Schoolmates
Page 21
“He has even joined a gym for Christ sake! To build a better physique!” I had shouted throwing my hands up in air.
Riya had smiled her luscious smile, “I think you have a great body too . . .”
“Well it doesn’t matter Riya . . . the coach should think that too.”
“He will Kabby. Everyone knows you are the better sports man, not only in skills but also in team work. Most of the players speak much highly of you. Didn’t Arjun, our senior two years back tell coach in front of the Principal that you would lead our school teams one day?”
I had nodded. God! That was the first time I had truly felt the power of a leader and the impact it left in one’s life. This was my most cherished dream, and I feared it would slip away. It was getting tough to breath, and I needed some air. So I had slipped out to meet my girl before the assembly. And now holding her hand did calm me, but the jitters were still evident.
“Well, I have to go now. See you later, and relax, it’s you Kabir!” As Riya was about to turn and go, I jerked her arm and pulled her into an embrace.
“Kabir what . . .” Before she could finish her sentence I said, “I was preoccupied for a second there . . . I believe you said something about liking my body!!” I slipped my arm behind her slender back and pulled her close to my body. I looked sly and gave her one of my favourite I-want-you looks.
I think she must have read the naughtiness in my eyes and she had wrestled herself free. I had made her wrestled though, and loved her every move in my arms. She had pulled my ears and ran back when I had called out her name from behind and as she had spun around I made my standard ‘I love you’ gesture, the fist pounded on my chest and pointing at her.
Life was still great.
It must have been the last period when Dev had called out to me. I recall looking at my watch; my sister had gifted it on my birthday. Well that was the last time it showed time.
“Selecting the team is the paramount step as only a well selected team will get us the results we desire. The lists for the school team and teams A & B have been put up outside the Principal’s office. We shall be starting with our practices in another week. I expect the expert senior members will take the freshers under their wing, and will guide them like a good sports man, as is customary in our school.” Coach Ranjeet was addressing all of us, and averting the big announcement. He knew how eagerly this year the captaincy announcement was awaited, and so he was enjoying delaying it. Or maybe paving way for crushing the tide that would swell, as either ways his decision was bound to create one huge upheaval.
“I must warn you all, that after the announcements of teams and their captains, everyone will be under our watchful eyes. One wrong move can cost you your place in the team or . . . even your captaincy.” He made a direct eye contact with Tejas and me. The sign was crystal clear, and even the new players were perceptive of the implications of the forth coming announcement.
“So after due considerations and long discussion with the management, keeping all past and present performances in mind the result for the captaincy is as follows . . .” Coach looked down at his clip board, though I’m positive the results were engraved on his mind.
“Team A will be captained by Dev Verma of twelfth C.” Applause & Back thumping.
“Team B will be Captained by Tejas Ahluwalia of twelfth C.” A few freshers did try to clap but a sharp glare by Tejas’s touts silenced all.
“And finally, the captain for our school team this academic year will be Kabir Sharma from twelfth C. Congratulations to all. Dismissed.”
My hand was shook and back thumped. I felt a huge relief and had hugged Dev. I think I had thanked god for the first time, truly in my life. I was eager to tell Riya, although the news was already spreading like wildfire.
“Congratulations Sharma!” Tejas had extended his hand. I had missed seeing his reactions amid all the hugs and applause. He was spitting fire at me, anger oozing from his eyes.
“Thanks Tejas” I had firmly held his hand. Dev looked ominously, waiting for us to leave each other’s hand.
“Well, I guess sucking up that girl’s notes did get you the captaincy. You better watch your back now, as ‘one false move’ could . . . you know what the coach said,” he said from between his clenched jaw, the veins of his forehead striking bold.
“Yes! I guess sucking her notes did help after all. Pity you had ‘No one’ to lend you her notes. It’s never too late though; there are many dames who would still consider befriending a Team B captain.” I knew I was being wrong, but something in Tejas’s attitude compelled me to say those things.
