Few Things Left Unsaid

by Sudeep Nagarkar

  ‘Is your submission over?’ she asked me.

  ‘No, only Chemistry remains. She is not accepting my file. My attendance is low and I have to check two experiments as well.’

  ‘It’s okay. Let me go talk to her. I might be able to convince her to accept your submission after all, she knows me very well.’ Saying that, Riya started walking towards the Chemistry lab.

  The teacher saw Riya outside the lab and called her inside. I followed her into the classroom.

  ‘Riya, is there any problem?’ she asked while writing something on the attendance sheet.

  ‘Ma’am, his experiments are to be checked. Please can you do it?’

  ‘No I won’t. Look at his attendance. It’s just 42 percent. If it was above 50 percent, I would have thought of it. But as per the rules, it’s impossible now.’

  I was looking at Riya. She told me to relax.

  ‘Ma’am, please. I promise you he won’t repeat this mistake again the next semester. Please ma’am. I give you the assurance he won’t repeat this mistake again. If he does, you can cancel my submission.’

  ‘Riya, what’s this? You are a nice girl. Why do you hang out with boys like him?’

  Bloody hell. What does she mean by that? I would have abused her there itself but I was quiet as I wanted my submissions over. I pleaded with her myself and gave her the assurance that I would be regular in classes for the next semester.

  ‘Riya, I am doing this only for you. You were nice the entire semester and I do not want you to be upset and let that affect your examination. Aditya, you should be thankful to her. Give me your file.’

  Finally the submissions was done. I would have screwed my first year if it was not for Riya.

  Riya was a sweetheart. I could not have expected more from her. She did what no one else could have done. My first year would have been ruined if Riya had not convinced the Chemistry teacher. She had the power of convincing anyone. I was the best example. Her innocence while explaining things could convince anyone. I had just one word for her—sweetheart.

  ‘Riya thanks, I would have failed if….’

  ‘Just thanks? You owe me a party. Thanks will not do.’

  ‘Okay fine. I don’t have cash now. I will treat you after a few days. I will take you to a movie. Is it fine?’

  ‘Yes. Perfect’ she said kissing my lips softly.

  ‘Are you crazy? We are in the college.’

  I looked around to see if someone had seen us. We were in the passage of the college near the canteen. It was at the back of the college where generally no one came. I was relieved to know that no one was around.

  ‘I don’t care. Your lips are mine. I can touch them whenever I want. I don’t have to take permission from you.’ Riya kissed me again.

  I did not argue this time and gave in to her demand.

  We went back home. I did not say anything to my parents about my submission. I just went to my room and switched on the computer. Orkutting was my favourite timepass. I used to check Riya’s scraps occasionally just to keep an eye on her. I was possessive about her. She was no different. We were happy in each other’s company. We did not want anyone to know that we were together.

  I remembered I had to take her out for a movie. I checked on the Cinemax website to check which movies were being screened. They were all third-grade. We had decided to watch a movie on Saturday. Till then, I would get some pocket money from my parents.

  She came online shortly.

  Riya:

  ‘Hey, which movie shall we watch?’

  Me:

  ‘Don’t know. Let’s decide once we reach there. Are you excited?’

  Riya:

  ‘Excited? What for? Didn’t get you?’

  Me:

  ‘Forgot what we did the last time in the theatre?’

  Riya:

  ‘Stop it. Love you.’

  Me:

  ‘Blushing? I want to see you blushing. Shall I make you blush more?’

  Riya:

  ‘No need to see me blushing. How will you make me blush more?’

  Me:

  ‘By doing something more than what I did that day. I want you to be just mine. I want you just for me. Even you can do what you want. Love you a lot. Miss you. Eat dinner properly. See you on Saturday. Wear a skirt. If possible, bring fried rice for me.’

  I logged out. I wanted the entire day to be special. I was carrying a small gift for her from Archies. I also took a few chocolates for her. I knew how much she loved chocolates.

