by Anuj Tiwari
‘Meaning?’ Ved is confused.
‘You can move in. There is enough space for both of us. Anyway, Charu and I are the only ones who live there,’ Angira says with assurance.
‘Yes, you have Charu to talk to and I have Arjun.’
‘Yes, but she lives in her room. She won’t get disturbed if you come. We’ll manage,’ Angira persists. ‘I had told Charu a few days ago about this and she had agreed to it. In fact, she was happy about the idea, but shit happened and then…’
‘But what reason will I give Arjun for moving in with you. And what if he tells Anushka. Your mom will transport me to hell.’
Lying in bed, they try to figure a way out.
Angira remembers the lines Arjun had told her about love.
Love makes you happy,
Love makes you weak,
That’s the beauty of it,
Sometimes it floats, sometimes it’s deep.
After spending an unforgettable night with each other, they leave for Mumbai next morning. On their way suddenly something strikes him and he gets up to open his laptop. He opens his Gmail account once again.
‘What happened?’ Angira asks him.
‘Just checking something,’ he says, trying hard to figure out.
He goes to the following navigation of Gmail > Settings > Forwarding and POP/IMAP > Forwarding, and finds the email ID of Iona D’souza.
Ved had never imagined that Iona could go to such an extent.
‘What happened? What’s that?’ Angira asks him, trying to understand the situation.
‘She was stalking me. I still can’t believe it,’ Ved holds his head and closes his eyes.
He wonders how she could do this. She was stalking him even when they were just friends.
‘What?’ Angira is shocked looking at the screen.
‘But how?’ she wants to know more.
How can Iona be so possessive to keep a track of his activities? Ved recalls each and every moment from their past when he shared his Gmail account with Iona. He remembers that one day during vacations they were at their respective homes, and had planned to do a video chat on Gmail. He gave his Gmail password to her so that she could install a webcam and resolve the issue as he was busy working on something and Iona wanted to talk to him desperately. Iona had logged into his account and installed the webcam after which they spoke happily that day. But her possessiveness took a dangerous turn and she started stalking him. She never wanted to lose him, so she did this.
‘Ved, how can she do that?’ Angira is too angry.
‘Yes, see. She put her email id and then verified it, so that afterwards even if I changed the password or did anything on my Gmail account, she received a carbon copy of my activities on her email id,’ Ved shows Angira the evidence.
Ved feels weak and cheated. He removed her email id and does not tell Iona anything. He regains composure and tells Angira not to share this news with anyone, not even Arjun, Anushka or Charu.
He Said, She Said, We Said
There are so many reasons to party. Ved and Angira have moved in together and he is going to Kolkata to play for the city. Anushka will be told about the development soon and he will personally ask Angira’s mom for her hand the next time he meets her. Arjun and Ved have cleared all the doubts that had fogged their heads and their friendship. They understand each other better now and are happy for one another. Every day they relive their college days together, with Anushka in tow.
Tonight Angira has thrown a party at a restaurant for everyone to celebrate all this and much more. Ved too wants to celebrate the time spent in the apartment where he fell in love with Angira, before they begin a new life together.
The surprise element in the party was the presence of Anushka and Iona, which was not expected. Angira sits on the extreme left with Charu, and Arjun is on the extreme right on the red-and-white sofa with fancy cushions. Anushka and Iona are crammed in between them, and Ved sits in front of them on a single sofa. It’s easy for them to make fun of him today.
‘You are sitting at the right place,’ Iona says, looking at Ved.
Ved doesn’t speak.
Elder siblings play a huge role in cementing a relationship. Anushka is happy for her sister and for Ved, whom she likes a lot. She knows convincing her parents will be difficult, but it is doable. Ved has learnt a few tricks to impress their parents and Anushka is confident that their marriage is imminent. Soon Ved will be in Delhi to speak to Anushka’s family and all will be settled.
‘No, I’d rather have Arjun sitting here,’ Ved says, getting up from the chair.
