CHAPTER-38
CHEMISTRY
Chapter Highlights…
I blushed when he arrested my eyes, exceeding a minute or two.
“Akshat sir!”, said I, raising my hand, at which he chuckled, gesturing for me to speak up. “Why eye contact just with me?”
“Sexy! Who else is sitting in this classroom? I dedicate my life…ooo this lecture to you.”
“Sir!!!”, I exclaimed, blushing and chuckling along.
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Naomi’s POV
“Offenses against the public tranquility include unlawful assembly,...”, Akshat went on, as I sat alone on the last previous bench. Urgh! It was the second lecture of my punishment. It was a second-semester subject: Indian Penal Code. As it was mostly filled with good old court cases, I glanced at it like reading a story and survived the exam, in my previous college.
However, Akshat’s strategy, as usual, made a huge difference yet I was too tired to concentrate. I forced the yawn back into my mouth thereby triggering tears in my eyes. I leaned and rested my forehead on the bench. I closed my eyes thinking Akshat wouldn’t examine me, imitating the invigilator during boards. Time for a nap, Naomi!
“Whoever is guilty of rioting, like…with a weapon of offense…”, I heard Akshat’s loud voice near me. I forced my little fingers into both ears and shut my eyes hard. I held my breath and woke up at a loud knock on my desk.
“Naomi, listen”, said he, chuckling and blushing, as I lifted my head up and bulged my eyes. I nodded. He shook his head and rested his right knee on the wall behind him, rubbed his palms, and continued the lecture. Juniors turned back to face him. I too had to. He hardly tried to maintain eye contact with me during the lecture. Oho, I see, he didn’t want my juniors to doubt him.
Hmm, great idea, Kiku! I chuckled but hardly felt a needle prick in my brain regarding Shashank’s matter when he was around. Yes, I should complain the same to him. No more hiding anything from you, Kiku. While you care about my trivial problem such as missing your lecture, I’m sure you won’t see-zone such a serious problem or even hate me in this case. I blushed, thinking, “Akshat can never hate me for his love is true and unconditional. I’m blessed that he loves me. I think I love him too…” I shook my head and diverted myself by underlining the notes.
“Sir, please let me go. I’m done. I’m tired of following you…”, said I, walking along the corridor, with Akshat.
“Hey, don’t say that. It hurts”, he interrupted, placing his finger on my lips. We looked into each others’ eyes. “Ooo, sorry”, said he, withdrawing his finger as I blushed down.
“I mean..”
“I mean…”
We chuckled at our choruses. “Just one last lecture, Kiku after which I shall lecture my class you missed yesterday and wind up.” I shut my eyes and nodded. As we crossed Shashank’s section, I rushed to the other side, leaving him to walk by the windows. I ensured to maintain his pace and looked away at the lawn, thick with greenery, as captured from the sixth floor.
“Kiku!”, I exclaimed, hiding behind Akshat and pressing his shoulder hard as I noticed Shashank rushing upstairs with his two classmates wrapping their arms around each other.
“Sexy! Someone is romancing me”, commented Akshat, blushing along, as I revealed myself and chuckled. I took a deep breath as we entered the third-year classroom having a capital ‘A’ painted on the door. Thank goodness it wasn’t the creep’s class!
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“Sexy! Perfect notes, Kiku. Hmm, now I understand why punishments were the best way to correct naughty students like you”, said he, skimming through my all-day running notes.
“Sir!”, chuckled I, hitting his table with my left palm. He caught my hand and walked me to an empty classroom. He gestured for me to take my seat. I sat on the middle bench of the second row. Our eyes interlocked every time he turned away from the projected slide. I adjusted the missed lecture notes by writing a few more points hither and thither, just for the sake of clarity. Not bad, Vyomi has covered almost all the important points.
I blushed when he arrested my eyes, exceeding a minute or two.
“Akshat sir!”, said I, raising my hand, at which he chuckled, gesturing for me to speak up. “Why eye contact just with me?”
