Akshat's POV
“My baby!”, exclaimed the young lady, snatching her baby from Naomi's hand.
I ran towards her. As she was busy pressing her ear tightly with her hand, I took out my white handkerchief. I took her hand out from her ear and placed the handkerchief on the bruise. I insisted she holds her ear tightly with the kerchief while I bent, collected her earring, and packed it in my pants pocket.
“Ouch! Akshat sir, it's hurting. Please help me. Please do something!”, said she, breathing hard with tears emitting from her eyes.
I could feel tears in my eyes too. But, why did I cry for her that day? I just couldn't see her in pain...I felt as if I were in pain!
I held her ear-lobe, the source of the blood, with my right hand and put my left hand around her. “Chill let's go to the emergency doctor within the premises”, consoled I, as she leaned on me and rested her head on my chest. The LCD screen on the top right announced ‘0’ in the bold red digital font. The doors slid open and all of us stepped outside.
“Thank god! My baby is safe!”, frowned the lady.
“What?!”, shouted I, confronting her,” Excuse me, your baby is fit and fine. It's Naomi who is in trouble because of your baby.”
She shrugged, blaming Naomi didn’t know how to handle babies.
“Sexy! She isn’t even bothered to apologize”, whispered I, as the lady walked away.
I held the handkerchief tightly in one hand and lowered the other. As she felt my hand on her hip, she turned at me and breathed harder. My meek and hesitant eyes caught her shy eyes again yet released them. I then escorted her to the clinic which was a walk for a quarter an hour.
Love is so blind that it just happens unexpectedly.
You may fall for anyone!
Would you let go of your policy if you fell for someone you shouldn't? What would you choose-your policy or your beloved?
We reached the first room of the corridor at the admin block. The nurse, in her white uniform and a white pearl necklace, nodded at us. Her red lipstick glittered on her lips. It was a room with just a bed on the left and the doctor’s desk on the front. She dragged the two chairs to the opposite side of the doctor's and requested us to sit.
The doctor came out of the loo on our right. She wore a buff cut. She took her seat. I complained that Naomi's ear had been bleeding. I accused the little baby, ”Such an idiot! Babies these days are so damn rude and don’t behave themselves…How could he harm my Naomi?... Doctor, I hope it isn’t anything serious. She should get well soon…I can hear her pain...Doctor,…”
Naomi looked at me and blushed.
I slowly removed the kerchief from her ear and released her. I pointed at the deep cut on her earlobe; it was still red, although it was less red than before.
As the nurse began her first aid on the cut, the doctor nodded at it and consoled me,” Sir, please calm down. It's a small cut and will heal soon. Nothing will happen to your girlfriend.” Naomi and I blushed at each other. Her eyes smiled at me which too smiled, in return.
The controversy and our strife were on one side; on the other side, was a different rhythm of heart-beat blooming within us. I thought of forgetting the dispute that had happened between us, for, due to general opinions and debates, I can’t spare losing some beautiful bonding with her. I had never been this close to a girl ever before.
The doctor wrote an ointment on paper and handed it over to me. She also advised Naomi not to wear earrings for the next few days until the wound healed. As we thanked her, got up, and went outside, I gave her the prescription slip and asked her to take care.
She nodded. I descended the two stairs at the entrance and was about to leave.
“Kiku!”, called she. I turned at her.
“Thank you, Akshat sir! Thank you for helping me despite our differences of opinion”, said she, blushing. Our eyes hugged each other despite being three feet apart. Sexy! What a coincidence! The same matter was running in my head too, a few moments ago! How did you catch me that noon, Naomi?!
“Anytoim!”, said I, meaning ‘anytime’, according to my cute dictionary. I convinced her, ” Naomi, a lot of arguments happen on such general matters. But, they should not interfere with other things. Take it easy!”
We were looking at each other. I walked backward, blushing at her.
“Hai Ram!”, exclaimed a maid, in her regular blue uniform, behind me. I turned at her and apologized for having knocked her big green basket full of waste back on the ground.
She grumbled if I couldn’t walk properly or if I was blind and so on. She bent and grew engrossed in picking the papers, wrappers, bottles, and other wastes which had fallen around her. I too bent and helped her pick the wastes. Naomi too joined us. She probably felt guilty again for distracting me!
We managed to pick up almost everything and apologized to the maid again. The maid threw glances-a one or two at Naomi and me.
