Inquest (Completed)

Concluding 2016...

"2016 has been... Good..." Dhruv began, pushing his specs back to its original position. His eyes flitted from one eye contact to another. Krupa pushed herself closer to the backrest, evened out her gown, checked her phone,  kept it aside and smiled at Dhruv, raising her eyebrows as if asking him to continue.

"I met Krupa, that was really fun [her smiling rose-red lips parted to show a wider, prettier grin]... And meeting all of you... I'm happy to be here... And I hope 2017 brings me more enjoyable memories... That's all..." Dhruv ended his gist with a nervous smile, not knowing how to acknowledge the quick round of applause that followed.

"If I may ask," began Rishabh as the applause faded, "why did you and Krupa stop talking after school...? Like anything happened between you two...?"

"I don't know really..." Krupa answered first, when the silence seemed to prolong.

"Um..." Dhruv looked around at everyone. "Is this more interesting to all of you than my account of 2016?" -He wondered. He didn't want to broach the topic in presence of others. He had tried to imagine over and over again what it would be like to ask her all the questions which he had suppressed within himself. He tried to imagine her response, and it frightened him, what the consequences could be. He felt this was something that they should discuss in private to settle it out. "Perhaps another day," he said to himself, and said aloud: "Maybe we got busy with admissions and stuff... And then we both got busy with college, I guess..."

"Maybe..." said Krupa shrugging.

"It's just that," Rishabh continued, "I hear a lot of people say they simply stopped talking with someone close to them, and I never understood why... I guess some things can't be explained..."

"Yeah..." answered Krupa.

"Well, nice to meet you too, Dhruv... And frankly, I miss my school days..." Jaywardhan addressed Dhruv. There were nods of agreement and several 'So do I!'s. Jaywardhan was up next.

And so it went on till the circle ended with Erica. There were several hilarious parts which kept the group entertained. After that they all started talking animatedly about how things changed since school. And after beating around the bush for two minutes, they arrived to one of the most riveting topics: 'Relationships'. It was started by Shekhar:

"You know there's this cute girl in my class whom I only got to interact with during the lab-experiments, and I asked her out once and she said she finds me attractive too, but she won't date anyone till she turns 18, and that's still three months away, so I said 'I'll wait for you...' And then... she gave me her number! And said, 'Let's see...' I really like her..."

"You've 'really liked' a lot of people, Shekhar!" said Krupa with a teasing tone. A round of laughter followed.

"Well, not simultaneously, okay? That's what matters, I think..." justified Shekhar.

"It's alright, I was kidding..." answered Krupa.

"Still, I don't know anyone who has only ever liked one person, except Severus Snape, and he's fictional... And his story is a tragedy... So, um, that's that..." -Shekhar

"True, tragic yet heroic, and eternal..." said Radhika.

"Well, if someone's first crush actually liked them back and they ended up together, that would be some specimen of a miracle... Reserved only to fiction, not reality." argued Piya.

"I-was-kidding!" exclaimed Krupa, "But either way, I don't have to worry about that though...  I'm not looking for any guy till I start earning..."

"What about that guy, the 'cute' guy in our class?" Piya teased.

"I just think he's cute, well, cutest in our college, but still, that's all, nothing else..."

"Ahh... Of course..." Piya shook her head with a sigh.

The conversation went on as others also started sharing their relationship statuses, and the focus was eventually directed at Dhruv, when many noticed how lost he seemed to be.

"Whom are you thinking about?" asked Rishabh, "hey, Dhruv!"

Dhruv realized he was being asked something. After Rishabh repeated his question, Dhruv took one furtive glance at Krupa then quickly looked around at everyone. He had to say something to cover up his actual thoughts."I... I was just remembering something... I have a crush on Jennifer Lawrence... So I was wishing I could meet her someday..."

"Oh yes, celebrity-crush..." Rishabh nodded, "she's really cool... But like, do you have a girlfriend or a crush or someone like that?"

"Nope, no one," answered Dhruv.

"Okay..."

And then the conversation changed to celebrity-crushes and so on, and time flew. Soon it was time to bid farewell. Krupa thanked them for the gift. She came down the building with them; this time they took the stairs. Many selfies were taken. They reached the street, discussed who's going where and how. Dhruv-Parvathi-Radhika were going together again. This trio found a rickshaw, got in and waved goodbye to Krupa, who returned it with a bright smile. Before they knew, the rickshaw started, and they were off. The two were chatting along the way, including Dhruv in their conversation, but even though he smiled and pretended to laugh at their jokes, he was quiet, eyes focussing somewhere else completely.

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After dropping the two off along the way, Dhruv led the rickshaw till his building, checked the rickshaw seats before stepping out, climbed the stairs quickly, and rang the doorbell. He took off his shoes while waiting for the door to open. His mom asked him how the party was, he said he had fun. He kept a smile, and told them what they had gifted Krupa. After changing into simpler clothes, he laid on bed in his traditional Vitruvian-man position.

Deep down, there had been a flicker in his heart that Krupa would be romantically interested in him. That wasn't the reason he wanted the friendship between them to grow, but it was certainly a good motivation. But there was something weighing on him inside, something he couldn't quite put a finger on. After spending some time staring blankly at the ceiling-fan, he diverted his attention to the phone and opened WhatsApp. He shared with Krupa that he had reached home few minutes back. He felt a regret rising, about not telling Krupa why he had not contacted her after the incident with Gaurav, in the school days. Not that there was any particular reason, but he wanted her to know his side... 'Maybe she already does,' thought he, 'why else would she let me in into her world?' In any case, Dhruv felt apprehensive about Krupa. Was anything ever possible between these two? Did it matter to him? How would Krupa react to the fact that  Dhruv had a crush on her? How would it affect their friendship? It will add an unnecessary awkwardness to their friendship. His thoughts raced. But he dozed off, dreaming about the time when he saw Krupa coming up the stairs, on his first 'date'.

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The next few days passed swiftly. Dhruv kept himself engaged in his studies to avoid overthinking or letting loose his thoughts. He still texted Krupa everyday. There was always something or the other to talk about. Or at least that's what Dhruv believed.

On New Year's Eve, Krupa was home with her family. Dhruv told her that his housing-society-group of friends were coming to his house. They were going to play games till midnight and then cheer at the arrival of New Year 2017. Then return to their respective homes.

Dhruv had read in novels and watched in movies and TV shows that people wish for something when the clock strikes twelve. He didn't know whether his wish would come true, but either way, it was worth the try. He wished, "I want to know whether Krupa is the One for me."

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