CHAPTER-25
RUMOR
Chapter Highlights...
However, he lost his balance and fell upon me. I shut my eyes and breathed hard. I swallowed my timidness as I felt his chest rubbing on me. I opened my eyes slowly. I blushed at him who was blushing at me. He kissed my forehead. Our eyes were engrossed in each other for the next couple of seconds.
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Naomi’s POV
“Yes sir, the operation projector is on!”, Karan highlighted, as he turned it by an angle of one hundred and eighty degrees. Akshat blushed, raising his eyebrows, and walking towards me on the last bench. I blushed a bit but later pretended to ignore him as my eyes were on the black laptop in his hands. ‘Lenovo’, it announced in a thick gray font at the bottom corner of its surface.
“Rohan, can you help me connect to the projector?”, asked Akshat, smiling and nodding at the guy sitting alone on the last bench on the row to my left.
“Sure, sir.”
Without any further delay, he grabbed the cables and hurried to the stage of our classroom. While I shrugged at Akshat cluelessly, he gestured for the class to sit facing the screen at the back of the class. We, the backbenchers too, sat with our backs facing the stage.
Holy brains! Crazy Kiku! I got you. I never knew his naughtiness knew no bounds! Aww, but it's sweet. I held my breath as soon as it struck me. He reversed the projector and decided to take his lecture from the last bench just to stay with me! Awww, Kiku sir, you are very highly romantic…indeed the most romantic man ever in the world. I had never been this close to a guy ever before.
My pupils couldn’t stop dilating as he neared to stand beside my bench. I sat in the corner too. I looked around to watch the other classmates busy pushing their legs to turn backward or watching Rohan and Karan busy connecting and assembling the wires on the stage.
“Naomi, wherever you are, there I arrive”, I heard Akshat’s voice. I felt a sharp release of adrenaline in my blood. While I bulged my eyes and swallowed my timidness at him, he chuckled.
“Huh! Kiku! Why do you pop in so suddenly?”, I exclaimed. He chuckled again. He put his hands in his pocket and leaned on the wall behind him.
“Sexy! How else do you expect my arrival? Am I an emperor whose welcome is marked by graceful women scattering flowers on my path or my elephant blowing a trumpet?”, he whispered, at which I shrank my eyes and shrugged along.
“Sir, but this is getting worse now. Why are you turning your lecture upside down? I will listen wherever I sit. Don’t you think rumors will spread about us if you act like this? You should think twice before taking a course of action…”
“Alright, class!”, announced he, as the first slide was put up.
“How mean of him! How could you ignore me?”, I grumbled, as he gestured a thumbs-up sign at Rohan.
“Naomi, you tell me”, he began. I stood up. All eyes were on me.
“What are the rumors that you were mentioning just now?”, asked he, chuckling along.
“Akshat sir!”, I called, breathing hard and shaking my head at him.
He blushed, reassuring me, “Don’t worry, Ki…”
I bulged my eyes and looked down as the others exchanged puzzled faces with each other. “Ki.. but isn’t her name Naomi?.. I know right…Who is Ki?...”, I heard gossip loud enough for the backbencher to hear.
“Guys, it was a slip of my tongue. All I wanted to say was that a rumor is a false information. When the information you hear is a cent percent true, then it's not referred to as a rumor.”
“Hmm no, it's just fifty percent true in the case I was talking about. As the information spreading is true for one party and isn’t for another, I condemn my opposition party that it is a rumor yet. It's all because of you…”
He gave me a great round of applause. Karan whistled, commenting that I made the classroom sound like the courtroom.
“Exactly! You spoke just a line but it rocked. The terms party, percent, condemn…outstanding!”, Akshat complimented me. I smiled at the signs of appreciation that filled in my vicinity. Thanks to my dear Kiku who made my day! I, for once, felt as if my dream of becoming a criminal lawyer came alive. I sighed with a wide smile at him.
“Sir!”, said I, interrupting all the background applause or verbal gossip.
Akshat nodded. “Go on!”
