nineteen-to-dozen. For the 12^th standard batch, the talks of summer vacations had given way to discussions about pressure of boards. Every teacher seemed determined to drill the seriousness in their brain. Amid all these the arrival of a new student yesterday had caused a ripple among them, especially the girls, since the new arrival happened to be an extremely handsome young boy. There seemed to be an aura of mystery around him since no one knew from where had he arrived, but the polished way he spoke and the way English sneaked into his conversations was enough for people to know he had definitely been in some up-class posh school before… Probably convent, but then why did he join a Hindi medium school, no one knew… Also how he got admission directly in 12^th standard, when ideally that never happened given it was a year of boards was also a mystery… However, by that afternoon at least that confusion had cleared when Shanti madam had announced that the new boy was named Sameer Maheshwari, and he was the grandson of their trustee Jaiprakash Maheshwari. This information made boys friendly towards him, and the girls were anyway a gone case…

Even now, some of the girls standing on the grounds placed their hands over their heart as if a movie scene was playing out and their favorite hero had appeared on screen… Well, not on screen, but the hero of the moment had surely entered the grounds on his bike. His eyes were covered in sunglasses, his silky hair flying wayward in wind, his lips curved in a small smirk as he was totally aware of the effect he had. Life was good here, he thought… The boys tried to be in his good books, the girls fawned over him… He was not particularly interested per se, but he had been quick to notice that there was one girl in his class who was the self-proclaimed most beautiful and most eligible girlfriend for him. He had checked her out yesterday by the end of school, and found nothing special worth capturing his attention… She was definitely beautiful, but something was lacking, he didn’t know what… He was soon turning 18, and some of his friends thought it was the perfect time to have a girlfriend, but while his last school presented a lot of opportunities, this school seemed to be lacking when it came to greener pastures. Anyways, if he was honest, he was not really interested in this system… Like why have a girlfriend when he would be the one to bear all her tantrums? He should get a girlfriend who would tolerate his tantrums and pamper him… That would be fun… Different… Unique… Just like he was… Unfortunately there was no girl like that, and definitely none that would see him as himself instead of a rich boy who can buy them gifts. So all being said and done, he was not interested, but he definitely enjoyed the attention…

As he reached the parking lot he saw that girl… What was her name again? Something like Rama or Radha… No… Wait… Kavita… Why couldn’t he even remember her name? Just then her friend called out to her, “Kamya… Woh tujhe hi dekh raha hai?”

He mentally slapped his forehead as he thought, oh yes… Kamya…

To his amusement Kamya hushed her friend, and said in low voice, but not low enough that he couldn’t hear, “shsh… mujhe pata hai… waise bhi woh mujhse nazre hata hi nahi sakta.”

He smirked, and proved her wrong immediately by looking away, and in doing so his eyes met another sight… this one much more interesting than whatever he had seen till now…  Naturally it was a girl, and she was trying to park her cycle, but this girl was… different? Yes, she was… He didn’t know why he thought so… Maybe because she was not looking at him dreamily or maybe because the skin at her temples was so translucent that he could see her blue veins or maybe because her was hair was finer than anything he had seen and fell down to below her shoulder in two pigtails or maybe because she scrunched her nose in an adorable way…

Since when did you start finding nose scrunching to be adorable Sameer? And pigtails… really?

He cleared his throat to get her attention, and pointed at the space, “this is my parking place.”

She looked up at him then and for a moment he was taken aback at how brilliantly her eyes shone… Maybe it was the sun, because the brown of her eyes almost glistened like the finest aged whisky sliding against crystal glass… Exotic! The word came to his mind almost without a warning… But why wasn’t she speaking? It took him a moment, but then he realized he had spoken in English… probably she didn’t understand… after all hindi medium… He sighed, starting to rephrase his statement in Hindi, but before he could do so, she replied to him, in a clear voice, “yeh meri cycle rakhne ki jagah hai.”

Oh so she understood English… well, well… let’s see what else she got…

He quirked a brow, not used to this kind of treatment… Usually girls would scamper to obey his smallest demands, and here was this girl, standing her own ground, refusing to budge. Glad that he was wearing his sunglasses, he let his eyes roam, but also continued the conversation, “maine kal yahin apni bike park ki thi… matlab ab yeh meri jagah… simple. Do you understand?”

She narrowed her eyes at him, “kal main school nahi aai thi isiliye tumhe yeh jagah mili… lekin main kaafi saalo se apni cycle yahin lagati hun… Do you understand?”

Feisty, huh? He was right… She’s different…

He almost smiled, but controlled and tried to tease, flashing a brilliant smile, “toh phir toh tum bore ho gai hogi na… aaj se main yahan park karunga… tum dusri jagah dhund lo…”

That’s it… that smile should have done it’s trick… He had never met a girl who hadn’t fulfilled his wish after he had smiled like that…

She however looked enraged, “nahi… meri jagah yaane meri jagah… ab tum kahin aur jao warna main tumhari complain kar dungi.”

Wow… nothing worked…

He frowned, “tum ajeeb ho yaar… Saari ladkiya ek hi din me mere liye kuch bhi karneko taiyar hai, aur tum mujhse lad rahi ho.”

She looked genuinely puzzled, “kyun?”

Did she not see him? Was she blind?

He asked in shock, “oh hello… chasme ghar pe bhool aai ho kya? Meri shakal dekho zara…”

She still kept staring at him perplexed, “dekha… theek hi hai…”

That’s it… definitely she is blind…

He murmured aloud, “pakka andhi hai”, and waved his hand in-front of her face. Suddenly amused, he saw her face turning red in anger, and her eyes glittered even more, magnifying the effect and he felt a hitch in his chest.

Wow… what was that?

