Reality Ever After

Part 47. Pride & Protectiveness

Hi everyone,

Thank you all of for dropping in all the encouraging words to me on my profile page and private messages. I'm glad that all of you love the story as much as me.

Thank you for all your kind words again.

Here's another chapter for all of you.

- Lots of Love,
ScribbledVisions

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The next few days were a little difficult for Nandini. She was a little scared attending Professor Chatterjee's classes but she held herself strong. She knew that she can't run away from the situation forever and she also knew that maybe Manik was right and Professor Chatterjee was no harm. But she couldn't help but feel uneasy in her stomach at the thought of attending his classes. The first couple of days; she just landed up bunking his class. She didn't have enough strength to face him. But Manik had been a constant support for her. He had borrowed her time table from her and he would stand outside her class throughout his lectures. The first couple of days, she herself got out of the class before the professor came in. Manik didn't force her to attend the class until she was ready and the two of them landed up spending that time together either kissing behind the music wing (because that's what it took to make Nandini stop thinking about the professor) or going out for coffees or lunch. But after a couple of days, Manik convinced her to attend his class. He told her that he'd wait outside throughout and come running to her if anything happened. And that's how the routine started. Manik was outside her class during Professor Chatterjee's class whether it was at 7 am in the morning or 3 in the afternoon. He had spoken to FAB5 and told them that he'd take a break every day according to the time of the class and they had no option but to agree. In fact, they couldn't do much either as Manik had all his chords perfected to a level that he didn't need more practice. He just came to rehearsals because the others had to be in sync.

On the other hand, the science college had started bustling with gossip. Everybody saw Manik Malhotra loitering around in the corridor every single day. Initially, people couldn't believe their eyes when they saw him but now they were getting excited to see him everyday. People had even started crowding up a little to find out what he was doing there. But all people noticed was a man looking so handsome with his messed up hair and sleepy eyes at 7 am, sitting and playing a game on his phone with so much swag that one couldn't believe. Girls drooled over him and the boys didn't get how he looked so good without even trying. He was sitting in his tracks for his sake.

Whereas for Manik, he found waking up for a 7 am class every Monday and Thursday really hard. On the first Monday, he woke up with a lot of difficulty at 6:40 am for a 7 am class of Nandini's. He cursed that stupid Chatterjee for scheduling a class so early and that too on a Monday morning. But he had to hurry. At first, he thought he should change into his jeans at least because if he showered, he would definitely not reach on time. But then he thought, what was the point? He was going to the science college. No one but Nandini knew him there and he could be in his tracks in front of her. And he didn't care about the rest of the nerds anyway. So he had quickly brushed his teeth and ran to college to ensure he reached on time. And that had become his routine for all 7 am classes. He always came to college in his pajamas. Unfortunately, he couldn't meet Nandini before the class because the professor had walked in just in front of him. He looked in through the glass window into the class to check on Nandini and also to tell her to relax as he was just outside. Nandini gave him a big smile thanking him and that smile was worth waking up so early in the morning.

He first sat on the bench outside her class and kept going to peek in through the window every few minutes to check if Nandini was doing fine. Soon, he saw that she was engrossed into her lecture and was doing okay. Hence, after the first half an hour, he got bored. He then decided to kill time by playing some game on his phone since he had extra time to spare. After sometime, he was bored again as he had lost all his lives in the game and couldn't play any further. He again went and checked on Nandini and as expected, she was immersed into what the professor was teaching and was simultaneously jotting down notes. But when he looked at the rest of the class, he realised that they were bored out of their mind and couldn't wait for the professor to finish. He smiled at her dedication. This was the reason he knew she'd make it as a scientist. But at this point in time, he was with the rest of the class. He wanted this class to end so he could meet Nandini and then go home and rest a little until he had to come back for practice again.