For every piece of clothing I packed, there was one flying out of my bag. After putting my clothes inside my luggage only for them to be thrown out, I got frustrated and looked at Veer. He narrowed his eyes and threw the last shirt out of the bag and jumped inside it.
"Bro, what are you doing?" I groaned.
I grabbed his arms and tried to pull him out of the bag, but he wrapped his arms around my leg and stuck to me like a koala.
"I don't have much time, Veer. Will you please let me pack?"
He shook his head and crushed my leg. "You are a liar. You said you will take me with you to the trip, but you are going alone."
I sighed; he was right. Last night, he wasn't eating his dinner, so I told him about my college trip, and he got all excited. As we had cancelled our last family vacation due to Dad's absence, Mom and I had promised him another picnic. I didn't want to spoil his mood, so I said that I would take him with me if he ate his food; I didn't expect him to wake up before me.
"I am sorry, bro. I said that to make you eat dinner," I said. "I am sorry I lied to you."
I sat down on the bed and picked him up in my lap. His lips turned downwards and chin wobbled, signalling the incoming danger. Before he could cry, I opened my drawer and gave him a 5 Star I had saved for myself. He took the chocolate but still looked hurt.
"Daddy said he would come for dinner but he didn't... And now you are also going without me. Why do you all lie?" he asked and pouted.
"Dad was going to come, Veer. He was on his way but had to return to attend an important conference. He didn't lie to you; he just didn't get time," I reasoned. "But I won't give any excuse for what I did. I know I shouldn't have lied to you. I won't do it again, okay?"
He stared at me with his brown green eyes, his nose twitching as he tried to control himself from crying. I kissed his forehead and promised him that we would surely go to a family picnic after I got back from the trip, and Dad would take a leave too.
"Really?" he inquired with hope.
"Yes." I smiled.
He gave me a toothy grin and unwrapped the chocolate. I asked him if he was still angry, and he said that he wasn't. I ruffled his hair, and he helped me in packing after devouring the 5 Star. He had a sweet tooth just like I had.
Veer left the room after completing the work, while I went to the washroom to take a shower. I wasn't really looking forward to the trip as it was really short, and we were going to be working most of the time. Mayank bhaiyya really knew how to manipulate us; I knew he was going to make us do four times the work he had announced.
With the thoughts of enjoying the trip and a girl whose name started with 'S', I got ready and went downstairs with my luggage. As I was going to leave earlier than my usual schedule, breakfast was also prepared early. I thanked Mom, who was waiting for me at the table.
Veer had fallen asleep, so we had breakfast by ourselves, and Mom told me to take my new bike.
"Harley? No, Mom, I want to ride it with Dad in the pillion seat. It has been a long time since I spent some quality time with my old man; I will take him on a long ride," I said.
"Your old man will take another decade for that. It is your first college trip, Ved. Don't lose these opportunities," she argued.
I opened my mouth to reply back but closed it on seeing how adamant she was. I sighed and took the keys of the new bike before leaving. Unfortunately, I couldn't join my peers for the journey. I had an unplanned meeting to attend with my Coach and sports HOD for the upcoming National Trials.
My eyes twinkled on seeing my Harley Davidson standing beside her mates. I glanced at my old bike and apologized for not taking her with me. After admiring my collection of automobiles, I hopped on the Harley and smiled brightly as I remembered my eighteenth birthday.
Dad had already informed us that he wouldn't be able to attend as he was on a business tour, and I understood his situation. I was kind of used to it; when I was younger, he used to make sure to dedicate equal time to his work and life. But after Mom's death, he distracted himself by overworking.
Slowly, it became his habit. Earlier, I used to blame him for that, but eventually I realised how he felt. Thus, when he gave us a surprise visit on my eighteenth birthday, that too with a beautiful gift, that moment was really special for me and my family.
"Let's go, girl."
I zoomed out of the parking lot and relaxed as the morning air caressed my skin. I took my time and reached my destination. I parked my bike in the main ground, beside the buses and heard some students commenting on my vehicle. I smiled at all of them and strode towards the sports HOD's office.
On my way, I saw Parth and Surbhi, and they were arguing loudly.
"Where the fuck is she?" Surbhi complained.
"I don't know, dude. She must be here by now," Parth said.
"What if she is still sleeping?"
Parth widened his eyes. "What if she is?"
"Call her."
While Surbhi ate her burger, Parth called the person they were talking about and scolded her for being late. I got curious on seeing Surbhi agitated and Parth trying to keep her away from his phone; I wanted to hear what Sandhya was saying from the other side, but I heard Coach calling my name.
I shot a last glance at my friends and went inside the HOD's office. I greeted my seniors and gave an update about my team's last week's practice session. When I was done, Coach showed us a PPT about the new gameplay and requirements. My eyes were set on the slideshow, but my mind was wondering about what Parth and Surbhi were talking about earlier.
If Sandhya won't make it on time, she will definitely miss the bus. How can she be so stupid to get late for the trip she was so excited about? But what if she cancelled on coming altogether? Why would she do that though?
What if she doesn't come? Damn, it won't be that much fun without her. Should I call her to ask that myself? What if she is getting ready and I might disturb her? She already received a good scolding from Parth. Hmm... What to do?
"Ved?"
I blinked rapidly when Coach stood right in front of me. He braced his palms on my shoulders and beamed brightly.
Why is he smiling like that? Shit, did I miss something important while I was zoning out?
"So, what are your thoughts about what I proposed?" Coach asked.
What did he propose?!
Instead of giving an idiotic reply, I nodded my head and said a doubtful 'Yes'.
Coach's smile grew bigger, and I gulped nervously. I was worried about what was going on in his head. And, I was fucking right.
