The week has been very productive, if the number of scripts she has gone through are to be considered. The job of an assistant editor is not easy. But she likes it. Even the part where the editor practically breathes down her neck to get the scripts completed within an impossiblly short span of time. Even though the stacks of sheets are too much for one human to deal with. Even though on a general basis they keep piling on her desk endlessly. Even though she sometimes really considers choking the editor with the same papers. She likes her job. And this week has been the most productive of her entire career in editing. She's been on super active mode. Reading and marking script after script. She would even take her work home and spend hours working till she'd doze off on her study table and at some point in the night drag herself to bed.
By friday morning she has already decided that she doesn't want to meet Vivek for their session the next day. She already feels okay, now that her mind is occupied.
She hasn't given herself time to think about stuff. What good did meeting him do anyway! It just brought back all the memories. She is too tired to be dealing with emotions. She wants to stay on auto-pilot mode. May be she'll stay on auto-pilot for the rest of her life. Ya, that sounds nice.
She turns off the shower and steps out of the bathroom. Shaking water droplets out of her wet hair she gets dressed for work.
She is still contemplating how to dodge her appointment when she hears the door bell. She sets her spoon that she has been twirling in endless circles in the bowl of cereal and goes for the door. She cracks open the door, leaving the chain still secure to check who it is. But there's no one. Or the person is standing on the side. Because she can hear the shuffling of feet. She slides the chain off its slot and pulls the door open.she ducks her head out and her mouth falls open. Standing tall at her doorstep is Akash. He is wearing a crisp black shirt tucked in grey business trousers. Sleeves rolled up and the top button of his stand collar shirt is left open exposing the smooth, fair skin. She wants to reach out and feel the smoothness. She wants to find out for herself if it really feels as smooth as it looks. This skin.
"Erm, hey. Um... I was passing from here, thought I'd pick you up for work", he says with a nervous smile. She sees his adam's apple shift and looks up to meet his eye for the first time since he showed up. Lips still agape, she sucks in a breath and wills her mouth to move. Move to say something sensible. But all she can do is stare at him, wide eyed. She lets out a quick "Ugh! Okay" and stumbles back into the apartment. She regrets it almost instantly but she can't make any excuse out of this situation. She is standing here in her work clothes, it's evident she has to leave for work in a while. She crosses the way to the dining table almost tripping over the futon. Picking her untouched breakfast she dumps it in the bin and puts the bowl in the basin.
"You've got a nice place here"
She's startled by a deep voice. Looking up from her lashes she sees him standing in the centre of the living room, arms loosely hung on the sides before he lounges on the sofa chair and looks around. She is taken aback slightly by the comfortable posture of the man. It's as if he comes by here all the time. She mumbles a Thank you and a make yourself at home under her breath. "I'll be a minute" she says with a tight smile and sees him looking up from the Novel that he is turning over in his hand. Casually. A novel that belongs to her. Without the persmission of the owner he flips through the pages and gives her a smile that stretches across his face. "No hurry. Take your time."
She goes towards her bedroom with a look of disbelief in her eyes. Shaking the annoyance out of her face she fixes her hair. Running her hands flat from her stomach to hips she assesses herself one last time in the mirror and turns on her heels.
Once out they go towards where Akash has parked his car and he opens the passenger door for her before she can reach it. She steps in and secures the seatbelt. She fishes out her cell phone from her satchel before he crosses his way and settles in the driver's seat. She wants to avoid conversation. She scrolls up and down the screen with a frown on her forehead. She can feel his eyes burning the side of her face. She is glad he doesn't push his luck further, trying to make conversation; instead he reaches out for the stereo. A soft voice fills the space and she recognizes the song. It's a song from one of her favorite bands. Soon she is muttering the lyrics under her breath. Another raspy voice joins hers. Sitting there, drumming his fingers on the steering he is singing in a low whisper. And it's not a great voice, it's not a voice that melts her insides. Infact there's a constant lag of a syllable in his version. But a smile creeps up unwarranted on her lips. The rest of the ride is filled with a symphony. Three distinct voices singing a common melody. They pull up in the carpark and he falls in step with her. She thanks him for the ride in the elevator and he gives her a cheeky grin. She steps out of the elevator and catches his eye. They nod at each other as the elevator doors shut and a hint of a smile is lingering on both of their lips. She turns on her heels and hops her way down the floor to her desk. Waving at Tanya on the way she doesn't miss the look of disbilief in her eyes.She knows it's the blush that she is sporting. She is going to have to go through her inquisition later.
The day passes by in double speed and soon she is wrapping up. Singing to herself while she packs her stuff and scoops her phone. She sees Sameer standing at the end of her desk, looking at her. He wipes the smile quickly as he realizes her catching his eye. "So!? Done for the day?", he asks. She nods her head "Yea pretty much."
He nods back looking at the pile of scripts on her desk, thinking what to say next without sounding weird. He clears his throat and says, "You look nice today. Like erm, happy. It's good to see you like this". She is taken aback for a moment before she realizes that she has been smiling at people and being nice and social for a change. "Thanks", she says. "Um I had a good night's sleep. And work is nice these days". She says with a smile.
It's strange how people notice her even though she tries slipping out of people's attention all the time. May be the latter is the reason people notice her. Her trying to be vigilant and attempting to go unnoticed is what gets her. May be she should let loose . These people are, they're not bad. Like, they're nice. They don't mean her harm. It's just hard for her to trust people. And for once she needs to stop reading too much into casual instances, she thinks. Simply because it feels nice.
Hush! She takes a deep breath rubs her hands on her face, eyes shut. She promises herself to remember her psychologist's words.
Don't be too stiff Jessica. Give people a chance. Remember those persecutors were not real yeah?!"