“Don’t romance in public. Your love will cause sweet disturbances to others!”, ordered she, smiling along, at which Naomi and I looked at each other, wondering while she justified,” I saw you busily looking at each other. He wasn’t ready to leave and she wasn’t ready to leave either.”
“Cute couple!”, remarked she, as she headed with her basket and left us behind. We were again lost in each other’s eyes. I slowly walked toward her.
Naomi's POV
As Akshat neared me, I closed my eyes. He kissed my right ear, above the bandaged earlobe. "Get well soon!", he whispered in my ears.
I blushed. He blushed back and began walking away while I stood numb. It was his second kiss. I tilted my head, staring at him and blushing alone. I had never been this close to a guy ever before.
“Dude, Mumbai express he is!” remarked Vyomi as we ran with our notebooks on the first-floor corridor, which had only a few students at the other end. The floor was dedicated to staffrooms. It had been a few weeks and of course, the wound on my ear had healed, hurrah!
I chuckled,” Why dude?”
“Then what dude? He rushes with the portions in the class and immediately after the class, he must go to hog his lunch. I am fed up this semester with him!”, explained her.
I shrugged, denying that Shreyas sir taught well. Vyomi refused,” Only you and that Ruhi answer in his class. Only both of you understand whatever he teaches. Oh god! He speaks so fast and that’s the problem. Can’t pick up the pace, dude!”
I nodded but again defended my opinion by citing that he taught so in order to complete the syllabus as well as to cover a lot of additional information over the ones in the syllabus. "By the way, you too speak fast. Don't you know?", I reminded her.
“Fine, dude. But, in my opinion, only Akshat sir teaches well!”, concluded she. I smiled and nodded rapidly at it, adding,” Akshat Sir is the best! Everyone loves him. He is damn sweet and understanding. The young gentleman is also eloquent at the right pace.”
She dashed my shoulder, teasing me,” Awww you love him, I know! He too loves you, I know!!!” She blushed at me, whispering and cheering for me in my ears. I blushed, looking away and denying that I saw him only as my lecturer that’s all. She began singing ‘Love me like you do', making my pinkish dimples grow into a highway.
I gestured to her, with my right index finger on my lip, to remain silent. She winked and obeyed me like a second-grade school girl. For the moment, I felt as if I were her boss!
As soon as we reached the entrance of the staffroom, we spotted Akshat sir and Shreyas sir whose cabins were just six feet from where we stood. They had settled down in their seats; their cabins were adjacent to each other with Akshat’s being attached to the wall. I had gone there before as well: our second meet! The professors were nodding at each other and unzipping their lunch bags.
The staffroom was illuminated by the white hexagonal ceiling lights and was air-conditioned as always.
Before we could step inside, we heard Shreyas's quick voice, whispering to Akshat, ”OK updating the criminal trials module is clear now. But, I wanted to ask you one more thing, sir. The question has been thriving in my mind for quite a long. Although it has become an old matter now, I would like to discuss it.”
My friend and I stopped at the entrance itself. Shreyas and Akshat were too engrossed to spot us.
Akshat nodded and gestured for him to proceed. Shreyas smiled, asking,” Yeah so how was your Bangalore tour? I was born in Bangalore. I lived there till my fourth grade. I love Silicon City. Did you visit Cubbon park?”
He laughed.
He asked him if he at least visited Lalbagh.
He laughed once again.
“Then, what was the point of going to Bangalore?”, exclaimed he, bewildered, as he hogged his noodles with the fork.
“Sir, I hadn’t gone to tour Bangalore. I left Pune that very evening and reached Bangalore that very night, by flight. I begged for an appointment with our Vice-Chancellor, Vinayak Gowda, who fixed it after roaming in his office up and down for two days and meeting him, at last. I told him about Rishabh’s politics in intaking an innocent student. He called up Rishabh and warned him. He also ordered the registrar and the exam cell of the university to process Naomi’s admission”, elaborated he.
He sighed, concluding,” Thus, I finished my work in three days, thanks to Indian Airlines! On the third evening, I directly flew to Naomi’s house and surprised her with the good news! I fulfilled my promise to her!” Eating the first bite of his aloo paratha, he remarked, ”It was indeed a roller-coaster ride, as you always say!”
Aww! Akshat struggled loads for Naomi, a random girl, back at that point in time when they had just met. What a revelation! How will Naomi react to the truth now?
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