CHAPTER-36
Romantic silence
Chapter Highlights…
Tears accumulated in my eyes. I swallowed them as I trembled to rebuke Akshat, “Kiku, please don’t act without thinking and put both of us into another trouble. For your kind information, there is already a huge mess to be cleared.”
I bulged my eyes as he threw his mouth a little open and we stood dumbstruck, arresting each others’ eyes.
“Hey, what happened? Tell me everything. What’s the mess you were referring to, Naomi?...”, Akshat asked, as he walked along. I shook my head.
“Sorry, sir. It was a slip of my tongue…”
“Naomi, no way. I can smell something fishy. Don’t hide..."
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Naomi’s POV
“Albert Einstein, JU”, declared the thick white font on a dark blue board put up above the empty red seat whose fair wooden table had a triangular nameplate, “Vinita Agarwal ''. I sat on the last four-seater table in the same line. Clouds of smog populated in front of my eyes reading insurance against third party rights, the new topic heading, exactly on the middle page of the tall textbook, shorter than a notebook, of medium thickness.
I turned a little to my left to read the circular analog clock, once in a moment of a second. I decided to bunk Akshat’s class because I couldn’t face him. However, a cloud of thoughts involving just him and the video matter dominated my mind. Why can’t I avoid him although I must? Urgh! Kiku, neither can I come up with a solution nor stop worrying about us.
I turned a bundle of pages to and fro, as the librarian folded her hands on her back and walked along the passages in my vicinity. All I observed during the entire hour was that Vinita ma’am went for rounds, once every fifteen minutes; she first covered my floor, then ascended the stairs and bulged her eyes at the racks and students on the second internal floor within the library.
Glad I need to repeat my acting for another twenty minutes! Yipee! Last twenty minutes of Akshat’s class after which I can leave the bookhouse. I smiled to myself as I closed the book. I left it on the table and rushed upstairs. I let my fingers through several books organized on different racks labeled Psychology, Accounts, Economics, Math, English, Hindi, Marathi, Law, Chemistry, Physics, Zoology, and so on. Wow! Every department further had rows housing the best books, as I observed for law, for every elective and specialization.
As I inserted my book in the third row from where I had borrowed, my eyes went over the big fat Public International Law book in the first row. Aww, Akshat sir, you are always here. Why do you enter my life despite my attempts to avoid you? I blushed, grabbing the book in my hands and rushing through the pages like one would play their fingers on a bunch of new currency notes.
Hats off to Akshat sir! I wonder how he cherry-picks just the required points and gifts us with the compressed notes. I missed Kiku’s class for the first time after I joined JU. Pity us if we had to directly refer to these huge fat books and attend lectures just for the sake of attendance!
“Excuse me, which book are you looking for?”, asked a shrieking female voice. I turned about and shook my head.
“Good morning, ma’am”, I wished Vinita ma’am. “Thank you but I happened to stumble upon a subject book we have this semester. So, I was just looking at it…”
“Great!”, said she, checking out the yellow tag of my ID extending to the waist on my front. “Law department?”, she asked. I nodded.
“Awesome. In that case, I believe that you didn’t have the necessity to come to the library. Akshat sir guides you quite well. Am I right?”, she asked, grinning widely. Her black-framed spectacles shone on her white face.
I smiled and nodded again. “Yes ma’am. There was an assignment from another subject that I wanted to refer to. So, I had to…”
She shook her head, correcting, “Yes, of course. Feel free to use the resources. A faculty like Akshat who refers to multiple textbooks and prepares useful notes as if it was he who studied, is one in a billion. Back during my college days, we hardly had any lectures. Haha!”
I faked a smile but blushed within me, feeling happy at the fact that Akshat’s hard work was getting noticed. Urgh! Why are you feeling happy for the appreciation that he receives? ..But, anyways, I felt as if I were the one who received applause at that moment. Miss you more than your class, Kiku!
“Oh, hello Akshat sir!”, the librarian greeted, waving and rushing downstairs from the other end. I bulged my eyes and breathed hard. Fuck! When did Akshat come here? What will happen now? I turned about and held my breath for an entire minute, witnessing Akshat smiling and nodding at Vinita near the OPAC cabin juxtaposed to the librarian’s table. She was busy pointing at her desktop screen and murmuring, perhaps about a law textbook that Akshat might have requested recently.
“Help me! I can’t face you, Kiku. I’m sorry”, thought I, rushing to sit behind the psychology rack: the mid-rack... I brought my hands closer and shrunk my eyes as I aimed to cover the minimum area and hide between the back of the rack and the wall.
“Sure, sir. Let's check if it's available there. There are many textbooks of Company Law here but the particular author I doubt….”, informed Vinita as Akshat nodded and walked along.
