by Nikita Singh
But you wouldn’t miss a chance to flatter him . . . :P :P
Vatsala Rathore: Aye aye, Captain! ;)
Well, I didn’t exactly say that, it was just a ‘yes sir’ but now that we’re calling him Jack Sparrow, it seemed only right to put a Captain in there somewhere.
Chat-6
Small Dragons
September 15th, 2010
I have never been more grateful to the mosquito net I slept in every night. Putting it up was merely a habit and once you get used to it, even one mosquito in your room is enough to keep you up all night.
Apart from saving me from a little blood loss every night, I didn’t think it could serve any other purpose.
Until then—
That morning, it saved my life. Okay, an exaggeration again, but even if I would’ve survived the trauma somehow, I’m sure I’d have had a cardiac arrest, or a nervous breakdown, at the very least.
The blessed mosquito net saved me from all that.
“Come home,” I sobbed into the phone.
“Now?” Ankit asked.
“Right now.”
“Can I at least know why? Something happened?”
“I thought I was your best friend.”
“You are. And I’m coming. But I’m worried, so can’t you just tell me?”
“There’s this small dragon . . . and when I say small, it’s by dragons’ standard size. Otherwise, it’s huge.”
“A lizard?”
“A lizard.”
“Trust you to make mountains out of molehills!”
“Molehill? I woke up to see it right here in front of me. If not for the mosquito net, it would’ve jumped on my face!”
“And why would it want to jump on your face?”
“I don’t know. Ask it. What is it doing on my mosquito net?”
“It fell from the ceiling. Or didn’t this thought cross your mind?”
“No. because I know it didn’t fall. It was trying to attack me and the mosquito net came in the way to my rescue.”
“Right.” I could almost picture him rolling his eyes at the other end of the phone.
“And it wants to kill me. It’s giving me that look. When I first woke up, it was lying upside down, on its back, looking at me. And then, just to scare me even more, it turned back on its stomach. It’s scarier this way; you know . . . all pale, whitish . . . Yikes!”
“You should be a fiction writer. Write a book about evil lizards, titled Small Dragons!”
“Not funny. You’re coming?”
“No.”
“Why?”
“Isn’t aunty there?”
“No. I called for her but she didn’t respond. I tried her number but her phone is ringing here at home. She must’ve gone for her morning walk.”
“Can’t you just shake the net a little? It’ll fall down.”
“On the floor? You want me dead?”
“It won’t kill you! It’s small.”
“Okay, first of all, it will kill me. And second of all, it is not small, it’s gigantic.”
“I seriously doubt that.”
“We’re not discussing that anymore. The topic’s closed. I win.”
“It’s seven in the morning. Why are we discussing a lizard anyway?”
“Because I want to get out of this bloody mosquito net.” I really shouldn’t have called it bloody. It saved my life.
“As I said, it’s seven. You never wake up so early. So go back to sleep. Aunty will be back by the time you wake up.”
“I can’t.”
“Why?”
“I need to pee. You have to come.”
When he got there fifteen minutes later, we realised there was a major flaw in the plan—the door was locked.
“Open the door,” he shouted from outside.
“If I were up to doing that, there wouldn’t have been a need for you to come here in the first place, you dimwit.”
There was a window right next to my bed which was unlocked. He opened it.
There he was – my saviour. Old T-shirt and striped pyjamas, but I’d never been happier to see him. It was like someone cast a spell upon me. I kept staring at him with unveiled affection in my expression.
“Whoa! It’s huge,” he said and ruined the moment. The spell broke.
“Told you.”
“It was a sarcastic comment.”
“I decided to overlook the sarcasm. Now, do something. Get rid of it, fast.”
He picked up something from the windowsill and aimed at the lizard, which was taken by surprise and jumped from the mosquito net to the window grill. Ankit waved it away with a sweep of his hand and it disappeared out of sight.
I stared at him with my eyes wide open. I was astonished . . . he was so brave! The lizard jumped right in front of his face, on the grill . . . just inches away from his face and he didn’t even blink an eyelid! I was seeing him under a new light. He seemed so valiant, so—
“When can I expect you to open the door for me?” he asked.