There was a moment of silence and then I felt Dev’s hand pull my arm and saw Tejas’s friends pull him apart from my grip. We parted ways, still looking daggers at each other. As he was departing, I picked up my sport’s kit and called out from behind “And Tejas, I will watch my back.”
I had spoken to Riya for a long time on phone that evening. She was patient enough to let me finish my tale of succeeding Tejas, and I noticed she was quiet.
“Aren’t you happy Riya?” I had asked annoyed that she was not as thrilled as I had hoped she would be.
“It’s not that Kabby . . . Ofcource I’m happy. My Casanova is the team captain now, and I am the proud first lady. But I was just thinking . . . thinking of Tejas. He must be devastated!”
“Wow! I can’t believe this, he threatened me right in front of everyone and you feel sorry for him! What is with you?”
“Sense and sensibility. That is with me, my love.” Riya had replied.
Though I was crazy after that phrase ‘my love’ as she spoke it so passionately and so rarely that I always felt great. But right now, it was not sounding so sweet.
“Don’t try to pacify me Riya . . . I really can’t seem to figure you out sometimes.” I had spoken dejectedly.
“Look. Kabby, imagine yourself in his position, what if he had been selected, you would have been crushed! That is how he must be feeling. And humiliated after what nonsense you said to him. You really did not have to rub his nose into it. No wonder he threatened you!”
“I care the least, he got what he deserved, and I got what I had worked so hard for. Can’t you see that?” I was getting angry at Riya.
“I can see everything Kabby, but you can’t face the fact that you were just better than him . . . he is actually not that bad a sports man, just not equal to you. That does not entitle you to speak rudely or to insult him.”
I could not believe it! My girl, the one I was so madly in love with was not speaking what I wished to hear. I knew she was right, but was too immature to accept it back then.
“Thanks for loving me so much Riya . . . I am feeling great! My own girl friend is reprimanding me! This is the best day of my academic life and you will preach me on how to conduct myself. Great.!” I was panting and shouting in the cell phone now, anger had over taken all my senses.
“Kabby you are too fuelled up! We will speak tomorrow.”
“No . . . We will not speak tomorrow. I lead my team tomorrow, and I do not want sermons early in the morning. Hey, maybe you should speak to ‘poor Tejas’. He needs a shoulder to cry on I’m sure.” I hated what I said, but still could not stop myself from saying it. The stress of separation from her, the tension of selection had finally gotten to me.
“KABIR SHARMA...!! What the hell do you think of me!! How dare you!” She had banged her phone down and the rattle of it did scare me a bit. But I brushed it off.
It was my first fight after becoming the captain of school team.
CHAPTER-8
I am a busy man now, with office and a girlfriend and loads of other things I can show off as being busy. I have no time to sit and reminisce about the past. I lead a hectic multinational life. I travel around the globe, do important projects, make a handsome pay package, own my flat
, and drive around Delhi in my new car. I play squash on weekends and often hang out with Manya, attending all her fancy rehearsals and fashion shows. I am a dedicated and wholly, a busy man.
Yet . . . after meeting her again, all I have done is think of her! Riya . . my flightless bird! My Madam Curie! My whole world. Stop it Kabir!
I reminded myself the thousandth time that day to stop myself from thinking of her, but the indubitable fact was that I had never actually stopped thinking of her ever in my life.
It was ten a.m. and I was in Vikram’s Hotel, busy with the setting up of their new club floor. I honestly liked Vikram. He was a smart and sensitive man. Besides I think he really loved her too.
But then who wouldn’t, she was a darling. Vikram had explained over breakfast today, how he had met Riya. Vikram’s father and Riya’s dad happened to be both from army. So one meeting at Vikram’s dad’s place had led to another and the parents thought of it as a suitable match. And so he had started dating Riya, in order to win her heart and had succeeded in doing so . . .
This line made me think again for a long time. Had not Riya always said that her body was technically complete, as her heart was lost . . . lost to me! I had always said that I thought that was a bad deal as I did not believe in sharing. What was mine remained so forever, and that she would never be able to lend it to anyone else. I had locked it in mine and would never part with it hence forth.
And she used to smile and say, that was exactly why she had given it away to me!