“Sexy! Who else is sitting in this classroom? I dedicate my life…ooo this lecture to you.”
“Sir!!!”, I exclaimed, blushing and chuckling along. I sat back while he continued the lecture, this time, maintaining eye contact with the windows, the notice board at the back of the class, the door, and finally with me. I burst out a round of laughter and shrugged. Our immersive one-to-one eye contact resumed. Phew! This was better. But, why do you want him to look at you and talk, Naomi? Are you in love?... Nope! No way! Guru Devo Bhava!
“Thanks a lot, Kiku!”, I thanked, heading slowly towards the stage.
“Let it be. Will you bunk my lecture ever again?”, asked he, packing his textbook and laptop. I shook my head.
“Not at all. I can’t even imagine missing you…your lecture ever again”, clarified I. We blushed as our eyes couldn’t release each other. He waved, leaving me behind in the classroom. I ran back to my seat, grabbed the heart-shaped pendant from the front zip, and smooched it with tears in my eyes. As I put on my bag and was about to leave, I happened to witness Akshat leaning at the entrance and winking at me.
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?
Oops! What have I done? He caught me kissing his gift. “Kiku...Sir...That's!”, dragged I, blushing as he blushed and shrugged.
“Bye!”, shouted I, blushing and running away.
“Naomi!!!”, he exclaimed, “Hmmmm, I saw how much you love me…like my gift…” I heard his voice from behind but I just couldn’t face him. Why so, Naomi? I forget all my stress when Kiku is around.
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“Founders Day”, announced the bold yellow font of elephant size, in a cursive fashion, on a red banner, placed in front of the cafeteria. As I walked in, with my gang, we wore a proud smile at the recurring slides playing on the array of LCD televisions organized at the entrance.
Number two followed by number 5 in silver colors flew to announce that Janki University celebrated its silver jubilee that year. Our founder, Mrs.Janki Kapoor, a grey-haired lady with a bun, dressed in a sari, spoke about our mission and vision in a two-minute video that played with muted audio accompanied by English subtitles. Pictures of herself receiving a couple of trophies along with her team flashed like newsletters in the upcoming slides.
“Our esteemed university has achieved a milestone this year”, I commented, to which Vyomi nodded. She added, “Dude, I also heard that Janki Ma’am is a Ph.D. in Zoology from an IIT.” I bulged my eyes and threw my mouth open at Diya and Tanvi who too exchanged puzzled faces with each other.
“Wait, didn’t you know? I remember a faculty member sharing it on our orientation”, recollected Vyomi, at which Tanvi and Diya laughed.
“ Oops, we hardly paid attention to any other info shared back then except for fees and scholarships. Haha!”, Diya revealed, after which she shared a hi-fi with Tanvi. I looked down at the floor and chuckled to myself.
“Fine, guys, jokes apart”, diverted Vyomi, patting me and whispering, “You must tell everything to Akshat sir before it's too late, dude. Why the fuck did you trust that stupid Shashank in the first place? Do you seriously believe that he won’t expose the video if you agreed with his girlfriend? Ewww!”, in her usual hurried tone.
I nodded. “You’re right. I can’t compromise. Thanks, guys, you brought the sun into the dark cave I had been hiding all these days.” I smiled and hugged her.
“Of course, dude. What are friends for?”, consoled Tanvi, patting my shoulders.
“Free buffet!”, we heard Karan jumping and squealing from behind us. We turned back and chuckled.
“See, this friendship”, said I, holding Diya’s and Tanvi’s hands, “It's this thick friendship among us that’s now coming to the aid during my tough times. I never had such true friends ever.” Karan chuckled and saluted at me.
“No time for emotions. It's time to hog now. Come, let's go!”, he cheered, dragging Vyomi along. Tanvi, Diya, and I followed him. We joined the queue of students across different branches. It was in our common cafeteria. We grabbed a plate each, rubbed it with white tissues, and began filling our plates with a scoop of each unique dish. There were three special Chinese cuisines including gobi noodles, vegetarian Hakka noodles, and corn rolls. Yummy indeed!!!