“Where is your answer to my question? I repeat, why are you lending your hands to spread the rumor? If you decide, you can stop and you should. Such rumors shouldn’t spread…”
“It's okay, Naomi. If it has to, let it spread to every corner of the world. At least, in that case, the other party will, at last, understand that it's a piece of information and not a rumor. Case closed”, he concluded, grabbing the textbook and pointing at the slide.
“Oh! This is truly so much fun”, cheered Karan. “Both of you are one-to-one. Naomi scored one and Akshat sir too scored one. Wohoooo!” I turned back. I frowned at my friend. He put his finger on the lip and shrank himself. He sat back, pretending to have been afraid of me.
Akshat smiled, walking towards me. He highlighted, “What else to do? The other party is very stubborn.” He closed his eyes and shook his head like a cute kid arguing for a chocolate ice cream with his mother who got a strawberry flavor, by mistake.
“Naomi, the other party will realize that the information isn’t false. Trust me, I will help them very soon. No matter whatever you argue or avoid, I won’t let it remain a rumor for very long”, he concluded.
“Guys, excuse us for the courtroom scenario. Anyways, you had exposure in advance. You will have a similar courtroom role-play case study the next semester. All the best!”, he announced.
“How much does Kiku lie?”, wondered I.
I shrugged. I sat back. He shrank his eyes and gestured for me to move inside. Muskan moved in and called me as well. No sooner did I leave the tiny space that Akshat took his seat.
Oh my goodness! He was sitting very close to me. I hardly had any space to go even an inch inside. My right lap was left with no other option than rubbing against his left lap. Drops of sweat populated my forehead at every clash. Hardly could I pay attention to the topic he lectured.
Although it was only his back facing me as he instructed Rohan sitting opposite us, to play the slides, I felt shy. I tried to divert my distraction by focusing just on the slides-their content including the pictures and the details further including the slide layout or margin but none helped.
I have sat beside guys in school and college. I have never felt the same ever before. For a couple of seconds, I felt as if Akshat executed some sort of magical spell on me. Have I fallen for him, for love itself is magic, in its own way?
Urgh! Nope. Naomi, keep your dirty thoughts away. No, no, no…I closed my eyes and shook my head a bit.
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?
“Aye Kiku, aren’t you listening? Has the idealist in you gone?”, he questioned, whispering to me. “You seem distracted…”
“No sir, no way…”
I felt like a breeze blowing between us as his shoulder hit mine. He neared, sharing, “It's okay to be distracted in love. But, remember that love is the only exception…” I observed all eyes just on the both of us; some smiled while the others chuckled at their immediate neighbor's bench mates.
“Kiku, stop! I’m not. You are literally embarrassing me in front of the entire class…”
“No, I can never dream of doing so, especially to you, my love”, he whispered, continuing, “Indeed, it's you who is unable to realize your lovely emotions and embarrass me”
“No sir, I am not. You aren’t understanding me…”
“No Naomi, it is the case but it's totally fine. I can wait because I have hope…”
“Sir, please don’t hope for anything from me. I may sound weird to you but this is how I think…”
“Akshat sir, enough of lecturing just to her. We too exist”, Ruhi interrupted, as she raised her hand and waved it from the first desk-the last one, counting from where Akshat sat.
As he continued explaining the fifteenth slide, exactly from where he had left, I realized a point-Kiku isn’t making me feel uncomfortable. Instead, he is helping me process my thoughts in the cutest possible fashion. I blushed secretly. I opened a fresh page of my notes. I tried to release the body of the gel pen from its cap.
Urgh! It was very tight.
Oops! I chuckled witnessing only the cap in my hand. Akshat turned back at me.
“Sorry sir, I dropped my pen”, said I, bending straight down to grab it. I wondered if it was too loud to catch his attention. Perhaps, he observed every minute detail of mine. Yes, it must have been the case. Lovers do. I mean, he loves me so he must be doing this.
“Ouch!”, I exclaimed, dashing my head against a surface.
“Kiku!”, thought I, raising my head up a little, only to notice Akshat’s black eyes rolling hither and thither at mine. Both our heads were under the bench.
