Entangled

Part 2

Manik and Cabir began their race. Manik managed to cross the traffic signals before they turned red as usual. Cabir ended up waiting at every signal, so Manik was way ahead of Cabir.

        The race continued and Manik reached the final stretch of the race, but Cabir was no where to be seen. Manik was confident that winning the race would be a piece of cake for him as usual, but he didn't slow down though he was in the college premises.

        A college student, who was walking on the footpath, saw his friend on the other side of the street. He crossed the road to meet his friend. It happened all of a sudden, so Manik had to drive off the road, closer to the footpath in order to avoid hitting the student. His jeep tires went over a ditch which was filled with muddy water, slowing down his speed. The muddy water splashed onto the girl who was walking by. That girl was none other than Nandini. She was agitated because her dress was messed up. Her white dress was covered with muddy spots.

        Nandini : "Are you blind? Can't you see and drive?"

        Most of them knew who Manik was and didn't dare to raise their voice against him though he was at fault. Manik heard her and stopped his jeep.

        Manik : "Whom did you call blind?"

        Nandini : "Of course you."

        Manik : "How dare you?"

        Nandini : "If you aren't blind, you wouldn't have driven off the road, that too over a ditch."

        Manik : "I can say the same to you. You could have seen the ditch and stayed away from it."

        Nandini : "You were the one who was driving rashly and you are pointing fingers at me?"

        Manik : "It is my jeep and I can drive however I want. Who are you to question me?"

        Nandini : "Jeep might be yours, but the road isn't."

        Manik : "The road is in the college premises and the college belongs to my dad, so indirectly the road also belongs to me."

        Nandini : "The jeep and road both might be yours, but this dress which you messed up is mine."

        Manik looked at Nandini's white dress which had muddy spots. He took out cash from his wallet and gave it to Nandini.

        Manik : "Here, this should be sufficient to get it dry cleaned."

        Nandini didn't take it.

        Manik saw Cabir entering the final stretch from his rear view mirror. He couldn't waste time talking to Nandini, so he took out some more cash from his wallet and handed it to her. When Nandini didn't put her hand forward to take it, Manik took Nandini's hand and placed the cash in it.

        Manik : "I don't have the time to argue with you. I have compensated more than the actual worth of your dress."

        Manik didn't wait for Nandini's response and zoomed off quickly.

        Nandini : "He is so rude and arrogant. Instead of apologizing, he forcefully placed cash in my hands and zoomed off."

        Nandini : "He isn't naturally blind, but the wealth has definitely blinded him."

        Nandini couldn't attend the induction program wearing dirty clothes, so she took an auto and went back home to change.

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        Cabir reached the finishing point just a little after Manik.

        Cabir : "Today, I was very close to winning. I will surely beat you soon."

        Manik : "That can happen only in your dreams. You were close to winning because I had to stop for a while. Otherwise, you were way behind."

        Cabir (sarcastically) : "Did a black cat cross your path that you had to stop?"

        Manik : "Not black .. a white one .. which turned brown."

        Cabir : "Did a cat really cross your path?"

        Manik : "Not a cat, I had to stop because of a girl."

        Cabir : "You .. stopped for a girl .. that too in the middle of a race. I can't believe it. I was hoping Lady Luck will be in my favor today, but both Lady and Luck are on your side."

        Cabir : "There must be something special about her. Finally, there is someone who managed to gain your attention .. my sixth sense is telling me that your penance of being a bachelor for life will soon be broken."

        Manik : "You and your sixth sense. We were racing, that doesn't mean that you misinterpret and race to conclusions. I said because of her, not for her. There isn't anything special about her, in fact she was irritating. Anyways, there will never be any place for any girl in my life in that sense, however special she might be."

        Cabir : "What did she do to irritate you?"

        Manik explained what had happened.

        Cabir : "The first thing you did since you entered the college gates is to get entangled in an argument. What a start to the new college year! I guess you woke up on the wrong side of the bed today."

        Manik : "I am not going to let that small incident spoil my day. We have a lot more better things to do, and the first one we need to focus on is our performance."

        Manik and Cabir joined Dhruv who was waiting for them. Dhruv is their childhood friend too, but he lives in a different neighborhood. They went to the auditorium, which was the venue for the induction program.

        Manik didn't even think about Nandini or that incident later. Why would he? After all, it wasn't a big deal for him. He wasn't the one who had to bear the after effects of what had happened.

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        On the other hand, the incident had managed to mess up the day for Nandini. Nandini went home, freshened up and returned to college. She managed to figure out the way to the auditorium and reached the entrance. She heard an announcement.

        Announcer : "We are going to end the induction program with a stellar musical performance from Fab3..."

        Nandini didn't step inside and left from there immediately. Nandini was already disturbed and the events of the day had only added to her frustration.

        Nandini's thoughts : "Everyone advises me to let go of the past and move on. How do I let go of the past when every morning starts with the reminders of the past? I thought I will at least try to move forward along with the past baggage. Today, I tried to take one step forward, but it was of no avail. I couldn't even attend the first day of the college as I had thought. How am I going to manage the rest of the days?"

        Nandini's thoughts : "I can't give up, at least not till I find them. Today would have gone better if not for that arrogant, spoilt brat..."

        That is when Nandini's eyes fell on Manik's jeep. In a fit of rage, she deflated all the tires of the Jeep. She took a piece of paper and scribbled a message on it and left it in the jeep such that it could be seen easily. Even that didn't calm her mind, so she left home for the day.

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        Later during the day, when Manik and Cabir came to the parking lot, Manik found the note left by Nandini.