Road Not Taken ✔

Chapter 8

Next day at school was calmer than I thought it would be . Ruchi was surprising not present in school today. I am wondering why she is absent . Ok.....why am I thinking about her ? Why should I care if she is present or not. The day was peaceful without Ruchi until recess but then something unexpected happened . During recess I saw Trisha who is one of Ruchi's minion rushing towards School main gate . Trisha looked gloomy and  her smudged eye Kohl made it clear that she had wept a few minutes ago . I wondered what made her cry . I thought that Trisha might be unwell and she was taking a half day from school.

After recess we went to our class. Our class teacher Miss Shashi as usual came to take  our after recess attendance but she looked a bit different today as  usual smile of her face was missing she looked a bit worried .After attendance she looked towards us for a second and told us that she wanted to tell us something . The whole class sat quietly to hear what Miss Shashi wanted to convey to us .

Shashi Miss started speaking   "Girls listen to me carefully I have a bad news for you all but please I request you all to be patient and be courageous ."

Her words were making my heart beat louder and my instincts were telling me that something bad was on its way. I was trying to think what bad news Shashi Miss was about to tell when suddenly Shashi again started speaking . I tried to concentrate on her words and I diverted my attention towards Shashi Miss.

Shashi Miss looked gloomy while she spoke dully to us " Girls ! Ruchi and her family met with an ugly accident . They were going on a short trip to Mussoorie but before reaching their destination their car met with accident in Dehradun . Reportedly they are critical and are being treated in a hospital in Dehradun . Girls pray to God that Ruchi and her parents recover soon and return home all hale and hearty ."

My heart skipped beats hearing of Ruchi's accident . I looked towards her friends aka Minions of Ruchi . They looked as if they were about to burst into tears . For the first time I am feeling pity on Minions . Now I understood why Trisha looked gloomy and was leaving school on half day .

Although I and Ruchi share common hatred towards each other but Today I am feeling bad for Ruchi or should I say I am getting really concerned about Ruchi . Today I have realised that still my heart has a soft corner for Ruchi . We have been rivals or should I say enemies for more than a decade but why Ruchi's accident is affecting me so much that I could not concentrate even in a single lecture today after hearing about Ruchi's  accident.

After finishing school I went to home . Surprisingly ,Mom was at home as she had no surgeries for today .As soon as I saw Mom I told her everything about Ruchi and her family's accident . Mom was shocked when she heard about the accident as we have been neighbours with Sharma's for years now . Mom contacted Dad through phone and she asked him to get some health update on Sharma family ( Ruchi's family) through his medical contacts in Dehradun . Through Dad we got to know that Ruchi and her family are  now out of danger and stable . They would be okay within a week and would be shifted to a normal ward . Hearing that Ruchi and her parents were doing fine  I took a sigh of relief and my heart felt a wave of calmness and peace .

Then I decided to head towards my tuition . On my way to coaching I got struck in traffic . I was already 15 minutes late . So, as soon as the traffic  was clear I rushed my scooty as if I was flying some aircraft instead of a scooty and I admit I made a huge mistake because the next moment I bumped in someone's motorbike and before I could apply brakes my scooty skidded and I literally saw stars and then everything went black .

After a while I opened my eyes which now felt quite heavy. With great difficulty I opened my eyelids and a very familiar smell hit my nostrils . The smell of medicines mixed with floor disinfectant , the smell which I often smelt as small kid when I accompanied my Mom to our hospital . Wait....argh am I in a hospital . I tried to look around and the white creamy walls and typical green curtains confirmed that I was indeed in a hospital .

I moved my head towards my right side and saw a boy of my age who was on a bed adjacent to mine looking at me . His hazel chocolate brown eyes with a tint of yellow were the best eyes which I have ever seen in my life . Argh....stop staring him I mentally scolded myself and looked at the ceiling .

He cleared his throat to get my attention and I looked in his direction . He spoke in a deep yet polite voice and I listened him attentively . He started speaking to me" Uhm...Miss you bumped your scooty in my motorbike's rear and made me fall on the road."

If I say hearing it I felt embarrassed then it  would be an understatement as now I was melting with shame and I wanted the earth to swallow me .I apologised to him for my stupid accident which landed him in trouble along with me. I also asked him if I could pay for the damage I caused to his bike . I thought he would be angry and mad at me because due to my carelessness  he got hurt and his bike's rear was damaged.

His response took me by surprise . He said calmly " Don't worry it's okay because you didn't harm me on purpose .Secondly ,even you fell along with me. So, I guess it balances the account. " After saying this he gave  me  a  small smile . Even I smiled hearing his gentle and witty reply.

I was smiling on one of his  funny joke when his parents who looked worried came inside our ward . I apologised to them too and they nodded understandingly .Then they hurriedly took their son with them. After a few minutes I realised that he was so polite and gentle towards me but I didn't even bother to ask his name . I mentally groaned at my silliness and then I closed my eyes and smiled to myself .

Enough accidents for today , I thought to myself . This day was filled with fear and panic .First I panicked when I heard of Ruchi's accident . Then I myself got involved in a road accident because I tried to rush my scooty to my coaching . I thanked god that this  accident of mine was not a major one and nothing bad happened to me and that boy.

Being from an all girls school I feel a bit awkward around boys.Well you consider this as one of the disadvantage of being in an all girls school. But gladly this motorbike guy whom I met just a few minutes ago made me so comfortable that I could talk to him without any awkwardness or discomfort as if I knew him from ages . Life can be frightening at times but at the same time some accidents of life can make you meet good souls too ,I thought to myself.

   ***** CHAPTER  ENDS********