I tilted to the right and unveiled my eyes alone. Akshat opened the glass door having ‘Entry restricted for students’ painted in dark red on its surface. I saw him walking in with Vinita both being engrossed in a heated discussion. I released a sigh of relief.
“Naomi, you will put Akshat in trouble and ruin all the good name he has earned by burning the midnight oil. Leave right away!”, I advised myself. I hurried towards the stairs running beside my own department’s rack, which was the nearest to my hiding spot that had saved me from Akshat’s eyes embracing me, a few minutes ago.
No sooner did I get a step down than I closed my fist and raised my eyebrows at Akshat nodding at Vinita and opening the door. “Oh God, help me. Akshat sir, why are you doing this to me? Neither do you let me come closer to you nor go away from you. What a tight spot have you ditched me into?” I returned to my hiding spot.
“Phew! He is gone from here. Thank you, Kikuuuu!”, thought I, standing up slowly. “The coast is finally clear!”, I declared to myself, as I rolled my eyeballs hither and thither to scrutinize every little space in the front. I turned back.
“Huhhhh!!”, I exclaimed aloud and took a step back. What! He stood right behind me. I traced the path going down the stairs and leading to the entry-restricted room that he had just entered. He chuckled and shrugged.
“What’s happening there?”, roared Vinita, bulging her eyes at me. I turned to nod at her holding the door and standing outside the OPAC cabin.
“Nothing ma’am. All ok. I’m sorry”, said I, closing my eyes and hitting my forehead. I turned back at Akshat who continued blushing and chuckling.
“Sexy! I hardly wore a ghost mask to scare you”, he commented, as I shrunk my eyes and swallowed my guilt.
“Why did you pop up so suddenly?... Huh...I got screwed because of you, sir”, said I, turning away from him. No sooner did I head away that he caught my hand.
“Naomi, why didn’t you attend my class? And what were you doing here in the library? Is everything alright?”, he enquired, in his meek and hesitant voice.
“Akshat, please let me go”, said I, trying to release my hand. He blushed. “Hmmm, you made my day.”
“By bunking your class? Seriously?”
He chuckled and shook his head. “Nah! By addressing me by my name. You exercised your right today. For a second, I felt as if you called your husband…My dream life…” He went on while I blushed at his lips full of lovely descriptions.
“Sir, please…What's there in a name?...”, asked I, pulling my palm out from his. I couldn’t take my eyes off his blackish-light brownish-cute tiny eyes. Our eye contact lasted for an entire minute before I turned away and hid my hair behind my ears.
“Coming to the class, I was tired last night and dozed off earlier. I forgot to prepare for a class test this evening. That's what I was doing for the last hour. I’m sorry for bunking your class. I know that I would have missed loads but will check with Vyomi. Sorry, Kiku”, I completed, turning to walk away.
“Is it, Naomi? Which class?”, asked Akshat, rushing downstairs along with me. As we swiped our IDs to exit the library, I nodded and confirmed,” Umm…Insurance Law.”
“Sexy! Shreyas sir is on leave today. Who will conduct the test?”
Oops, what an idiotic lie did I utter! Urgh! Why is Shreyas sir on leave today exactly on that day when Akshat caught me. As we walked along the corridor, Akshat caught my hand for the second time that day and pulled me closer.
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?
“Kiku!”, I exclaimed, resting my hands on his chest and rolling my eyeballs hither and thither with a blank response. He neared my face. I closed my eyes and blushed a little, as I felt him blowing my strand of hair that had fallen in front. I opened my eyes so that his eyes could capture mine.
“I won’t let you escape anywhere from me, Naomi. I’ve missed you once but can’t miss you once again”, said he, letting his fingers through my hair. I happened to spot a gang of commerce students in the opposite corridor; they had just entered from the stairs. I released myself from Akshat.
Tears accumulated in my eyes. I swallowed them as I trembled to rebuke him, “Kiku, please don’t act without thinking and put both of us into another trouble. For your kind information, there is already a huge mess to be cleared.”
I bulged my eyes as he threw his mouth a little open and we stood dumbstruck, arresting each others’ eyes.
Urgh! Naomi, have you lost it? Why did I spill the beans to Akshat? No, Kiku, I won’t pull you into the turmoil no matter what I ought to face. I turned away to break our eye contact and began marching towards the lifts.
“Hey, what happened? Tell me everything. What’s the mess you were referring to, Naomi?...”, Akshat asked, as he walked along. I shook my head.