  On Saturday morning, we met outside her house at 11 am. We reached Cinemax in a few minutes. We checked the show timings. There was not even a single good movie. Ultimately, we took the tickets for Home Delivery. The show began at 1 pm.

  We went to Pizza Hut. I ordered one spicy veggie pizza and a coke.

  ‘Jaan I have two surprises for you. You will love them.’

  ‘Seriously? What are they? Please show me.’

  ‘Not now. You will have to wait for it.’ I showed her the packet. She was excited because she loved surprises.

  ‘Even I have one surprise for you,’ Riya said pointing at her bag.

  It made me so excited that I almost grabbed her bag. But she did not allow me to open it just then. I gave her the wrapped box of chocolates and told her to open it. As she saw chocolates, she pinched my cheeks hard. We shared the first choclate. Then I requested her to show what she had got for me.

  She handed a gift-wrapped box to me. I opened it to find that it contained a wrist watch!

  ‘God, this is really nice. From where did you get it?’

  ‘I noticed that you didn’t have a watch, so I thought I would get one for you. Thank God you like it.’

  ‘It’s your choice. How will I not like it?.’

  Even though the watch was not branded, it was such a thoughtful present and showed how much she loved me.

  ‘Now show me what you have with you. Please. I am excited and want to see it.’

  ‘Not now dear. You will have to wait for sometime. But I promise it will be special.’

  I wanted to give her that gift just before the movie started. We finished eating our pizza. I paid the bill and we left. There were still 30 minutes left for the movie to start. I asked Riya for her permisiion to smoke. She let me go take a puff. She always used to tell me to smoke within limit. She knew I smoked only occasionally. I went to the tapri, bought a pack, and lit a cigarette. We were sitting outside the theatre.

  ‘Why do you smoke?’she asked me out of the blue.

  ‘Why do you love me?’ I asked her back.

  ‘Because you are good looking, good natured, and you know how to make me happy.’

  ‘The same is the case with a cigarette. She looks nice in my hand and she knows how to make me happy.’

  She laughed thinking I was joking.

  We went inside the theatre. Our seats were in the first row from top. The theatre was almost empty. We had no choice other than to watch this movie. I liked Ayesha Takia as an actress, so did not have any issues. Plus in trailers she had shown her wearing just one white long shirt in a scene. Nothing beneath. That would be exiting to watch. When the movie started, I removed the second surprise from my bag and put it in her hands. Her eyes shone with excitement. She was looking more beautiful than before. She opened it.

  ‘So sweet, it’s an awesome ring. Love you a lot. You are the best boyfriend in the world’

  I put the ring on her ring finger. She hugged me immediately. It brought tears to her eyes. We had started loving each other to the extreme. She hugged me non-stop for the next 5 minutes. She kissed the ring. It was studded with a diamond. Not a real diamond, obviously. Just a fancy stone that looked like a diamond.

  ‘I will always wear it and whenever I miss you, whenever I am alone, I will kiss this ring. This way, I will always have you near me. Thanks for such a wonderful gift. You are my Mr Perfect. I was right. No one can take your place.’

  I kissed her and brought
her closer to me. She kissed my chest and neck. I had never seen her as happy as she was today. I started getting naughty with her and so did she. She reached over for some popcorn from the box on my lap and grabbed something else by mistake! Her touch felt good. She was conscious of her mistake but was also eager to see my reaction

  After reaching home, she sent me a text.

  After today, I am all yours. You must be thinking you gave me two surprises in all, but you actually gave me three. The third one I can’t describe it to you, but its always precious for a girl. Think about it and you will realize what I’m talking about. Thanks for everything. I am kissing my ring at the moment. I am missing you more than ever today. It was the most beautiful day in my life. I have saved the date on my mobile. December 3. Love you jaan. Bye. Gn.

  After thinking about it for 3 hours, I realized what she meant exactly. This made me love her more. I had taken a chance to propose to her. And today I was deeply in love with her. I could break all boundaries and go beyond my limits. We were made for each other.

