Just another Love Story

Chapter 5

2008

'Okay Class. See you tomorrow. Please come prepared.'

Simran sighed as the teacher left. What was her name again?
In all this physics she tried to grasp on her first day, she forgot that, along with everything else.

Anyway...what's Mr. Pea Brain doing...

She turned around. He was busy talking to a girl sitting beside her. It was chubby girl with big black eyes. She had a persona alright. A mighty persona. And he....he was definitely hot. Not very, though. She had seen much better. And his face had got more...stern. And he still looked like a dork when he laughed. But well, whatever. She didn't care. She was just amused to see how much she remembered.

Meanwhile, she turned to her benchmate.
'Hiiii!' She started enthusiastically.
'Huh?....oh...hey.' she replied, not even caring to look at her. She was busy writing something in her notebook.

That quite took away all the enthusiasm of her, so she decided not to talk any further.

'Oh...by all means, continue. Its not that you have any problem in you girl. I just don't like people much,' Shivani said, facing her, ' 'wow. You are pretty. Anyway, where from?'

Simran was dazzled for a while...then the question suddenly hit her ears, 'Oh....I'm...from...'

'Oh nevermind. I care the least. Say, why did you take science, of all streams? And that too, PCMB! How the hell do you hope to study all four of these guys!'

'Eh...this one suited my interests the best, you know....though I hate chemistry. But yeah, no other stream please. Those are totally alien worlds! What subjects do you have?'

'Same. Just Psychology, not Maths,' she replied, 'And would you mind telling me why have you been staring at Raj since you came here?'

'Oh....that....'
She noticed? Was I staring for too long? Did he notice too...?

'That guy is out of bounds dear.'
'No...it's not that....why? Girlfriend?'
'No. Books. He is the nerd 'round here. And a typical one too, ask him and he will deny it in your face. And then, just look at his answer-sheets! God! That's why I hate people. They are so fake. Dogs are so much better.'

Simran laughed, 'So, do you approve of me?'

'If I have ever learnt something in my lifetime, dear, it's that we should never judge a book by it's cover.'

'Yeah. Right,' she stopped as she saw Raj walking out of the room, out of the corner of her eye, 'Anyway. I knew him as a child, that's why I was looking at him. Wonder if he still remembers me...'

'He won't. Boys never remember anything!' Shivani replied, closing her notebook. 'Come now. It's biology.'

They grabbed their books and left.

***

2009

Raj sat alone, in a corner of the basketball court, watching juniors play. He loved to do this whenever he felt he had nothing to do, or sad. Watching children playing had a soothing effect on him: admiring their innocence, their sense of superiority at power with their humility, their rapidly changing moods and their forever smiling face. Nothing could match the joy.

But today, nothing could match the pain. Even these children, at their merriest possible, couldn't make him forget completely, that it hurt. It hurt alot. Everything. Anything. It just hurt.

To be alive, to be breathing.
His purpose in life....what was it? Nothing.
He thought, nothing.
He believed, nothing.
He looked around, liked nothing.
He hated nothing.
He felt...numb. But then again, he could feel nothing. Not even numbness. 
The nothingness was all around him, inside him. And yet there was still room for pain: and such a magnitude of pain that it hurt. Alot. But he couldn't interpret that pain. His brain had shut down. It was like he knew how much it hurt, but his brain had forgotten how to process that pain. He just wished nobody notices him...cause if they do, he wouldn't be able to hold it no more...

Even if anyone did not approach him, he hardly believed in being able to keep them at bay much longer. They had been struggling since yesterday, to break the barriers and flow out. He somehow had gathered enough strength to enclose them, but for how long?

He was slowly losing it: first his vision...it was getting dizzy....then his conscious...then his sanity....his senses....anything....everything.....he was slowly getting consumed into nothing....

'RAJ! RAJ!' Jheel was shaking the sleepy figure quite vigorously. 

'Eh?' He woke up with a start.

'What happened bud! Sleeping in the court like this? Man! Come now, Hitler might approach the class anytime!'

***

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