Hello Fam :)
Thank you for all the comments on the last chapter. I was damn sure about Nandini but you accepting Manik means a lot to me. Those waiting for Manan, guys, sit back and witness the drama unfold. :P
A/N - I am planning to update the sequel of Crazy Best Friends. I have written only 7 chapters but if I am posting it, can I get the ideas if you have any? I am out of them. I know the ending though so, do you want me to post it? Is anyone interested? Let me know.
Special note - People along the west coast, are you alright?
Happy Reading...
Nandini woke up with a start. She took a moment for herself and made a mental note of the plan to be accomplished during the day. She didn't notice the time until there was a call on her mobile. It was Abhimanyu.
"Are you coming to college?", he asked.
The question brought a smile on Nandini's face. The boy had been fretting over her since yesterday, resulting in all the text messages on her phone.
"Yes, I am. I have some work to finish off", she said.
They agreed to meet at the college. Nandini sent a quick text to the principal asking him permission to meet him before getting ready for the college.
XXX
Nandini had a meeting with the principal and she was more than happy to skip her chemistry class. The professor had already started the class when Nandini strolled into the class along with Mukti and Abhimanyu. While she went to him to pass on the message to him, her friends slipped inside the classroom without his notice.
The Professor glared at her. "You are already late by half an hour and now you want to pull another student out of the class. What kind of a head girl are you portraying yourself in front of the students?"
Nandini took a step back and gave him a tight-lipped smile. "Let me reframe my request again. I have a meeting with the principal for which I need Manik Malhotra along with me. Here's the permission message for both of us from him. Thank you for your cooperation."
She showed the message before shoving the mobile inside her pocket. Throwing him another smile, she turned to Manik's place. "Malhotra, meet me outside the class right now." Without giving a chance to anyone, she stormed out of the class and waited for the boy.
She heard the professor screaming at Manik from outside the class and a minute later the boy appeared outside with his bag hanging from his shoulder. She half expected him to protest about missing the class or getting screamed at by the professor but he surprised her by saying none.
"Did I do something again?", he asked.
Nandini raised an eyebrow. "No. But you will do something for me now, right?"
"Anything", he said, without missing a beat.
Nandini smiled at his eagerness to get things back to normal. "Follow me."
XXX
Harshad was sitting in front of the principal along with two of his cronies when Nandini and Manik reached the office.
"Nandini", called the principal when he saw her, "I have called these three on your request. Would you tell me what this meeting is all about? Manik, have a seat."
Nandini took a seat and noticed the sweat beads on Harshad's head while the other two were panicked. She understood Harshad forced them into his plan but turned her attention to the principal when he gasped.
"What happened to you, Manik?", he asked pointing towards the bruises on his face.
"That's what we are here to talk about, sir", said Nandini and looked at Manik. The boy had his head down due to embarrassment as she noticed the red sliding across his neck. Unlike the other times, she disliked the color on him as she felt the waves of discomfort coming from him.
She shook her head and slid her hand under the table to hold Manik's. He was startled by the sudden contact before tightening his grip on her. Nandini explained the previous day's incident about Harshad and his two friends to the principal.
"Manik is the witness. Hadn't if he or his brother reached there on time, I don't know what they have planned to do", told Nandini.
The principal's jaw tightened as he stared at the head boy. "Harshad, what do you have to say about this?"
"Sir, I don't...I don't know what she is talking about", he said. Everyone in the room heard the stutter in his voice.
Nandini raised an eyebrow. "Do you want to say the same thing looking at me?", she asked and turned to the principal. "Sir, we as the head students are responsible to stop these activities on the campus but as a head girl, if I am facing something like this, I don't know the security of the other students. On top of that, they beat a student without a reason just because they can. It might not be in their initial plan but yet Harshad didn't bother to stop it either", she told.
"Sir, we didn't mean to...", started Harshad but the principal cut him by raising his palm.
"Harshad, whatever you have meant to do, you have disappointed me. Nandini is right. I can't trust the safety of my students on someone who isn't responsible himself. You, henceforth, are terminated as the head student and I am suspending you three for two months. You will attend the exams to be held next month here in my office", said the principal. "Nandini, do you want me to talk to their parents?"
"No, please. This would become an issue if parents are getting involved. Can we just leave it here?", she asked. She knew what would happen if this incident reached her parents.
The principal nodded in agreement. "Boys, I have only suspended you because I don't want to ruin your life. These days, I want you to think about your actions and redeem yourself by the time you rejoin the classes. Whatever you want to be, becoming a good human being in society should be your priority. Understood?"
They nodded and were about to leave when the principal called Harshad. "Harshad, holding these petty grudges would take you nowhere. You might think this isn't a big issue but these would lead you to your dangerous downfall. Overcome them. There is no other option for you."