‘Don’t be so kind, today’s your day. I give it to you as you have become a sensible man,’ Arjun says with a smile.
‘Don’t do that, he deserves this day today,’ Anushka defends Ved with a sharp laugh.
‘He just got selected. It’s not like he has won the match,’ Charu jumps into the conversation and then realizes that she should not criticize him.
‘Yes, he has just been selected, but he will definitely win the match. He has to,’ Angira says with affection.
Arjun takes a glass of water; Iona picks up a menu card and says, ‘I need to stuff myself with food.’
She asks Angira to order something good. Anushka and Arjun are talking while Ved is just staring away, intensely thinking about something. Charu has been noticing him for the last few minutes.
‘So how’s everything at your end?’ Arjun asks Iona.
‘Life is good. The next trip is to Paris,’ Iona looks happy and cheerful answering him.
It was her dream to visit the French capital. Iona will be in Mumbai for a few more days before heading to her dream destination.
‘That’s great,’ he congratulates her.
‘So what will you have?’ Iona asks him, checking the menu card.
Arjun passes the menu card to others because he isn’t sure what to order.
‘We don’t know,’ Ved says suddenly.
‘What don’t you know?’ Charu asks him.
‘Just order what you want,’ responds Ved.
‘I’ll have Mint with a Hole,’ Iona mentions.
‘I’ll have End of the Road,’ Anushka adds.
And Angira orders I Clove You, a whiskey-based shot with a strong taste of clove. Arjun places his order as well.
They are enjoying in each other’s company.
‘Well, listen…listen up guys,’ Arjun announces. ‘Do we really know why we are here today?’
‘Of course, the future star…’ Charu starts sniggering and others follow her.
‘Apart from that, on this day four months ago, Ved took Angira on their first date. It’s their four-month anniversary, you guys!’
Everyone congratulates them. Angira is just stunned.
‘You remember that?’ Ved asks him, pleasantly surprised.
‘Yes, I do. You told me…’
‘But you are really bad with the dates Arjun. You forgot my birthday,’ Anushka says, punching him jestily on his arms.
‘That’s because I wanted to be the last to wish you so that you remember it forever,’ Arjun replies with a naughty smile. ‘So, congratulations to both of you. Keep smiling and keep rocking!’
Everyone claps for the lovely couple and wishes them for their new beginning. Angira looks at Arjun and passes a smile without exchanging any words. Anushka raises her glass and asks everyone to drink their shot.
‘Yeah,’ Charu picks up her glass and orders the others to do the same.
‘1…2…3,’ Iona counts and the alcohol slips down everyone’s throat.
‘Thanks,’ Angira smiles.
‘You have already thanked me enough,’ Arjun says.
‘One more time…’
‘Then one more time, may I say congratulations to you.’
‘By the way, how did you remember the date?’ she asks with a sense of curiosity.
‘I set reminders for important dates. Now don’t tell anyone,’ Arjun says, raising his eyebro
ws and placing a finger on his lips.
‘Are you serious?’ She shakes her head.
After a few hours, everyone seems to be in high spirits.
‘I want one more,’ Angira declares her intention to drink while Arjun, Ved and Anushka talk.
‘I want one more too,’ Iona calls out.
Arjun looks at Anushka, who tries to keep Angira busy with potato swirls so that she does not ask for another drink.
‘Angira, you shouldn’t have any more drinks. You’ve already had three back to back,’ Anushka says.
Iona looks at her and seems to be thinking something.
‘When did you order this?’ Anushka asks her.
Iona had ordered a large drink of vodka when everyone was busy chit-chatting.
‘Just wanted to have…’ Iona mumbles.
Angira remembers something while Anushka is talking to Iona.
‘Let’s play a game. I am sure everyone will enjoy this,’ Angira says excitedly.
‘What game are you talking about?’ Iona asks her.
‘Please don’t bore us,’ Charu warns her.
‘No, it’s fun. I promise,’ Angira says confidently.