“Sorry, sir. It was a slip of my tongue…”
“Naomi, no way. I can smell something fishy. Don’t hide. Share the problem with me. Whatever it is, let's figure it out together”
Aww, thank you Akshat sir. I had never been this close to a guy ever before, in fact, anyone who stood for me, during a crisis. But, I feel I’m not worthy of your love. I sobbed as I pressed the up arrow button as if I were playing drums without a break.
“Urgh! Why is there a delay in these lifts?”, said I, pressing the other lifts as well. I had gone mad. Thanks to spotting only a handful of students roaming on the library’s floor.
“Naomi, I deserve to know this as it involves not only you but also me. Stop!”, ordered Akshat, standing in front of the middle lift and catching my hand.
“Akshat sir, can you please release my hand? I need to go…”
“I have no problem letting you go after you speak out the damn truth”, said he, with his tone growing sturdier. He pushed me against the wall. I breathed hard as he leaned forward, pressed my shoulders harder, enquiring, “Tell me about the mess. As it involves the both of us, meaning both you and me, the law also wants me to know it.”
“Kiku, there is nothing to tell. No mess nothing…Ouch! It's hurting. Lemme go please”, I trembled at his sudden bossy presidential avatar. I shrank my eyes as tears rolled down my cheeks while I continued my futile attempts to release my shoulders from his firm capture.
“My intention isn’t to hurt you, Naomi. However, I won’t refrain from hurting those who hurt you. In this process, you’re forcing me to hurt you”, he explained, squeezing my shoulders.
One can’t describe your love in words, Kiku but all I know is that your immense love shouldn’t put us in trouble. The more you cling to me, the more Shashank will pester me. I pushed Akshat so that he took a step or two backward. I wiped my tears as the lift doors opened. I looked down and sighed to avoid two girls gossiping inside.
“Ouch!”, I exclaimed, as I felt someone pulling me to the left. The two girls shrugged. They held the lift and looked outside.
“I don’t know where she disappeared”, said one.
“Fine, let's leave”, decided another. The lift departed from the floor.
“Kiku, what’s wrong with you? Again another similar act? Why?”, asked I, as Akshat shut the door. We landed in the empty art room illuminated with a yellow chandelier fixed at the center of the ceiling.
“Naomi, please tell me what happened. Troubles are like infections which when not paid attention to in the beginning, will cost loads. Speak out!”, he highlighted, shaking me along.
“Akshat sir, please!”, I squealed. I joined my hands. “There is no mess. I am all okay. Thank you very much for your concerns.”
“You have never bunked any class. Naomi, don’t play the fool. I know it's serious and you…”, he raised his voice.
“Nothing!”, I yelled, raising my hands up and extending them sideways. My left hand happened to hit the wooden basket. A long orange dupatta fell on us, covering both our heads under a roof. He frowned at me while I sobbed. I couldn’t take my eyes off him as he extended his right thumb to wipe my tears.
“Phir kya hua?(What happened then?)”
“Aur kya? Roti jal gayi. Hahaha!(And what? Roti burnt off.)” We heard a few maids entering the room.
We shook our heads and tried to remove the long shawl tying us together. His hand happened to go over mine. I blushed, withdrawing my hand. His lips slid a little to the left as he caught me blushing. I looked away while he removed the shawl.
“Hai! Hai! Chooo sweet!”, complimented a young maid, resting her chin upon the right palm. "God's sign that you are made for each other. Hehe!", commented another maid, blushing to her younger colleague.
Akshat and I turned at each other but couldn’t gather enough courage to overcome our timidness and look into each other’s eyes. We diverged from the room. I looked down and blushed to myself recollecting how the orange ambiance brought an entire minute of romantic silence around us. As soon as I reached the end of the corridor, I turned behind to spot Akshat hitting the ball cap of the opposite staircase.
“Sorry for troubling you, Akshat. But the real trouble is far beyond the suspense you’re facing. There are only thorns in this path. Don’t accompany me here, Kiku. Please!”, thought I, rushing downstairs followed by the landing corridor as I sobbed to myself.
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The crickets whistled as I had a sound sleep after a long time. The chain of precious moments that I shared with Akshat, that very morning, flashed in my mind. I dreamt of myself blushing and running in an orange gown to hug Akshat in a black suit. He had spread his arms open sideways. He blushed, wrapping me in his cozy arms.
“Sexy!”, said he, chuckling along. I shrank my eyes and pulled his cheeks. He wrapped my waist in his arms and pulled me closer as my cheeks wore a rosier shade.
My head seemed to blast with a sudden vibration. Goosebumps emerged on both hands as I spotted my phone vibrating with Shashank’s name on the display screen. I closed my mouth and sobbed. I bulged my eyes at Vyomi snoring on the opposite bed. I swallowed an electric shock at the video icon appearing in the middle of the display screen.
Alas! What will poor Naomi do now?
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