This is my first ever peice of fiction. Feel free to post comments...
CRUSH...
“Ahhh! Another boring class over…” exclaimed Tushar. “Ya dude! Dunno what the old guy was teaching. Fell asleep halfway through”, replied Karan.
And so the two went down the narrow staircase that led to Shahi sir’s coaching centre. Dr. Shahi was an accomplished, and hence, boring person who said, “bolo hoga” after every problem he solved on the board. He had done his B.Tech, M. Tech and PhD in chemical engineering from IIT Delhi and yet, was teaching chemistry to confused adolescents preparing for JEE. His students were divided into two groups, those who thought he was a genius and those to whom he never made sense. Tushar and Karan belonged to the second kind.
The two were standing in the parking lot, talking about the latest in laptops, cellphones and cars, the usual guy talk. Occasionally Karan looked over Tushar’s shoulder and glanced at Sonalee, yes, with a double ’e’.
Sonalee was, supposedly, the hottest girl in their batch. On the first day of the session, Karan was not so excited. His friends had joined some other coaching centre and he was the only one in his group coming to Shahi sir’s class. And to add to his misery, by what he had heard from other students of Shahi sir, the centre wasn’t much of a place to look for eye‐candy. So on the first day he entered the classroom without any expectations. And just as he entered, there on the first bench was a ray of hope, the eye candy that would help him last a year of chemistry lectures. It was a crush at first sight for Karan. Every day Karan used to sit a couple of benches behind Sonalee. While he used to stare at her ponytail, which seemed to him more like a ‘bunnytail’, from behind and daydreamed, Tushar busied himself by playing games on Karan’s cellphone. Eventually Tushar got to know of Karan’s crush and as a result their whole group of friends knew.
The weather was pleasant. Winter was around the corner. She was alone, waiting for her chauffeur driven car to come and take her home. Karan was glancing at her.
And their eyes met…
Women unknowingly know that men’s brains aren’t where they are supposed to be. Women instinctively know how to make a man fall in love with them. And men are both clever and stupid enough to let themselves be fooled.
Karan was surprised at first. But decided it was just a coincidence and carried on talking with his friend. A few moments later he glanced at her again.
Again their eyes met…
Karan turned around and looked behind his back. He thought, “Maybe she’s looking at someone else.” But there was no one there.
He looked at her again. And she was still staring at him.
“Dude, she’s looking at me!” said he.
“Who? Your girl? ”
“Ya dude.”
So Tushar turned around and checked. She was still looking in his direction.
“Man! She is looking at you. Go and talk to her.”
“No way! I don’t even know her. How can I propose to her.”
“Who talked about proposing? Just go and talk normally.”
“I can’t just go and talk. I need a reason at least.”
“Ask her for her notes. Tell her you were sleeping in the class.”
“But I could take them from you too.”
“Tell her I was sleeping with you.”
“What?!”
“I mean, tell her I too was sleeping in the class.”
“But dude, there are other guys here from whom I can ask for their notes. She must have seen me talking to them. She’ll know that something’s fishy.”
“That’s the point, my man.”
“Leave it yaar. I’d rather concentrate on my studies.”
“You’re hopeless.”
Then her car entered the parking area and came to a stop near the place where she was standing. Karan saw her open the door and sit inside. And soon she was gone, Karan’s eyes following the car till it was out of sight.
And so the spark was lit. Biologically, humans are animals too. Yet due to their intelligence they behave differently. Most animals find their mates in spring. It’s spring when the cupid strikes. But humans don’t need seasons to tell them when to fall in love. We are vulnerable all the time.
Everyday after the class ended Karan and Tushar stood on one side of the parking lot and Sonalee and her friend on the other. Their eyes met more and more, till they started to stare at each other. And that was enough to convince Karan that she was the one.
But he kept quiet. His parents weren’t satisfied with how he performed in his tests. They stressed that he concentrate more on his studies, saying that it’s only a year of hard work and once he would get admission in a decent college life would be a lot easier. “Ya right! I’ve been hearing that since I was in ninth standard”, thought Karan.
But the eye contacts continued. His friends used to tell him to go and talk to her but he wouldn’t budge. One even offered to propose on his behalf!
And then came December, bringing with it the cold of winter and a blanket of fog. The fog is a lover’s best friend. Lovebirds can carry on with their business without having to be afraid of prying eyes.
“Today will be your last class. I have finished your syllabus and there is nothing else to teach”, announced Shahi.
And then Karan felt his heart crumbling. He suddenly realized that he might never see her again. All of their glances and eye contacts flashed in front of his eyes.
“Dude you need to do something”, chorused his friends.
“Shit!” was his desperate reply.
And then as the class got over, all of them scrambled downstairs and started to encourage him to go and talk to her.
“Na yaar. I can’t afford to have a girlfriend. Already I’m so screwed up.” said Karan.
“Dude, don’t give up. She obviously likes you. Just go and say hi.”
“I can’t. It’s too late.”
“You won’t know until you try. Don’t act like a chicken.”
“I don’t want to try. Leave it man. I’m not talking to her.”
“You’re hopeless man!” said his friends and looked the other way and started talking among themselves. That’s when Karan remembered her cute little bunnytail and the way she walked, clutching her notebooks to her chest. How much he wished to be in the place of those notebooks.
He decided to go and talk to her.
His friends turned around. But he wasn’t there.
“Where did he go?!” exclaimed one of them.
“Shit! He’s going to talk to her.” And all of them turned to see him walk straight up to her.
“This is going to be one hell of a show!” said Tushar.
“Hi! I’m Karan. We study together in Shahi sir’s class.” he introduced himself.
“I know.” she replied with an expressionless face.
“Umm. I wanted to talk to you about something.”
“Sure.”
“How do I put this? I like you. I liked you since I first saw you. I think you are the most beautiful girl I’ve ever seen. And I really love your bunnytail.”
“My what?”
“Your ponytail. Would you please be my girlfriend?”
And then there was a pause. The longest moment a man can experience. In this moment a guy would contemplate every possible answer to his question.
“Yes? Or a no? Or a slap? Ouch…” he thought.
And then came the reply.
“No.”
“What? I thought you liked me. You’ve been staring at me for the past couple of months.”
“I never stared at you! You’re not even my type.”
“Crazy bitch.” he said and leaving her dazed, walked to his friends.
“What happened? You seem to have left an impression.”
“The bitch said no to me. Leave it yaar, let’s go and have a coke.”
And Karan lived happily ever after…
