Unfazed

4. Even After All These Years (Stranger)

Having the contents of a dark drink is not the best way to start a Monday. I was ready to lash out at the dumb girl in front of me, when I heard her voice saying "I'll see you later. Bye!" I was suspicious of the tone and the phonetic emphasis on the words being used – not a lot of girls usually did that unless it was someone important. I internally smacked myself for where my thoughts were headed and decided to focus on the matter at hand.

As she realized what happened, she said, "Oh my goodness!! I'm so so sorry" – and suddenly, I was transported to the first time I had heard those words, ten years ago.

~FLASHBACK~

Harsh, Vikas and I were sprawled over Harsh's sofa. Summer vacation before class 10 – the most important year. Atleast that's what all the adults said. Come June, all of us would be in tuitions and classes and everything else. This was officially 'The Last School Vacation' we would get.

"Guys, I want lemonade..!!" groaned Vikas out of the blue. "Vicky –get it yourself!!" said Harsh – ever the fair one. "Nooo" he groaned. "I'll get it", I volunteered, wanting to stretch my legs after four hours of gaming with my best friends. Sure, we would play football outside later, but a little walk couldn't hurt, especially when you're naturally hefty.

Walking into the kitchen of the Bhalla household, I noticed their cook Ramu Kaka, making preparations for tea. On asking him for lemonade, he gestured to the fridge and sure enough, inside were two large jugs of well-made lemonade.

Thanking him, I was walked out of the kitchen, my hands full of lemonade and three glasses. Since the Bhallas had only moved into this house a week ago, I wasn't as used to this house as I was to the older one. Careful not to trip over pieces of cardboard in the passage to the dining room and the living room thereafter, I had just avoided a particularly slippery patch when I saw her for the first time.

Dressed in white basketball shorts and a pink t-shirt which said "Death is pink", 'Wow' was my first thought. She had on noise cancelling head-phones and was dancing quietly, in a discorded, haphazard manner to some song. With wavy black hair, in a high pony tail swishing around – I didn't notice until we collided that she had been moving towards me.

Hearing the crash Ramu Kaka and Harsh came running to see what happened, but before they did, I heard "Oh my goodness!! I am so so sorry!!" from a voice that sounded genuinely concerned yet stifling a laugh, before Harsh's strong hand grabbed my plump one, helping me and my lemonade-soaked clothes off the ground.

~END OF FLASHBACK~

Now, not believing that it was the same girl – the voice, the gently surprised tone, the same silliness, just better disclosed – I stood aghast as she searched her purse. Constantly apologizing, she finally stopped looking but before handing the napkin to me, she looked at me, taking me in.

Not too long ago, I would have been uncomfortable to be looked at that way, from shoes upwards – but time and circumstances had helped me become more confident. Trying to be as unflinching as possible, as her eyes settled on mine, I mustered enough courage and said in the best voice I could find "Nice to see you, Deeksha".

Though our conversation was casual and short, my mind wandered towards the possibility that if she was here, then so would be her brother. The last I heard, he was doing quite well for himself, rising to become a manager in a well-known event management company in just a couple of years. This whole time, Deeksha was trying to figure out who I was since she could not identify me and if she is anything like the girl I once knew, loathed being in the dark.

Smiling internally, I said "So good to know you haven't changed one bit, Deeksha Bhalla. And though I want to keep you guessing, I'll tell you this – I am from your brother's batch and we were friends in school. I've even dropped by at your place a couple of times many years ago, which I honestly don't expect you to remember."

I'm sure she would have answered but just then, her phone rang and though I had no intention to peep, seeing the name "Harshuuuu" followed by hearts and a football told me that it was time for me to go. Even if she didn't recognize me just yet, I knew I had to leave before anything else happened.

And just like that, mumbling a few niceties, I got away from her, even though I didn't want to.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Yo!!

This is what Deeksha Bhalla looks like to the Stranger and your author. Of course, you have your own imagination, but if you didn't have a clue until now, here's just a little something to help you with :) 

Have fun, amigos!