Tanvi and I chuckled at Karan’s plate overflowing with gulab jamuns. As soon as we completed the two rows of meals opposite to each other, we headed, occupying both our hands with the meal plate, towards the only six-seater empty table at the corner juxtaposed to the window marking the other end of our mess.
“Haaaa Haaaaaaaaa!”, we were suddenly interrupted by Tina braying from the circular table in the center.
“Looks like some people starved for ages. Haha!”, commented Sana at which Tina brayed again. I raised my eyebrows at Ruhi who didn’t lose the opportunity to offer me a wicked sigh. Sana continued laughing at Tina’s bray, as she cleaned her glasses with the top of her jeans.
“Haha! Guys, it looks like some people here don’t even know what a buffet is and how to eat there”, began Karan, forcing whooping cough to interrupt the three musketeers. Ruhi stood up and folded her hands at us.
“Hey, calm down. No worries, Ruhi. Why am I here then? Let me explain the same. Okay?...”, said Karan. I pinched him and shook my head gesturing for him to ignore their gang and leave. He displayed his palm signaling for me to stay patient.
“So, basically a buffet is…”, he began.
“Shut up, Karan!”, yelled Ruhi, at which the girls of my gang chuckled at each other. She neared me, continuing, “What do you guys think of yourselves? Acting as if only you have brains…”
“Wow! You spoke something sensible for the first time…”, Karan intervened again.
“Stop!”, shouted Ruhi. She looked at me.
I sighed, concluding, “Why are you angry at Karan? Of course, he is right. Look at your plate. There isn’t anything more than a chapati with just one kind of gravy and plain white rice. Sexy! That’s all one has at a buffet? I deny…” I turned to Karan who nodded rapidly after having completed his statement.
“Oh, I see. Naomi, you can’t defend yourself in our arguments”, boasted Ruhi. “Famous foodies and no longer famous five…that's how guys will call your gang from here on. Hahaha!”
“Yes yes, you’re right. You’re a good defender too, especially because you defend non-sense. Anyways, eat as you wish. That's the main agenda of a buffet. Some may prefer eating less while others may wanna hog more. In the end, it's up to you. I’m done! Bye! Happy lunch!”, I concluded, smiling at her friends and walking away.
“Great! Naomi was not only a defense lawyer but also ended up being a judge to resolve this buffet case”, commented Karan, following me.
“What? Buffet case!”, chuckled Vyomi, Tanvi, and Diya, in chorus, as they shrank their eyes at the three musketeers and followed us.
“Hey, wait. How dare you? It's not yet done”, Ruhi continued, at which I hardly bothered to turn back and face her.
“Ouch!”, I exclaimed, stumbling over something. I bulged my eyes on spotting Rishabh standing in front of me. My eyes went over his branded white suit drenched with gobi and paneer gravy. I looked around to witness my friends holding their breaths at me and all others gazing at the mess I happened to create at the university’s mess. I turned back to catch Sana shaking hands with Ruhi who offered her second wicked smile that afternoon.
“Sorry, sir”, I apologized, turning back and bowing at Rishabh, closing his fist and reddening his eyes at me.
“All because of Ruhi, dude. She placed her leg in your way. I happened to overhear their conversation just now”, Vyomi whispered in my ears.
“What’s wrong with you, Naomi? Have you lost it?”, yelled the furious chairman, as I swallowed my fear. This time, it was my fault.
“Sorry, sir, by mistake. I stumbled…”
“Don’t you dare forget that I’m your honorable Chairman. Sometimes, you organize protests against my decision and now you have crossed all limits by insulting me like this. Huh, looks like you don’t want to continue your degree…”
“Sir, please watch your words”, I blushed hearing Akshat’s meek and hesitant voice. I lifted my head to witness Akshat, in a light purple formal shirt inserted into black pants, heading towards us holding a sealed cup of ice cream.
