The clock on the table ticked, the silver body gleaming in the yellow desk lamp. Books were neatly tucked at one end, and scraps of paper littered everywhere with unintelligible scribblings. Low whispering sounds could be heard, and a girl in blue night dress fluttered back and forth from cupboard to bed, while another in green night dress sat cross-legged on the bed trying to hold back her giggles.
“Hasna band kar”, Naina admonished in a harsh whisper.
Preeti grinned, and whispered back, “Kya karu? Tu itni upar-niche ho rahi hai jaise maano hum Switzerland jaa rahe ho.”
Naina clutched on to a purple sweater, her eyes dreamy as she recalled her sister’s comment during Pooja didi’s wedding that Sameer would take her to Switzerland on their honeymoon. Even though she had been angry on Sameer at that time, her heart had fluttered at the thought, and now today too just the mention of that place still caused her heart to flutter, but there was an additional sensation of something happening in her stomach. She thought it might be the worry of traveling, but then it had started to happen quite often now, especially when Sameer was around or when she was thinking of him. Why was it so?
Preeti frowned, “oye kahan kho gai?”
Naina jerked, “shsh… kya kar rahi hai, dhire bol. Koi sunn lega toh aafat aa jayegi.”
“Sorry, sorry”, Preeti held her ears, “lekin yaar, mera man toh chillaneka kar raha hai.”
Naina chuckled, and climbed onto bed, “sach me yaar… aisa hi lag raha hai jaise maano hum sach me videsh jaa rahe ho.”
Preeti nodded, “haan. Par abhi wapas sapne mat dekhne lag jijaji ke. Yeh saare churidaar kahan chupaaye yeh bata.”
Naina looked around their room thoughtfully, “woh Pooja didi ka ek kapdo ka baksa hai usme rakh dete hai. Chachiji woh tabhi kholti hai jab Pooja didi aati hai aur woh abhi aane nahi wali.”
“Yeh achcha idea hai”, Preeti agreed.
Together they carefully pulled out the wild-painted trunk, that Naina had once taken to Mt. Abu, but now it held Pooja’s didi’s clothes which she usually used when she came to stay here. Otherwise this truck remained closed and tucked away, which is why the sisters were now using it to hide their “boring salwar-kameez” as tagged by Preeti. After all, who would wear those on a college picnic.
Just for the sake of not lying entirely to their family, Naina and Preeti had taken 3 pairs of salwar-kameez each, and the rest of their suitcase was filled with jeans, skirts, tops, shirts and of course shawls and sweaters. Preeti had even stuffed some make-up and fancy jewelries. This excitement was perfectly justified, and why wouldn’t it be, after it was their college trip. Naina couldn’t help but gush with happiness at the thought. It was a week-long trip to Nainital, something she had single-handedly managed to convince the principal for. Well… Sameer helped her of course, but then their efforts were counted as one, since they were one.
There had been a huge upheave at home, and permission had been strictly denied by Taiji. Eventually the pleads and arguments, that since Naina was the GS of college it was not at all possible for her to miss, had been listened to by Chachaji who had agreed. He had taken aside Naina though and asked if Sameer was coming, and she had nodded not knowing what to expect. To her surprise however, Chachaji had smiled and said, “chalo koi toh hoga jo meri bachchiyo ka dhyan rakhega.”
After that it had been an exciting time shopping for the trip, that was disrupted by Taiji who kept saying it was pointless to spend money on such things. Sameer had also gone for shopping, pulling Naina along with him one day during a free lecture. It had been an absolute pleasure for him to see Naina choosing clothes for him. He had patiently stood with a huge smile on his lips, as she held up t-shirts and shirts to see which one suited him the most.
The cordless phone hidden under the pillow rang, and Naina rushed to pick it up. It was 1:30am, but she knew Sameer would call, as they both were extremely excited.
“Hi”, she whispered.
He smiled at the other end, “soyi nahi?”
She chuckled, “tum bhi toh nahi soye.”
