It Started With a Friend Request (11 page)

After packing up, Aleesha look around the place one last time to check if she had left something. She was about to leave when Tamanna hugged her and said:

‘Keep in touch. In case you face any problems, feel free to seek my help. I’m not that far from your college. Also if you feel like returning to this apartment, then you are most welcome.’

‘Thanks Tammy di,’ Aleesha smiled and continued, ‘When are you shifting?’

‘Most probably tomorrow.’

Taking the bags out of the lift, Tamanna accompanied Aleesha to the cab. Aleesha gave a last look at the apartment after which the taxi sped off to her new place.

‘Kritika, have you prepared the slides for the presentation?’ asked Aleesha, unpacking her bag. Kritika was busy working on something on her laptop.

The rooms were not as bad as Aleesha had thought. First year students were allocated rooms on the ground floor of the hostel building. There was a long corridor with a series of rooms one after the other in a row. Aleesha’s room had two single beds with an attached washroom. Apart from the wooden beds with cotton mattresses and pillows, each girl was given a small steel almirah to keep their belongings and a small dressing table. The wall above the bed was plastered with posters of latest film stars, probably put up by the room’s previous occupants. What Aleesha liked the most about the room was that it had an AC and a small balcony as well. There was a canteen situated on the ground floor itself and had fixed meal timings. Still Kritika had bought with her a packet of chips which she was munching on while browsing the internet on her laptop.

‘I am searching for some hot photos of Robert Pattinson. I wish I could find a nude one. I would take off these posters
on the wall and put up just his picture,’ Kritika said with a naughty smile on her face.

‘Ya, he is fucking hot. I have watched his intimate scene from
Twilight
so many times and I still feel goosebumps every time I watch it,’ Aleesha replied.

‘Are you engaged? I mean are you dating someone?’ Kritika asked casually. She was a complete mismatch to Tamanna. Kritika liked getting involved in the personal affairs of other people, not because she loved gossiping, but because she was overfriendly.

‘Yes. His name is Akash. He is working at the RS Group here in Mumbai itself. We met sometime back in a club,’ Aleesha answered.

‘I am sure he is not as hot as Robert. Look at this pic. I could literally bite his lips. They are so juicy,’ Kritika exclaimed.

They both laughed and together downloaded some hot pictures of their favourite stars. Aleesha was tired from all the unpacking and fell on the bed, tired. They both had a long chat about their past, family, friends, boyfriends, and fantasies.

It was Aleesha’s first day in the hostel and she was gelling well with Kritika. Aleesha had already started making plans of breaking the hostel rules and bringing Akash in her room at least during nighttime. Even Kritika gave her the green signal. After some time they switched off the lights of the room and covered themselves with a blanket.

‘You are a darling. Love you sweetie,’ Aleesha told Kritika for being such a sport and letting Akash come at night.

‘Go to sleep baby. It’s too late. Presentations and exams are just round the corner,’ Kritika said jokingly to which both of them laughed.

Aleesha sent a message to Akash before closing her eyes.

Good night Mickey. Your Minnie is tired and needs to sleep badly. Miss you a lot. Muaahhh. Love you.

Exploring the ‘No-Male’ Territory

‘Y
ou are out of your mind!’ I uttered.

‘I am serious dude. Aleesha and her friend Kritika have planned it all out. We just need to act like it’s a scripted show. So chill,’ Akash said trying to convince me. To some extent, he was succeeding too.

I was still lost in thought and didn’t understand the gravity of the situation until Akash repeated those words. ‘Girls’ Hostel’. I woke up from my dream as if someone had given me an electric shock.

‘Crazy? You will be fucked and you will screw her life too if we get caught. Have you lost it?’ I shouted getting up from my seat.

‘It will be full on dhamaal. There will be just girls and more girls. The whole attention will be on us,’ Akash rejoiced. Then looking at my expressionless face, he continued, ‘Aadi, calm down. We will take extra care so that no one can catch us and the girls will anyway be there to guide us. So relax.’

The debate continued for almost an hour and finally I gave up. I agreed to tag along even after knowing the risks involved. One of the deciding factors was that I felt Aleesha was smart enough to handle such things. She had done it brilliantly during the party. The only thing I wished was that Akash would not mess it up like last time.

Akash messaged Aleesha who was busy with studies and preparations for the approaching presentation.

Aditya has agreed. You look in to the rest of the things carefully. Let’s have fun this Saturday. I won’t disturb you much until then. All the best for your presentation tomorrow. Love you.

Aleesha read the message twice and replied with a kiss smiley. She was tensed about the presentation because even Kritika hadn’t prepared for it yet.

‘We hardly have any time left. Let’s prepare some basic slides and Google the rest of the content. We need to be spontaneous tomorrow,’ Aleesha said looking worried while Kritika started jotting down the points.

‘I think we will do well. We hardly need to speak for ten minutes. Quite manageable,’ Kritika assured her opening her book to look for further information on the topic.

‘Darling, we have not been told to talk about our boyfriends or crushes that we can go on speaking for hours,’ Aleesha joked. ‘Even then I wonder if I would be able to speak for more than fifteen minutes.’

‘Why not? You just need to talk about Akash and your relationship. If it’s worth listening to, then I will record it too so that I can make him listen to it. He will go crazy
hearing you talk about him,’ Kritika laughed.