  It was time for night outs now. Hot coffees, songs on the radio, and some snacks. It was also time to study for the first semester exams. I had never studied earlier except for two subjects. Mechanics and Computer Programming. I was unaware of the syllabus of the other subjects. Exams were 4 days away. The first paper was Applied Mechanics. I had almost prepared for it but I still had to go through it once.

  It was around 2 am that I called Riya.

  ‘How much did you study?’

  ‘I am doing the Statics part. It’s a tough subject. I think I will get a back. I am sure I’ll get a KT,’ she replied.

  ‘Don’t worry and study. I will not disturb you anymore. Miss you.’

  Saying that I kept the phone. I also called Sameer, Swapnil, and Anup to enquire about what they had studied. They were also studying statics. Since I was done with it, I started reading up on dynamics. I found mechanics easy though other students found it difficult.

  ‘So finally are you done with the preparations for the exam? When are you reaching college? I will be there at 10 am. I am so tensed. Let’s see what happens,’ said Swapnil over the phone.

  ‘I will be there at the same time. Almost done. Let’s see.’

  I called Riya. Even she had finished studying. The golden figure of ‘40’ was what we all were aiming for.

  Thirty minutes before the exam, Sameer was still cramming up. He used to read until the very end.

  ‘Oye topper, close the book,’ Swapnil teased him.

  ‘Shut up yaar. I can’t remember anything. I am going to screw this paper so badly.’

  ‘Oh God, if you are in such a situation after studying so much, what will happen to the likes of us?’

  ‘Stop it yaar, Swapnil. Please let me study.’

  But he didn’t look up from his book. He was so engrossed in it that it looked like he was going through a porn magazine. Finally, we entered the classroom. I checked out which bench I had. I was wishing for the last or the second last bench. I saw my seat number on the bench. It was in the third row. Sameer got the first bench. My heartbeat increased. Swapnil had mini xerox notes in his pocket. He was not worried. I never had the courage to carry any xeroxes with me. We were sitting on our respective benches and waiting for the professor to enter the classroom. We all wanted a new teacher as the invigilator so that we could copy from each other easily. However, When I saw Deshmukh sir enter the classroom, I knew it was all over. Now no one could copy. He handed over the question paper to us along with the answer sheets. He warned us that if someone was caught cheating, he would be thrown out of the classroom.

  I was going over the question paper. I knew four questions out of seven. I started solving the sums. I glanced at Swapnil. He had his xerox under his answer paper. He was writing at rocket speed. It made me more nervous. I glanced at Sameer. He was sitting idle, playing with his pen. That lessened my nervousness a bit. I glanced at Riya. She was writing sincerely. That motivated me to give my best in the paper as well. I attempted questions worth almost 70 marks, Riya 60 and Swapnil, Anup, and Sameer attempted questions almost worth 80 marks. We were satisfied with our performance based on whatever we had studied.

  The second paper was also easy. Applied Science. The third paper was Computer Programming. I had studied for it well and had got my basics right. Everyone decided to come to my home and study for the night. Anup and Riya did not come. I did not want Riya to come home as my mom was already suspicious about her. Anup’s parents did not allow him to go out at nights during exams. Sameer and Swapnil came home. We had dinner and started studying in my room.

  We studied for a while. I taught them the basics of Programming. Since I had taught Programming to Riya before, she was done with this subject. Swapnil made a cup of tea for us.

  ‘Hey Aadi, do you have a porn film?’ Swapnil asked me.

  ‘Are you crazy? We have exams in two days’ time and you want to play with your dick? Shut up and study,’ said Sameer.

  He was a complete bookworm and was revising whatever I had taught him so far. At the end, Swapnil convinced me to show him a porn film. I had a small collection stacked in a secret drawer in my closet.

  ‘Wow, she is so hot. Sameer look at her. What a shape she has!’ Swapnil said pointing to one CD with a girl in a bikini on the cover.

  ‘You go ahead and watch this while I go out and smoke.’ Sameer had made his point.

