I
grinned at him, forgetting the fact that he had been half-an hour late, and
called him excitedly, “Aarav!”
“Hey
dude,” Rakesh waved at him.
“Hi,”
Aarav greeted formally, slipped next to me and asked, “Did you order anything?”
“Nope,
I was waiting for you.” And then I remembered. “You are late again, by the
way.” I scowled at him.
“Well,
you did seem busy,” he reasoned.
We
three had our dinner together and Rakesh left early. Aarav walked me till the
road that led me to my hostel. It was actually a junction where one road led to
the girls’ hostel, one to the Nursing department, and the other towards the
hospital. Boys were allowed to come up to our hostel till six in the evening
and we had time till 9:30 in the night to get into our hostel without getting
reprimanded by our hostel warden. I usually turned up at 9 in the night and
Aarav would always walk me back till the junction. That night, it was nearly
9:20 and I walked fast, still smiling.
“What
are you smiling at?’ he asked me.
“Nothing,
Rakesh seems so cool and groomed. You both must be getting along well?”
“Yeah.”
“Anyways,
don’t be late next time,” I reminded him.
“You
sound strange,” he complained. “I expected you to punch me in the least. But
only a remainder?”
“Hmm…
let’s see, I am not forgetting your mistake. I am just in a good mood. So
better keep that in mind.”
He
was still starring at me in puzzlement when I left to my hostel at the
junction. Before I could get into the hostel block, I turned back to see him
still standing at the junction. I waved my hand, indicating him to leave. He
nodded and turned away.
***
Sunday
morning, we had a new entry into our hostel block, and precisely in our floor.
It was Reena, a rich, beautiful, polished girl from Qatar. She was the heiress
to a vast business and had an elder brother who was kind enough to see her off
in our college despite his neck-deep busy schedule. By the time she arrived in
the afternoon, half the hostel was empty and I was waiting in the lobby for
Aarav to arrive. He was late as usual and that made me the first acquaintance
of Reena. I helped her get to her room and when Aarav arrived, I left saying I
would help her set up her belongings once I get back from lunch.
Making
new friends usually sends me to good mood and Aarav was curious to see who the
late entrant was. The next day, I accompanied Reena for an Aarav-free breakfast
and then we took off to the classes together. Some weren’t much bothered by the
new entry but I was sure that by the afternoon, details of Reena would go
around to everyone.
I
introduced her to Aarav over lunch. He was delighted to learn her affiliation to
a certain things which only he likes. Like watching horror movies, playing
pool, watching movies till late night and their obsession with the number 7
which turned out to be their lucky number as well. I kept smiling all the time
they chatted, silently eating my food and joining the conversation in between.
As it turned out, most of the times we had lunch during the working days, we
three ate together and there were many occasions when Rakesh joined us. That
was a relief for me as I had more to talk to him than either Aarav or Reena
could do together.
Three
weeks passed without much of any happenings. Aarav and I used to take off to
multiplexes and malls like Skywalk, Escatalk, Spencers during the weekends. It
became our target to round of the main hangout places in Chennai within a
month. Strolling for fun in T-Nagar and Pondy bazaar was my favorite but he
hated it because of the traffic. Reena and Rakesh accompanied us once or twice,
but mostly, I preferred to keep things wrapped up between Aarav and me. There
were enough restaurants near our university to keep us engaged in the weekdays.
Meanwhile,
Aarav and I managed to get along with our studies very well indeed. Our college
houses an underground air conditioned library, which became my favorite place
for writing assignments. The staircase leading down to the library was kind of
a hangout place where I and Aarav used to sit with coke tins and text books in
front of us. I was glad that we hadn’t so much deviated from our initial ambition.
The
Thursday of the fourth week in college, I got the most dreadful news.
I
had just returned to hostel after classes and after washing up, at almost 4:30,
I called up Aarav to ask about dinner plans. That’s when my dad called me. He
wasn’t so cheerful like he usually was and I could make out that he was busy. I
kept Aarav in a conference call with my dad (seriously, we never had any
secrets and he sometimes heard my conversations with others in conference call,
as did I do when he received calls while I was on hold). After the usual
greetings, he spoke up, “Adithi, we have a change of plans, me and your
mother.”
“What
happened dad?” I was curious.
“We
have a two year project for extension of our business in New York. I think I
and your mom have to head out to there. If things go out as planned, we might
start coming Wednesday.”
“Dad,
are you serious? You are leaving the country for two years?” I was aghast. I
was accustomed to the fact that my parents were always busy and that they did
their best to be with me as much as possible. At least, my mom used to stay
around me a lot more than dad. I had never stayed away for so long as a couple
of month away from them. But two years was too much for me. I couldn’t believe
that my parents had decided so suddenly without even giving me a hint.
“Two
years is just our estimation dear. It might take a little longer than that.” He
was feeling terrible, I was sure.
“But…
dad, how can you?” My eyes were already brimming.
He
tried to explain about the situation of our business, the necessity and about
how hard they had tried to avoid leaving. As he pacified me with promises of
frequent visits (which I was sure would be very rare), I did my best to control
my tears and sound okay. I really hated making my parents feel uncomfortable
because of me.
After
ending the call with dad, I didn’t talk to Aarav as well. He asked me if I was
okay and all I did was tell him that I was fine and needed to go. I headed out
of the hostel block and sat down on the bench in front of the block. My hope
was that the cool evening wind would try to soothe my temper and melancholy.