Before he could analyse, a third, harsh and authoritative, voice spoke up, “kya ho raha hai yahan pe?”

Sameer glanced at his right, noticing the librarian about whom he had heard several things like how he hated students, how he wore the same clothes every day, how he had scooter from the era of world war, how he only knew yelling and scolding… Well, at least the same clothes everyday seemed to be right, because he was wearing the same grey safari suit as yesterday.

From the corner of his eyes, he saw the girl before him stiffen and lower her head, suddenly all the spark gone from her eyes. She mumbled in a low voice, “kuch bhi nahi sir… main bas apni cycle udhar gate ke paas park karne jaa rahi thi.”

Saying so she started to back out her cycle, and in an unexplainable moment of generosity Sameer wanted to stop her and offer her the slot, he was ready to back out of the argument instead of feeling the thrill of getting what he wanted. But just then the librarian snapped, “ruko Naina… tum wahan kyun park karogi? Tum toh hamesha yahan cycle lagati ho na…”

Really? Who was she? How did this man know where she parked her cycle? Was she a popular student like him?

She still didn’t look up, but shuffled her feet… He glanced down at the action, smirking at the socks that were pulled up till her knees… Was she so short? Or did she get some special socks that could cover so much? He heard her low voice, “koi baat nahi sir… main wahan…”

The librarian interrupted, “nahi… tum yahin rakho apni cycle… aur tum… ameerzaade… trustee ke navase ho toh iska matlab yeh nahi ke poore school me apni manmani karte rahoge… jao yahan se… agli baad ladkiyo ko tang kiya toh school se nikalwa dunga… tumhe toh aadat ho gai hogi na iss baat ki?”

Sameer felt his temper rise, his grip on the accelerator tightened until his knuckles were white… And he hoped there was something that could stop him from replying back… He shouldn’t… He couldn’t afford it… Luckily he was saved by the ringing bell… The librarian threw him a glare and walked away. He closed his eyes, taking deep calming breaths… And when he opened his eyes once more he saw the girl had also disappeared, but his mood didn’t improve when he saw the cute pink cycle parked exactly where he wanted to park his bike.

Cute pink cycle? Sameer… really? Damn that man… And damn the girl…

He huffed as he drove the short distance to the end of the row and parked his bike there. Strolling through the corridor to his classroom, he thought about the way that girl’s eyes shone… But then scowled as he recalled how his charm seemed to have no effect on her. Good riddance… He didn’t want to talk to weird girls like that… Surely her eyesight was weak or maybe she had some brain damage. But he wouldn’t park his bike in her space ever again… Maybe he won’t see her again anyways… She was so short; perhaps she was in some other class, maybe 10^th standard… But then her curves… He remembered how he had let his eyes wander, and had been pleasantly surprised at how the belt clinched at her waist and how the uniform stretched at bit… just a bit at her breasts… She had worn a watch as well, unlike the other girls he had seen who wore either nothing or bracelets… He had liked the silver dial watch with black straps; it was small and delicate, totally opposite to his big sports watch.

Why are you thinking about her Sameer? Remember… You didn’t want to meet her again.

He shrugged, trying to get rid of his disturbing thoughts, adjusted his bag and moved on towards the classroom. However as soon as he entered, he heard a lilting laughter, something he hadn’t heard yesterday and his gaze zeroed in on the source… His eyes widened as he stood stumped on seeing the same girl from parking lot, and he muttered under his breath, “dammit… she is in my class.”

Just then most of the girls started murmuring and sighing; Naina turned to see what caused this reaction and her eyes also widened on seeing the same boy from parking lot, “oh no… yeh yahan? Mere class me?”

He decided to ignore her and walked over to sit on his bench, which he noticed was right next to hers. The boy beside him, Munna, chattered with him, and he started responding turning away from her shocked gaze. Just then he heard some girl speak, “Naina… aise kya dekh rahi hai tu? Handsome hai na bahot…? Ekdum Mayapuri ke magazine ke heroes jaisa…”

He smirked, raising his collar mentally. So her name was Naina… Well, let’s see what she says now that she thinks he isn’t listening…

Next moment he heard her reply, “Swati… tu naa jaake apni aankhen check kara… Sadak pe chalta har ladka tujhe handsome lagne lagta hai… Theek se dekh toh liya kar bolne se pehle.”

He automatically turned to scowl at her but to his extreme frustration she didn’t even bother to look at him, rather she was busy in taking out books from her bag, as if she was going to study all the subjects right then. His attention was diverted when the teacher walked in, and for the next one hour he was focused on two back-to-back classes. It was the same teacher, Shanti madam… According to him, based on what he had seen from yesterday, she was the best teacher around here, and was well liked by all the students… In fact some boys had a crush on her as well. Pandit, another boy, who sat behind him had asked him yesterday if he also liked Shanti madam that way, but he had refused saying he wasn’t really into such fantasies. Before leaving Shanti madam called Naina, and had a brief chat with her… He eyed the duo noting the affectionate way madam touched her shoulder, the genuine smile on her face that had been missing when she had talked to him.

Why would she smile while arguing Sameer?

Ya… That made sense… Plus he didn’t really need to see her smile, did he? He shook his head at his own questions, and then heard Shanti madam’s voice calling out to him, “Sameer… zara idhar aao.”

He stood up and walked over, standing beside Naina, closer than necessary just to irk her. He noticed how she immediately took a step to the side, glaring at him, and resisted grinning cheekily at her. Shanti madam smiled at him, “Sameer… yeh Naina hai… Iss class ki topper… Maine Naina se kaha hai ke woh tumhe books ki list likhke de de. Aur agar tumhe koi madad chahiye toh Naina ko bol dena, theek hai?”

