His Dusk, Her Dawn

Chapter 8. Skip a beat

I knew I was good at self-control, but it was getting really difficult to keep my hands to myself whenever I saw Sandhya. After getting lectures from my friends, I decided not to trouble her or hit her, but the decision was proving to be a lot difficult than I thought.

Sandhya was also avoiding me and glaring every moment, accompanied with her famous taunts. A lot of times, I felt like messing with her; my days were incomplete without getting into fights with her.

Still, I couldn't do anything. My friends kept a close eye on me whenever we were together. Slowly, I got used to it and ignored her presence. I was the one who had told her to keep away from my friends, so getting in a trouble myself wouldn't have proved good.

Just like that, I carried on with my monotonous life, happy with imagining fighting Sandy Pandy in my mind. One such fine day, I was in a very happy mood. The work of my newest cafe was over and it was going to be opened that evening. I had already done announcing the news to my teammates, who congratulated me and asked for a party.

I agreed and made my way towards my next class. I was walking casually in the corridor when I noticed Sandhya coming from the opposite direction. She had a weird expression on her face and was mumbling to herself. I put my hands behind my back as she came near - she didn't notice me.

How could she ignore me?

As she went past me, I felt a strong urge to flick her forehead, but I reminded myself about what Rajeev and Mayank bhaiyya had told me. She was a girl.

Yes, a girl. And just like Dad has always told me, we shouldn't raise our hands on women. Yup, I should follow his advice.

I observed Sandhya as she went past me, her waist-length black hair swaying behind. I narrowed my eyes. Her hair was longer than that. I wondered if she shortened it. I moved my eyes over her, registering her form; she was indeed a girl.

Hmm... But she was Sandy Pandy too. She might be of opposite gender, but when have I bothered about it? Why should I let this gender barrier come between us?

I moved my right hand forward and pulled her hair.

"Ouch!" she yelled and turned around in a snap.

"What's with the rotten face, Sandy Pandy?" I flicked her nose.

She looked at me angrily and charged forward, and I was also prepared for the duel, but she stopped suddenly and looked past me.

"Nikhil!" she yelled.

I glanced over my shoulder and noticed my friend increasing his pace after he heard Sandhya call him. She ran after him and caught his arm. Nikhil told her to leave him and not bug him anymore. I was confused at their interaction, so I decided to see for myself.

Once I learned that Sandhya had gotten to know about Nikhil and Karthik's drug use, I told her to keep calm. She didn't listen and told Nikhil to come to his senses. She kept asking him about his studies, her voice laced with worry. I felt myself getting agitated when she increased her grip on Nikhil's arm and contorted her face as if someone was dying.

Wow, look at her being so concerned about him.

"Sandhya, please I don't want to talk about it now," Nikhil said.

"But, Nikhil, you said we would discuss it after lunch break. Come on, yaar, trust me. I won't tell your parents if you tell me what's bothering you," she reasoned.

Nikhil darted his eyes on her face and stepped back. He yanked his hand from her grip and excused himself. After he left abruptly, she looked at him longingly and turned her lips downwards. Her usual bright face was dim, as if she was going through a huge turmoil.