“Neend nahi aa rahi”, he admitted, “socho na Naina, pura ek hafta hum saath honge… aur iss baar toh…”
He trailed off, but she understood and finished his sentence, “iss baar koi shart bhi nahi hai.”
It wasn’t a surprise to him that she was remembering the same thing as him, but still he asked, “umm… tum thik ho na… mera matlab… woh sab yaad karke…”
She smiled, “Sameer… woh purani baate hai. Aur Mt. Abu yaad karna hi ho toh, wahan bahot saari achchi yaadein bhi hai.”
“Jaise?”, he asked, wanting to know what she treasured the most.
She wrapped a shawl and went out in the balcony, “hamara boating pe jaana, suryodaya dekhna, bus me antakshari khelna, food’ hall me chupke se baate karna, campfire, woh saare photos khinchna… aur tumne jo mere liye guglupuchu ko jeeta tha.”
His heart soared at the thought that she had found every moment with him a memory to remember. Next moment, he frowned at the unfamiliar word, “yeh gulpuchu kya hai?”
She laughed softly, “gulpuchu nahi guglupuchu… woh pink teddy bear jo tumne mere liye jeeta tha. Swati ne uska naam…”
This time she trailed off, and he understood, “udaas ho?”
She hummed, “thoda sa… Swati hoti hamare saath toh, hamara group pura ho jaata na.”
He sighed, “ek din aayega aisa Naina… usko apni galtiyon ka ehsaas hoga.”
She closed her eyes briefly, recalling how Swati and she had promised to be friends for life. Determined not to spoil her and Sameer’s mood, she took a deep breath and opened her eyes, “jaane do. Yeh batao tum mere liye kya gift laa rahe ho?”
“Gift..!!??”, he sounded surprised.
“Haan gift”, Naina replied back indignantly, “hamara pehla trip hai aur tum mujhe kuch doge nahi?”
He chuckled, “pehla kaise? Mt. Abu bhi toh saath gaye the.”
She frowned, “haan par tab toh hum dono…”
Sameer interrupted, “mere liye tab bhi tum hi thi… sirf tum… bas main samajh nahi paaya tha.”
She blushed, and slowly admitted, “mere liye bhi.”
He beamed, “jaanta hun. Chalo ab so jao. Kal subah nikalna hai, aur main jaanta hun tum ab bhi kuch na kuch packing zarur karogi.”
Naina laughed, “jaise tumne toh saari packing abhi khatam karli hai.”
He glanced at his unkempt bed with open suitcase and strewn clothes, and grinned, pleased at how well she knew him. Her voice pulled him back from his thoughts, “suno. Sab kuch thik se le lena. Aur jacket lena please. Warna wahan ki thanda me shardi ho jayegi.”
His heart warmed at the concern, “madam ji, aap bhul rahi hai shayad ke main Nainital me reh chuka hun. Mujhe wahan ke mausam ka pata hai.”
“Jaanti hun”, she smiled, “tabhi toh kaha tha ke tum mujhe ghumana.”
He chuckled, “banda aapki seva me hazir rahega.”
She laughed, “chalo so jao ab. Good Night.”
“Bas sirf Good Night?”, he scowled.
She smiled, “I love you.”
“I love you too”, he paused for the briefest moment before continuing, “achcha suno… kabhi apne boyfriend ko good night kiss bhi de diya karo.”
She flushed, “haww besharam. Byee.”
He laughed as she disconnected. Off late he had been trying to get beyond hand-hold with his studious girlfriend, and had started voicing demands of hugs and kisses. Though there was no breakthrough yet, he was sure the time wasn’t far when she would be comfortable with the idea. He had not failed to notice how she had started to look at him for increasing amount of time, and her gaze had not lingered only on his face. The other day when he had worn his blue t-shirt, he was sure her gaze had flickered to his biceps more than once. Another day in canteen, he had caught her staring at him, and the color on her cheeks indicated that she was for sure not analyzing just his face.