He nodded, pleased, “yes madam… thank you.” Then he turned to the girl who had been annoying him, and grinned, “Hi Naina…”

She smiled back at him, but the expressions on her face were as if she was in pain, and he was sure she was chewing her lips… She waited until the teacher left, and then stomped her foot. He stood amused watching her pigtails move side-to-side as she flounced back to her seat.

Ajeeb ladki hai… Pata nahi itna toh kya problem hai isko mujhse… Parking spot hi li thi konsa ghar pe kabza kiya tha.

Honestly, he wasn’t sure if she would even give him the list of books… She seemed to not like him at all for reasons unknown. If that pricked a little bit, he decided to ignore it since he had the attention of every other girl in their class, and some of other classes as well… What did one girl matter? But he was surprised when during break-time he sauntered over to the classroom, to find her scribbling something; he tried to turn back not wanting another argument, but she called out, “Sameer… ruko…”

He glanced at her in surprise; she had taken his name, for the first time, but he wasn’t quite clear on why he felt as if he had heard it a thousand times before in her voice, the exact same way she took his name, the same voice… It didn’t feel like the first time… She walked over to him, and extended the paper she had been writing on, “yeh lo books ki list… Text books aur reference books alag-alag likhe hai. Text books toh saare le hi lena, aur reference books library me milenge, lekin ho sakta hai exams ke time pe copies uplabdh na ho.”

His brows furrowed in confusion, “kya na ho?”

“Uplabdh”, she repeated, “umm… available.”

“Oh okay”, he muttered, taking the paper from her hand, and then teased, “chasme pehenke likhe the na sab naam… I don’t want to mess up in class.” She huffed, rolling her eyes and tried to leave from there. He stopped her, “suno… Naina… inke translations bol sakti ho? I mean… English me…”

She looked perplexed, “tumhe Hindi samajh me nahi aati?”

He shrugged, “aati hai… lekin zyada nahi… main isse pehle English medium me padhta tha na, isiliye.”

She stared at him for a moment as if wondering what was he doing here in Hindi medium school, but didn’t ask. She glanced at the list, thinking of how he had annoyed her since morning, and then smiled a bit, “main batati hun… tum likhlo.” He sat on his desk, took out his pen, and started noting down what she said, “rasaayan vigyan yaane physics… jeev vigyaan yaane chemistry… aur… …”

He dutifully noted down each of the translations she dictated, and then smiled at her sincerely, glad of her help, “thank you Naina… You know, kal ka din bahot mushkil tha mere liye kyunki teachers jo bhi bol rahe the aadha toh sir ke upar se jaa raha tha. Munna aur Pandit ko pucha toh woh bhi Hindi me samjhane lage, matlab phirse bouncer… Thank God tumhe English aati hai, kamsekam kuch doubts honge to puch toh sakunga kisise… Actually… main Nanu ko disappoint nahi karna chahta phirse…”

She delicately asked, “phirse?”

He bit his lip, his mood dimming a bit as he nodded, “haan… subah uss librarian ko bolte hue suna nahi tumne? School se nikaale jaane ki aadat hogi mujhe… Mere puraane school se mujhe rusticate kar diya gaya tha…”

She once more asked, “kyun?”

He shrugged, “main bikes pakadke skating kar raha tha aur seedhe principal ki car se takraya… Naturally main pakda gaya… Aur bike pe mere dost the, toh maine unke naam nahi diye… Isiliye mujhe nikaal diya.” She gaped at him, shocked at the reason of him being in this school. He flashed a grin at her, “anyways… achcha hi hua… kamsekam ab main Nanu ke saath reh sakta hun… Warna pehle hostel me rehna padta tha… Bas ek hi problem hai ke Nanu was disappointed with my behavior, isiliye iss school me koi chance nahi lena chahta main… So… Thank you!”

He stood up to leave, and she bit her lips, staring at his retreating back, guilt washing over her… He had thanked her so sincerely… And she… Before he could step out of the classroom, she called him, “Sameer… ek minute woh paper dena.”

He handed it over without a question… She tore a fresh page from her own book, writing down the Hindi and English names once again. Handing the new page over to him, she said, “yeh correct translations hai… Pehle maine galat wale bole tumhe… sorry…”

He read the names in astonishment, and queried, “but why would you do that? Kyun…?”

She folded her arms, “because you are annoying…”

He smirked, “and handsome?”

She laughed, standing up, “sirf tumhare sapno me… bye…”

He watched her leave and murmured, “kya ajeeb ladki hai…”

The rest of the day passed uneventfully, though Sameer was a bit astounded at himself… He had so simply divulged the reason for his rustication to her… Since yesterday he had not told a single soul why he was here in this school, or where he studied before, or why he left his previous school… All everyone knew was that he had gotten admission here because his Nanu was trustee. Just the teachers knew that he had been rusticated from his previous school, but today when Naina had asked, he had just started blabbering as if the connection between his brain and mouth had fused. Why did he behave so irrationally whenever he was with her? It wasn’t like him to argue with girls, or tease them, or talk to them so much… But this girl… Naina… She seemed to get on his nerves from the moment they had met. He should have been angry on her for the wrong translations, instead he had teased her back asking if she thought he was handsome… Why was the need to ask her this when he very well knew he was handsome? He sighed, hoping now that he had been foolish enough to tell her everything, she wouldn’t go and tell it to her friends… Else he would be the gossiping subject and probably Nanu would be embarrassed as well…

To his relief the next day nothing really seemed out of place, there were no students gossiping about his past, or laughing at him. He sighed in relief… Sitting on his bench, he waited until Naina looked at him and gave her a tentative smile. She looked surprised, but smiled back… It seemed like a step forward to something, and he remained cheerful that entire day.