‘So what’s the game?’ Ved asks curiously.
‘Actually, it’s called flip, sip or strip, but we are not going to strip. The rule of the game is, someone will flip a coin and while the coin is in the air, one person will call heads or tails. If that person guesses it right, then the coin is passed onto the person on the right, and if he or she guesses it wrong, then the coin is passed on to the person on the left. The twist is, if your guess is wrong, you need to drink a shot. Just to make sure things don’t go out of hand, you can’t sip more than twice in a row,’ Angira explains it well and takes charge of the game.
Flip, Sip and the Stripping of Truth!
‘No, you guys need to go home as well, no more drinks,’ Arjun tells them.
He is worried about dropping everyone home safely, as always.
‘It’s fun, let’s have some more shots,’ Angira pleads.
Arjun rarely says a no to Angira because being her bestfriend, he always gives her the space that she deserves. Today she has all the rights.
‘But we’ll play just one round,’ Arjun says.
They order some drinks and the game starts with Angira. Ved flips the coin.
‘Heads,’ Angira calls.
‘It’s tails,’ Ved says and everyone hoots.
Angira downs the shot, but cringes a little as she doesn’t like its taste. Despite that she finishes the drink in one go. She then passes the coin to the left where Iona is sitting.
‘It’s heads,’ Iona says and it turns out to be the wrong guess.
Iona takes the shot, though she is already quite drunk. Iona passes the coin to Charu who is sitting on her left. Charu’s guess is right and again the turn comes back to Iona. Iona’s guess is wrong again and she drinks another shot. Thanks to the wrong guesses, Ved and Iona are the ones who have consumed more alcohol than the others.
They are drunk out of their minds and are enjoying every bit of it. Suddenly something flashes in Ved’s mind. He stops drinking and instead drinks a glass of water. The game goes on and almost everyone takes at least one shot, except Anushka. Time flies and it is 10.45 p.m. Ved wanted to clear things with Iona, but the situation does not seem favourable. Iona is drunk. Anushka is talking to Arjun, telling him that he needs to drop Iona at her friend’s place as Iona is in no condition to travel alone. Anushka and Iona had come directly to the party to give the couple a surprise, but now, Ved tries to recollect if he left anything unmanaged at Angira’s place.
‘Anushka shouldn’t come to know that I am staying with Angira. What if she finds my shoes over there? Did I hide it before leaving? Shit!!! I left my innerwear in the laundry basket,’ he panics.
Ved looks worried now. He takes her phone out and messages Angira on WhatsApp about the situation. Angira looks serious too and they both have the same expression. She messages him back.
What do we do now?
Ved replies while Arjun notices that they are busy chatting on WhatsApp.
I don’t know.
Do one thing, drop us at our place.
You talk to Anushka downstairs.
I’ll go upstairs and clean the rooms.
Confused and worried Ved texts her.
Can you do this?
Yes, I can.
You just talk about whatever you want. Talk about football, Delhi, Mumbai whatever comes in your mind, but keep her busy.
If she finds your innerwear at my place, she will surely take me back to Delhi.
Ok, put everything in the bag and keep it under the bed.
Don’t forget to hide the things which are under the pillow :P
Didn’t you throw that?
I threw the used one in the dustbin; the unused
one is still under the pillow.
Now, dance…
LOL
Charu gets up, saying, ‘Excuse me.’
Angira and Ved, now conscious of having been on their phones for too long, look at her.
‘What happened?’ Anushka utters.
With the same tenor, Charu says, ‘Washroom…’
‘Okay,’ Anushka says.
Iona also gets up and tails her.
Arjun keeps an eye on Charu while the girls go to the washroom. Arjun looks at Ved and says something in gestures, something that Anushka doesn’t understand. Angira wants to talk to Iona, but Arjun and Ved stop her. With everyone in good mood, Ved doesn’t want to ruin the moment by asking Iona why she tried to mess with him.
‘Let’s go to the dance floor,’ Angira says.
