Clean Bowled

Chapter 36

*Viraj*

"Match hai na final apni tab order change karne ka soch raha hai Neel" Rudra tells me when we enter the college on Monday.

I nod distractedly when a girl winks at me. Ladkiya aaj kal ladko se jyada forward hai. "Meeting me discuss kar lenge" I say.

"PARI" my best friend screams beside me. "Abeyy mere kaano ke parde faadega kya" I say with a wince as he waves at her. She smiles and comes towards us.

But she is alone.

"Hey pari" I say with a smile. She passes me an odd look and gives me a small nod. Isse kya hua?

"Aashi kaha hai?" I ask my eyes searching the hallways for her face. Pari ke saath hi aati hai vo roz.

"Kyu?" Pari looks at me and frowns. "Kya kyu?" I ask raising my eyebrows. "Tumhare saath aati hai na vo?"

Tab uski tabyet bhi kharab thi. I messaged her yesterday asking her whether she's well now but I got no reply.

"Ha vo locker me apne books rakhne gayi hai" she says.

"Class me milte hai fir" I say hurriedly rushing towards her locker.

I see her standing in front of her locker as she is shuffling through her bag, searching for something.

I tip toe behind her and shout "BOOO!" she gasps and places her hand on her chest as she looks at me and lets out a long breath.

I start laughing. I'll never get tired of doing this.

"Hey paglu" I say and ruffle her hair. I love how she gets irritated when I do that. She leans away from me and zips up her bag.

"You need to stop doing that Viraj. Kabhi mujhe heart attack aa jaayega" she says. I chuckle and put my arm over her shoulder as we start walking towards our class.

Did her body just stiffen or am I just imagining stuff?

"Maine kal tumhe message kiya and you didn't even reply. Ladkiya marrti hai Viraj Singhania ka ek message milne ke liye. Aur tumhe mil rahe hai toh you're taking me for granted ha paglu" I say and wait for her smartass comeback but she stays quite.

"Sorry I was a little busy" she says. I look closely at her face, but she is not looking at me. She didn't look at me even once.

"Ab tumhari tabyet thik hai?" I ask. "Yes I'm fine now" she replies.

Okaayyyy...

Her face looks tired. And there's something wrong about her eyes. They don't have that light and spark which they always seem to have.

We get in class and take our places. The lectures are long and Aslesha is weirdly quite today. I don't get to ask her but I decide to dig her during the lunch break.

"What's wrong with you" I ask leaning closer to her when we sit on our lunch table.

"Kya?" she asks looking confused.

"Tumhara behaviour weird lag raha hai" I say.

"Kuch nahi hai Viraj. Bass.. results ki tension hai" she replies.

Results ki tension? Ye toh straight - A student hai. Isse konsi tension? Kya pata scholar logo ko hoti hogi tension. Aur Aslesha is very serious about her studies and grades. Aaj tak chutti nahi. Kabhi bunking nahi.

I nod and decide to let go of the topic. Results ke baad thik ho jaayegi.

~•~•~•~•~•~•

It's fucking Thursday and ab tak Aslesha ka mood sahi nahi hua. Aaj subah toh results bhi lag gaye and her name is in the top ten of our class.

So it's not the results. Koi aur baat hai. Mujhe pehle hi samajh jaana chahiye tha. Usne aise hi mere muh pe chaap diya ke results ka tension hai aur maine maan bhi liya. I'm so bloody dumb. There's a reason why she calls me dummy.