What was it with Sameer, thought Naina as she kept the phone in the hall, and went back to her bedroom. Preeti had already fallen asleep. She quickly shut their suitcases, lest Chachiji came in the morning and saw all their clothes. Laying down on the bed, she let her thoughts wander to her handsome boyfriend. She hadn’t failed to notice how their platonic relationship had suddenly changed, with his increasing demands of coming closer, hugs and kisses. He had even given her a flying kiss, and shamelessly reminded her of the letter kiss she had sent when he was in Delhi. When she had flushed and said that she didn’t know why she had done that, he had smirked and leaned towards her in his trademark style, whispering in her ears how he didn’t believe for one single moment that she had no idea of what she was doing with that kiss.
She covered her face with the blanket, as if she felt Sameer could see her colored cheeks right at this moment. It was true. With all his demands of hugs and kisses, she had also started to think in that direction. When he had been far away in Delhi, it had been too easy for her fantasize themselves in place of movie couples and imagine all the romantic song sequences. But now, he was back and was with her for most part of the day. As it is, she had kept on wandering how it would feel to hug him. But he had increased the levels of her imagination with his demands of kiss. With several thoughts swirling in her head, she dozed off, only to dream much more about Sameer.
On the other hand, Sameer chuckled one last time at the teddy bear’s name, and brought out the precious letter that he had saved. It had Naina’s lip mark in deep red, and he couldn’t help but trace the mark with his own lips time and again, craving to have a taste of the real thing. Nainital might be a good opportunity for him to convince her to take their relationship to the next level. With all the delicious thoughts in mind, where Naina didn’t mention her boundaries to him, he too fell asleep clutching the pillow dreaming it to be his tempting girlfriend in his arms instead.
The next morning Naina got up extremely early, and washed her hair, then woke up Preeti, and also made a quick call to Sameer to wake him up. He groggily picked up the phone, and was pleasantly surprised to know that she had called to wake him up. Chachiji fed them extra heavy breakfast, and also packed several boxes for the journey. Along with fresh home-made food, there were several packets of biscuits and dry snacks.
Chachaji came to drop Preeti and Naina at the train station, and instructed them to call him as soon as they reached. Also, he added some extra bit of money to what he had given them at home in-front of Taiji. As soon as he left, Naina looked around wanting to see if Sameer had already arrived. She had worn a white and maroon salwar-kameez, even though she and Preeti both had wanted to dress up in jeans but had refrained from doing so in-front of Taiji. Soon Kamya and Hema joined them, both dressed from head to toe in everything new.
“Achcha hua woh Sunaina aur uske chamche nahi hai iss trip pe”, Hema voiced.
Preeti patted Naina, “aree woh log aate kaise. Sunaina ka kiya hua trip ka vaada, Naina ne permission dilvake pura kiya. Aur fir wohi toh aai thi saamne se shart lagane ke agar Naina permission laa paati hai toh woh log trip pe nahi aayenge.”
Everyone laughed at that. Sunaina, Kartik and the whole gang had put up a bet in-front of Naina saying that she cannot get the permission from Principal. Sameer had smartly made them swear in-front of all students that none of them would come if Naina managed to organize the college trip. Fortunately for them and unfortunately for Sunaina, everything had fallen into place surprisingly well. Naina sighed, relief evident on her face. Even though she missed Swati, she was truly relieved that none of that gang was there on this trip. Their repeated attempts at maligning her name had left her somewhat shaken. She of course had Sameer for her support, but still that group had made it really difficult for her to spend some proper time with him.
Soon Principal Madam and JBR came, and Naina was handed over a sheet with list of things to check and do during the whole journey. She was just going through the list when her heart fluttered, and she felt a familiar feeling. A smiled tugged up her lips, as she knew she always felt like this when Sameer was around. She looked up, and immediately spotted him walking towards her. It was like a flashback of Mt. Abu trip, all those years back. This time too he had his suitcase in his hand, black leather jacket slung over his shoulder, dressed in a black t-shirt and blue jeans. Sunglasses covered his eyes, yet Naina could feel his gaze boring into her, and his lips curved in an arrogant smirk as if he knew the effect he had on her.