Another day passed, and then on his fourth day when there was free lecture, students were instructed to go to library to revise for an upcoming test. He was a bit late in reaching there because halfway to the library he had realized that he had the wrong book in his hand, and had to rush back. As soon as he stepped in the library, he spotted Naina sitting on a corner table, near the window… She was busy reading, and she was wearing black-rimmed spectacles… Ecstatic at the discovery, he forgot where he was and said in an unusual loud voice, “ahan… I knew it… Tum chasme bina nahi dekh sakti…”

She jerked, staring at him open-mouthed… He smugly smiled at her, not noticing that everyone was staring at him in shock… In fact he didn’t notice anything until someone held the back of his collar. He looked back at the person, and his face fell on seeing an extremely angry librarian, once again dressed in grey safari suit. The librarian thundered, “tumhare Nana ka ghar nahi hai yeh jo chilla rahe ho… Nikal jao yahan se… Bigdail ameerzada…”

Sameer grabbed the door as he was pushed forcefully… He heard a gasp, and glanced back once to see Naina looking distressed… Immediately his heart skipped a beat, he hoped the librarian hadn’t noticed whom he as addressing. But all his hopes vanished when the librarian called out, “Naina… tum bhi jao bahar… Mere library me mujhe bekaar ke shor nahi chahiye.”

She tried to explain, “par sir… maine toh…”

“Out”, the librarian yelled, pointing at the door, and Naina gathered her books, quickly scurrying out. He fell in step beside her as she walked, wanting to apologize… She glared at him furiously, “ab kya hai?”

He lightly said, “Naina… chill yaar… I am sorry… Itna gussa kyun ho rahi ho? Normal hai na yeh toh… I mean mujhe toh kitni baar teachers ne class se bahar nikaala hai.”

She stopped to glare at him some more, “for your kind information mere saath yeh pehli baar hua hai… aur sab tumhari wajah se… jabse mile ho bas musibat hi khadi ki hai… Aur har baar papa ke saamne aisi harkate karte ho…”

He frowned in confusion, “papa?” And then his eyes widened, “oh shit… you mean woh safari suit tumhare papa hai?”

“Rakesh Agarwal”, she seethed, “Rakesh sir bolo unko… tumhe achcha lagega agar koi tumhare ajeeb naam rakhe toh?”

He grinned, “nahi… lekin tumhare pujya pitashri hi mujhe ameerzada bulate hai, toh main bhi unko safari suit bula sakta hun… Agar tum chahti ho ke main unko safari suit nahi bulau, toh tum unko bolo pehle ke mujhe Sameer bulaye, ameerzada nahi…”

She stared at him as if he had lost his brain, and then shook her head, walking away. He followed her reluctantly into their classroom, not really sure where else he could go. She sat down on her own bench, but he avoided sitting beside her, and rather went to the last bench in the furthest row, near the window. Not having anything to do, and not really inclined to study, he started to hum a song in low voice and tap his pen on the desk to the tune. After few minutes she turned to look at him, her expressions irked, “tumhe padhna nahi hai toh woh tumhari marzi… Lekin mujhe disturb mat karo. Awaaz bandh karo aur gaana gaana hai toh bahar jao.”

He pouted grumpily on being scolded but didn’t reply to her. Just like she asked he stopped making noises, but now once more he had nothing to do, and so he shifted his attention to her. The way she was sitting he could see the side of her face… Even from this distance her skin looked flawless, and there was a gentle glow on her face that he always thought came only with make-up but he knew she didn’t apply any make-up. Her hair was once more in pigtail, oiled as always, though less than the first day he had seen. Her full attention was on the book, and she kept noting something in between while reading. Her glasses had a mind of its own as it refused to stay put. Every time it would slip down, she would scrunch her nose and adjust it absentmindedly. Lost in his observations he moved to another bench diagonally, and then again… one bench at a time, closer and closer, until he was on the bench next to her.

She immediately looked at him and frowned, “ab kya?”

He pointed at the book, “kya padh rahi ho?”

“Chemistry”, she responded, “unit tests ke liye.”

He chuckled, “mujhe toh sirf ek hi chemisty aati hi.”

Perplexed she queried, “konsi?”

He looked stunned for a moment, and then laughed out, “seriously… you did not just ask me that!? Tumko pata nahi main konsi chemistry ki baat raha hun? Ya yeh flirt karneka koi naya tareeka hai?” She gasped, and he grinned, “itna effort daalneki zaroorat nahi hai… bas seedhe seedhe bol do ke tumko main handsome lagta hun.”

She looked so angry that he thought she would explode, and once again her eyes were glittering in that mesmerizing way that made him shut up and stare. Finally, instead of scolding him once again, she sighed, “tum meri samajh ke bahar ho Sameer.”

He smiled softly, “aur tum ajeeb ho Naina.”

This classroom incident changed their equation a bit… Now they didn’t argue every time they talked, but once in day for sure. It seemed as if none of them could stay without bickering, it was the most natural thing. But neither held any grudges after that… He got to know that she used the glasses while reading sometimes, but didn’t like wearing them. Upon knowing that he teased her once, calling her chasmish and she had furiously told him off warning him that if he ever called her that she would address him as loafer. Sameer also started asking her for notes to study better, and she gladly helped. Slowly he also dared to ask her for help in understanding certain concepts, and found out that she did a better job in teaching him than most of the teachers could. Months flew by… On a personal front, Nanu was happy with his improvement, and soon all was well at home as the topic of his rustication never came up again. Munna and Pandit became his closest friends because they were the only ones who were not interested in how much money he had in his wallet. He also joined the cricket team in school, and received compliments that he played better than the previous star player of their school, Arjun, who also happened to be Naina’s brother. When he regaled the news to Naina, hoping to tease her or make her angry, she just looked at him for some time and then smiled, “haan… sach hai yeh… maine dekha hai tumko khelte hue… Bhaiya pressure me panic kar jaate the aur unko out karna bahot easy ho jaata. Lekin tum end tak thande dimag se khelte ho, apni alag strategy banake… Bowlers ke liye bahot difficult hoga yeh samajhna ke tumhare dimag me kya chal raha hai…”

He was surprised on hearing this… It was true that he did that… Whenever he was burdened with the task of scoring a win, he would have his own strategy in mind that most of the times even his team didn’t know. He couldn’t stop himself from asking, “wow! Tumhe itna sab kaise samajh aaya? Tum grounds pe aati ho? I thought tum sports period me bhi library me jaati hogi.”