“Oh, yeah. On it.”
“Are you sure you’re up to it? Such a catastrophic incident . . . I can understand if you’re too . . . shall we say, unstable to open the door at this moment!”
“Shut up,” I said as I let him in. “Be right back,” I said and went to the loo.
“The next one is indefinitely delayed” was Ronit’s Status that day. I didn’t have a clue what he was referring to, but as I read the Comments people had posted on the Status, I deduced he was referring to the next episodes of his TV show. It seemed like he wasn’t in the country at the moment, so the shooting for his show had to be postponed. Some other VJ was replacing him on the show temporarily.
He was at Sydney, shooting for a movie. He was an actor too?
The last comment was by someone named Akansha Sharma.
Akansha Sharma: Oh no! Not fair!
Vatsala Rathore: Come on, give him a break! He’s really busy, I hear . . .
Akansha Sharma: Yeah, he’s got a movie! First RJ Ron, then VJ Ron and now an actor too!!
Vatsala Rathore: RJ? I didn’t know he was an RJ too!
Akansha Sharma: Oh yes he was . . . For two years at Hot FM . . .
Vatsala Rathore: Oh, great! Where is he anyway?
Haven’t seen him online since the last couple of days . . .
Akansha Sharma: I have NEVER seen him online!! Lol :D
Till this point, I’d been thinking that Akansha knew Ronit personally, judging by the way she was talking about him. It turned out she didn’t . . . I wasn’t going to let a chance like that pass! I rubbed in.
Vatsala Rathore: He seems really busy all the time . . .
but I’ve had the privilege to talk to him a few times!
Akansha Sharma: No way! Really?? I envy you! I wish I would get a chance someday!
Vatsala Rathore: No need to envy me . . . I’ll give you a tip – KEEP PESTERING HIM!!
Send silly messages, post rubbish on his wall, comment on his every pic . . .
HE’S BOUND TO NOTICE!! ;) ;)
Akansha Sharma: Yeah, he’ll notice then! And Tushar will kill me then . . . or dump me at least!!
Vatsala Rathore: Don’t tell him! SIMPLE! :P :P
Akansha Sharma: As if I can keep a secret! And everything is open for all on FB, he’ll get to know!
Vatsala Rathore: Then Chat will be the best option! Stay online all day all night long!
He’ll login SOMETIME!!
We went on like that for over an hour. Yeah, I really don’t have a life! Akansha told me Ronit was endorsing a denim brand and that he was a prolific blogger. RJ, VJ, actor, model and a writer, too? Is there something he doesn’t do?
After ages of singing his praises on his status, he noticed. Be still, my heart!
Ronit Oberoi: This is such an ego boost! Hi Akansha :)
Vatsala Rathore: I’m here too!!
Ronit Oberoi: Hi Vatsala. And stop it! It’s almost embarrassing. Though hugely flattering!
>
Akansha Sharma: Oh man! Oh man! Hi Ronit . . . how are you?
Vatsala Rathore: See, Akansha? I told you! THERE IS GOD, after all!!
Ronit Oberoi: Stop it already. And I am good. And yeah, there is God!
Or two very cute girls wouldn’t ever be discussing me!
Vatsala Rathore: You’ve gotta be kidding me . . . YOU ROCK!! I’m still hyperventilating!!
Ronit Oberoi: Thank you! Made my day, the two of you!
Akansha Sharma: Thank you for the compliment Ronit!
It’s the best ever compliment I got coz it’s from you!
Vatsala Rathore: I got a better compliment!! He called me ‘edible’ once!
Akansha Sharma: Edible Vatsala! Fine by me . . . I’m happy with cute!
Ronit Oberoi: C’mon! Don’t compare! I think Akansha is pretty cute too.
Everyone is awesome in her own special way. :)
Vatsala Rathore: You are succha sweet talker!
And he was! And a charmer too! We talked some nonsense for another half hour before Ronit took his leave.
