It Started With a Friend Request (14 page)

The entire team was shocked. Their jaws had dropped down after listening to such a long speech from Deep. They just stared at him with their eyes wide open.

‘He deserves to be applauded. Clap everyone,’ a few employees shouted in chorus.

Deep scratched his head thinking about what he had just said. He was not even drunk. It was his frustration which he had controlled inside the hall when Mr Arun was sharing his valuable philosophies with him.

‘I wish Tamanna was here. She would have enjoyed the speech so much. Can you repeat it once more please? At least we can record it,’ his teammates teased him.

Tamanna joined them after some time to make the official announcement of the Goa conference.

‘Ok guys, now it’s time to announce the names for the Goa conference to be held in January. Managers of two teams are going to Goa for the official conference along with one employee from their team. Therefore, the authorities
have shortlisted the names as per your performance. From our team, Deep will join me for the conference and from Mr Verma’s team, Kajal will join us. Is that clear?’ asked Tamanna.

Listening to his own name didn’t surprise Deep. He had expected it right since he encountered Tamanna before the training session.

He was confused about the trip and changed the topic, saying, ‘Isn’t this Kajal the same girl who was with Verma?’ Deep asked and everyone replied ‘yes’ in chorus.

‘She would have really made a lot of effort last night.’ The gossipmongers had begun and Deep preferred to leave the discussion before things got out of control.

Tamanna was a bit surprised as Deep had left all of a sudden without even discussing about the conference with her. She tried calling him but his cell was switched off. But that didn’t trouble her since she knew Deep had to join her for the Goa conference. Missing on such an opportunity was like kicking one’s luck. She was delighted to have got an opportunity to stay with Deep in Goa and didn’t mind even if it was for official reasons. She had already started imagining being on Goa beaches with Deep during their free time together.

Inside her cabin, she started writing her thoughts on her Galaxy Tab.

I can’t help but think that somewhere inside of you, I exist. Somewhere between liking me, loving me, and everything in the middle, you get scared. The tingling feeling terrifies you and you don’t know in which direction to go.
Call me crazy, but I think I mean something to you even though you hide your real feelings. Call me weird, but I don’t think you can run away from these feelings forever. I think you are eventually going to accept the fact that I make your world go round.

Was this her obsession or her love? She just wanted Deep to reciprocate her feelings in some form. Maybe a kiss or a hug or something more than that would heal her pain during bad times. Was it love or lust? She hardly knew and she hardly cared.

Deep on the other hand was confused about the whole situation. He had obviously made up his mind, but he did not know how to stop Tamanna from crossing her limits.

He called up his friend with whom he had discussed about Tamanna earlier.

‘You know, the situation is something like I need to cross a river with water snakes in it. Now I can take a chance by swimming to the other side, as there are hopes that I will survive. However, what if I am told not to get wet? That’s impossible. You know everything including the party incident. I’m confused. Please tell me what I should do.’

‘Don’t panic. If you need to cross a river without getting wet, use a boat. Simple! Why do you think so much? Just don’t entertain anyone beyond what is expected of you. A bit here and there is okay. Just remember to concentrate on your work and your future wife. These are your priorities. Let me give you an example. You know when you’re desperate to have sex…when your girlfriend texts you asking you if you want to have sex with her tonight, and you just
type YES, and when you are supposed to send it; suddenly a thief snatches your cell and runs away. Instead of shouting for help, you shout “SEND MAAR!! SEND MAAR!” What I mean is forget the mobile, concentrate on your goal, your work. Chill!’

Deep remained silent for a moment and then both of them had a hearty laugh over the example. Deep disconnected the phone and took a deep breath. He was all set to Go Goa in January!

Unhooked and Booked

I
t was that time of the year when your social life is in complete shatters, you are stressed, busy, and on the verge of going completely mental. Only students can explain what they feel like when they hear the word ‘Exam’. Aleesha and Kritika had almost stopped reading
Cosmopolitan
magazines and downloading hot photos of actors. All they downloaded now were PDF files of exam course or assignments to study for the internal exams.

‘There are only two times when I sing the “tadap tadap ke” song. One, when I have a break up and the other, whenever there are exams. Who made this examination system? If I get to meet his family members, I will not hesitate to kill those scoundrels,’ said Kritika.

‘Seriously yaar. I am fed up. These exams have screwed our freedom. Just a few hours and we will be free. Hope you remember we are going to Aditya’s place after the exam?’ asked Aleesha turning the pages of the book.

It was this Economics paper and though the entire portion was not coming for the internals, Aleesha had not prepared for the examination in the excitement of it being the last
paper. She was going through some important points just before entering the examination hall. However, it was too late. She hardly understood anything now. Economics is not a subject to be studied at the last minute. Aleesha tried her best to remember the points. She had kept the mini Xerox notes inside her top so that no one could touch them. She was extremely smart at such things.

‘Let’s get inside. There is hardly any time left,’ said Kritika closing her book as she walked inside the classroom.

Aleesha went and took her seat which was in the centre of the classroom. She was happy that she had got enough cover fire to remove the chits. As the exam started and the professor got busy in paperwork, she looked at everyone and slowly removed the chits. Kritika was troubling her from behind to show whatever she had written. She sat across and kept her paper open so that Kritika could copy.

‘Write fast, I need to turn the page. Should I?’ Aleesha asked after making sure the professor was not observing them.

‘Wait, wait. Just a minute. I am on the last line.’ Kritika replied copying Aleesha’s notes at bullet speed.