He continued, “Naomi has already apologized to you. Sorry sir, but this happens. We are at a canteen and not in the conference room. When food is commonly seen here, anticipate such situations including some dropping food,” I held my hands and looked at the floor, in shame. “Some stealing food”, continued Akshat, staring at Sana packing some gulab jamoons in her tiffin box. “And so on”, Akshat completed, at which Karan released a slow whistle and I felt my cheeks turning pinker at Akshat standing like the man of the match and frowning at Rishabh.
“Whatever, seriously what is the chemistry between the both of you? Naomi protests for you while you enter just at the right moment to save her from being rebuked. Urgh! But, both of you are irritating me”, commented Rishabh.
“Sir, I recommend you to use the washroom before the gravy fluids flow down to dirty your shoes. I think they have already….”, teased Akshat, at which our gang chuckled and the other students in our vicinity smiled and continued their lunch while Rishabh frowned at us and hurried to the hand wash arena. Akshat and I locked our eyes while I heard my friends leaving towards the table where we had planned to sit. I blushed at Akshat blushing and walking towards me.
“Sexy! You fed almost your entire meal to Rishabh’s shirts”, said Akshat, at which we chuckled at each other.
“Kiku!”, I exclaimed, at which he bulged his eyes and we shared another round of laughter. Naomi, it's only you and Akshat sir. I looked around to not spot Shashank or his friends yet at the cafeteria. This is the right time. I must tell everything to Akshat sir.
“Aye, it's okay. Let's fill your plate again. Come, let me also accompany you”, said Akshat, escorting me towards the buffet.
“Kiku, we can do it later. I need to tell you something more important…”
“Sexy! What else? Thank you?”
I shook my head. “No, sir. That's not the thing. I can’t hide the mess anymore…”
“Aye, see about that, let me repeat, I won’t force you. You can, if you feel free…”
“Kiku, please listen to me. Shh! Don’t interrupt!”, said I, placing my finger on his lips. He blushed at our eyes, losing themselves in each other, once again. I withdrew my finger. “Sir, we are in big trouble. It's only you who can save me. The very matter has been severely disturbing me for more than three weeks now. I have been very blank. I seriously don’t know how to handle the situation…” I swallowed my tears as I happened to see Shashank entering the cafeteria with his two creepy friends dashing a girl and pretending just to be at the doorstep.
“Naomi, go on. What’s that serious matter bothering my Kiku? What happened?”
I turned back to Akshat and shook my head. Looks like my time to escape the creep hasn’t yet arrived. If I spoke to Kiku or texted him, no…I gave it a thought before as well but this is a serious matter that ought to be conveyed face-to-face. I’m back to square one again. Urgh!
Akshat patted my shoulder, making me feel as if a dose of electric current traveled within my body to visit every organ. “Akshat sir, please stay away from me. Why do you keep pestering me? You didn’t have to interfere. I can speak for myself. Please let me go now!”, said I, at which he shrank his meek brownish eyes and shrugged.
As I left my plate on a table and walked away, he caught my hand and stopped. I turned back to fake a frown.
“What happened, Naomi? You were about to say something important and ended up rebuking me for no reason. Kiku, your problem is my problem. I don’t have to mention it either”, he emphasized, pressing my hand hard. Sir, why don’t you understand? Shashank seems to be watching us with additional help from his spies too. I released my hand and ran towards the door.
“Kiku! Kiku!”, Akshat called me from behind. I rushed into an empty lift and broke down. I wept bitterly as the scene of myself screwing sweet Kiku flashed in my mind. I opened my eyes and sobbed as his words echoed in my mind: “Your problem is my problem.” I wiped my tears recollecting how my own mother isolated me in a room when I suffered from flu back during school.
“Sorry, Kiku. I’m really sorry. I’m more hurt than you when I hurt you.” But, why is it so, Naomi? I hurt him. It's logical if he cried. But, why am I crying again for Akshat sir?
Will Akshat manage to learn what Naomi has been hiding from him?
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