Realizing they had very little time left before the exam, they became serious and in the next couple of hours, their entire presentation was ready. Both of them had not only prepared the slides but also studied a bit for the coming examination. It was around 1 am and both of them were feeling really hungry. Kritika had chips and dry fruits with her. They were busy gorging on chips when Aleesha’s mobile beeped. It was Akash. Kritika couldn’t stop herself from asking out of curiosity,

‘What important thing does he have to tell you just before going to sleep?’

Aleesha couldn’t stop smiling. The message read:
I want to tell you that your dressing style needs a makeover. I know exactly what will look good on you… and that’s me. Try it!

She read the message aloud for Kritika and they both started giggling. They decided to play a prank on him. Kritika took her cell phone and said, ‘That’s called phone swap. Your poor boyfriend. Now let me continue the chat. I hope you don’t mind,’ she winked and sent Akash a message.

Your size will be too small for me. My friend says I need one size bigger. What do you think?

Both of them were enjoying this act and waited anxiously for Akash’s reply. Within a few seconds, a message popped up on the screen.

You don’t need one, Minnie. I am there to cover you.

Kritika was in no mood to stop. She sent another one:

I prefer to be without cover, my Mickey. But I am not your Minnie. :P

Akash must have been in a state of shock after the message as he called up Aleesha a couple of times after that.

What do you mean?
he replied.

I mean, I am not Aleesha. I am Kritika. :D :D

They waited for some more time for him to reply after the secret was out, but Akash didn’t. Aleesha called him up a couple of times as well but he didn’t pick up his phone.

Kritika couldn’t stop laughing. She was busy browsing through a magazine.

‘What are you reading?’ Aleesha asked.

‘Dumb ass, it’s
Cosmopolitan
magazine. Only for girls,’ Kritika answered closing her laptop.

‘Oh is it? I have heard about it but have never read it. Show it to me too.’ Aleesha couldn’t hide her excitement.

‘Wait, I will read it out for you,’ Kritika said, picking out an article. ‘There is a column in this edition titled, “30 Things To Do With a Naked Man.” Another one says…’

Aleesha interrupted her before she could read any further. ‘Does this magazine really have such kind of things written in it? I had thought that my friends used to lie on BBM when they talked about reading such articles in magazines’

‘Try reading this one. It’s quite an eye opener,’ Kritika said and handed over the magazine to Aleesha.

Once Aleesha began reading it, there was no stopping her.

‘You are taking so much of interest in the article, almost as if you are going to apply them on Akash. He might get lucky someday then,’ Kritika teased.

‘Shut up. He is better than me and knows how to handle such situations,’ Aleesha said in a naughty tone.

‘Is it? Do tell me your stories. It will be fun. You know what happened when I was in a relationship? It’s been almost a year now. When I made love to my boyfriend for the first time, the experience was not so great. He called me up the next day to ask me if I had told my best friend about it. I told him, “Of course!” Needless to say, he made a greater effort the next time we made out.’

Aleesha couldn’t control her laughter and almost banged her head against the wall. It was too much for her to bear.

After all the girl talk, they both fell asleep. Aleesha and Kritika had been gelling very well together and had started discussing their personal problems with each other too. This in turn benefitted their college presentations due to their understanding and coordination. They were like two volumes of one book. Best friends often come into your life at the most perfect times and Aleesha had found one in Kritika. Unlike other girls, they had no jealousy against each other.

The morning alarm woke Aleesha up and she did not waste her time in curling on the bed again. In the meanwhile, Kritika was wide awake and going through the presentation slides. They went to the canteen to have their breakfast and then started for college.

‘Which is the first lecture?’ Kritika asked taking a seat on the last bench.

‘Effective Communication Skills. I hate this subject. The professor also is a super bore. He looks like Kallu mama,’ Aleesha laughed resting her head on the bench.

The professor entered and the class went silent for a moment. He was wearing spectacles and had a pot belly. Aleesha felt that the yellow shirt that he had worn made him look like
Rangeela’s
Aamir Khan. Both girls continued to make fun of him sitting on the last bench.

‘I hope you all remember that today we are going to do an assignment on English writing. I’ll give you 20 minutes to write and you will then have to randomly select someone to read it out,’ he said passing the attendance sheet to the students.

Kritika was sitting next to Aleesha and was playing Angry Birds on her mobile.

‘Guess what? If couples in love are called ‘Love Birds’, I bet a couple who’ve fought with each other are called “Angry Birds”’ Aleesha laughed while she watched Kritika play the game.

Aleesha noticed a girl sitting ahead of them. Looking at how she was dressed, she couldn’t stop herself from commenting.

‘Look at that girl. What a wardrobe disaster! Who wears tube tops with embroidery on it and that too in parrot green colour? Blue denims and dark green heels. Err…Plus look at her hairstyle. Oh god!’ Aleesha whispered in Kritika’s ears.

‘She looks like she has landed here from another planet Look at her earrings. Who wears danglers to college? A red lipstick is an add-on to the disaster. I don’t think she realizes she looks like a parrot,’ Kritika added.

They continued to make fun of her, least interested in what the professor was saying. And so were the other students. Aleesha looked at her mobile to check the notifications.

Akash had messaged her.