Although everyone’s enjoying, there is Angira who parties like there’s no tomorrow.
‘It’s already 11.45,’ Anushka says.
‘We still have an hour,’ Angira reminds her.
Ved looks excited to take her to the dance floor, but in front of Anushka he doesn’t speak much. Angira makes them dance as they await Charu and Iona to join them. Ved books their cabs for 12.45 a.m. as 1 a.m. is the closing time.
‘Let’s go now,’ Angira says, standing up as Charu returns.
‘Where is Iona?’ Arjun asks, disconnecting the call.
‘No idea. Let me call her,’ Angira dials her number.
Everyone is worried for Iona.
‘Though she can control herself even after multiple drinks, Arjun, could you please look in there?’ Angira says, pointing towards the washroom.
Arjun nods and Ved also gets up.
‘She is coming,’ Anushka informs them.
Iona waves from the other end, walking towards them.
‘Let’s go,’ says Angira, coming upto Ved.
Iona is totally drunk as she reaches for the sofa where everyone is sitting.
‘Iona, are you okay?’ Anushka asks her and helps her sit on the sofa.
‘I am fine, I am fine,’ she says.
‘No, you are not,’ Anushka says, again trying to make her sit comfortably.
‘I am perfectly fine!’ She laughs aloud.
People sitting next to them stare at her.
‘Yes, I can see that. Iona you are not in your senses. Sit down. We’ll leave in some time,’ Anushka speaks, offering her a glass of water.
‘Okay, we’ll head home,’ Charu decides.
She wanted to dance, but with Iona drunk out of her mind the timing couldn’t have been worse.
‘No, I am fine,’ Iona says.
‘You look like an obnoxious drunkard,’ Charu says.
‘You also had the same amount as me. I just had a few extra shots,’ she replies. ‘By the way, before we leave, I want to say something.’
There is a sense of seriousness on her face.
‘Iona, it’s getting very late,’ Arjun says.
‘I’ll take just five minutes of your time,’ she says.
She looks like she has prepared a speech and is nervous before going on the dais.
‘What do you want to say?’ Arjun asks as Ved, Anushka and Angira come closer.
Arjun is clearly impatient now. Ved is in his own world, constantly thinking of how to get out of trouble with Anushka.
Iona starts, ‘Many congratulations to your success and I pray you achieve more and more success. You’ve got what you wanted in your life—your passion and your partner to walk with you. Forever and forever.’
Iona continues, ‘I wish you’ll continue to strive for excellence as you have done so far. I really appreciate you for what you have achieved in life till now and we all are proud of you. I wish you greater success in future and hope that you, as a sportsperson, add to the glory of the game and to us.’
Everyone claps and congratulates Ved once again.
She adds, while others are still clapping, pointing towards Ved, ‘I have known him for six years now…’
Everyone is shocked, except Ved and Arjun.
Ved looks at Arjun and considers interrupting her before she says anything else. That garba night, that email, those moments he spent with her. Arjun stops him. But Ved is upset; he is drunk and cannot control himself from speaking up.
‘Before you congratulate me, I have a few questions for you,’ Ved comes closer to Iona.
‘What happened?’ Iona looks a little uncomfortable because in the years she has known Ved, he has never expressed himself like this.
Ved comes in front of her and is about to slap her, but controls himself, tightening his fists in anger.
Everyone is shocked.
Arjun tries to control Ved.
‘No, let me show her what I am!’ Ved shouts. ‘You can’t imagine.’
Arjun pulls Ved away as people are staring at them. Everybody is dumbstruck.
‘Never show me your face, and this time don’t even try to follow me, Iona. Consider this a suggestion and a warning,’ Ved yells at Iona.
There is a hint of regret on her face, but now, it’s too late.
‘What the fuck?’ Charu cannot understand what just happened.
Anushka tries to control him. Others are just stunned and won’t look away.
‘Ved, you are not in your senses,’ Arjun tries to normalize the situation.