She laughed, “nahi… main dusri ladkiyo ke saath stapu khelti hun… lekin kabhi kabhi match dekhne bhi aate hai hum log.”

He had paused for a moment, and then hesitantly asked, “umm… parso final hai… tum aaogi?” She nodded, and he smiled, “main dhyan rakhunga iss baar… aur suno… mujhe biology me thode doubts hai. Kab puchu?”

She chuckled, “pehle kapde toh change karke aao… phir puch lena jo bhi doubts ho.”

He glanced down at himself, bit surprised that he had rushed to talk to her without even freshening up after the match… What the hell was wrong with him? Smacking his own forehead he went back to wash and change. They spent the next free period in library which thankfully was free of safari suit for some reason, and she gently solved each of his queries. He yawned, feeling bit tired. She had a small smile on her face as she helped in translating some notes for him, and suddenly asked, “Sameer… ek baat puchu?” He nodded, and she further queried, “tumne bataya tha tum hostel me rehte the… lekin Ahmedabad me ghar hai toh hostel kyun?”

A flash of pain darkened his eyes, and he was silent for a long moment before divulging, “main Nainital me rehta tha… Mere dad ki death ho gai jab main 3 saal ka tha… Phir main 5 saal ka hua tab mom ne dusri shaadi karli, aur woh Delhi me rehti hai, apne dusre pati, sautele bete aur ek beti ke saath… Ek budhiya bhi hai, so-called dadi… I was never welcome there… Mom ki pehli shaadi ki nishaani hun na main… So they dumped me in hostel… Tabse wahi rehta tha.”

Her mouth was open in shock, and there was sympathy in her eyes. He turned his head away, “don’t do that… main wahi ladka hun jo tumse ladta hai… nothing else…”

“I know”, she softly replied, “main toh bas soch rahi thi… umm… you are strong Sameer.”

He sharply looked back at her, “matlab?”

She glanced at the open window from where sunlight was streaming in along with floating dust particles, and replied in a monotone, “meri maa mujhe janam dete hue chal basi… mere papa mujhe isi wajah se pasand nahi karte… main apne chacha-chachi ke saath rehti hun, par kamsekam mere paas woh toh hai… I don’t think main tumhari tarah hostel me reh paati… Aur itna sab honeke baad bhi tum itne achche mood me rehte ho hamesha, dosti karna jaante ho, rishto ki kadar karte ho… isiliye maine kaha, tum bahot strong ho.”

He felt his throat clog up with some unknown emotion… This was the first time he had shared his plain simple truth with someone, and had received understanding instead of pity. “Thank you”, he whispered. She nodded, looking down at the notes again. But he didn’t miss the tears glistening in her eyes, and somehow he didn’t like it… Her eyes should glitter with happiness and anger, not tears… In an attempt to cheer her up, he conspiratorially muttered, “waise ek raaz ki baat bolu… uss safari suit ko toh poori duniya se problem hai… phir tum toh uski beti ho, toh tumhe kaise chodta woh…”

She stared at him in surprise and then suddenly giggled, “Sameer… tum bhi na… chalo yeh padho ab…”

He happily obeyed, glad that he could make her smile, and devoted to reading what she asked, in the process missing her thoughtful gaze. When he was done she suddenly asked, “tumhare woh dono friends… Nainital wale… Jinke wajah se tum rusticate hue, unka naam kya tha? Aur konsa school?”

He was puzzled by the question, but replied honestly, “Kabir aur Rohit… St. Joseph school… Kyun?”

“Bas aisai”, she mumbled, once more occupied.

A day after when he played the cricket finals, his gaze scanned the crowd and he grinned when he spotted Naina. To his delight she was also looking at him, and waved at him as soon as their eyes met. Nanu was also there that day, and when he hit the winning six his first sight was of his Nanu clapping for him… He smiled… And the immediate next was of Naina, jumping in delight while she clapped hard… Her face was split in a grin so wide that he felt a strange warmth fill up his heart and his lips curved in response. Exhilaration coursed through his veins, his eyes refusing to shift from the sight of her jumping up and down. Even when he was lifted on shoulders by his team, he kept looking back to see her, and for some reason that match became the most memorable one for him.

Exactly ten days later from that library conversation, Sameer received a phone call to which he could only listen in increasing degrees of astonishment. He rushed to the school and ran through the corridors to his classroom. Without even giving a damn as to who was listening to their conversation, he walked up to her desk and glared at her accusingly, “you did it, right? Woh letter tumne bheja?”

She was puzzled when he had come up running, but after hearing his questions her whole face lit up and she stood up, “jaldi batao kya punishment mila?”

He frowned, “what?”

She clucked her tongue, “punishment kya mila unko? Batao na…”

He glared at her steadily but she remained unfazed even when he was angry and instead beamed up at him as if she had achieved something spectacular… The shine in her eyes didn’t let him hold on to his anger for long, and he sighed in exasperation, “why did you did it?”

She crossed her arms, pouting, “kyunki woh tumhare dost nahi hai… hote toh uss din saamne se aake accept kar lete ke tumhare saath woh log the… Jaise I am sure, Munna aur Pandit karenge.”