Ronit Oberoi: Got to go! Catch ya guys later sometime! Pleasure talking to you guys! :)
After that conversation, I searched Ronit on Google again. He was looking hot in that jeans advertisement. And when I searched the movie he was cast in, Velvet Ropes, I discovered that his role wasn’t as insignificant as he made it seem, by saying “just one of the hero’s friends, nothing big!”
I got the impression that he was very modest and humble—Young, successful and still so down to earth!
Respect.
Chat-7
This Girl
October 4th, 2010
Smitten though I was with Ronit Oberoi, his towering list of success stories was quite overwhelming and I stayed off him for the next two weeks. But then, I was back again. I don’t think there were many Photos of him that I didn’t Comment on.
There was one Photo, in which he was wearing a jacket to die for. Quite obviously, I commented on it!
Vatsala: I NEED that jacket!! Love it . . . ;)
Sometime later, some other girl posted a Comment on that picture too.
Sonam: I need those shoes . . .
Vatsala: Yeah, the shoes too! Let’s strip him!!
Sonam: Let’s set the venue and date . . .
Ronit: :P
Vatsala: Venue?? Date?? MEETING HIM?? I just wish I were that lucky!! :|
STRIPPING HIM?? I just wish . . .
Ronit: Should I feel like I’m in trouble here? ;)
Vatsala: Don’t you worry sweets! It’s not like we’re ever gonna get that lucky!
But we girls can always wish . . . ;)
I have no idea why I called him sweets. I despised nick names and cheesy endearments.
My phone ringed. It was Jaanvi. “I won’t be able to make it,” she said.
“To the movie? Why?”
“Nilaap’s in a crisis. So I’ll be with him.”
“That means both of you aren’t coming?”
“Yeah. So it’ll be just you and Ankit.”
“But we have four seats reserved.”
“Never mind.”
“It’s not everyday that Eyelex shows such good English movies. And Step Up 3D is totally your type. Dancing and all . . .”
“I know. And I want to. But priorities . . .”
“You’ll miss it,” I said and hung up.
Wasting two tickets meant three hundred bucks down the drain. I couldn’t let that happen. I called Evita.
“Let’s go,” Ankit said when he met me at the theatre. The only reason that I was there before time was frustration. Ankit and Jaanvi never let an opportunity to remind me that I always got there ten minutes after the movie has started pass. So I had decided to arrive before them, just this once. I missed Jaanvi; I wished she was there to see me making it to the hall before time. And more importantly, before them!
“Wait, Praveen and Evita will be coming any moment,” I said.
“They’re coming too?”
“Yeah, didn’t I tell you before? Jaanvi and Nilaap weren’t coming, so I invited Praveen and Evita.”
“Oh.”
“And they said yes. Seriously, who’d want to miss a movie this good?”
“How do you know it’s good even before watching it?”
“Because Step Up 2 was super awesome. Even if this one isn’t all that great, it’ll at least be good.”
“I like the first Step Up movie more.”
“Romantic that you are!”
The movie watching experience wasn’t exactly something you’d call nice. Praveen and Evita hardly had anything to do with the movie; they were so engrossed in each other all the while. Wait, didn’t I tell you before? They were dating each other (if ‘dating’ is the right term, that is!).
Ankit watched all romantic scenes with interest while I sat there rolling my eyes, shaking my head and eating my popcorn. The movie was more of dance and less of romance, to my intense relief.
After it ended, Praveen and Evita magically disappeared, no doubt in search of eternal paradise away from prying eyes of the world.
“I’m starved,” I said and we went to my favourite food joint, Ecstasy. I’m a big foodie. Food is right there at the top of my most-important-things-in-life list. I don’t care if all that junk food went straight to my butt or thighs. As long as my tongue was happy, I was happy. A couple of pounds won’t kill me, right?
“You know, the only thing I don’t like about Ecstasy is the kind of music they play. All slow, romantic songs . . . they’re still living in the times of Enrique and Back Street Boys!’
“I thought you loved them both,” Ankit said.