So how come she let it out to Vikram? How was it possible, that I suffered our break so very much and she was blemish free . . . lending her heart out to another man, even if it was this nice man called Vikram? Even if her daddy approved of this nice man called Vikram, she was his! Had always been his!
I was far too busy in work to have noticed ticking off the clock. It was only until my group members patted my back and said it was lunch time that I finally put aside my work sheets and rose up to head for the cafeteria. I also wanted to meet Vikram.
The hotel’s cafe offered all three meals to its employees and also to us. There was a good crowd already present by the time I, the late comer (old habits seldom change), reached the cafe. Thankfully I saw Vikram, who had saved a seat for me, as we had decided we liked each other’s company and had much to share.
“Thanks man! I would have been stuck up back there had it not been for you,” I said slipping in the empty chair in front of Vikram. I continued, “Yesterday was fantastic! Too bad Manya missed it. You were great, man! Very pretty house you have there.” I bit into my salad.
“Thanks, yes I had a fabulous time too. We spoke of you long after you left. Riya told me a lot about you. You were the captain of your team! Then you must have had girls drooling all over you. Now that is what I would call a blessed school life. I was never a sports buff. More into literary activities just like Riya. But you . . . you were a heart throb from what I hear. There was a certain Ayesha who always tried getting cosy with you, and you had a fast friend called Dev! Where are these people now?”
I had smiled at his sweet recollection of my glorious past and was also amazed at how gently Riya had narrated my life’s story to Vikram. Clearly she had omitted her part in my story. But I was happy . . . at least she spoke about me when I was gone!
“Yes . . . I was a heart throb. I will not deny that fact and yes there was an Ayesha who madly followed me all around. She is married now with a son, as I last heard of. Dev Verma, my fast friend even now, is in London and is also married. He married his school sweetheart, Surbhi. Did Riya tell you about Dev and Surbhi?” I asked, sipping coffee.
“No. What about them?” Apparently, Riya had not.
“Well, Dev and Surbhi had an amazing love story.” I said, thinking to myself that Dev did what I could not do. He married the girl he so dearly loved. And I ... all I could now do was sip coffee with my love’s fiancee and think of how much she likes coffee too.
“Dev fell for Surbhi the day she spilled her colour palate on his white bush shirt. Oh! It was so dramatic! He did not know what hit him! He was like a love stuck bunny after that, lost in his own world! Everyone saw it ... He was the captain of Team A!” I had laughed at my own recollection of those days.
“Really! Tell me all about it then” Vikram was looking eagerly at me. And so I began the narration of Dev’s love story, the one love story with a happy ending.
Life was great after we both became captains, me and Dev. It meant fewer studies and more girls! I was taken but Dev was relishing this newfound admiration.
“I had no idea there was this ‘so cute’ side of me.” He said, one day, after school was over and we were in the basketball court doing our practices. Riya had left in her second trip, after my failed attempt to regain her affections, third day in a row. I knew she was hurt; I had been too blunt on the phone that day. So I was trying my luck at baskets.
“Yup Dev, you are getting what I call ‘The pup treatment’!” I said dogging my ball from between his legs.
“What’s that? “ Dev asked.
“It’s what the girls say to you, like they have seen a new pup . . . ‘So cute’! You are officially a puppy look alike now.” I finished and we both had a good laugh.
It was in the week that followed that our schools annual fest was to begin. It would include the annual basketball tournament also. We were all preparing our parts; I and Dev were busy with basketball. Riya was busy with her numerous speeches and literary competitions and Tejas was also busy to accept his fate and be a part of the team. Though I knew he had some trick up his sleeve. But mostly, the arts department was bursting with activity as the entire onus of decorations was with them.
The boy’s lockers and the arts room were in same corridor, just facing each other, as both needed the water booth nearby. So it was on a Friday, I recall clearly, when Dev had won the match between team A and team B and was stepping out jubilantly waving his arms, from the boy’s lockers, when he bumped into someone and fell down with her.