"See, HOD Sir, Ved is also on the same boat. So, I think we should start the new schedule the day after the trip ends," Coach announced.
I quickly glanced at the PPT and felt my soul leaving. In bold letters, National Trials Gameplan was written, and below it was written our fate for next four months: Practice extra four hours (Sunday included).
Fuck, my teammates are going to kill me; they will roast me alive.
"Okay, now that we are over with the meeting, let's go for a round," HOD Sir said.
Coach agreed and patted my shoulder. "You may go now, Ved. Enjoy your trip."
"Yes, Sir."
I exited the office and sighed. I should have paid attention in the meeting, but it wasn't like Coach was going to change his mind anyways. I decided to stop worrying about it and focused on the day ahead. I checked the time and it was past 9 a.m.
The buses would have already left. Did Sandy Pandy make it or not?
I slowly walked towards the main ground and was going in my bike's direction when I heard the Dean's voice calling my name.
"Ved, my boy! Come here!"
I waved in his direction and wondered why he was calling me; I doubted if he had some work for me. As I took my first steps in his direction, I noticed a familiar figure standing beside him - the sight was enough to dissolve my worries.
I swirled my bike keys around my finger and settled in front of the Dean. He instantly pointed at Sandhya, who had death written all over face. So, she did get late and even missed the bus. When Dean Sir told me how she was sulking, I controlled the urge to laugh at her reaction.
"Ved, please take her with you," Dean Sir said.
"It is okay, Sir. I will go home instead," she replied.
She was good at lying, but her disappointment was clear on her face. She glanced at me and looked away. I knew what she was thinking; she didn't want to take that favour from me.
Dean Sir tried to convince her, but she still refused. In the end, he left as he had to attend the staff meeting. I stared at Sandhya and pursed my lips on seeing her dilemma. I wanted to directly tell her to join me, but I knew very well she wouldn't have done so.
She told me to leave by myself, so I turned on my heels and walked leisurely, waiting for her to follow me. As expected, she didn't. I could feel her sad mood creeping up on me. I glanced over my shoulder and saw her looking at her luggage sadly.
She just won't ask for help, will she? Her stubbornness had no cure.
"Come before I change my mind," I announced loudly.
Soon, I heard footsteps behind me, and I concealed my smile before she saw it. I stopped in front of my bike and opened the side dickeys to keep her stuff. She stood like a statue with her mouth open. For a minute, she was frozen like that.
"Is this your bike?" she exclaimed.
"Yes." I nodded.
She really liked bikes and cars; I remembered the incident from our childhood when she had hit me with her toy car for making fun of her.
We mounted the bike after keeping her luggage. The bike roared when I twisted the key to the ignition; I felt like I was riding a plane as I moved on the curvy roads leading to Nandimata village. I glanced at the reflection of Sandhya through the side view mirror and saw her biting down her teeth. She had crossed her arms across her chest tightly.
I shook my head when she said that she wasn't feeling cold. Fortunately, my current bike had seat heaters. I, personally, didn't feel the need for them but my passenger looked frostbitten. I switched on the heaters and noticed Sandhya's face relax.
Now that she looked okay, I increased our speed and overtook a few vehicles on our way. The scenery was beautiful; I glimpsed at Sandy Pandy, and she was also observing her surroundings but she looked like something else was on her mind.
And after some time, my doubt was confirmed when her stomach growled in a low noise. She was hungry, so I decided to stop at a dhaba or restaurant on our way. I ignored the ones which came first as I remembered Mayank bhaiyya mentioning a dhaba on the way and how they were going to stop there for lunch.
I increased the speed more when I saw Sandhya's fallen face after she tapped my shoulder to ask for something. I couldn't hear her properly due to the wind, so I replied loudly, but she didn't say anything after that. I stopped my bike in front of the dhaba and told Sandy Pandy to get off.
She did as I said but looked at me in confusion. I glanced at her stomach, and she followed my gaze; the idiot still didn't get the clue. When I pointed behind her, her face lit up like a star, and she sprinted forward without waiting for me.
While she got us a table, I confirmed with the receptionist about our batchmates being there earlier. I got a positive response and turned around to track the hungry human; I saw a bulky guy looming over where Sandhya was sitting.
I studied their body languages as I walked towards them and thought that the guy would leave, but he didn't. I snapped when I saw him advance towards Sandy Pandy; I caught his wrist before it touched her. He winced when I twisted his hand, sending him a warning to back off.
How dare he even think of messing with her?
The guy was in no mood of backing off, and I also felt like breaking a few bones, so I took off my jacket and placed it on the table along with my helmet. I rolled my shoulders and challenged him and his friends. He stared at me for some time, his eyes widening as he realised something. He glanced between me and Sandhya; I raised an eyebrow at his action.
I counted how many seconds it would take me to break him and his small troop. I didn't have to do much thinking; I was about to step forward when I felt a hand gripping my left arm. I turned my head in a snap and noticed Sandy Pandy staring at me in surprise. Her hand felt cold, but her eyes seemed to be getting shinier by each passing millisecond.
I roamed my eyes on her face; her nose was the same shape as it was eight years ago, her eyebrows were arched on top of her brown orbs, and her lips... her lips...
"You can have the table if you want, man. We are leaving."
My chain of thoughts got broken by that guy's voice, and I quickly averted my gaze. I managed to keep my composure, and those men left while mumbling to themselves. Sandhya was still staring at me as if was some alien, so I told her to order something while I used the washroom.
As I walked towards the loo, I glanced at my arm.
What the fuck was I doing just now? I need to get a grip on myself.
Once in the washroom, I washed my face and shook off the weird thoughts building up in my head. It was enough that we were having a bike ride together; I had to stop making up imaginary scenarios.
Better get my stomach filled because my mind was already full of someone.