The bell rang after some time and the professor collected all the answer sheets. Aleesha came out in a happy mood as she had answered all the questions to the best of her ability. Kritika looked a bit confused and Aleesha asked her the reason for it.

‘I did a blunder I suppose. I wrote one answer from the chit that you passed me. But I wrote it in a hurry, I didn’t see what I was writing and I think I have screwed up. I also wrote the line which read “Refer to page no 181 for the third point”,’ Kritika remembered.

Aleesha started laughing aloud and teased Kritika for her stupidity. Kritika felt sad but Aleesha cheered her up by reminding her about their plan. Akash was going to meet them outside the college and then all three of them were going to head towards my home.

‘How was your paper?’ Akash questioned.

‘Akash, asking this question itself is useless. Even Aamir Khan wouldn’t have taken so much effort to tatoo his body and prepare chits that Aleesha takes during her exams. She is a lady Gajini,’ Kritika commented after which all of them started laughing.

She was not wrong. The time Aleesha had spent in preparing chits and taking mini Xerox notes for the exam was unbelievable. She never got caught as she kept them at a place which no man could touch without permission.

Within an hour, they reached my apartment and I went down to receive them. As they entered my house, they pounced upon the glasses vodka, which I had bought especially for the girls. I was not in a mood to drink so I had just brought a Breezer for myself. Akash preferred vodka along with the girls.

‘Aadi, are you sure no one is going to come home at this time?’ Akash enquired.

‘No. I don’t think so. Dad has gone to Andheri for work and mom won’t return till evening for sure.’ I informed them opening my bottle of Breezer.

After a few pegs, Akash and the girls changed into more comfortable clothes. Akash wore my cotton track pants with
a sleeveless T-shirt. Aleesha and Kritika had carried their clothes along with them. Aleesha wore short pants which barely covered her thighs while Kritika wore leggings. Once comfortably seated in my bedroom, we took our positions to play on the PlayStation. I sat on Akash’s lap to control the remote while Kritika sat in front of Aleesha. We were playing ‘Tekken’ with Asuka Kazama and having a ball of a time together.

My bedroom door was exactly in front of us beside the screen. I had just latched it. While playing, we didn’t hear the sound of the doorbell. So we were caught completely off guard when my dad entered my bedroom unannounced. He had a spare key to my bedroom. No one understood what to do and remained fixed to their spots like statues. I glanced at everyone and saw Kritika trying to hide her glass of vodka while Aleesha was still sitting with her glass in her hand. I was sitting on Akash’s lap resting the back of my head on his chest while Akash was holding on to me with both his hands making it seem almost like an embrace. At that moment, I just wished my dad didn’t feel we were upto something different looking at our positions. I behaved as cool as possible and greeted him.

‘Hi dad, you are early today?’

‘Ya beta. I finished my work earlier than expected. So what’s happening?’ he asked trying to sound casual.

‘Nothing. We were playing games and just chilling out,’ I replied moving out of my bedroom and walking towards the kitchen to bring him a glass of water. He followed me into the kitchen.

‘Do you have any problem, beta? I mean there is nothing wrong with you, right? Who are they and what’s happening?’ dad said sounding confused.

‘Chill dad, we are just friends. I am sorry for the drinks. Trust me, I don’t drink. They wanted to have some vodka so they got it. Their exams have just got over. The girl who was sitting on the lap of the other girl is Aleesha. She is Akash’s girlfriend. The other one is Kritika,’ I explained to him.

‘You were not doing something else, right? You and Akash?’

‘Oh dad, it’s nothing like that. I am straight. Akash is just a friend and we were playing games so were caught in that position,’ I replied casually.

Holy crap, he must have thought Ma da Laadla bigad gaya. I had never in my wildest dreams thought he would think something like that about me. I wished Akash had sat on Aleesha’s lap. At least that would have not put me in an embarrassing spot. He kept on staring at me.

‘Dad, trust me,’ I said in a convincing tone.

‘The world today is full of homosexual couples, so I thought of asking you directly. Don’t be shy if you are hiding something. Be clear. Yesterday even your mom was asking me why you always close your door when you are sitting in your bedroom. She couldn’t ask you, but tell me frankly—do you watch adult films after closing the door? It’s okay if you are. It’s normal at this age,’ he said keeping his plate in the dishwasher.

‘Dad, why would I close the door to watch such things? These things can no longer be viewed only on the computer. You can easily watch them on your mobile phone. But don’t
worry. I am not doing anything wrong,’ I said trying to make him understand there was nothing serious.

‘If you are not doing anything wrong, then why do you close the door?’ he asked.

He was not wrong from his point of view. He gave me a typical dad’s lecture for around 15 minutes and left after that. I closed the door and came back to my room. Everyone was anxious to know dad’s reaction. I told them the entire story of what he thought about Akash and me. We all rolled on the floor laughing.

After playing for some time, we had some snacks and then watched a movie on my computer. Akash came to me and whispered in my ear that he wanted to stay alone with Aleesha for some time. I told him that he could go to the master bedroom and close the door.

‘Akash, but do lock the door or dad might come again and catch you in an embarrassing situation,’ I teased him.

Aleesha pinched my arms and tried to slap me. Akash caught Aleesha while we were running all over the house and hugged her tight. She lifted her toes gently and kissed his eyes. He took her to the other room while Kritika and I relaxed on the bed watching a movie.