He wrapped my cheeks in his cozy arms. He pulled me closer. I swallowed my heartbeat. He closed his eyes. He clashed his head with mine.
“Kiku, haven’t you heard of the horn myth? Clash your heads twice else…”, he began to justify his actions.
“Yes, failing which, we get horns”, I completed. We blushed and chuckled at each other.
“Oho, sir! What are you guys doing under the bench? Continue your class, sir…yes sir what happened..”
We heard nosy voices of concern from all corners. I just didn’t want to move my head hither and thither from my notes. Although I didn’t strike a line with my pen, I was reluctant to face the class. My head too will roll. Muskan and a few classmates sitting behind me were already blushing at me.
“Wow! Looks like something is going on between them. They are cute…hmm…aww!”, I heard it all but none stepped forward to ask me directly. They were busy whispering and gossiping among themselves. I stamped Akshat’s foot.
“Sir, why did you bend along? My fright of the rumor has now come true. It wasn’t serious and I believed I overthought it. How to handle it now? You know what, Kiku?... It's your responsibility…you made it so obvious in front of the entire class…”, I whispered, screwing him.
I looked at him with eyes full of tears. “A variety of tongues will talk about the girl in a variety of ways. Why, sir? Why are you doing this to me? I now feel reluctant to face my classmates…”
“Sorry, Kiku. I didn’t think about all of this…”
“That's why I wanted to stay away from you. That's the reason I decided to sit here on the last bench…”
“And that's where you went wrong, Naomi. If you acted normal, sitting in your usual place, I too would have been normal. You were the reason…”
“Sir! Naomi! All fine there?”, enquired another guy from the second bench.
“Sexy!”, whispered Akshat, grabbing my pen. While I shrugged, concealing my tears, he stood up. He displayed my pen. He turned back to face me. He smiled, thanking, “Thanks, Naomi. Thanks for my pen.”
“Oh Kiku, why are you making my life a path of bricks? I must thank you for having helped me pick my pen up. Why is he thanking me?”, thought I, sobbing at a very low volume, to myself.
“Guys, thanks for your concern too”, said he, looking at the class. He maintained perfect eye contact during his lectures; his eyes went from the extreme left corner to the extreme right corner, looking at everyone and not growing a particular spectator’s anxiety.
Phew! He had come up with a clever reason.
“My pen had fallen down. Naomi was kind enough to fetch it for me. That's why we went below the benches and our..”
“And our class was more bothered about the lecture, sir”, I interrupted and cut him. I shrank my eyes and shrugged at him. As he neared, I whispered, “Kiku, what were you about to tell? Our heads clashed and the horn myth?... Classmates will mistake us for flirting...”
“Hmm, so my lover cares what people think of me. Glad to know!”, he whispered, blushing and walking away.
“I meant us, not just you. Urgh! Experts refer to this as confirmation bias wherein one always comes round and round to end up at the point to convince themselves. Ditch the reality. Urgh!”, thought I, sitting back.
The bell rang aloud. I was relieved, not due to the upcoming break, but to escape from Akshat’s romance. It made me feel like a thriller movie. He would do something that would leave my head restless, wondering what would happen next.
“Thank you, sir!”, we sang, in chorus. Karan waved and whistled at his exit. I blushed and waved happily. I let out a long sigh of relief as he nodded at me and stepped out of the class. I grabbed my notes to hurry and sit back with my famous five.
“Whose is this?”, asked I, grabbing a fat dairy milk silk chocolate left behind on the desk. Muskan and the others sitting on the next bench shook their heads.
“Perhaps, Akshat sir left it”, guessed Muskan. The others nodded. I left my notes at my usual front desk. While my friends asked me where I rushed, I gestured that I would be back soon.
My pinkish hands appeared golden with the illumination of the morning beam. My full-handed mustard yellow top, paired with the gray jeans, too chimed like the Sun of an evening sky. I was more anxious in looking for Akshat that I failed to relish nature directly; the last time the glass window was the middle man.
“Akshat sir!”, I called, spotting him at the end of the corridor. He turned back and waved at me. I jogged towards him. My slightly curly hair, left loose on both sides, in the front, danced along.
