The First Fall

Chapter 11

A year flew by and initially it was difficult to cope with his absence, but the thought that I am not alone in this torture got me through. To my luck I got admission in a college and I decided to study environmental science. Rhea went to another college and finally she decided to study literature and like that we were separated. But she promised me that she will meet me whenever it was possible and we made a pact to spend vacations in each other’s company only.

Last I heard, Roy has written his exams and was waiting for the results. I prayed for him every day and I knew that he will pass those exams easily, he was that brilliant. J T was devoting more of his time to his political career and he was working closely with his father, if  what I heard could be believed, then he will be a very active politician soon. I finally decided to buy a phone, since I am living away from home and has started enjoying life at dormitory it became a necessary item. I still don’t like it very much and carrying it with me always felt like carrying a burden and obviously I didn’t used it much.

I thought about calling Alex once or twice but I couldn’t find enough confidence to do it. Even though I had a very good feeling about him and whenever I think about our first encounter it felt like I was missing a very dear brother , I also knew that he was a very busy businessman and I didn’t want to be a nuisance in his busy life. So I kept off calling him to a later time and obviously that time was yet to come. I talked to J T once from Rhea’s phone and he updated me about Roy’s life. It was before I bought the phone and that too only because Rhea dragged me to a nearby shop and forced me to buy one. I got myself a very simple one with all the basic features which was more than enough for me.

Studies were going fine but only because I was sleeping less and studying more. Sometimes it was a bit too much for someone like me and I used to think about throwing everything away and to run away from everything. It is that difficult, but my teachers were very supportive and they said that my scores were not that bad and they were sure that I will be able to complete my studies and they wanted to see me as one amongst their best students. So for Roy’s sake and theirs I was slaving away my life with studies. The less there was distraction of any kind, the better my life was. I avoided parties and all such extracurricular activities and even though I was not a recluse any more, I don’t interact that freely with others also. I always tried to keep my distance and that in a way  helped me a lot.

During the first summer vacation I decided not to go home and planned to stay back. Rhea at first was very angry but at last agreed only after forcing me in agreeing to spend a whole day with her in the city. She dragged me to a mall where she was meeting her boyfriend and I decided to wander around alone while they went to watch a movie. I soon found myself in front of a bookstore and was browsing through some magazines when I felt some one near me. I didn’t bother to look and continued doing what I was engaged in.

“You haven’t changed much and still is the frontrunner in royally avoiding people.” The person said in a mocking tone.

“J T, what a surprise!!! How are you and I didn’t see you or else I would have never avoided you.” I replied with a bright smile.

After talking to him for a while and replying to his questions about all the latest developments in my boring life I decided to ask him about his best friend.

“I will tell you everything you want to know  only after you agree to have a coffee with me.” He told me.

“Okay. By the way you are very bossy.” I said with a fake sigh and he laughed.

“Someone else whom we both know also feels the same.” He said with a wink.

Like that I found myself with him in a restaurant and instead of having a single cup of coffee he ordered a lot more. “Why are you ordering these much food?” I asked him.