"Bye, Ma," Vijay said, carrying his bag and leaning to kiss his mother's cheek. "Make mutton biriyani for dinner today. I'll come back with the trophy."
Vijay's mother laughed and kissed his son's cheek back. "Yes, yes. All the best, kanna."
His father rolled his eyes but there was an affectionate undertone to his action. "Come on, it's getting late. I have to go to work after dropping you, remember?"
"You're just jealous Vijay doesn't give you kisses whenever he leaves home," his mother said, making Vijay bark a laugh. He stuffed the last hard-boiled egg into his mouth and put on his shoes.
"All I want from him is to graduate college with decent scores and get a good job, settle down with a good wife as soon as possible so that I can retire happily," Vijay's father grumbled.
"You sure you don't want a kiss, pa? Or a hug? That's a lot easier to do." His father raised an eyebrow. "Just saying," Vijay said, his lips curling into a grin.
"Just get out of the house for now," he said, picking up his keys.
Vijay raised his arms and stepped out of the house after his mother managed to wish him good luck again. His eyes fell upon his bike standing in the patio, polished and ready to take it for a spin but mercilessly ignored. Vijay's heart pinched, a feeling of longing and fear making his stomach stir. He shook himself out of it, knowing he couldn't afford to get sucked in the quicksand of self-sabotage. Not now, when he had to be focused. He got on his father's bike and waved to his mother before his father sped to the field.
Today, he had the qualifying competition for his state level championship. Vijay was pretty confident he would make it in. According to his coach, he had a pretty good track record than most of the participants. Running was one thing that Vijay was a natural at. He loved nothing more than the adrenaline rush he experienced as the clapper struck loud, the feel of the wind rushing through his hair, making him feel like he was flying and the way his chest pushed against the finish line along with the roar in the crowds.
He loved it all.
He was born to run.
He was born to win.
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Nila had bunked first hour to go to the canteen with Sanjay so she could rant about the previous day over food. Sanjay didn't mind listening to her go on and on about a fucking plant because Nila had bought him a plate of chicken rice and he hadn't eaten anything from morning. The least he could do was listen to her.
"Why didn't you call me yesterday?" Sanjay asked.
"I wanted to. But I don't know. I changed my mind, I guess," she said, swirling the straw in her mosambi juice. "What do you think about the guy from the bus, though?"
"Hmm, like you said, I don't think he is the one you should be mad at. The poor guy was only trying to be kind. But, Ms Nila Pradeep Kumar, why are you so hung up on the guy? You mention a few guys you meet on the bus here and now but this guy keeps popping up in every conversation. Is he hot?"
Nila's cheeks burnt. "What? Um, yeah, he's kinda good-looking."
"The truth, Nila."
"Fine, he is super hot, okay? He has something about him. He is a complete douchebag but other than that, he keeps grabbing my attention even when he is not in front of me. Is that normal?"
Sanjay leaned back and smirked. "Finally I get the juicy details. I guess this is the reward for hearing you talk about your dead plant for thirty minutes. Spill more, babe."
"Spill what? That's all."
Nila didn't see him on the bus today which was weird. This was one day she wanted to see him and apologise for her behaviour but he didn't show up. She was kinda bummed about it and could only hope she would meet him in the evening so she can get the apology over with and remove the guilt off her shoulders.
"No. Do you maybe have a crush on him?" Sanjay pressed.
"Chi, no way. I hated him. Um, still hate him. I mean, I can hate him and still think he is hot, right?"
Sanjay's smirk grew. "Sure, whatever floats your boat, babe. But let me call my bet now. You will fall for him. And you'll come to me then."
Nila blew through her lips and laughed. "Fall for him? No way. I don't even know anything about him."
"Anything?"
She looked away. "Okay, I know he is a college student and he is into sports because of his stinky gym bag. But I don't even know his name."
"You've only just begun interacting. Give it time."
"Please, my parents will butcher me alive if I fall in love with anyone," Nila said.
"That's what every Indian girl or boy says before going and doing the exact same thing. You can't stop things like this, Nila. If it's meant to happen, it will happen."
"I am not brave enough to defy my parents. I won't fall in love, Sanjay. I mean, I've already accepted in my mind that it's gonna be an arranged marriage for me. And I'm okay with it. I don't like the sneaking and lying that comes with love before marriage. I'd rather love openly after getting married."
Sanjay sighed. "You have a twisted sense of understanding things and I respect it. But things change, even mindsets."
"No—"
"Just saying. Maybe I could be completely wrong about him," Sanjay said and leaned in next to her ear, "or maybe not."
She pulled the straw and splashed the drink on him. "Shut up."
Sanjay laughed and pinched her cheek. "You're welcome, babe."
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Nila climbed the bus and her jaw almost fell open as there wasn't much crowd. She could see the floor beneath and this was a marvel. And there was a free seat (wow?!) but only the one next to a middle aged man in glasses. As soon as she spotted it, Nila lunged for it. Her foot hit the legs of the seat just when a hand wrapped around the railing next to hers and a foot joined hers.