  ‘It helps your mind relax. After watching this, I can study with a refreshed mind,’ Swapnil answered.

  I also preferred to smoke over nude girls. It’s not that we both were impotent or gay. But smoking gave us much more pleasure than watching porn. I believed we were at such an age that we should be doing it practically, not watching others do it. Swapnil said it was fun when no one was at home and you are studying late nights.

  Tea, books, friends, porn films, cigarettes, and some studying in-between.

  The next day, we sat for the Computer Programming exam. It was the worst paper I had ever given.

  I looked at Swapnil’s face. He gave me a smile. That made me more nervous. I looked at Sameer. He gave me a smile too for a change this time. It was like I was having a nervous breakdown. I looked at Anup. He was also writing. Heart failure. I looked at Riya. She was on her second page. I was dead. Three hours were spent looking at everyone’s faces. I had attempted questions worth just 50 marks and was sure to fail.

  ‘I screwed it up. I will fail. Sure kt,’ I said to Riya after the exam.

  ‘Jaan, don’t worry. I know you will clear it,’ assured Riya even though she seemed worried.

  ‘Yes, maybe. Don’t know. But I am sure of getting a KT.’

  It was angry. I was the one who had taught everyone else what programming was and what computer language was. And today, I was standing outside the exam hall cursing myself.

  My mind said, Welcome to engineering. Be ready for the worst.

  The person who taught was about to fail and whoever he taught were about to pass.

  I looked at Riya. She was talking to a few other friends and seemed least bothered. For the first time I felt like I was alone. I was hurt by her indifference towards me.

  Making a Discovery

  The exams had come to an end. I was worried about the Computer Programming results. The rest of the papers had gone fine though. All my friends, including Riya, decided to spend the next day chilling at my home.

  ‘Bachcha, are you sure you want to come home? My mom will be there in the evening. I hope you will be comfortable in her company,’ I asked Riya.

  ‘Ya, it’s totally fine. Plus I will leave early. May be before your mom comes home.’

  ‘Hmm…ya, that would be fine. See you tomorrow then. Come along with Sameer. He knows the address.’

  I was nervous as Riya was coming to my home for the first time. Sameer called me the next day.

  ‘Hey Aadi…we are in front of your building. Shall we come upstairs?’

  �
�Sure.’

  No one was at home. I was alone. It was Anup and Riya.’s first visit to my home. The rest were already seated in my bedroom. We had rented a movie CD of Kalyug. We started watching it. Chips and popcorn was passed around in a bowl. Riya was sitting beside me with her head on my shoulder. We were teasing each other in between. I was playing with her lips and her eyes.

  And then the song started—jiya dhadak dhadak… We both got lost in each other’s eyes. Swapnil interrupted us by singing the same song. Riya punched Swapnil and told him to shut up.

  ‘What’s wrong with you, Swapnil?’ Riya asked.

  ‘Nothing, what did I say? I thought you both needed privacy. Let’s go guys. You both enjoy yourselves in the bedroom.’

  ‘Swapnil I will kill you.’ Riya and Swapnil started running all over the house. I was watching them and their childlike behaviour. It looked like they were enjoying themselves. I was thankful to Swapnil for introducing me to Riya.

  After lunch, we were relaxing when Riya showed all of them the ring that I had given her. She was showing it to each one of them personally with excitement. Swapnil hugged her, glad to see both of us happy. Everyone was happy for us.

  They all decided to do something special for us. They made both of us stand face to face. Swapnil came and stood beside Riya, Anup and Sameer were beside me. Swapnil removed the ring from Riya’s hand and gave it to me and he removed a gold ring from my hand and gave it to Riya.

  ‘May I know what’s happening?’ I asked everyone.

  Riya came close to me and gave a small peck on my lips and said, ‘Jaan you are dumb. So please be quiet and just follow their instructions.’

  Everbody laughed. I was still wondering what was happening around me.

  Sameer started shooting with the camera.

  ‘Sameer what is happening. Can anyone tell me please?’