DISCLAIMER: Guys, after even reaching to this page where the post is there, you must be like 'SHIT, YAAR Phirse dev bada pareshan kar raha hai, this time its a large fucking note... '
But seriously guys, this is a story that I wanted to pass on to my kids but I guess that's not going to happen. So here I am to bore you guys with another SHORT Story which has got extended a bit... also this is a work of fiction any resemblance to any institution, person or place is purely coincidental...
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I was sitting beside her in that huge auditorium where we were supposed to come for the closing ceremony. It was kinda dark and our teacher co-ordinator who already had warned us about creating a scene was far behind us but at a noticeable range. We were sitting on the steps waiting for the ceremony to start and all of a sudden, it struck me,- all this was going to end - working late, designing, roaming around assemblies, passing comments, sharing jokes, having lunch together… None of this is going to come back, ever again!
I browsed in the kit that the organizers had provided us searching for a pen, she was curious as to what I was doing and asked, ‘Dev? Something wrong?’ It rained questions:-
Yes, something was...
Why did we meet?
How did we meet?
When did this happen?
What the hell is happening to me?
Why the hell is this happening?
It’s just like any other Model UN! Where delegates are together for a while and then remain friends on Orkut, Yahoo Messenger (guys this story is set in 2008 FB wasn’t a big thing back then, at least not for me) or max to max sms each other and meet in Model UNs.
But in that darkness, I found my pulse racing, my eyes mist over, a feeling of misplacing something, a feeling of the finale, a feeling of being speechless… (Yeh! That is rare!)
Suddenly the events of the past few months were flashing in front of me and I was in them, enjoying them:
---------------------------------Flashback---------------------------------
-------------------------- Two Weeks Before----------------------------
TWAK! A slap on my back by her small hands that hurt real bad and I am like ‘what the…, why was that for… Yaar maine partnership padhna hai disturb na kar!’
‘Have you checked the INMUN site? My name is on it!’, she said.
‘Yeh! Didn’t I congratulate you on that?’, I replied really hoping the conversation would end and I could go back to my partnership! I already was weak in Accountancy.
‘Dude, even your name is on it!’, she exclaimed her eyes popping out I literally would have gotten hypnotised but I asked her ‘Really? But I didn’t get through… that’s what I was told two weeks ago…’, it was true I wasn’t the one selected out of 30-40 odd photographers who were asked to represent their school for the INMUN 08 press corp out of which only 3 were to be selected. I was sure of getting selected but I wasn’t informed earlier.
‘Are you like sure? This is not the time to play pranks and all!’, I was reconfirming as it seemed impossible at that juncture.
‘You don’t believe me? Jaa fir.. ’, she turned and sat down in front of me.
‘I do but I’ll check it on the net after my exams’, stating the only option I had, GOD where were the BlackBerries?
Well, I did check it after my exams and yes! I was IN… INMUN 2008 I was IN it… even though it doesn’t seem that big a thing now, it was back then.
Who knew if she wouldn't have back-slapped me?
How things would have happened?
Things would have been different?
I would have been different?
We would have never known each other better?
Would that have been better?
If things had not happened how they had happened?
---------------------------One Week Before---------------------------
We had to go to a place for our orientation and discuss the contents of the first issue have new ideas and divide columns amongst ourselves. There was this chick who proposed the Page3 type page idea and we went on to have that idea elaborated. Finally, the question was which reporter and which photographer would do the job. A chick from a DPS raised her hand and I also saw another hand raise but it quickly went down seeing the DPS chick's initiation.
On the way back my eagerness and excitement to work with the DPS chick were taken into offence by her… (God, Indian Penal Code is getting on my nerves)
The silence and the ignoring were evident…
---------------------------Day ONE OF THE MUN---------------------------
‘How I am looking?’ she stopped in front of me… (guys remember those hypnotising eyes? Yeh they were back)
‘PATHETIC!’ I responded. Honestly to date I don’t know why I said that even in a funny sense because she was looking stunning and sharp, like a professional.