“Kiku, is this yours?”, asked I. He let his fingers through my hair. He pushed a few strands of my hair behind my ears. He nodded.
“I left it for you. A special sweet for someone special in my life. Have it!”, said he, pushing the chocolate back to my hands.
Awww…Kiku, why is it me? Why am I special to you? You love me but I shouldn’t. Why have you always been putting me into more and more trouble?
“Sorry, sir. I can’t take it. For your satisfaction, you can relish it on my behalf”, I refused, pushing his tasty gift back into his palms.
“Are you sure?”, he wanted to confirm. I nodded rapidly. At once, he pulled me closer. Our pressure, put together, was enough to open the coffee brown-colored door of the store room. It housed the answer sheets of my senior batches.
“Sir, what are you doing? Let me go…”, said I, as he locked the door. He locked both of us-just the two of us in a dark room with a white ray or two piercing in through the sill.
“It's said that time flies but I am unaware of it when your eyes are in front of me”, he complimented, as his eyes moved from my face to my hair and then to my neck. I looked away from him and blushed. As he pulled me even closer, I threw my mouth open and rested both my hands on his chest. He leaned forward and kissed my lips hard. I pinched his chest.
“Kiku!”, said I, releasing myself from his cozy arms. He walked towards me as I kept every step backward.
“Akshat!”, I called him, as my feet slipped upon something.
“Naomi!”, called he, rushing towards me. He wrapped his hands around my waist and caught me. However, he lost his balance and fell upon me. I shut my eyes and breathed hard. I swallowed my timidness as I felt his chest rubbing on me. I opened my eyes slowly. I blushed at him who was blushing at me. He kissed my forehead. Our eyes were engrossed in each other for the next couple of seconds.
“See, I have still preserved it because it's yours”, said he, taking the chocolate out from his gray shirt’s pocket. I couldn’t take my eyes off him as he unwrapped the violet and then the golden-colored wrappers. He tore a bite of the chocolate and pushed it into my mouth. He chuckled at me, chewing it. He filled his fingers with liquid chocolate. I shrank my eyes as his soft fingers applied it like the Holi colors on my cheeks. As he let his left palm slide along my hand, I blushed and breathed harder.
“Can you stop me?”, he asked. My eyeballs rolled hither and thither. I remained speechless. I think I didn’t want to stop him.
“Kiku, this is your assignment today. Think about why you aren’t stopping me from loving you. You will find all your answers there”, he suggested. He stood up. He extended his hand as I raised my back to sit up. I blushed, giving in my hand. He pulled me to stand up. He blew to force a strand of my hair behind my ears. His eyes were very lovely that morning. He handed over the chocolate in my hands.
“Assignment. Don’t forget it. I will ask you after the semester exams”, he reminded me, before unlocking the door’s handle and leaving the room. I tilted my head and stood, just staring at him. I blushed at the chocolate he gifted me.
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As soon as we got down from the bus, we crossed the road together. Vyomi walked slowly with a weary face.
“I can’t believe that our holidays are over”, she remarked, yawning along.
“I feel excited for the fourth semester. Yahoo!”, said I, smiling in an attempt to cheer her up.
“Sincere student!”, she teased me and looked away. “But, I agree that you are excited to meet Akshat sir. Hmmm!”, said she, blushing and dashing my shoulder. I blushed.
It had been a month since I last spoke to him; no messages or calls either. He too didn’t try to contact me. What a pleasant surprise or probably, he didn’t want to disturb me during my exam time. I know about you, Kiku. The last two weeks were our semester-end holidays which was the milestone of a student’s life exams!
“Dude, our third-semester results will be out in the auditorium within an hour!”, Vyomi screeched, displaying the WhatsApp message forwarded by the Chairman. I felt goosebumps on both hands.
“The moment to defeat Ruhi has arrived! Woohoo!”, said my confident bestie. I bulged my eyes. I gave my best in all the subjects but had forgotten completely about the bet. Oops!
Did Naomi complete Akshat’s assignment? Who will win the bet-Naomi or Ruhi?
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