“I did. It’s history now.”
“History? It was just a few years back.”
“You can’t blame me! Enrique released Seven and BSB released Nevergone then.” And I’d bought original copies of their albums. I do that only for the singers/bands I truly respect. Otherwise, download is always the way!
“Enrique released Euphoria this year.”
“But I’ve grown up now.”
“So you don’t love him anymore?”
“I’ll always love him. He was my first love. And he’s hot. And I like his fast tracks like Dirty Dancer.”
“How about Why Not Me?”
“Nay,” I shrugged. I knew what he was getting into. The song Why Not Me? probably fit the situation he was in with me.
We placed the order and I logged into Facebook from my mobile. Nothing made me happier than Inbox(1). Actually, the happiness did increase manifold if that message happened to be from Ronit. In this particular instance, it was.
Ronit Oberoi: I’ve already been half stripped on FB ;) :P
The Message was accompanied with some “media that cannot be displayed.” Sometimes, Facebook on Mobile sucked. I couldn’t wait to go home to see what he had attached with that Message.
The order arrived and we attacked it. Correction – I attacked it, while Ankit ate quite gentlemanly!
The music changed.
There’s this girl, the one and only wonder of this world, my world.
And it don’t matter if the road gets rough, if me rich or poor.
She stay down with me if me go to war.
“Why do I feel like I’ve heard this song before?” I asked.
“You have. It’s ‘This Girl’. It was featured in Step Up 3.”
“Oh, right. The ginormous cup scene?”
“Yes.”
And I know we’ll stand together when the world falls down.
And I know, that our forever’s gonna start right now.
Yeah, there’s this girl . . .
“How lame!” I said, just as a girl from a nearby table exclaimed to her friends, “I wish someone someday will sing such a song for me.”
Her friend replied with, “I know. Love like that is a dream.”
“Pathetic,” I said under my breath. I noticed Ankit looking
at me in a very odd way. “What? Don’t tell me you love the song too.”
“Actually, I do.”
“You’re hopeless.”
“That’s your way of seeing things,” he said.
I raised one of my eyebrows.
He shrugged.
“Anyway, I’ve got to run home quick,” I said and we asked for the check. We always split the bill. Totally my idea. He never seemed very happy with the arrangement but we weren’t dating or anything, so I simply couldn’t let him pay for me.
I rushed home and logged into my FB account. It turned out that Ronit had attached a link to one of his photos from his Photo Album Australia.
I clicked on the link.
Believe me when I say, I gawked at the picture unblinkingly for two whole minutes.
It was breathtakingly spectacular.
Ronit was standing on a beach, under the glistening sunlight, with only three items on his body. One was his shoes, the laces of which were tied together, dangling comfortably from his left shoulder. The other two were all-black shades and beige shorts, worn very low. I emphasise, very low. Any lower and the whole purpose of wearing them in the first place would’ve been lost!
“One, two, three . . .” I counted up to eight. Eight pack abs! But what really caught my attention was the smile – The easy expression and the lopsided grin with that adorable dimple in just one of the cheeks. Irresistible!
I hate repeating things, but . . . edible! I resented the shades. I wanted . . . no, wanted would be too feeble a word. I longed, I craved to see those eyes.
I commented on that picture—
Vatsala Rathore: I’ll message you my comment! :P
Ronit Oberoi: Even if it’s ‘You look fat’, I wouldn’t mind it here!
‘You’re funny,’ I thought and sent him a Message. I liked to keep our conversations private. They felt more special that way.
Vatsala: Oh. My. Gosh.
Ronit: Was that a compliment?
Vatsala: Only most definitely!!
Ronit: Hehe! Thank you :D :D
Vatsala: The shorts could’ve been shorter . . . :P
They reached just below his knees.
Ronit: Point taken ;)
Vatsala: Not any lower at the waist though!! This isn’t Playgirl! ;) :P
Ronit: Playgirl? I think you were too young for all that! :P :P
Vatsala: I’m not so naïve and innocent! I turn nineteen in a couple of days :)