Rewrite the Stars | A Ruturaj Gaikwad Fanfiction

Decision (Mahati's pov)

Mumbai, 2019 (Past Flashback 2)

It was a bike, after all, not a cycle.

"I did think first years aren't allowed to own bikes." Mahati gazed at the battered bike.

"A senior let me borrow it," said Rakesh casually, sitting down upon it and indicating that Mahati do the same.

"Thank-you gift for the semis?"

"Yes," said Rakesh, beaming again. "Wow, you're perceptive."

He said it innocently, but the gleam in his eye made Mahati suspicious.

"Be quiet," she said. "Have you really played age group cricket or is that just a rumour?"

"I certainly have," said Rakesh, accelerating the bike sharply. [If her left arm hadn't been broken and she hadn't been clutching that with the right, Mahati would have held on to him. As it was, she just prayed she wouldn't fall off. "High level cricket isn't really for me, though, you see."

"What?"

"After a certain age, you know what your reach is. How far you can go," said Rakesh, not sounding a bit like a casual, chilled-out joker he had back in the professor's office. "A bit of under 19 Ranji, and inter college stuff, that's all I'm good for."

"How can you possibly say that, Rakesh? You're just 18!"

"Exactly," he said. "This is the age the difference really starts to show. The people I've grown up with playing age group cricket...most of us know by now we can't go much further, and..."

"And who are you comparing it against?" demanded Mahati.

"The ones who we know will go far," said Rakesh.

"Wow, you're an astrologer, aren't you?" Mahati knew the moment she said it that she shouldn't have. Somehow this wasn't a topic to joke about. "I'm sorry, but who do you know will go far? How many like that are there?"

"Say half a dozen from all five leading academies of Pune? We're from the same city, by the way."

"I know. You're famous."

"So are you."

"Oh, yes?"

"You're Aditi's roommate, aren't you?"

"Yeah...so?"

"So the whole of first year boys is waiting to ask her out," said Rakesh. "If a creepy guy tries to act friendly to you, be on your guard. Most likely he'll just be trying to get close to Aditi."

"Thanks for the advice. I'm on my guard right now," said Mahati huffily to the back of his head.

"What?" said Rakesh, confused. "Oh-oh, no, I'm not-Mahati, that's not what I meant!"

"All right, I don't have a problem if you're trying to close to Aditi. I'll even help you," said Mahati. "If you get me to meet MSD."

Rakesh choked.

"That would be easy. Only I've never met him in my life myself, sweetheart."

"You haven't?" said Mahati, disappointed. "Have any of your age group teammates met him? The ones who you know will go far?" 

"Now I know why you are talking to me," observed Rakesh, bringing the bike to a halt as they reached the nearest off campus hospital.

"I set you up with Aditi, you get me to meet my idol. Sounds like a fair deal to me."

"You know what? I didn't even ask to be set up with your pretty roommate. Come on, now if you want that arm fixed."

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

Annoyingly, the waiting line in the hospital was over 2 hours long. 

Mahati, who felt sure she'd offended Rakesh with her tactless and stupid comments, felt compelled to say, "You return to the campus. I'll walk back."

"It's more than two kilometres, Mahati..."

"Is it?" asked Mahati, eyebrows flying up. "We needed just fifteen minutes to...oh. Well, yeah, I guess it is a long distance."

Rakesh sat down beside her.

"I'll take a cab, then," she said.

"Are you trying to get rid of me?"

"Oh, I thought-don't you want to go back?"

"No."

Mahati grinned. "Right, then tell me all about your cricket career."

"I already told you I don't have a career in cricket. Ask me something else."

"Name one of the bright prospects of Pune, then. No, wait-name the brightest prospect of Pune."

Rakesh laughed.

"Without a doubt Ruturaj," he said. "I've known him closely for years, and I'll bet both my arms he'd make it huge."

"That's a nice joke to make to someone with a broken arm," said Mahati. "I've never heard of any Ruturaj. You sound like you're saying it just because he's your friend. Are you?"

"Not at all. CSK took him for a camp a couple of weeks back."

"CSK?" said Mahati, delighted. "I support CSK!"

"Trust me, it couldn't have been more obvious, Mahati."

"So he has met Mahi bhai?"

"Batted alongside him."

"My god, he's so lucky!"

"Lucky?" said Rakesh. "There's a mini auction this December. I bet CSK buys him."

"Then he'll be playing under Mahi bhai!"

"Yeah, that's not luck, that's talent and hardwork, sweetheart."

"Really? You sure he doesn't think himself a little bit lucky he has a chance to play under Mahendra Singh Dhoni?" demanded Mahati.

"Oh, he does, he thinks it's all luck," said Rakesh. "But it isn't."

Along with a hint of shame at the way she'd been demeaning young cricketers, Mahati suddenly felt a powerful surge of liking for Rakesh.

"You're right," she admitted. "I was being stupid as usual. It's just that I idolize Mahi bhai so much."

"Who doesn't?" Rakesh's face lit up with a smile that said he did. Maybe almost as much as Mahati did. He looked at the wall clock, which said only 15 minutes had passed and they still had 1 hour and 45 minutes to kill. "Do you want to meet Rutu? He's in Mumbai right now, and his flat is nearby."

The pain in her broken arm had nearly made her numb, but a possible future star of CSK?

"Sure, let's go."

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

Mumbai University, November 2028 (Present time)

She wished she hadn't gone at all that day. She wished she never knew Rutu at all.

But who was she kidding?

She would die without him in her life.