He looked back at his two friends who were looking at the scene with bewildered expressions, as was the rest of the class. Never before had he talked to Naina so openly in class, and today he could see that everyone was surprised at the way they were talking, and also probably even more surprised because the topic was unclear to everyone. He had talked about a letter, she had talked about his so-called friends but never once did she speak about Nainital or hostel or him being rusticated. She had protected his secret, and she had somehow also understood the depth of his friendship with Munna and Pandit even though they had never talked about it. He had to accept that what she said was right… Kabir and Rohit were not true friends, else when he had been rusticated to save them, they would have owned up in an attempt to save him. And that had hurt him… More than he had wanted to believe and more than he realized… But today on receiving that angry phone call from Kabir, and then hearing Naina’s justification he felt as if someone had applied a soothing balm on that hurt… He still couldn’t believe that Naina would have the daring to do something like this… A letter… She had written a damn letter to the principal in his old school and given out the names… There was no return address on the letter, only a stamp of Ahmedabad, and so Kabir had thought it was him… At first he hadn’t been able to understand anything, but then it had dawned on him that there was only one person who could do this. She was still pouting, staring at him beseechingly, and a reluctant smile curved his lips as he replied, “do week library me duty aur cricket ban… aur unke parents ko bhi bata diya…”

She grinned, rubbing her hands in glee, “awesome…”

He shook his head, chuckling at her apparent pleasure, “Naina… tum sach me bahot ajeeb ho.”

Their conversation ended with the entry of teacher, but he couldn’t help looking at her repeatedly during the classes. His heart thumped with some unknown satisfaction that she had understood his unspoken pain and cared enough to heal it. Having a closure on that matter also gave him courage to reveal about his past to Munna and Pandit, who just as Naina had guessed accepted everything without questions, and offered friendship instead of pity. Ahmedabad suddenly started to feel more like home… A home he had never had…

Another week later a school picnic was announced, a day trip… It raised the excitement levels considerably and every student was looking forward to have that one day of break. The destination wasn’t far… Modhera Sun Temple was just a 3 hour journey by road, but that was far enough for a relaxed day trip. Two days before the trip he got to know that Naina wasn’t joining, and he once more walked up to her in class, openly demanding, “why aren’t you coming on trip?”

Her eyes widened for few seconds and then she smiled, “bas aisai… mujhe padhna hai…”

“Already board me top karne wali ho”, he declared, “ab tak aur kitna padhogi?”

She laughed, “I wish main board me top kar paau… lekin itni intelligent bhi nahi hun main…”

“Don’t change the topic”, he glared, “trip ke kyun nahi aa rahi?”

She sighed, “bas aisai Sameer… mujhe man nahi hai… Aur waise bhi, tum mujhse yeh puch kyun rahe ho? Tumhare dost toh jaa rahe hai na… mere naa jaane se kya farq padega? Wahan thodi na mere notes chahiye tumhe…”

No, I need you…

The instant thought in his mind stunned him to silence. What was he doing? Talking to her in-front of the class, demanding to know why she isn’t coming on trip, as if he had right to do so. He could see she was uncomfortable; in fact if he wasn’t mistaken there was a faint blush on her cheeks, and unknown to him the sight made him smile. God… She looked adorable.

What? Sameer…

He gulped, moving back to his own desk, not exactly sure what was happening to him. Why did he want Naina to join the picnic? Why was he not happy that she wouldn’t be joining in? Why did he want answers from her? He needed to think of something else… She was right… Munna and Pandit would join in, and that should be enough for him. But try as much he couldn’t stop thinking… Finally at break time, when he came in class to get the wallet that he had forgotten in his bag, he spotted Naina, still busy in some book, and munching on some roll… He controlled himself from calling out to her, from demanding answers… However, it seemed she heard him because she looked up from her book, and smiled, “hi… tum yahan?”

“Wallet lene aaya tha”, he murmured. She nodded, looking back at the book and he rummaged in his bag for the wallet. Just then he heard her voice, “mere papa ne mana kar diya trip pe jaane dene se. Tauji ne bhi permission nahi diya, aur unke khilaf hamare ghar me koi nahi bolta, isiliye main aur Preeti dono nahi aayenge.”

He looked back at her, thinking about what he heard and then sighed, glad that he had an explanation. Tentatively he asked, “tum udaas ho?”

She lowered her book to look at him, “thoda… lekin Chachaji ne yeh nayi novel kharidke di… Toh ab tum log trip pe enjoy karoge tab main yeh book padhungi.”

He smiled a bit, and queried, “aur Preeti?”

She chuckled, “usko toh khana mil jaaye yaane woh khush. Chachaji ne kaha hai hume uss din Law Garden le jayenge.”

He grinned, pulling out the books from his bag, “great… park ke main gate ke saamne jo pani-puri ka thela hai na woh mera favorite hai… wahan zaroor khana.”

She nodded, “okay… tum yeh bag ka saraa samaan kyun nikaal rahe ho?”

He frowned, opening his bag wide to look, “wallet mil hi nahi raha.”

She giggled, “Sameer… tum bhi na… yeh lo, ise pakdo.” He stared in confusion at the rolled up half-eaten paratha she offered, and wondered what she was up to now. Thinking that it would be better to do as she asked rather than asking more questions, he took it… She stood up, and thrust he hand beneath his desk, in the small alcove where students usually kept their bags, and triumphantly pulled out his wallet. He gaped at her, “yeh… yahan tha? How did you know?”

She smiled, handing it over to him, “maina dekha tha subah tumko yahan rakhte hue. Laao… mera paratha do.”

He glanced at her tiffin box which contained one more paratha, and then grinned, “kyun du? Ab yeh mera…” Saying so he took a generous bite out of it, not even caring that she had already eaten from the same roll, and praised, “wow… tumhari chachi mast khana banati hai.”

