I couldn't focus on anything as I kept thinking about Faiyaz. What happened to him? Was he okay? Did Rashi's brother threaten him or not? Where was he? Did Rashi get to talk to him or meet him?
First half of my day was spent like this only. I didn't pay any attention in the lectures and kept wondering whether I should ask Rashi or not. Surbhi told me to relax but I couldn't. I was feeling guilty. An innocent person got hurt because of my senseless actions.
He was the one who had convinced Rashi to trust me and look what I did. I should have been more careful about what I was doing. I just wanted to be a hero and save everyone.
Moreover, Parth was also ignoring me. He wouldn't look at me or talk to me. He didn't bash me but I knew he was angry. He was oblivious to everything that had happened and feeling betrayed that I didn't tell him even once what I was upto these days.
After the previous lecture, we went to the cafeteria. Everyone's attention was on me. I knew why. Everyone got to know about the fight between me and Shree and I was labelled as a villain.
But I used the power of ignorance and acted like no one was there except for me and my friend. We took our seats at our usual table and my bestie glared at everyone who were looking at us.
We began eating our food when we noticed Tanya, Divya and Rashi entering the cafeteria. They walked towards our table for a small distance but halted on their way. Tanya and I made eye contact and she still looked mad at me.
Rashi was completely avoiding me while Divya was glancing between me and Tanya. I started getting up from my seat but Surbhi grabbed my hand and pulled me back. She narrowed her eyes at me and I sat beside her like an obedient child.
Other girls waited for sometime and then went to sit on another table. Murmurs started erupting around us and we turned a deaf ear to all of them. I spotted Parth sitting at his table but he looked away when he caught me looking at him.
I sighed and finished my lunch. It was still time for the break to get over so Surbhi and I played Ludo on my mobile. After few minutes, I felt someone sit beside me but decided to ignore the person.
I didn't have to look to know who it was. Ved nudged me with his elbow but I didn't react. He pulled my hoodie and I pursed my lips as I continued playing. Surbhi giggled when Ved interfered our game and started a new one beacuse he wanted to play too.
"Why are you here?" I asked irritatingly.
"To play," he replied and pinched my cheek.
"Go to your friends. They are glaring at me." I slapped his hand.
"I will decide where to be and not to be. So stop whining already."
I rolled my eyes. He saw that and smacked me behind the head. I punched him on the shoulder and he shook my chair. I caught Surbhi's arm to balance myself while she was just enjoying herself.
"You are really annoying, Ved," I huffed.
He just smirked in return and I was about to curse at him when Nikhil called his name. He told Ved not to waste his time on unnecessary things and to be with his friends. I didn't miss to whom he was referring to.
I turned my head to look at Nikhil and he was shooting daggers at me. Just like rest of the people. Ved sighed and after glancing at me, got up to leave. But he bent down a little and ruffled my hair.
I also started getting up to hit him but he caught my arm and flicked me on the forehead. He laughed at my reaction and went to sit on his table.
Jerk. He just can't mind his own business, can he? Talk about yourself, Sandhya.
The bell rang up and I got up to leave for my lecture. Surbhi had a free class so we parted ways and she told me to ignore others and call her if anyone troubled me. I nodded and thanked her for always having my back.
In the lecture, I tried my best to take notes but everytime I would start writing a sentence, my mind would go blank and focus on other things. I knew if I asked Rashi to tell me about Faiyaz, she would definitely kill me.
And if not her, Tanya would do that. So, asking any of them would be a really bad idea. I would have to find out myself. But this time, I wouldn't make any stupid mistakes. I would ask my friends for help if I needed it.
After one and a half hour, the lecture ended and I started walking towards the library. I could study or maybe take a nap. Asking my best friend to accompany me was out of the list. She had a lecture and I didn't want her to bunk her class because of me.
I had almost reached the library, when Surbhi caught me. She told me to come with her. I asked her what was the matter and when she told me that she had convinced Parth to listen to me, I hugged her.
"Come on, let's go. He is waiting for us." She pulled my hand.
"But what about your class?"
"I am bunking," she replied nonchalantly.
"Thanks Surbhi."
"Oye! If you won't stop saying thank you and sorry, I will hit you," she threatened.
"Okay, mam," I said and she took me to the football ground.
We didn't go on the field but waited for Parth to come in the corridor. He arrived after few minutes and the first thing he did when he saw was to hit me on the back. He was really angry, like if I didn't start explaining myself soon he would beat me to a pulp.
"I have already briefed him about the whole scene but you will have to tell us everything in detail if you want to go home alive today," Surbhi announced and sat down on the bench outside the corridor.
"I am sorry, Parth," I apologized.
"I don't need your sorry, Sandhya. I want to know everything, so you better start speaking now," he said and I nodded.
I sat beside Surbhi while he decided to remain standing. He took support of the wall behind him and fixed me with his stare. I took a deep breath and started with my story session. This time I managed to blurt out everything from the start till the day when Rashi slapped me.
I noticed Parth getting angry but he controlled himself. He kept asking me why I didn't tell him anything and I had nothing to say. He was sad that I didn't even think about informing him even once.
He sighed and looked at Surbhi who shared the same expressions as him. I looked down at my hands and pouted. Surbhi rubbed my back while Parth digged holes in my head. I glanced at him and his expressions had softened.
His frown was gone now and he opened up his arms for me. I looked at him in disbelief. He motioned for me to come to him and I got up from my seat. I walked towards him and he gave me a huge smile and called me for a hug.
I increased my speed and was about to launch myself in his arms when he grabbed my shoulders and turned me around in a flash. Before I could realise what happened, he smacked me behind the head.
