Author's note:Please read Parts 1 to 3 before reading this.....Thanks:-)
There are two kinds of guys in college.The ones women notice and the ones they don't.Till last Monday,Rishab used to occupy the last benches of female attention.But he was now steadily moving to the front-row.Just as planned,Gayatri had ensured that the breaking news concerning him and Pri had become the talk of the college.Gals were starting to wonder what Pri had seen in him,and Pri was disseminating that information after only a slight prodding to anybody who asked. She studded Rishab's character certificate with pearls like these:
"He was so sweet and sensitive.I can't recall a single instance when I needed him and he wasn't there for me."
"Yeah,he could be goofy and outright dumb sometimes.But,you know what,no matter how mad I got at him,his cool never left him.There have so many instances I've vented my frustrations on him,but he always soothed me back."
"Yup,it's sad we broke up.And to tell you the truth,I'm still a bit mad at him.But I was starting to lean on him a bit too much.It's hard not having him around,but life goes on,right?"
Female interest in Rishab was shooting skywards.Thanks to a profound concept of human psychology-the concept of Social Proof.
Two weeks after that Monday,Rishab even managed to fix up a movie date with a cute chic named Megha.Things sure were looking good.Rishab happily wondered how he would ever make it up to Pri for all that she's done for him.He wished desperately for something to happen in her life as well.Something really good.
***
Friday
It was raining that day but the air was warm. Pri was staring at how the droplets of water magically disappear upon kissing the floor and leaving the floor's lips wet when she saw him. Suyash was walking slowly to his class.
His hair was completely wet and jet black. It gave her the urge to pass her fingers through his curly hair. He was tall at five feet eleven and had broad shoulders that made him look very athletic.His face had a complexion that just turned women on, an angular masculine face with a thin nose and full cherry red lips. His eyebrows were thickly arched and dark, which contrasted with his pale skin. He had smouldering black eyes which made her heart beat faster and caused her blood to rush through the veins and explode in the cheeks.
Priyanka heard the first bell for class go off.She was starting to gather her stuff when she noticed someone standing beside her.
"Pri,I need to have a word with you.It's kinda important." Pri could recognise that voice anywhere.Suyash's light husky voice and a slight Punjabi accent gave her goose bumps.
"Umm... Yeah." Pri said looking at her watch, clearly nervous.
"Not now,can I call you up today in the evening?It concerns you and me," He asked and smiled, displaying his dimples.
Blood rushed to her cheeks and she was reminded of how she hated her pinkish light-colored skin which made her blushing very noticeable.
"Sure..why not?" Pri smiled,wondering what Suyash meant by his statement.Well,she'd soon find out.
***
"But you two seemed so perfect together and you want to break up with Shruti?WHY???" Pri asked Suyash incredulously over the phone.
"I'm gonna tell u,but u have to promise me something.I don't expect you to understand me or my situation fully.Just promise that you won't judge me after hearing this through,ok?I have kept all this to myself for too long now.And you're the only one I can think of who can even begin to understand what I'm going through right now.So,just promise me,all right?"
She could sense the desperation in his voice.
"I promise,Suyash."She said solemnly.
Suyash paused for a few seconds,with each passing second raising Priyanka's curiosity up by several notches.
"I could never really figure her out," Suyash began,bitterness creeping into his voice."She is emotionally very unstable. At least twice a week,I have to stay up nights quelling her tantrums.She goes shit-crazy on me if some random gal texts me twice on some random day.Maybe all she needed were a few notes,but that's be enuf to make Shruti ask me 20 questions about her.If I so much as smile and chat with some gal for a couple of minutes,she assumes I'm having a fling with her.She is so damn possessive,it scares the shit out of me sometimes."
"That does sound a little extreme.But she seemed so nice and friendly the few times I hung out with her."
"Ahh,yes.The theatre where her freakishness gets screened..I've the sole pass to that," he said sourly."With others,she is as sweet and warm as a cotton candy.Her double standards make me so miserable sometimes.There's not a single soul in college who'd believe what I've to go through because of her."
