Red color, rejected.
Black wine, rejected.
Still indecisive I donned my pink checked shirt, my fingers nervous way button up the impossibly tiny buttons one after the other. I didn’t need to try out white but nothing seemed to match with a blue denims. Thankfully there is no uncertainty there with everything else in the laundry.
Shirt tucked in, I turned left and right. OK but perhaps the day urged to more.
Shaken my head, I rejected the pink and forcing myself to try out green.
A green and a white is the evergreen male combination. Females please don’t be hurted. If you will not looking too smart in it, you will look too dumb either. Eventually I ended up with the equal combination on each occasion and the routine being the reason I don’t wanted to repeat it today.
As I button up the green shirt, my eyes recognized the anxiety which my face reflected in the mirror. Had it been only nervousness my brain could have somehow deal with it but the excitement that flushing my cheeks was just too much. Anyway the mind approving the much familiar combination instantly. I ran my palms all over the hair to making my hair style presentable, hard way anything changed.
While the certain population of town dozed off till late on the early Sunday morning, I struggling to started my senior Chetak(scooter), somehow it did began. Twenty minutes on road, another ten in the parking lot and I reached the second home, MGF Plaza city. I knew the longitudes and latitudes of every store, even stores like UCB that were of my least interest or necessities to be sincere.
I ensuring that my shirt was tuck in and my appearance was not clumsy at each opportunity I got. I managed to get two PVR tickets of a evening show and all I had to do now was to waiting, for her. First time ever out with the girl and no matter how much times I checked my wrist watch, she still made me wait.
Sensible and sensitive, she really had helped me in school on numerous occasions. I simply adored her nature. So what if Rashmi never had guys lining up for her, she was still a sharp features beauty, actually each girl is, in one manner or the other. It’s just our inefficient eyes that fail to recognizing it. We parted ways after class tenth and after gap of longer four years when I finally developed my fb profile, we reunited.
From weeks to days, from whatsapp to fb gradually she became more than the friend. Kind of addicted to her, I didn’t understand how she felt and for certain I couldn’t asking either. Anyway last week I had asking her if she would love to meet me in person, she had agreed.
The wait was ultimately over. It didn’t taken me too long to recognizing her. The hours spent in viewing her profile photos had paid off. In bottle green top and knee torn sky blue jeans she be sited at the PVR entrance. Her eyes searched for someone, you could guess whom.
Seeing her in person, after such a longer time, was a charm. I last remember her in red shirt, violet skirt, in the school uniform. I enjoyed observed her from within the book store as I doubted to do the similar from outside. Next her name flashed on my cell phone screen, I avoided it. She did that 3 more times, I somehow containing myself. My ears envy my eyes, we had not talked. Texting was the trending.
“So here you were” she said.
“Hi Rashmi” Satwinder said as I turning a page.
“U seemed busy, BYE then” Rashmi said.
“No, no, Rashmi wait” this time I made the eye contact.
“I didn’t waited for so longer only to be avoided” she complained.
“Sorry, I just got lost in a book” I said. Lost in the book, really?
“And the phone should be silent” she said.
“Let me checking, yup. Clever girl” Satwinder said.
“Very funny, by the way which novel is it?” she asked and I simply showed her the novel front cover, I was shy to read it out myself.
“Eat, Pray, Love…. Romantic novel, nice” Rashmi smiled.
And the way she read it was really cool, particularly that love thing. I was even tempted to purchase the novel.
“So how much time for the movie?” she asked.
“Five minutes, I mean we are ten minutes late” I said and we hurried up to the PVR.
. . .
We settled in the seats, actually only she did, I kept on changed my posture, simply not comfy sitting centimeters apart a chick, in darkened. But to ignore her attention I soon affixed myself to one of the postures. Meanwhile Rashmi got complete way lost in the film.
The A rated movie had certain intimate scenes. Unlike majority of the humans in the audience who enjoying these scenes to the fullest, I avoided them out of embarrassment. Even Rashmi didn’t move her eyes, wonder what is there for her. The torture came to a interval.
Intermission
“Wrong movie I suppose” Rashmi said.
“Why?” Satwinder asked.
“You were having a real hardest time” she had observed me.
“Yeah, not much” I said.
Soon the lights faded out, the torture might be restarted. Thankfully the second half has no bold scenes; the show comes to an end. Unlike me, she is fascinated by the movie. For the next twenty minutes or so, Rashmi continued to talking about it and I simply nod in agreement, waited out for the post torture to end.
“I would love to watch it again” she said and became pretty quiet. A stranger silence had messed up as we roaming around the mall. With every step the silence became uncomfy. I even played with my chetak scooty keys for a while to escape the situation but nothing helped.
“Hungry?” Rashmi finally broke the iceberg.
“Starving” Satwinder said.
And some words came back to life as we sat to have our chunks of junk. Time flies with Rashmi, be it online or in person. Rashmi is one of those chicks, you might have overlooked initially but sooner or later you wanted her, badly in the life.
Around eight in the evening, it was the artificial light, not the natural one that guided the human vision. It is time to say good bye.
“It is pretty nice to see you Satwinder after so long and I wish to see the more often now. Hey we should planned a reunion of the class 12th, what say?” she said.
“That’s a great idea” I said.
“Bye then, taking care” Rashmi was about to leave.
“How would you go?” I stopped her.
“I will walking up to IIT Campus, just a kilometer from here” she said.
“And you?” she asking.
“I would taking the auto rickshaw from IIT campus then”
“Alright then” she smiled, I didn’t understand why.
A Sunday night is ideal to getting a glimpse of the never decreased Indian population. I had to walk behind Rasmi instead of walking besides her for few meters, the road simply fall off. But we continued to exchange thoughts and smiles, nervousness disappeared and a comfort level was set up.
“You are a good girl Rashmi” Satwinder said.
“Thanks” Rashmi smiled.
“You have a girlfriend?” Rashmi asked.
“Not really?” Satwinder said.
“Not really means yes” Rashmi said instantly.
“No I don’t” I smiled. “Then why were you blushing?” she asked.
“Say fast” Rashmi said and it was almost quiet impossible to deny her.
“Hmm…Actually there was one” I said. “In college or school?” she interrupted.
“I could not tell you that” Satwinder said.
“OK, OK, I won’t forcing you”, Rashmi continued “Then?”
“Nothing, I never told she never understood and a loving story died” I chuckled.
“Oh…OK, that was pretty a line by the way” Rashmi said.
“Thank you, and what about you?” I finally asked.
“Look we reached IIT Campus, you need to come in?” Rashmi asked.
“It’s late Rashmi, I better leave or my mother won’t allowed me inside” I said.
“Perhaps then you could come” she laughed. “OK then bye, taking care” she said and we parting ways.
And barely after walking three steps, I turn up and shouted “Hey, my question?”
“Some other day, bye” she said. Exhausted and blue I walked back to the MGF mall, the traffic annoyed me. All of a sudden my cell phone vibrated. A whatsapp message from Rashmi read:
Good girl, do you say that to a girl? Indeed you were a boy, a silly one. I love that though. I do not having a bf. Smiling? Drive safely, dumbo.
The messages widen my sealed lips, the lack of energy vanished. Confused over how to react I just did what I was asked to, drove my Chetak(scooter), safely.