She was upset till we reached the venue and read my sms, after that, I got busy with the DPS girl planning and executing the whole Page3 gag that we had planned.
In the evening when we came back it was me who deserted (not literally) her near the school gate and then left with some delegation … (NEGATIVE MARKS -10)
---------------------------Day TWO OF THE MUN---------------------------
We had a meeting in the morning to allot newsletter columns, the DPS chick wanted some variety I suppose so she went to a different column (leaving Page 3! I mean come on, loser…!) So I had a +1 open, She! … yes she was like ‘I’ll do it’. That day we were together for a lot of time. We took the Delegate of Afghanistan’s case, we fought, we got accused of being a pair, there were tears, there were fears… Day two was fun but work + tension + work + more tension = MUNFUN!
--------------------------Day THREE OF THE MUN---------------------------
As the last issue and signing off was done, the only thing that we had to wait for was the closing ceremony that was on the eve, this is what happened before that:
‘it was fun working together, but I do miss the DPS Chick!! (Naughty face)’I said
SLAP! Yes … she slapped me in front of the lunch hall, in front of the World Press Delegation and IN THE BLOODY LOBBY!
I took an instant 180-degree turn and went on with other reporters… those 10 steps felt as if a big iron ball was chained to me, from the corner of my eyes I could see the moisture in her eyes, and then she followed me with an ‘oh shit! what-did-I-do’ kinda expression!
It’s funny how many thoughts cross your mind :
Will I never talk to her?
7 more months in school and school bus, not talking?
No ‘hi’s and ‘bye’s?
Will I tell this, my friends?
Will this. Will that ..?
20 seconds passed and.
She stopped me and asked, ‘ok tell when are you going to ignore me, I am sorry!’ I turned left… ‘Listen I turned down the interview of that hot Chairperson for you!’ she argued, moist now turning into tears.
‘Did I ask you to?’ I whipped. The air became silent for a while. Delegates were moving here and there, press members looking at us, organizers running around and all I could see were those eyes.
Within the next 20 seconds, I was finding reasons why did turn down the interview!
Coz I gave her that look?
When did she see that?
Coz she didn’t want me to be uncomfortable?
Why? What are we?
Can’t a guy and a girl be friends? We are just colleagues? Aren’t we?
We are also friends? Or more? We are moving ahead? Are we?
We didn’t speak much until we reached the closing ceremony venue.
Things had gone wrong in this MUN.
SHIT HAD HAPPENED.
I felt something unusual in my chest. It was my heartbeat…
beating hard ... giving me a GREEN signal…
-----------------------------Flashback ENDS-------------------------------
I found a chit and wrote on it, ‘I am going to miss you!’
I wrinkled it. I wanted to throw it but I gave it to her, (hands trembling)
She put her head down, and her long hair which I was already in love with covered her entire face.
My stupid mind has this amazing habit of asking questions (as you can see in the flashbacks above) I don’t have answers to:-
What did I just do?
Crap now what? Will she laugh? I definitely don’t want that.
Will she throw it away? I had that in mind!
Will she tear it away?
What am I going to do, then?
Will she give it to our faculty in charge who had accused us of hanging out too much?
Will she slap me again?
This time in front of everyone?
BUT … she was also speechless
She took a pen out of her big purse (yeh, it’s got everything… whenever you need it)
She wrote, ‘I am out of words’ and smiled…
------------------------------CURTAINS DOWN MUSIC ON----------------------------
Dil Se Dil Mile the Jaise Do Phool Khile the
Tab Maine Kuch Kaha Tha Tumhare Hot Sile The
Mujhe Yaad Hai Who Lamha Intezar Ka
Kaisa Yeh Nasha tha Tere Pyaar Ka...
No matter what happened after this is a happy memory and will remain one.
Like one-sided love, only I will have copyright on this.
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