She glanced up to meet the familiar pair of brown eyes situated right below a mop of unruly black curls. Nila inhaled a sharp breath. Fuck, who in their merciless minds gave him the right to be this gorgeous?
She withdrew her claim on the free seat by pulling her foot back to herself. "Um, you can take the seat," she told him, looking back at him. He raised one of his brows in question, probably wondering if she had multiple personalities. "I promise you can have it."
His eyes softened as if he wanted to smile at her. He stepped back and waved his hand towards the seat in invitation. "Please. You can take it."
"No, no. You were already on the bus before I got in. It wouldn't be fair of me to take it," she said, stepping back further. There was an awkward tension lingering in the air, intensifying when Nila recalled their last interaction.
"It wouldn't be right of me to make a woman stand while I sit comfortably. My mother would whip me if she catches me doing it."
"Only if she catches you, right? I promise I won't tell," she said, tilting her head to the side with a gleam in her eyes.
The guy smiled softly. "No, really, it's fine. You can take the seat."
Nila tipped her chin towards the heavy bag on his shoulders and the brown paper bag he was carrying in his left hand. "That looks like it's heavy. I have nothing on me except this almost empty tote bag." She jiggled her bag to show it was indeed light.
"But still—"
Someone knocked Nila over, making her crash into him. He shot out an arm to help her gain her balance but both of them weren't focused on how the situation felt all too familiar. A strong-built woman with the perfect magenta rose in her hair wedged herself in between, sitting on the seat with a sigh of relief. She glanced up and noticed him and Nila staring at her with surprise.
"What? Both of you didn't want the seat. I wanted it. I took it," the woman said, shrugging and opening the cone-shaped packet made out of newspaper to munch on peanuts.
"But—" he started.
Nila bit back a laugh. "It's fine. Leave it. Let her be," she said. Nila found the realisation of her denying an empty seat in the bus quite amusing. She would've never dreamed of it.
Both of them faced the windows, looking out onto the passing streets quietly. There was a thick cloud of tension wrapping around them and Nila wanted to break it. In fact, her sole goal for the day was to apologise to this familiar stranger.
But she didn't know how to start. She shifted her weight from one leg to another and looked around aimlessly, distracting herself from the awkwardness slowly creeping up on her. Fuck it, just open your damn mouth, Nila, she thought to herself.
"Hey, I wanted to—"
"Actually—"
Both of them began at the same time. A tint of embarrassment brushed the guy's cheeks. He smiled, a full smile, and that was enough to switch on the sirens in her head. Dimples. Of course, he also had to have dimples. It was as if God had made him to test her limits and her self-control. He was dangerous as fuck. Not prescribed for her and her heart at all. Nuh-uh.
"I'm sorry. You go first," he said. Oh, that delicious deep rumble of his voice.
Nila gathered herself, shoving away inappropriate thoughts from her head.
"Um, I just wanted to apologise for the other day," she paused, waiting for his reaction. He just looked at her with the same small smile. "You didn't have anything to do with the plant getting snapped but I took it out on you. I was having a bad day and I know it's no excuse, but um, I guess I am just trying to tell you I am not usually like this. I am not a mean person. I don't snap at strangers everyday. I am really sorry."
The guy said no word. Nila panicked. Was he mad? He didn't look mad until she brought it up.
Then she remembered her cheap back up."Okay, I have something for you. I am not sure if you like it but since you play sports, I thought you will," she said, handing the sports drink she picked up on the way. "It's a peace offering. Please take it. I am really sorry."
The guy was stunned for a second or so but he slowly took the bottle. "Thanks. I-I didn't expect you to come and apologise so I was surprised. I mean, you don't even know my name so I thought you wouldn't care. This is — uh, thank you for apologising." He scratched his neck lightly before saying, "I-uh, brought you something as well."
"Oh, no you don't have to—"
"No, I am not doing it in return for this. I specifically picked this up for you," he said, handing the brown paper bag to Nila. She was shocked. She looked inside and she thought she was hallucinating. Because there was no way in this world that he would buy her a literal plant! No way.
"I tried searching for the same plant but my pea-sized brain couldn't accurately recall the shape of the leaf so I picked up something that looked similar. At least in my memory. If you don't like—"
"Why?" she breathed out. She was shocked. It was possible she was gaping with her eyes wide.
"I saw the look on your face when that stem broke off. I don't know. I knew I wasn't responsible but I think I wanted to take responsibility. It didn't feel right, seeing you watch the plant snap in two just after the conductor yelled at you like that. No one deserved that."
So, it was sympathy.
Nila chided herself to not be so disappointed.
Why was she disappointed in the first place? Ugh.
"Thank you. It's the most thoughtful thing someone has ever done for me, especially someone who doesn't even know my name," she highlighted his words again to make a point. "You really didn't have to but I won't ever say no to a plant. This means a lot."
"No worries." He was smiling like a child and it was so adorable to watch. Nila was happy that she made him happy as well. It was a strange satisfaction that she craved more.
"So, what's your name?" she asked.
"Vijay," he said. Vijay was a common name and Nila had come across many of them but the name sounded so damn good in his voice. "And yours?"
"Nila," she shook his hand,"Nice to meet you, Vijay."
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