Her eyes lit up, and her smile widened, “haan woh toh banati hai… lekin yeh maine banaya hai.”

He looked at her in surprise, “really?” She nodded, and he grinned, “phir toh achcha hua maine khaya… agli baar mere liye extra le aana… bye!” Waving at her he left from the class while she stood smiling at his retreating figure.

The day of trip was bright and clear, Sameer joked around with his friends, standing near the bus that was almost ready to leave. Shanti madam handed over snack packets to them for the journey. Just then Munna pointed, “woh dekh… Kamya… Kya fashion wale kapde pehenke aai hai yaar…”

Sameer glanced towards the direction and saw Kamya sashay in golden knee length skirt with a purple top, her hair tied to one side, and she had also worn sunglasses. He shook his head, and turned away only to find his friends ogling at the sight. He smacked Pandit, “oye… kya kar rahe ho tum dono?”

Pandit rubbed his head, “kya yaar… tu sanyasi hai toh hum bhi ban jaaye… bhaav toh deti hai nahi ladkiya hume, dekhne toh de kamsekam.”

Munna nodded, “haan yaar… tujhe kya hai… tu thoda muskura dega toh Kamya abhi tere baaju me aake khadi ho jayegi.”

Sameer rolled his eyes, “mujhe koi interest nahi hai usme…”

“Usne itni choti skirt pehni hai”, Pandit countered in justification.

Sameer chuckled, suddenly recalling Naina’s habit of pulling her socks till her knees, and went inside the bus, not knowing how to explain his thoughts to them. The bus journey was uneventful, apart from Kamya trying to sit with Sameer, and then when he refused she sat behind him and kept poking him, urging him to participate in antakshari. However he had no interest in the game, and closed his eyes, deciding to rest. After about fifteen minutes the boys’ team was stuck on the alphabet A and he could hear them brainstorming for a song that hadn’t been sung yet. He recalled a study session in classroom, when once more Naina was helping him with some translations, and he was reading what she had assigned, but was taken aback on hearing her hum a tune… A smile curved his lips at the recollection, and unknown to himself, he started singing, “aate jaate… haste gaate… socha hai maine man me kai baar… woh pehli nazar… halka sa asar… karta hai kyun iss dil ko bekaraar…” He was utterly oblivious that he was singing the song, until he heard a few other boys cheer and join in, finishing the song at, “yahi sach hai, shayad maine pyaar kiya.” He stopped singing before that last line, his mouth open in a perfect O as he couldn’t believe that he had sung after saying that he wouldn’t participate. Shanti madam teased, “aree waah Sameer… tum toh bahot achcha gaate ho… lekin tum toh keh rahe the ke tumhe antakshari pasand nahi, phir achanak gaane kaise lage?”

Still too stunned at his own behavior, he blurted, “Naina…”

Shanti madam was puzzled, “Naina… Lekin woh toh trip pe nahi aayi hai.”

Sameer combed his fingers through his hair nervously, “haan… woh… actually kisiko gaana yaad nahi aa raha tha aur mujhe suddenly yaad aaya ke Naina thode din pehle yeh gaana gaa rahi thi… A se shuru hota hai toh maine madad kardi.”

Shanti madam accepted his explanation, and the boys thanked him. He smiled, not sure what to do now… Should he just sit down and analyze his own behavior? Or continue playing now that he had started? He missed Kamya’s penetrating gaze, but recalled Naina wishing him yesterday, asking him to let go and have fun on this trip. And with a small smile he decided to do just that… To his surprise he actually had a fun time playing antakshari…

They reached Modhera in a little over three hours, and everyone automatically divided in groups to explore. It was a beautiful location, yet he wondered why he felt the picture to be incomplete. The architecture was spectacular, the sabha mandap stood strong with 52 pillars representing each week in a year. The carvings were intricate and he heard someone explain that it represented unity of air, water, earth and space. It was so huge that it took them an hour to cover it. The other section was the shrine, but he didn’t go there as he didn’t believe in prayers, but the reservoir at the base of steps attracted him. He went down the steps and sat on the last one, staring into the murky water… The trip was no fun, couldn’t they have chosen a more happening location? He frowned, dipping a finger in the water, and drawing circular patterns. He recalled his conversation from yesterday with Naina, once again in the library. He had grumbled, “mandir me kaun school trip rakhta hai?”

She had chuckled, “mandir hai lekin puja nahi hoti wahan Sameer… Pehle hua karti thi… Aur sirf mandir nahi hai, aur bhi bahot kuch hai wahan… Tumhe maza aayega.”

He had frowned, “achcha… toh phir tum hi bata do kahan ghumu.”

She had animatedly explained, “Modhera teen hisso be bata hua hai… Sabha mandap, jahan puraane zamane me meetings hua karti thi… Gudha Mandapa, jaha suryadev ki puja ki jaati thi… Aur Kunda, yaane paani ka reservoir. Jaante ho, yeh reservoir itne saalo me kabhi nahi sukha, pani ka star upar-neeche hota hai bas. Koi nahi jaanta kitna gehra hai… Har saal baarish ke mausam poore mandir se har ek seedhi se paani behke uss kund me aata hai… Tum jao toh wahan paani ko choonke zaroor dekhna, maine suna hai hamesha thanda rehta hai. Aur phir jo compound haina wahan bahot bada garden hai, jahan tarah tarah ke paudhe hai… bahot si chidiya bhi hogi, tum photo zaroor khinchna… Aur pushpavati nadi ke kinaare jaana… Pata hai, main hoti na toh wahan patte se naav banake chodti, paani ke bahaav me use door tak jaate hue dekhti.”