There was a shuffling in the room when Nandini avoided the people. She didn't want to look at them. Once it was just the three of them in the room, the principal reached for her hand on top of the table and gave it a squeeze.
"I am sorry you had to face that, Nandini", he asked her, "but are you alright, kid?"
"I am fine, really", she assured. Coming to think of it, even if Harshad really gave her a scare, Cabir came at the right time and she was fine. She was more worried about Manik though. The kid didn't need this.
"Manik, what about you? Those bruises look pretty bad. Do you want me to talk to Mrs. Malhotra, give an explanation or something?", asked the Principal.
"No, sir. I am fine. This doesn't matter and Mom is in England right now. I hope these will heal before she returns", he told.
Nandini frowned. Why does he keep on repeating that his scars don't matter?
"Even then, you can reach out to me anytime you need me. You know that right?", asked the principal.
The surprised look he had on his face ached Nandini's heart. She wondered about the life he had lived while he was in England. She shook her head when the principal called her.
"We are in short of a head boy now. Do you want to take care of that or shall I ask someone else to get this done for this once?", he asked.
"You know I just need some work to get back to normal", she asked.
The principal chuckled, giving her a fond smile. Of course, he knew. "This time try to get someone who would help you with the work instead of burdening everything on you. I don't want to see you overstrain yourself again."
Nandini grinned at him before she realized the dates of their semester exams. How soon did the days pass? "Sir, don't we have the exams next month? Should we conduct an election at the end of the semester?"
"How about we elect the boy just now? We can assign the duties from the next semester. I don't think there would be any major work before the exams and then you have the vacations."
"I will get back to you after the paperwork. You can ask Hari Bhaiya to make an announcement in all the classes", said Nandini.
After taking their leave from the principal, Manik and Nandini left his room. She didn't want to attend the classes. Every meeting involving Harshad drained her energy. "Do you plan to go back to classes?", asked Nandini.
"Can we bunk, please?", replied Manik.
Nandini halted in her step and turned around to face the boy, a grin threatening to break on her face. "Damn, Malhotra, how eager are you to get your apology accepted?", she asked. "Listen, I told you, we are fine, right?"
"No", he said, shifting his feet uncomfortably. "I am unable to concentrate. It's really messed up since the last few days."
Nandini shook her head before walking again. She knew he would follow and he didn't disappoint her. They went to their abandoned cabin again. While they were crossing the trees, Manik stopped her.
"Are you sure, you want to go there? It was just yesterday. Wouldn't it trigger the memories?", he asked, biting his lip.
And any traces of anger on the boy evaporated, just like that. How could she not when he looks so genuine contrasting to all the facades people in her life put on their faces. She smirked at him. "Manik, you really don't know me if you think I would abandon my favorite place due to the actions of an idiot."
As she took a step, she knew she was pushing her boundaries. She felt a shiver through her veins remembering the previous day but if she weren't stubborn, she wouldn't have survived all these years in her life. She needed to do this for herself. Each step gave her confidence until they reached the cabin and Nandini admired all the green around the place, letting the smell of the wildflowers infilter her nose. It helped her in washing away the day before's stink from them. Once, she was satisfied, she sat on the floor and caressed a flower.
Manik took a seat beside her but remained silent until she noticed the frowns on his head.
"What's going on in your head?", she asked.
"Too many questions", he replied.
Nandini chuckled. "Mind sharing them? We might find answers for a few", she told.
"Are we still friends?", he blurted out, as if he were just waiting for permission.
She was taken aback and released the flower from her hands. "Where did that come from?", she asked, now facing him.
He drew his knees closer to his chest, hugging them. "I have messed up everything. I didn't want to force you into this if you don't want to. I don't understand the concept of friendship. It's so different from the books I read."
He would have blabbered if Nandini hadn't cuffed his head upside. "Will you stop working that super-smart brain of yours? Yes, I was angry, mad at you but it's fine now. I am not coming to your house again but I guess I don't want to lose your innocence. So, yeah, we are friends."
Manik frowned. "I don't want to be innocent."
"Don't", she nearly yelled. "It's rare nowadays. Don't ruin it."
"It's making me do all the mistakes. I don't even understand why you forgave me", he protested.
Nandini sighed. "Because it's not your fault, Manik. It's not your fault that you have been raised up away from the humans. It isn't your fault that you had to turn up to novels to entertain yourself which might teach you how to converse with people but not how to defend yourself." It was also probably the reason behind his innocence which was making her unbelieve everything she believed about humans.
"But what if there was someone else instead of me. Someone who could save you from them", he asked. "You wouldn't have to go through that."
"Stop hurting yourself with all the what if's. You would end up questioning your own existence if you go on that path. Manik, you know, you were there getting beaten up instead of running away and that's a major step for you", she told. Coming to think of it, she might have heard Harshad asking him to get out but when Manik refused, the other two harassed him into physical abuse.
