FALLING IN LOVE AGAIN

Leave me Alone

September had almost gone by. Manjari had settled down completely and her jet lag was also gone. She had managed to find a thrift store for furniture and got some new pieces for her home. She had also found an Indian store and stocked up on some Indian groceries as she was hosting an Indian lunch on Saturday and had planned to go to NYC on Sunday. There was a train that one could take from Yale station that would drop you at Grand Central, and the tickets were not costly either.

She had not bumped into Neel after the welcome reception either. She had taken great pains to ensure that and she was still jittery about the sequence of events that day, She had blamed her sleep-oriented state for that. Liar, her subconscious said. Shut up! Manjari said. There was no space in her life for men. And particularly men like Neel.

She entered the grocery store to do her grocery for lunch when she saw Neel. She panicked and hoping that he had not seen her, she left. She was still very embarrassed about what had happened that day. She could come later or maybe go to a different store.

Neel thought he saw Manjari but when he turned around, there was no one. He let out a sigh of frustration. The woman was impossible and hard to trace. She had avoided him for two weeks. He had gone to her office twice but always found her surrounded by people. Even in the library, she was always with someone. It was as if she was making a conscious effort to avoid him. He had even gone to her house, on pretext of brainstorming ideas for his upcoming research paper but she had refused to open the door. And no one, no one would share her number. It was as if she had specifically told everyone to not share her number without asking her.

But he was not the one to give up either. After a long time, he met someone who fascinated him, challenged him, confused him. He wanted to kiss her senseless and throttle her at the same time. She was no longer a challenge that had to be won. She was his and he was determined to make her burn like he burned for her.

.............................................................

Neel heard Imran getting ready for a lunch he had been invited to. By Manjari. He had come home to find Imran all ready to leave who told him very shamefacedly that Manjari had only invited him. Since he did not wish to embarrass Neel, He had planned to leave before his coming. But Neel had heard him speaking to other Fulbrighter about it and Imran had no choice but to tell him. A lot of fellows from their batch had been invited. But not him. He was disappointed and full of rage. What was so reprehensible about him that she could not bear to be in his company for an evening? He could not take it anymore, he would not take it anymore. He went into his bedroom and changed into a pair of jeans and a shirt. He locked the house and walked down to Manjari's house with determines steps. Knocking on the door, he waited for someone to open it and was satisfied to see Manjari open the door. Before she could shut the door on his face, he said, "I heard you had invited 'friends' for lunch. I hope you do not mind if I join too. After all, we have known each other for long."

Manjari was surprised to Neel on ger doorstep, quite determined to be invited in. She noticed a weird glint in his eyes and decided to not make a scene then. She could always tackle him later. Or not. She stepped aside to let him enter and went to the kitchen to get him some juice. She was pouring some in a glass for him when she felt him beside her. Refusing to turn around, she poured the juice, slid the glass to him and started checking on her rice.

"Why did not you invite me to lunch?", she heard him say. Manjari kept stirring the rice, her silence making Neel angrier.

"Why did not you invite me to lunch?", he asked again. Manjari let out a sigh, turned around and said, "Because we are not friends. "

"No? "

"No. You are someone I tolerate", said Manjari as she grabbed the dishtowel and began scrubbing the countertop vigorously. "We are not friends, we will never be friends. I tolerate you. That is it. Please leave me alone ".

Neel was taken aback by the force in her voice. He grabbed the dishtowel to get her attention and asked, "Why can't we be friends?", hurt evident in his voice.

"Because I do not wish to be friends with a self-absorbed prick like you. Men like you are not worth it", she said. "You are the kind of guys who like to take advantage of unsuspecting females. There is nothing good that would come out with an association with you. Since our first encounter, I have known that you are bad news...In fact you remind me of my ex..."

Manjari was on a roll. She wished she could stop. But it was like a dam had broken inside her. Neel just stared at her, aghast, and putting down his glass of juice, walked out of her house without a word. Manjari made no move to stop him. This was for better, she told herself.