Love Escape ✔️

Chapter 2

I came to India a year ago. It's a beautiful country. I'm a traveller, so naturally, I tried to travel to as many places as possible. I've been to Ladakh, North-East India, Rajasthan and South India. I'd also been to Andaman and Nicobar Islands. All the places I visited were extraordinarily beautiful. Each place has its own culture, language and traditions and this diversity makes this place even more unique.

My dad was posted to Jodhpur, one of the major cities of Rajasthan. It is also known as the blue city of Rajasthan. I was enchanted by Jodhpur's beauty. I had imagined it to be all dusty with all the niches filled with sand because it's located in the Thar desert. But boy, was I wrong! Contrary to my expectations, the place was full of greenery. 

The Mehrangarh fort of Jodhpur was a sight to behold. It was a massive fort with beautiful architecture. It was the pride of Jodhpur. But I lived closer to the second most famous tourist site of Jodhpur - the Umaid Bhawan. You could say I lived on the Raja's land.

The Maharaj of Jodhpur owned the Umaid Bhawan. Yes, it is the same place where Priyanka Chopra and Nick Jonas got wedded. The society located right underneath this exquisite palace was Umaid Heritage. And I lived on the second floor of building 5A.

***

On my first day to school, people cast curious glances at me because (A) I was a foreigner, as was obvious from my complexion and my speech and (B) I joined DPS in mid-session. DPS was the short name for my school in Jodhpur. It actually stands for Delhi Public School. Now get this, folks - this was a franchise school with various branches of it located all over India.

Anyways, I got a seat on the school bus in the morning without any problem. Two guys boarded the bus with me. Both of them were taller than me. One of them looked almost my age. The other one was clearly in 12th. His gait and attitude expressed it well. "Oh great!" I thought. "Now I will have two people to stand with me on the bus stop," I muttered to myself. Did I tell you that I was suffering from depression and PTSD at this point? Well, add anxiety disorder to that list and you'll have a picture of mental health.

After The Night, I had become suspicious of everyone. I was almost paranoid. I had become introverted and kept mostly to myself. I wasn't ready to open up. Not yet. "Good morning!" the not-in-12th guy spoke to me. "Uh, um, morning," I said unenthusiastically as an indication that I wasn't ready for a conversation.

I spent the rest of the bus journey alone. It was an hour-long ride. I read my textbook for most of the journey. I must have dozed off in between because the not-in-12th guy shook me awake. "Wake up, um, the school is here," he said hesitantly. I got up, thanked him and walked out of the bus, only to wonder where I was supposed to go.

I must have looked lost to him because he came by my side and asked if I needed help. I asked him to take me to my class. "Which class are you in?" he asked, his head tilted to one side. He looks like a puppy. Those eyes... I jerked myself to reality and answered, "10-C". "You're in 10th?" he asked incredulously. 

"I know I am short but that doesn't mean -" "No, no, I thought you were in 11th or 12th," he answered sheepishly. "Why did you assume that?" "Because you were studying science in the bus." "You noticed it was a science textbook but didn't realise that it was a 10th-grade science textbook. Wow!" I said with a hint of a smirk.

He just smiled sheepishly and then walked me to my class in silence. "I forgot to ask you; what's your name?" he asked as I turned to go to my class after thanking him. "Kimora. Kim for short. Yours?" "Vivaan. Vivaan Dutt."

A/N: Kimora has changed a lot after shifting from New York to Jodhpur. Just like me. My personality and my way of speaking changes everytime I go to live at a new place. Makes me feel like I have some personality problem which is affected by change in places. Do you think if it can be true?