"I don't know how else to apologize to you", he muttered.
"I guess you have said enough apologies by now", she assured.
"I don't ever want you to go through that again", he whispered quietly.
Nandini gazed at him. The bruises were clear on his face and she was sure there were some hidden inside his long-sleeved shirt and yet he was more concerned about her. "Why didn't you take a break today?"
"I am fine. They don't matter", he said again.
She wanted to slap him again but instead glared at him. "Why do you keep saying that? It does matter."
"It's a sort of punishment for bailing on you in front of my mom. It's even now", he explained.
Nandini shook her head. Probably it was some of his bookish stuff. "Let's just say it's even. Now you concentrate on healing them, yeah? Didn't your stupid brother force you to stay at home?"
Manik sighed tiredly. "Cabir isn't talking to me. He wanted me to stay at home but I was losing my mind at home and now he too is mad at me."
"And here you aren't?", she asked, raising an eyebrow. It made sense. A difference with his precious baby brother could completely mess his concentration.
"You said, you would be normal. I thought I could just meet you and apologize again", he said.
Nandini shook her head. "Tell me about your obsession with this apology. Why can't you use a 'sorry' instead of that?"
The tiny smile that graced his face was almost cute if it wasn't followed by a quiet wince due to flexing his facial muscles. "I picked it up when I went to England first for fun. I loved their manners, it was so royal and somehow they became a habit. It feels wrong to say sorry now."
"Is that where your over-politeness comes from?", she teased and the little redness around the tip of his ears was almost a relief. It gave her hope that things would return back to normal.
"Did you think I was being fake when I was apologizing to you?", he asked, hesitantly.
And Nandini took her time to think about it because why did she believe everything about him so instantly? That was not her idea of life. She let all their interactions, since their first meet, reflect in her mind before letting them transform into words. "No, I never thought you were fake. Not even during our first accident. I guess you don't give those vibes to anyone."
As Manik waited for her to answer, patiently, she let her words sink in him. If they are starting over, they are doing it properly. They are friends and she damn well wanted to make him believe so much that he would never question her again. She didn't want him to lose the privilege to have friends because of life or his mom or any other circumstances.
He blushed. He really blushed and Nandini couldn't hold her words back. If the slight smile caused due to embarrassment was adorable this was beyond anything she had ever seen, in a really good way. It scared her when her fingers brushed his hair on their own accord. Manik flinched at the sudden contact but then took a breath when he realized it was her. She understood that. He wasn't used to that. She understood a whole lot of things about him.
"You know", she said, pulling her hand to her lap, "I feel the same as you. I don't want you to go through that again."
When Manik tried to protest, she wrapped her hand around his fingers, just touching the edges in a loose hold. It didn't matter if she felt like she was holding a newborn's fingers, she didn't want to spook him. "You don't belong here, Manik. This place is rough, the people, the circumstances, hell, even the climate here contradicts you. You are the softest person I have ever met and no hurt should reach you. Sometimes, I wish you would be better off in England but then again I wouldn't have met you. You wouldn't have changed my life so much."
"I changed your life?", he asked, confused.
Nandini shrugged. "You did. I didn't realize it till now but just your existence changed the way I look at life. I used to think, every relationship, every friendship was a business."
Manik scrunched his nose as if she uttered something very unpleasant. "You were the one who told me friendships could last a lifetime. How could relationships be business?"
"I said, we could keep friends for life. I know I will have Abhimanyu and Mukti with me. Probably you too. We haven't been friends for a long time and I don't know what happens after college but your presence might keep me grounded during the times when I hate every other human in my life."
Manik rubbed the back of his neck and pulled his knees closer if that was possible. "I don't know why you exaggerate my presence. And I can't imagine my relationships with people are just business even if it is that mean manager at the office who treats me like a five-year-old. He wouldn't even let me do anything and behaves as if I am a glass doll, ready to break."
Of course, there would be more idiots. Nandini rolled her eyes.
"But are you avoiding my question?", asked Manik.
Question? Yeah, the relationship. "You are smart. Manik, I just hope I could protect you from meeting those people for whom everything is business. Meanwhile, you know what you could do for me?"
She waited for him when he perked up to agree whatever she would ask him to do. "You are going to scream at that manager, okay?" She noticed his whole face turning from eagerness to pure mortification.
"Why?", he asked.
"Because it's fun and he is snatching away your freedom to work", she said. She could totally imagine Manik being all flustered and trying to scream but unable to find the right words. Or going overly polite. Excuse me, Mr. Mean Manager, I am the future boss of this company. You can't snatch away my freedom. It was hilarious and she couldn't let herself stop from bursting out laughing, confusing him further.