"And she can be sooo unpredictable," he continued in a heart-broken tone."One day she behaves as if I am the best thing that ever happened to her.You rock my world,baby,she says.And another day,she treats me like trash.Doesn't pick up my calls.Doesn't reply to my sms-es.I'm not even sure if she reads them or just deletes them."
Memories sprung up sharply onto the centre-stage of Priyanka's mind.Old,painful memories.The kind of memories which lurk in the backstage,mostly unrecalled in day-to-day life but which you know will always be there.The events which had fathered these memories had been of such overwhelming emotional relevance,that their fossilized remains would forever remain etched on the brain cells.
She had been 14 then and so much in love.And yet the object of her affections had treated her with the same aloofness which Shruti was now doling out to Suyash.Suyash didn't deserve this,she thought.She wished she could take him in her arms,hug him and comfort him then and there.
"I-I'm so sorry to hear all that Suyash.But why did you put up with it for so long??"
"I tried walking out of her life before.But she had this bottle of sleeping pills stashed away in her room and she popped half the bottle into herself.She had to be admitted in a hospital.You remember,right??.First year.Second semester??She was admitted for kidney stones.Well,it wasn't kidney stones.She had tried to kill herself."
"Oh my god!!!!" Pri exclaimed,shocked beyond words.
"Yeah.Her mom even took her to a psychologist after that for counselling.The shrink advised that I should stay on in her life,and her mom almost begged me to.Until her therapy was over.I was feeling so messed up and guilty,I said yes."
"I-I...don't know what to say,this is just so...."
"Freaking unbelievable,right?Like one of those things people would love to gossip about in the canteen.Until and unless it happens to you."
"I feel really sorry for you,Suyash.I really do."
"My life sucks.But that is not what I wanted to tell you tonight."
"What did you want to tell me?"
"That I love you."
"Whhaaaaaaaat???"
"I've admitted it to myself long ago.I love you.With Shruti it just wasn't so.It wasn't love.Love is what I feel for you.With you,I feel different,I feel special,I feel wanted,I feel loved and I long to make you feel the same."
Priyanka was at a loss for words.Somehow her mouth just managed to form the words to ask,"Why are you telling all this to me now?"
"When I heard about you and Rishab being together,I realised something.I realised I might lose you any day to someone else.Without your even knowing what I feel for you.I just had to let you know.I hope you understand."
So many emotions were colliding simultaneously in her brain that it was a miracle her senses still remained alive amidst that frenzy.For a moment,she thought she would faint.
Here he was.The man she had loved since probably the first day that she had met him.The man who she had thought just regarded her as a friend.And yet,here he was.Confessing his true feelings for her.She had been swept off her feet and right now she was having the feeling that maybe her feet would perpetually remain a few inches above the ground.
And to think,a lie had triggered his startling confession of love.A lie about a fabricated relationship between her and RIshab.Priyanka just couldn't wrap her head around what to make of it.This was all happening...just too fast.
"I know it's all a bit too hard to take in for one single phone call," Suyash continued in his light husky voice which made Priyanka shiver with delight."But I had to tell you.Couldn't keep all this bottled up any longer.And now I must ask you.Do you love me too?"
"YES!I DO!!!I HAVE LOVED YOU FROM THE VERY FIRST MOMENT I SAW YOU,YOU DIMWIT!!!!NOW JUST COME AND HUG ME,WILL YOU?" Priyanka wanted to scream into the phone.But a whispered "Yes.I do." was all that escaped her lips.
To be continued....
There are two kinds of guys in college.The ones women notice and the ones they don't.Till last Monday,Rishab used to occupy the last benches of female attention.But he was now steadily moving to the front-row.Just as planned,Gayatri had ensured that the breaking news concerning him and Pri had become the talk of the college.Gals were starting to wonder what Pri had seen in him,and Pri was disseminating that information after only a slight prodding to anybody who asked. She studded Rishab's character certificate with pearls like these:
"He was so sweet and sensitive.I can't recall a single instance when I needed him and he wasn't there for me."