He smiled at the recollection, and dipped all his fingers in the water, feeling the soothing cold temperature. She was right… When they would meet in school on Monday, he would tell her that she had heard right, the water in the reservoir was cold. He looked around, the marks and variations in color shade of the stairs showed that indeed the water levels changed. It pleased him that she was right.

Suddenly he felt a hand on his shoulder, and turned to see Kamya standing there. He frowned, shrugged her hand off and stood up, “tum yahan kya kar rahi ho?”

She smiled, “tum mandir ke andar nahi aaye the na toh main tumhe dhundte hue yahan aa gai. Waise mujhe bhi mandir pasand nahi… kitna boring hota hai…”

Sameer rolled his eyes, “I don’t care… main mandir me nahi aaya kyunki mujhe vishwaas nahi hai… Yeh reservoir dekhne aaya tha, ab jaa raha hun.”

She looked puzzled, “rese…reserve… kya? Yeh toh kund hai na?”

He bit his lip, recalling how smoothly Naina pronounced the English word for him. Sighing he said, “haan yeh kund hai… maine bas English me bola… Reservoir… Main chalta hun ab…”

As he turned, she grabbed his hand, “Sameer… mujhe tumse baat karni hai.” He stopped, trying to tug his hand, not liking the feeling even though he couldn’t understand why. Kamya continued speaking, “Mujhe pata hai Sameer ke tum mujhe bahot pasand karte ho… Main bhi tumse kehna chahti hun ke mujhe bhi tum pasand ho. I love you Sameer.” And suddenly she had left his hand, and instead hugged him around his waist.

He raised his hands away, recoiling, trying to pull back, “Kamya chodo mujhe…”

“Nahi”, she argued, “mujhe pata hai tum bhi mujhse pyaar karte ho. Toh phir bolte kyun nahi…”

He pushed her away from his body, and took several steps back, “dammit Kamya… tum pagal ho kya? Who does this kind of thing? Aur yeh kya pyaar pyaar kar rahi ho?” Dragging in a deep breath he tried to calm himself, and gently explained, “dekho Kamya… mujhe nahi pata tumne kaise yeh samajh liya ke mujhe tum pasand ho… I mean, tum achchi ho… Lekin mujhe tumhare me waisa wala interest nahi hai… I am sorry, agar meri taraf se kisi wajah se tumhe aisa laga toh, par sach toh yahi hai ke mujhe yeh sab me koi interest nahi hai… Isiliye behtar hoga ke tum aisi harkat dobara na karo…”

“Par Sameer…”, she started to argue.

But he interrupted, “please Kamya… enough… maine kabhi aisa kuch nahi kiya jisse tumko yeh galat-fehmi bhi ho ke mujhe koi interest hai… Pyaar toh door, hum toh dost bhi nahi hai… Main toh tumse baat tak nahi karta… Aur jisse karta hun woh…” Swallowing, he looked at the water, and whispered, “woh yahan nahi hai mere saath…”

God… He was missing Naina… He wanted her here with him… Unable to tolerate the pressure of his thoughts he bounded up the stairs away from the reservoir, away from Kamya, away from the realization that could shake him up… Once he reached outside, he looked up at the sky, trying to breath in fresh air. What was happening to him? He had no idea… But she would know right? Yes… Naina always had answers to his questions; she always understood things he didn’t even speak… She would definitely know… He had to talk to her…

Sounds of laughter brought him back to reality, and he looked around to see Munna and Pandit. They came up to him, he tried to normalize his expressions, and queried, “kaisa tha andar?”

“Mast ekdum”, Pandit replied, “par tujhe kya hua bhai? Itna pareshan kyun lag raha hai? Tabiyat toh theek hai…”

He wiped his forehead, “haan theek hun… bas woh reservoir… uh… kund ke wahan gaya tha na toh ghutan ho rahi thi thodi.”

Munna chuckled, “chudail toh nai mil gai tujhe?”

Sameer was puzzled, “chudail?”

Munna nodded, “aree woh Sanjay hai na… Tebriwal… Woh keh raha tha ke kund ke wahan koi chudail rehti hai.”

Pandit laughed, “bakwaas hai… mandir me chudail thodi na hogi.”

Sameer thought of Kamya’s sudden shocking proposal and murmured, “ho bhi sakti hai.”

Munna patted his shoulder, “tu maanta hai kya?”

He laughed softly, “nahi yaar… anyways… chal garden me chalte hai… suna hai bahot saare birds aur flowers hai wahan… photo khichte hai… Aur phir nadi ke paas chalenge.”

Pandit asked, “nadi ke wahan kuch hai kya karenko?”

Sameer smiled, “patte se naav banake paani me chodenge aur dekhenge kitni dur tak jaati hai…” His friends found the idea weird but were nevertheless ready to accompany him in this madness. Sameer missed Naina, but at that moment he couldn’t do anything about it and so he did everything she had asked him to, or rather suggested him to. He admired the flowers in the garden, sneaked one to take it back for her… He also clicked some pictures of birds, the three of them having a hilarious time as they chased the birds from tree to tree trying to get good shots. After lunch they lolled out in the sprawling gardens, chattering non-stop. And then finally they went to the riverside where Sameer made small boats out of leaves and floated them in the water. While Munna-Pandit kept plucking the leaves from a nearby tree, Sameer wandered a bit way to get bigger leaves, wanting to see the boats clearly, differently… He made two of them and floated these too… He clicked pictures to show her. She would be happy… The thought of making her happy pleased him, the imagination of her smile made him smile, the prospect of seeing her soon excited him… And as he stood watching two of leaf boats sail afar without tilting, he knew he was in trouble, because those were the boats he had made out of different leaves than what his friends had used, because those were the two boats he had sailed in his and her name…

to be continued…