PUNISHED FOR BEING ME

CHAPTER 7

THE NEWS ABOUT ME AND PRATIK BEING IN A RELATIONSHIP GOT AROUND FAST. THE PACE WITH WHICH IT WAS REACHING EARS COULD EASILY DEFEAT A NATURAL WILDFIRE. AS AND AS THE NEWS REACHED NEW EARS, IT STARTED GETTING TRANSFORMED INTO A COMPLETELY NEW STORY. THERE WERE SOME STORIES THAT ELABORATED ON THE FICTITIOUS EVENT OF HOW I AND PRATIK WERE CAUGHT MAKING OUT IN A TEACHER'S ROOM. SOME EVEN SAID THAT OH BEING CAUGHT, A TEACHER JOINED US INTO A THREESOME. WITH ALL THESE FICTIONAL STORIES DOING THE ROUNDS IN THE CAMPUS, THE PRIVACY THAT WE USED TO ENJOY EARLIER WAS BECOMING SCARCE AND WE HAD STARTED WONDERING IF WE MADE A MISTAKE MAKING OUR RELATIONSHIP PUBLIC.

MAKING YOUR RELATIONSHIP PUBLIC, TOO SOON CAN PROVE TO BE A DANGEROUS STEP, ESPECIALLY YOU ARE GAY. PEOPLE WILL START DISCRIMINATING AGAINST YOU, THEY START TREATING YOU AS INFERIOR AND YOU END UP BEING THE LAST ONE TO BE PICKED FOR ANYTHING. THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT HAPPENED TO US. MOST OF OUR FRIENDS STARTED LEAVING US OUT OF THEIR PLANS, SOME STARTED IGNORING US BUT THE SUPPOSEDLY TRUE AND THE LOYAL ONES WERE THE ONES THAT HURT US THE MOST. THEY TOTALLY BLOCKED US OUT OF THEIR LIVES AND ACTED AS IF IT WAS THE FIRST TIME THAT THEY WERE SEEING US, AND WHEN THEY DID, THEY DID SO WITH A DISGUSTED LOOK. NO ONE CAME FORWARD TO SUPPORT US. SOME PEOPLE WANTED TO, BUT DIDN'T SINCE THEY THOUGHT THAT IF THEY SUPPORT OUR RELATIONSHIP OR HANG OUT WITH US, EVEN THEY WILL BE LOOKED DOWN UPON AS INFERIORS.

IT WAS A TOUGH TIME IN OUR RELATIONSHIP AND WE WERE BARELY SAILING THROUGH THE PHASE UNTIL ONE DAY WHEN EVERYTHING CHANGED.

I WAS SITTING IN CLASS WHEN MY PHONE STARTED RINGING. SURPRISED, I CHECKED MY PHONE AND PRATIK'S PICTURE WAS ON THE DISPLAY. I QUICKLY GRABBED AND WAS TRYING TO TURN IT TO SILENT. THE WHOLE CLASS INCLUDING THE FURIOUS PROFESSOR WAS STARING AT ME. I FIDGETED WITH THE NEW PHONE THAT HE HAD GIFTED ME WHEN MY BENCH MATE OFFERED HIS HELP AND TURNED THE MOBILE TO SILENT. PRATIK NEVER CALLED DURING CLASSES. I THOUGHT SOMETHING MIGHT BE WRONG, BUT SINCE I DIDNT HAVE AN OPTION, I IGNORED IT.

AFTER A BRIEF INTERVAL OF ABOUT 5 MINUTES, IT RANG AGAIN. I IGNORED IT. BY THE TIME MY CLASS ENDED, HE HAD CALLED 10 TIMES. I EXCUSED MYSELF TO THE WASHROOM AND WENT OUTSIDE THE ROOM. I CALLED HIM. HE DIDNT PICK UP. I CALLED HIM AGAIN, STILL NO RESPONSE. IT WAS PUZZLING HOW HE, THE ONE WHO CALLED ME A ONE TOO MANY TIMES, DIDNT PICK UP WHEN I CALLED. MY HEAD STARTED PAINING, THINKING ABOUT WHAT MIGHT HAVE POSSIBLY HAPPENED. I WAITED FOR THE NEXT CLASS TO GET OVER AND THEN CALLED HIM AGAIN, IN VAIN. IT WAS THE LAST TIME I CALLED HIM DURING COLLEGE HOURS. AFTER THE COLLEGE ENDED, I DIRECTLY WENT TO HIS CLASS TO CHECK ON HIS. BUT TO MY SURPRISE, HE WASNT THERE. I ASKED ONE OF HIS CLASSMATES, WHO, BY THE LOOK OF IT, WAS QUITE DISGUSTED THAT I APPROACHED HIM, ABOUT HIS WHEREABOUTS. HE TOLD ME THAT HE WENT BACK TO HIS HOSTEL ROOM ABOUT THREE HOURS AGO, THE TIME WHEN THE PHONE CALLS STARTED. I WAS SCARED NOW. I WANTED TO MEET HIM, AND LOOK HIM IN THE EYE AND HUG HIM TIGHTLY. THERE HADNT BEEN A DAY IN OUR RELATIONSHIP WHERE EITHER OF US HAD LEFT THE COLLEGE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE DAY TO GO BACK TO OUR ROOMS. I WAS SCARED TO MY DEATH.

I RAN BACK TO THE HOSTEL. STRAIGHT TO THE D-BLOCK, WHERE THE THIRD YEARS STAYED. I RAN UP THREE FLIGHTS OF STAIRS UNTIL I WAS FACE TO FACE WITH ROOM NO. 501. I KNOCKED ON THE DOOR, THERE WAS NO REPLY. I WAITED FOR A SECOND, TRYING TO HEAR FOOTSTEPS OR THE SOUND OF ANY KIND OF MOVEMENT IN THE ROOM, THEN KNOCKED AGAIN. THIS TIME, I HEARD FOOTSTEPS APPROACHING THE DOOR. PRATIK OPENED THE DOOR AND AS SOON AS HE DID, I TOOK HIM IN MY ARMS, HUGGED HIM AND KISSED HIM ALL OVER HIS FACE. I WAS HAPPY THAT HE WAS IN PERFECT CONDITION AND THAT NOTHING HAS HAPPENED TO HIM. HE WAS SURPRISED, NOT ONLY BY THE "SPECIAL GIFTS" THAT HE WAS RECEIVING BUT ALSO BY MY PRESENCE IN HIS ROOM. HE SLIGHTLY NUDGED ME AWAY, WHICH CAME AS QUITE AN UNPLEASANT SURPRISE FOR ME. I FIGURED SOMETHING WAS DEFINITELY WRONG BECAUSE HE NEVER DID THAT.

"IS SOMETHING WRONG PRATIK ?" I ASKED.

"I DONT THINK SO. WHY ?"

"YOU CALLED ME ALMOST 10 TIMES IN THE LAST THREE HOURS, CAME BACK TO HOSTEL IN THE MIDDLE OF THE DAY WITHOUT INFORMING ME AND YOU SAY NOTHING IS WRONG. DONT LIE PRATIK, TELL ME WHAT'S THE MATTER."