"Yeah,he could be goofy and outright dumb sometimes.But,you know what,no matter how mad I got at him,his cool never left him.There have so many instances I've vented my frustrations on him,but he always soothed me back."
"Yup,it's sad we broke up.And to tell you the truth,I'm still a bit mad at him.But I was starting to lean on him a bit too much.It's hard not having him around,but life goes on,right?"
Female interest in Rishab was shooting skywards.Thanks to a profound concept of human psychology-the concept of Social Proof.
Two weeks after that Monday,Rishab even managed to fix up a movie date with a cute chic named Megha.Things sure were looking good.Rishab happily wondered how he would ever make it up to Pri for all that she's done for him.He wished desperately for something to happen in her life as well.Something really good.
***
Friday
It was raining that day but the air was warm. Pri was staring at how the droplets of water magically disappear upon kissing the floor and leaving the floor's lips wet when she saw him. Suyash was walking slowly to his class.
His hair was completely wet and jet black. It gave her the urge to pass her fingers through his curly hair. He was tall at five feet eleven and had broad shoulders that made him look very athletic.His face had a complexion that just turned women on, an angular masculine face with a thin nose and full cherry red lips. His eyebrows were thickly arched and dark, which contrasted with his pale skin. He had smouldering black eyes which made her heart beat faster and caused her blood to rush through the veins and explode in the cheeks.
Priyanka heard the first bell for class go off.She was starting to gather her stuff when she noticed someone standing beside her.
"Pri,I need to have a word with you.It's kinda important." Pri could recognise that voice anywhere.Suyash's light husky voice and a slight Punjabi accent gave her goose bumps.
"Umm... Yeah." Pri said looking at her watch, clearly nervous.
"Not now,can I call you up today in the evening?It concerns you and me," He asked and smiled, displaying his dimples.
Blood rushed to her cheeks and she was reminded of how she hated her pinkish light-colored skin which made her blushing very noticeable.
"Sure..why not?" Pri smiled,wondering what Suyash meant by his statement.Well,she'd soon find out.
***
"But you two seemed so perfect together and you want to break up with Shruti?WHY???" Pri asked Suyash incredulously over the phone.
"I'm gonna tell u,but u have to promise me something.I don't expect you to understand me or my situation fully.Just promise that you won't judge me after hearing this through,ok?I have kept all this to myself for too long now.And you're the only one I can think of who can even begin to understand what I'm going through right now.So,just promise me,all right?"
She could sense the desperation in his voice.
"I promise,Suyash."She said solemnly.
Suyash paused for a few seconds,with each passing second raising Priyanka's curiosity up by several notches.
"I could never really figure her out," Suyash began,bitterness creeping into his voice."She is emotionally very unstable. At least twice a week,I have to stay up nights quelling her tantrums.She goes shit-crazy on me if some random gal texts me twice on some random day.Maybe all she needed were a few notes,but that's be enuf to make Shruti ask me 20 questions about her.If I so much as smile and chat with some gal for a couple of minutes,she assumes I'm having a fling with her.She is so damn possessive,it scares the shit out of me sometimes."
"That does sound a little extreme.But she seemed so nice and friendly the few times I hung out with her."
"Ahh,yes.The theatre where her freakishness gets screened..I've the sole pass to that," he said sourly."With others,she is as sweet and warm as a cotton candy.Her double standards make me so miserable sometimes.There's not a single soul in college who'd believe what I've to go through because of her."
"And she can be sooo unpredictable," he continued in a heart-broken tone."One day she behaves as if I am the best thing that ever happened to her.You rock my world,baby,she says.And another day,she treats me like trash.Doesn't pick up my calls.Doesn't reply to my sms-es.I'm not even sure if she reads them or just deletes them."
Memories sprung up sharply onto the centre-stage of Priyanka's mind.Old,painful memories.The kind of memories which lurk in the backstage,mostly unrecalled in day-to-day life but which you know will always be there.The events which had fathered these memories had been of such overwhelming emotional relevance,that their fossilized remains would forever remain etched on the brain cells.