I turned around to look at him in shock but recieved another hit from behind. Surbhi punched me on the back and when I turned to look at her, Parth hit me from the other side. I felt like a monkey between them.
They kept smacking me from both sides and scolded me for being such an idiot. I let them hit me. They were my friends and were just worrying about my safety. Parth pulled me in a hug after he was done taking out his frustration and patted my head.
"Don't ever do that again, Sandhya. Stop worrying about others when they can't even trust you," he reprimanded.
"Sorry."
"And you don't have to apologise for what you did, okay? I didn't know the reasons that's why I was ignoring you but I knew you wouldn't have done something like that without any reason. I was just waiting for you to tell me."
"Thank you, Parth."
"It is okay. I am your friend. Stop crying now." He smiled at me.
Surbhi joined the hug and they both crushed me between them. They told me to tell them everything and if I ever kept a secret from them, they would never talk to me again. I hugged them more tightly when they said that.
I had already lost a lot of friends. I didn't want to lose them too.
We all pulled apart and Parth said that he would make sure that no one troubled me. He would talk to Shree but I stopped him. I told him to not say anything since it would cause trouble in their friendship.
What happened with Mahek's matter was still fresh news. And I had no evidence to prove myself, so even if I knew that I was right, no one would believe me. So, we should just forget about that matter and move on.
"Okay, if you say so," Parth agreed.
I thanked both of them and then Parth left to play his soccer game while Surbhi and I decided to just sit there and watch others play.
"Will everything be okay?" I asked.
"Chill, dude. Those who want to believe, will believe. Not all the people are the same, Sandhya," she replied.
"Hmmm. You are right."
After that, we chatted about random topics and since we knew that Parth's birthday was coming soon, we discussed about what we could gift him. His girlfriend, Kasturi was also coming for his birthday and I really wanted to meet her.
Soon, the last bell of the day rang and we got up to leave for our homes. I decided to go to the gym directly since I had some other plans in my mind. Surbhi and Parth left after saying goodbye and I hailed an auto instead of taking a bus.
I reached Rajeev's gym and after paying the driver, I got out of the auto and made my way towards my work place. Rajeev was out of town for some work and his cousin, Dhruv was in-charge for the time being.
I had noticed that Dhruv was not so fond of me and I accepted it without arguing with him. He could have his own reasons for that and currently, I was in no mood to ask him about that.
I entered the gym and started my work. In my break, I searched for Faiyaz on social networking sites. I didn't know his surname so such a simple task had become really difficult too. I just wanted to know if he was okay or not.
But unfortunately, I couldn't find him on any of the sites. I sulked and continued with my work. Surprisingly, Dhruv was in a good mood today and he didn't get in an argument with me.
I completed my shift and left the place. I still had time on my hands so instead of going to my home, I decided to go to a nearby park. I bought some samosas and jalebi and sat down on a vacant bench. Innumerable thoughts were passing through my mind as I munched on the snacks.
I didn't even realise that someone had come and sat beside me. I was lost in my thoughts, most of them related to Rashi and her boyfriend. I felt so bad for them. Just because I couldn't keep myself from poking others' lives, I managed to ruin their relationship.
I knew I could do nothing to solve that but I just wanted to apologise to Faiyaz directly and maybe tell him what exactly happened. But it was a lost case. I didn't know anything about him; no surname, no phone number and no address.
I relaxed in my seat and shook my head at myself. I really regretted my decision of not listening to Surbhi when she had already warned me. I always made things worse and then tried to fix everything. I started hitting my head and cursed when I remembered Rashi's crying face. She really loved Faiyaz.
"Sandhya?"
Did someone just call my name? The voice was eerily familiar.
I turned my head to my right to see who it was and I couldn't believe my eyes. Faiyaz was staring back at me with a worried expression on his face.
Oh no. I had started imagining things.
"Are you real?" I blurted.
"What?" he asked and I realised that he was actually sitting in front of me.
"What are you doing here?" I almost yelled.
"I live in this area."
"But..... wait.... ummm... are you okay?" I fumbled.
"Yeah. I am okay."
I looked at him in disbelief. I thought Rashi's brother would have beaten him up but he was fine. I smiled at him and he smiled back.
"Didn't Rashi tell you what happened?" I asked.
"That she slapped you?" he questioned back and I nodded but pursed my lips when I remembered that memory.
"She shouldn't have done that. I scolded her a lot for that but she didn't listen to me and we haven't talked since then," he said pensively.
I raised my eyebrows at him. He took my side? But why? He should be angry at me but he wasn't.
"Don't think too much, Sandhya. I know you will never do such a thing like that."
"How can you be so sure? You don't even know me that much. We met just one time," I said.
He smiled at me. "I just know. And that's why I was trying to make Rashi understand too."
"Thank you, Faiyaz. I am really sorry for causing all the trouble."
He told me to relax and that he didn't blame me. I was amazed that he trusted me when my own friends didn't. He didn't even know the whole story and he still believed in me. So, I offered him some jalebis and he thanked me in return.
I didn't want to seem overbearing, so I just asked him if he could give me his phone number. He didn't hesitate at all nor doubted me. I told him that if he got in any trouble, he could call me and maybe I could help him. But it was all his decision. I didn't force him.
I had already learned my lesson. If he wanted my help, he could ask me himself. I wouldn't take the charge and act like an idiot. I was just glad to know that he was safe and sound.
He took his leave after few minutes and I felt a big load being taken off my shoulders. I could now go home and sleep in peace.
All is well. I repeated this dialogue to myself and got up from the bench. I went to the bus stop and waited for my bus.
I just wished my friends also showed some trust in me like the way Faiyaz did. But sometimes, we should be careful of what we wish for.
Not every wish comes true and being sad about it or just accepting it, depends solely on us.