After
an hour of staring gloomily into space, I couldn’t help noticing that Aarav
hadn’t called me or turned up like he usually does when I am unhappy.
It
was past 5:30 in the evening when I called him.
He
picked up the call on the first ring and said loudly, “Hey Buttercup, are you
okay?”
I
could guess that he was driving.
“Yeah,”
I answered, my mood getting even worse. “I’m fine.”
“Where
are you?” he asked.
“Sitting
in front of the hostel,” I replied mechanically. “Where are you?”
“I
am at Porur center, struck in traffic,” he said. And then he started
chattering.
“Actually
I am past the center. I am near the lake. Wait, I just passed it. And just
crossed Hot Breads. Actually, I am trying to take over a bus but the driver isn’t
giving me way.”
I
heard him yanking the horn several times.
He
continued again, “Finally, overtook it. I am near the bus stop in front of our
college. Traffic isn’t so heavy. Wait, I just got into our college… I am near
the fountain now. Nah, I just crossed it. See, they didn’t turn it on today. I
am near the hospital block. Wait, there’s a speed breaker… crossed it. I am on
the road to the junction. Actually, I am near the junction.”
I
realized what was happening.
I
turned towards the junction, still listening to him and saw his car driving in
at a high speed.
He
stopped the car right in front of me and said with a sigh, “And I’m right front
of you.”
He
stepped out of the car, came towards me and pulled me into a tight, consoling
hug.
I
simply stayed that way, not knowing how to react. When he let go of me, he
looked at me worriedly and remarked, “You look so pale. Did you eat anything at
all?”
I
still kept staring at him. I agree, he always arrived late. But whenever he
did, every time, he tried his best to distract me. Today, it was different. He
didn’t make it seem as if he was late. In fact, he had never given such a
dramatic entrance.
As
he gazed questioningly at me, I shook my head in denial.
“Well,
then, I have got something for.” He grinned and brought out a package from the
car. Sitting on the bench, he passed it to me saying, “I went to New Andhra
Mess in Valsarvakkam to get you this. Your favorite- butter naan with butter
chicken.”
He
nailed it again. If anyone perfectly knew how to take my mind off worries, it
was Aarav. Butter chicken is my all time favorite and I would be so absorbed
while eating that Aarav often commented anyone would think I hail from a
draught village.
As
I looked at him with my smile coming back to me, he said, “You know, you are
just missing out on all the good things about your parents leaving.”
“Aarav,
there’s nothing so good about it. I know there are people who stay away for
years without seeing each other. But I have never done that and I hate staying
away from people I love. Call it obsessive nature or possessiveness or whatever
but I can’t. and the next time we have holidays, I will be returning to an
empty house.”
“Hey,
do you remember, whenever your parents weren’t around during the holidays
before, you used to stay at my place. You stayed for the whole summer after 10th
standard in my house. It would be the same this time. You will be staying over
at my place. Nothing to worry about. And besides, your parents won’t be
receiving your attendance reports, nor any notices, which means we can bunk
classes and do whatever we want.”
He
went on talking about how cool it would be, now that we would be spending the
holidays together, how we could have fun in college and so on. He tried to
distract me at his best and could finally make me laugh.
We
ate the food he brought sitting there and the while, I let him talk. I was
content just looking at him.
That
was my secret which even he didn’t know. That I loved him more than anyone
else. Having no siblings, and having busy parents, I had seen him more than
others since our childhood and so did he. Ever since the time I had a proper
sense in me, ever since I knew what I was and what I wanted, I had loved him dearly.
But
the problem was, we had sworn to be good friends and he never broke it. I had a
very strong conscience in me which constantly reminded me that misunderstanding
and taking advantage of a good friendship is highly unethical. True, I had seen
a lot many scandals in my life even before I was ten. But I wasn’t the girl who
would ignore ethics, the value of a strong relationship and the power of true
feelings. In reality, I had long ago come to terms with the fact that Aarav and
I would remain friends our whole lives and I was totally okay with it. I was
happy being with him, no matter what our relationship was. If being friends
with him was the way of it, then I would gladly stay that way.
Looking
at him now, the way he cared so much for me, I felt my heart ache. It was
difficult but I was more than willing to endure it. Still, there was a part of
me that desperately wanted to escape the pain. I was nearly over the gloominess
which my parents’ plan had caused. Aarav made me walk around with him along half
the campus, took me to a restaurant despite my protests that I was full. A
chocolate milk shake, an ice cream and a time full of jokes was what he
suggested to completely lift my spirits.
That
night, as I lied down on my bed thinking about him, I realized that things
would go out of hands if I were to be with him for long. I thought of ways to
deal with my problem.
I
never knew how that idea came up, but suddenly, I analyzed that if Aarav had a
girlfriend, I could distance myself from him or at least remain in my limits as
his friend. He would be distracted with a girl he loves, I would have a leverage to control my heart and we could have a life lasting friendship unmarred by anything stupid I could think of. All that was needed was Aarav to have a girlfriend who would
understand that I am a good friend as well. The trouble was, Aarav never seemed
interested in anyone. That was something I had to work on.
Before
I could slumber off, I decided on setting him up with someone I could trust his
happiness with; a girl who could take care of him better than me and would never
misunderstand our friendship. Well, at least, she shouldn’t misunderstand my
intentions. Pushing Aarav onto someone else seemed a legitimate solution to all
the troubles.