She had been 14 then and so much in love.And yet the object of her affections had treated her with the same aloofness which Shruti was now doling out to Suyash.Suyash didn't deserve this,she thought.She wished she could take him in her arms,hug him and comfort him then and there.
"I-I'm so sorry to hear all that Suyash.But why did you put up with it for so long??"
"I tried walking out of her life before.But she had this bottle of sleeping pills stashed away in her room and she popped half the bottle into herself.She had to be admitted in a hospital.You remember,right??.First year.Second semester??She was admitted for kidney stones.Well,it wasn't kidney stones.She had tried to kill herself."
"Oh my god!!!!" Pri exclaimed,shocked beyond words.
"Yeah.Her mom even took her to a psychologist after that for counselling.The shrink advised that I should stay on in her life,and her mom almost begged me to.Until her therapy was over.I was feeling so messed up and guilty,I said yes."
"I-I...don't know what to say,this is just so...."
"Freaking unbelievable,right?Like one of those things people would love to gossip about in the canteen.Until and unless it happens to you."
"I feel really sorry for you,Suyash.I really do."
"My life sucks.But that is not what I wanted to tell you tonight."
"What did you want to tell me?"
"That I love you."
"Whhaaaaaaaat???"
"I've admitted it to myself long ago.I love you.With Shruti it just wasn't so.It wasn't love.Love is what I feel for you.With you,I feel different,I feel special,I feel wanted,I feel loved and I long to make you feel the same."
Priyanka was at a loss for words.Somehow her mouth just managed to form the words to ask,"Why are you telling all this to me now?"
"When I heard about you and Rishab being together,I realised something.I realised I might lose you any day to someone else.Without your even knowing what I feel for you.I just had to let you know.I hope you understand."
So many emotions were colliding simultaneously in her brain that it was a miracle her senses still remained alive amidst that frenzy.For a moment,she thought she would faint.
Here he was.The man she had loved since probably the first day that she had met him.The man who she had thought just regarded her as a friend.And yet,here he was.Confessing his true feelings for her.She had been swept off her feet and right now she was having the feeling that maybe her feet would perpetually remain a few inches above the ground.
And to think,a lie had triggered his startling confession of love.A lie about a fabricated relationship between her and RIshab.Priyanka just couldn't wrap her head around what to make of it.This was all happening...just too fast.
"I know it's all a bit too hard to take in for one single phone call," Suyash continued in his light husky voice which made Priyanka shiver with delight."But I had to tell you.Couldn't keep all this bottled up any longer.And now I must ask you.Do you love me too?"
"YES!I DO!!!I HAVE LOVED YOU FROM THE VERY FIRST MOMENT I SAW YOU,YOU DIMWIT!!!!NOW JUST COME AND HUG ME,WILL YOU?" Priyanka wanted to scream into the phone.But a whispered "Yes.I do." was all that escaped her lips.
To be continued....
yeah.. complicated indeed... who is interested in who..? I am getting confused! But i like your style. I am waiting for the next part :)
ReplyDeleteW8....have u read the earlier parts..1,2 and 3????:-) This is a slightly longish short story..u know..:-)
ReplyDeletemust agree on that: longish short story :)))
ReplyDeleteand just realized must never ignore the author's note: read part 1&2 before attempting part 3
Rahul, pls remove the word verification for comments
ReplyDelete@Sujatha Your wish is my command!!!Done as instructed!!!:-)
ReplyDeleteohhh..read all the 4 parts togethr..*applause* to ur narration style first of all :D
ReplyDeleteFor the story part, well, gripping plot till now..and the best thing is I enjoyed it so much that am not waiting for the end yet..lets c it getting complicated maybe a bit further!
sarah
@Sarah This story is gonna get a bit more twisted before meeting its end.:-)Keep reading.And thank u very much for ur kind words.
ReplyDelete