Sameer saw her dreamy smile, softened expressions, her gaze fixed on him. How was it possible that she looked more beautiful with each passing day? She was dressed in a simple white-maroon salwar-kameez, with a blue knitted sweater. Yet he noticed how she had put on jhumkas and bangles that he liked, his eyes wandered to the soft fabric hugging her curves in the most alluring manner. He went up to her, and kept his suitcase down, removed his sunglasses, and winked at her, “Good Morning.”
Before Naina could respond, his ever so sprightly saali responded, “Good Morning Jijaji.”
He smiled at the girls, already itching to have some time alone with Naina. Soon Munna and Pandit also came up, bickering about whose sweater was better. JBR instructed the students to move towards platform number 1, and to stay together until the train arrived.
While walking inside, Sameer took the opportunity to lean down and whisper, “waise aaj kuch zyada hi khubsurat lag rahi ho.”
Naina blushed, but gathered enough courage to return the compliment, “aur tum hamesha ki tarah handsome.”
His eyes widened in surprise for a second, before pink tinged his cheeks as well. Sameer patted his pocket, “Naina, tumko yaad hai Mt. Abu trip ke waqt hum shuruat me saath me photo khichwana chahte the, par sab log beech me aa gaye aur uske baad woh khadoos…”
He grinned as Naina slapped his arm, and amended himself, “aah… mera matlab mere pujya sasurji aa gaye the.”
Naina giggled and nodded, “haan yaad hai.”
He took out his camera, “tab saath me nahi khinchwa paaye, aaj khinchwale?”
Her eyes brightened up at the idea, and he mentally patted his back for remembering her love for photographs. He asked Munna to click their picture, and pointedly asked the others to wait for a minute. Naina blushed at his declaration of wanting a picture only with her, but happily stood beside him. After a couple of clicks, the other students and Principal madam also came up for a group picture, but this time Sameer grabbed her elbow to keep her beside him.
“Yahin raho mere paas”, he commanded in soft tone.
Naina also wanted to stay with him, so she didn’t object. Finally, Sameer did manage to keep her beside him even in the group picture. Pleased with himself, he happily thought that he would frame one picture and keep in on his bedside table. After all, today was the day they had clicked their first picture as a couple.
They whiled away time, chattering non-stop. Several people around them had settled onto benches or had spread cloth on the floor in the long wait for their train. The overhead clock blinked, showing the time. Smell of freshly prepared tea, and hot pakodas wafted from the nearby stall. JBR informed them of the coach they were supposed to enter, and asked them to be careful. Soon the excitement levels started to increase, as the train whistled, and slowly glided in. Preeti clutched on to Naina, “yaar, main na pagal ho jaungi.”
Naina laughed, a similar feeling of excitement running through her veins. Porters dressed in red and white, ran up and down the platform trying to find customers. Sameer shifted slightly, holding onto Naina’s hand and shielding her as the crowd of people started to move towards the train. Munna and Pandit jumped inside, and helped the girls with their bags. Sameer helped Naina up, and then passed on both his and her bag before climbing in himself.
Like a pro traveler, Sameer quickly arranged all the bags beneath the seats, and offered Naina the window seat while he sat down beside her with Munna and Pandit next to him. Preeti sat on opposite berth with Kamya and Hema. It was perhaps a little constricted with four of them sitting on the same berth, but well, he wasn’t going to complain when he could sit close to Naina.
JBR and Principal Madam quickly checked if all students had come in, and instructed that none of them should step out of the train on some other platforms. Naina looked out excited. They were going to spend the whole night in train and reach Delhi early in the morning, and then take a bus to Nainital. She couldn’t wait to see the city where Sameer had grown up.
Sameer looked at her smiling face, and felt happy that they could go together on this trip. At the same time the impending journey to Delhi and then to Nainital left him with some unpleasant memories from past. He just hoped he would be able to look beyond them and give Naina a holiday that she deserved.
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