As he felt his shirt get damp and heard the laughter from his mates, he got up rather angrily, to rebuke whoever it was, that had bumped into him and wet his white school shirt, he realised it was a canvas of green and orange! Apparently, someone had spilled coloured water all over his shirt.
Dev looked up and went mute! She was looking fearfully at him and repeatedly apologising.
“I am sorry . . . I am so sorry, but my whole attention was towards the palette, I did not see your hand! I am sorry . . . God! Look at what a mess I created!” Had I not stepped in, she would have started crying.
“It’s all right. He was also not looking either. It’s just a shirt. Right Dev?” I helped her to pick up her brushes and palette and then tugged Dev to senses.
“Right . . . Dev?” I had asked again as he was totally lost, staring at her the whole time.
“Well, Its o.k.” I had said when Dev failed to speak. She had beamed and walked away into the arts room and it was then that Dev came to his senses.
“What happened Dev? Why were you speechless in front of her? A moment ago we thought you will kill her and then Boom! You went mute?” Abhinav, his team mate had asked.
“I . . . fell . . .” Was all Dev had said. All the guys had laughed out and walked away, only I remained behind studying Dev and holding his sling bag along with my duffle. He looked confused and agitated, not his usual self.
“Dev, are you all right? You said ‘You fell’. No injuries . . . hmm?” I had asked a little concerned.
“I meant, I have fallen . . . in love with whoever she is!” Dev had said rather shyly, giving a soft smile.
“We will find out, my man . . . welcome to the club!” I had hugged him then.
She was Surbhi, the talented artist studying in twelfth E which was the arts section.
CHAPTER-9
The lunch time was over. I was laughing with Vikram about Dev’s proposal to Surbhi in his hilarious art form that he had drawn for her, when his mobile rang. It was Riya’s call.
“Hi, sweetie . . . you just called at the right time. Kabir was telling me your old school tales. Man! You people were a funny bunch of kids. Yeah! He is sitting here right in front of me . . . What? Again? But I fixed it yesterday . . . o.k. ok. I will pick up a new one on my way. See you later love.” He hung up the phone.
I winced at his mention of her as ‘love’, but lowered my eyes to hide it.
“What happened? Something broke?” I asked casually.
“Yeah . . . she is kind of clumsy with her wrist watch. Keeps breaking its latch. No matter how branded it is, she breaks it off!” Vikram said munching the last morsel of food from his plate. “Now she wants a new one, and shopping with her is not easy man! She keeps heading for the books sectionfor heaven’s sake!” Vikram made a pitiful face and I smiled at the recollection. Some things never change . . .
“Well . . . Manya is now modelling for this new brand. Let me buy one for her on your behalf . . . what do you say?” I was not counting on his agreeing immediately, but when he did so with a relief and shook my hand, I felt great. Departing we promised to meet again for a round of squash that evening and discuss about it.
I was happy. I was going to buy something for her after so many years ... I looked at my new watch for time, which my girlfriend had just gifted. It was around eleven. But that’s all I saw . . . time . . . nothing else.
The day was going fine like every other day. I attended calls, went on site for other projects, met with new clients and had calls from my mom and Manya. I felt fresh and alive; there was a bounce in my feet. I wondered at this as I remembered times when I would be so angry at everyone I had come to the point of losing my career. There were times when I was so down, I could not even answer the phone. My parents were most concerned. That was when my dad had pushed me off to New York, to live with my uncle. I got enrolled in Commerce, got a degree in finance, and followed it up with a post-graduation, surprisingly. I was their star player too. Sometimes I would look at the stands where many dames would be eying my sweat drenched toned body . . . And my eyes would search her. Even though I knew she was not there, I would look like a hungry dog everywhere for her. My colleagues knew I was suffering a heart burn and so hardly ever asked, as I had shut them up one too many times. But I was still at pain, hurting badly and missing Riya so much that it was getting impossible to carry on a normal talk with any other girl. There was also a time when people thought that I was perhaps sick ... as I was not seen socializing with women. Good looks with no girl at your side can lead many a false rumours. I cared the least, and so slowly they died down when I went out on a few rudimentary dates.