I love you... more (published)

Chapter-2

I went to the physics lab with Manish. Clutching my practical
books, I tried to memorize the way to the lab. Manish walked
mindlessly commenting on every person that passed. I envied his
carefree life. He had all the three ‘F’ in life- Fun, Friends and Family.
A fourth F ‘Food’ was threatening to ruin his physique. I secretly
wanted to live his life.
We entered the lab. He went straight to Kajal’s table and stood
beside her, again wearing that idiotic smile. I noticed Megha with
Kajal. She was not her usual smiley-her. Her face was drooping and
she was lost in some thought, probably a dark one. However her face
lit up when she saw me.
‘Hi! How are you?’, she asked.
‘I am fine. Sad?’
‘Uhh. Nothing’
‘Okay’, I said and I opened my book. I saw her shifting her weight
from one leg to other repeatedly, as if she was frustrated. Unable to
control myself, I looked at her.
‘What?’, she asked, her face failing to hide annoyance.
‘I think you are upset’
She relaxed her face, softening a bit
‘It is my relationship. He is being too dominating. He operates me
all the time to stay away from my friends, even my goddamn physics
teacher!’ she finished her sentence by banging her lab manual on the table. I took a step back uncontrollably. She didn’t notice that or at
least pretend she didn’t. I forced my mind to think something to
console her. Nothing came in. She was pissed off. When you want
your little brain to function in the moment of need, it will sit tongue-
tied and when you don’t want it, it would replay a song which you
forgot a million years ago.
‘It’s okay. There are many others. You can dump him like I dump
schools’, I said.
She laughed.
I looked at Manish for help. He was busy wagging his tail behind
Kajal who was looking at Megha disapprovingly. Kajal walked away
to another table. Seeing her walk away, Megha too gathered her
belongings and moved to Kajal. Manish looked at me in despair.
‘What? If you want to go, you may’, I scowled.
He shrugged, stayed near to me, never taking his eyes off Kajal.
Thankfully, the teacher started the class, leaving me wonder if I had
said anything wrong to Megha.
After the class, I walked back. I was joined by a guy whom I saw
talking to Kajal.
‘Hi I am Manan’, he greeted me
‘Hi’
‘New in school, that sucks’
‘Not now, it is fine now’.
We had a pretty much long conversation on the way back to our
class.
‘Hey! Give me your phone number’, he said
‘Oh! Why?
‘You are new in class, so…’ he sniggered and added ‘Are you a girl,
hesitating giving you number to a guy?’
We both shared a forced laugh and exchanged phone numbers.
****
Three months passed with nothing new happening, nothing
exciting. Just a few friends with a pinch of sadness. My life was
giving a hard time to me. Manish, Kajal and Megha-all were good to
me. Especially Megha. She was being too nice to me. Being with me
always, talking like morons, walking mindlessly in corridors, even in
the recess we used to be together. It was very unnerving, having a
girl by your side. Kajal and Manish would talk to each other. Kajal
would sometimes drop or drag me to the conversation between
Manish and her, but Megha would pull me away back from her. I
was like a tug-of-war rope between the two of them. I didn’t think
much of it. Actually, I didn’t want to think much of it.
Next day, I went to school and the first thing I saw was Manish
running to me.
‘What did you do?’, he shouted.
‘What happened?’, I asked not knowing anything.
‘Did you kiss Akanksha?
‘Wait. What?’
‘Did you?’
‘No man, how can I? I don’t even know her full name’
‘Ok’
‘What?’
‘I trust you buddy. She is a bitch. Right now she is blabbering to the
whole class what a passionate kiss you both shared yesterday’
‘No man. She just took my notebook and went away’
‘Great. She is showing your notebook as a proof”
I was mad with rage. I wanted to rip her and tear that girl apart.
That was why I hated people. What would they think of me? Barely
three months in new school and already in black list.
I met Kajal and Megha in the corridor.
‘Wait. I know you didn’t do that, okay? Manish was shouting and
running behind me.
‘Please stop man! Megha, Kajal do something’
‘Everyone knows she is a loudmouth. If you will go and shout at her,
people will support her not you. Use your brains’, Megha stepped in
and said
I stopped, took deep breaths, calmed myself and sat at my usual
place. Manish sat with Kajal as he was still afraid of me after my
outburst.
To divert my mind Megha said ‘You look like a bear when you shout
you know?’
I smiled. She was a beauty with brain. She knew how to handle the
situation. Encouraged, she started talking about her family. Her
father, her mother and her sister who was five years younger than
her.
‘……and she is my best friend. You also have a brother, right?’
‘Yes. In fact two’
‘You don’t talk much about your family’
‘I would rather not’. That was a strange to say, I thought after
sometime.
She nodded and looked away. I liked her talking to me but I didn’t
like talking about my family. Dad never had time and I didn’t have
much bonding with mom. Whenever I tried to talk to my brothers,
either I ended up fighting with them or they just left. That’s the
drawback of being born in a rich family. Everyone has his own life.
No one cares.
Manish came to me after the class buckled up with an amused
expression.
‘All girls are asking me to introduce them to you. They also want
that kiss.’ he teased me.
‘What do the girls think of me now?’ I was undergoing mood swings
from I- will-kick-your-ass-Imran to what-will-happen-next one.
‘I really don’t know but I trust you’
‘What about Kajal…and Megha?’
‘Oh! Them? They trust you too’, he said with a smile.
The people who mattered to me were at my side. They trusted me. It
lifted my mood with a grin on my face. But I didn’t want a scene like
Akanksha again, so I vowed I would sit in corner and not talk to
anyone for the rest of the year, except for Manish, maybe. I trusted
him.