It was 22nd of June,2006.
My first day in DPS Bokaro.
I was new to the school and naturally had no friends there. I was
somewhat at a loss. The mysteries of the new campus were overwhelming.
‘Dev Kapoor?’
‘Yes Si...I mean Mam’
‘Just say are you present or not?’
‘I am talking to you Mam. It’s obvious that I am present here.’
And that was a pretty cheeky answer to give to a teacher on the first day of school.
‘Stop arguing .Answer what you are asked. Just say yes or no!’ My class teacher snarled.
I did not know my fault as it never occurred to me that I, was being cheeky. I hung my head low and sat down.
My first encounter with my class teacher at my new school was a blunder. Little did I know it was one of the luckiest blunders of my life.
‘Hey don’t look so distressed. She was too rude. You didn’t do
anything wrong. Cheer up!’
I looked up doubtfully .The voice was really sweet.
‘Yeah, She is off her mind. ‘
I gladly smiled at the twin sisters who had come to my aid. It wasn’t
such a bad place afterall.
‘Hi, I’m Nupur Verma.’
‘Hi, I’m Payal Verma.’
They spoke almost in unison. To this date I marvel at their perfect speech
coordination as if they followed each other’s line of
thought. Perfect Siamese twins and my first friends there at BIV.
‘Friends...?’ I extended my hand.
‘Yeah of course!’ they smiled and gave me a high five. Handshakes were getting out dated and I made a mental note of it. Times were changing.
I was stepping into an entirely new world. I was growing up.
Soon, I settled down in my new school. Bokaro had always been a hub
for budding engineers and doctors preparing for entrances and DPS being one of the top schools, rendered its share of pressure on each and every aspiring child.
Free time was out of question and half yearly exams were approaching. But I
faced a distraction.
Mili Singhania.
I had a hopeless crush on her. Her beauty & her daintiness overpowered
my senses every time I set my eyes on her. The way she tossed her
head whenever something pleased her took my breath away. Suddenly out
of nowhere I fell in love with her and it was my most special secret.
Safeguarded in the bottom of my heart and trapped inside the pages of
my diary. I discovered that she lived in sector 11
. Everyday, I followed her from my home in sector 9 as she cycled to school
on her pink bicycle. I was getting more and more obsessed with her
over time.
I remember the Mathematics class that day. We had some graph work for our
homework and half of the class was in panic. Our Maths teacher was an
A-Grade lunatic and punishing students was his forte.
Everybody was terrified of him. But I had a reason to smile because I
had my work completed. I turned around enjoying my moment of glory
when my eyes fell on her. I couldn't lift my gaze off her.
The smile on her face was gone. Tear drops were welling up in the
corner of her mysterious eyes. I silently handed my graph paper to her as the
teacher entered the class.
I had done my bit of *hero giri* but deep inside I was numb with
fear. For the first time in my life I was without homework and luck
was definitely not on my side. The teacher was in a sour mood and soon I was
the honourable recipient of two thunderous slaps. My only consolation
was the smile on her face.
In the lunch hour, she came up to me.
‘Hey, you wrote all these?’, she asked me carelessly flipping pages of my
diary.
‘Yeah I did.’
‘By the way I came over to thank you. You saved me.’
‘Anything for that smile Mili’ I thought and spoke it aloud,
‘You are welcome. Friends?’
‘Mmm... On one condition.’
’Oh God..!! These girls! What condition?’
‘ I want to read your diary. If you don’t mind.’
My heart skipped a beat that day. The diary had numerous references to her.
What if she gets angry? Or complains to the school authorities? Worse still, what if she slaps me? The thought wasn’t appealing at all, and I brushed it aside. Being a silent admirer was definitely easier than facing rejection. I wasn’t sure if I was ready to face anything of that sort. Her condition put me in a dilemma.
But, on second thoughts, the risk seemed worth taking. I handed my diary over to her.
Next morning I took my usual route following her but she slowed
her bicycle down.
‘Good morning. So where do you stay?’ she asked, beaming at me.
‘Sector 9. And you?’, I asked trying to be innocent quite forgetting
I had given my diary to her just a day before.
‘You know what Dev? You look cute when you try to tell a lie and fail
miserably at it! I read your whole diary yesterday. You should have at least spoken to me once.
And she started laughing like anything. Girls are accustomed to laugh
at their own jokes. And she was no different. But how I swooned over
her laughing face flushed red by efforts of cycling .I loved every bit of her.
And off we went to our school. It became our daily routine to cycle
together to school. Life was beautiful with her by my side.
We never met outside school and those cycling trips were the only time
we were together. But we had become fast friends and stuck out together
throughout the day in school. So much that you guys started teasing me
about her. Even though I exhibited sheer fury somewhere down my heart
I felt happy that my affection was noticeable.
‘Are you busy this Sunday? My tuitions got cancelled and I hate
staying at home. Shall we go out somewhere?‘ She asked me one Friday
morning rather sheepishly.
I guess lady luck was smiling on me. Mili asking me out was a dream come
true.
‘Of course I’ll be coming Mili. Don’t worry. I am always there.
'Now smile dumbo’, I said secretly thanking god.
I felt like the happiest guy under the sun. It was my time for love.
