CHAPTER-8
SURPRISE TEST
Chapter Highlights…
“Rohini!”, I called. She turned to me.
“Hmm…Hmm...Urgh…”, dragged I, shaking my palms and shutting and opening my eyes restlessly.
“What, machan?”, asked Sameer.
“Wait wait I wanted to ask something but forgot”, clarified I, as Rohini chuckled at me.
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Dhilip’s POV
“Rohini!”, I called, breathing hard as I bent forward and rested my hands on the knee joints. Drops of sweat dominated my forehead as I held my breath spotting her standing all alone inside the lab and looking around. Thick orange flames already ran along the borders to complete a perfect burning square in the room. Rohini wore her bag and took a step to and fro, not knowing how to escape the trouble.
“Help! Help!”, she screamed, weeping bitterly at me. I felt tears accumulate in my eyes as I noticed her sobbing alone. Why did I sob for someone else? I doubt if I had ever gone through such an absurd experience. I was standing outside. I was in the safe zone. In all, I didn’t have a reason for myself to have invited those tears. Meanwhile, Rohini hurried to jump over the fire at the entrance but backed off every time she neared. I couldn’t take my eyes off her.
Chuck it. If not I, someone else will help her. Why should I risk my life for a random classmate? I turned around but couldn’t walk away, leaving her suffering behind. Why? What’s wrong with you, Dhilip? You aren’t a firefighter. For the first time in my life, I felt I actually cared for someone, from the bottom of my heart, for I wanted to save her; I felt she was my responsibility just like my family.
“Rohini! Calm down”, said I, raising my meek and hesitant voice. Her red eyes looked into my light brown ones. “I’m here. I will rescue you..”
“No, Dhilip. That's not fair. Can you please call the guard?”, she shouted, closing her ears with both palms as the fire spread furiously on the wall and some books there burnt, leaving the pages sizzling. “I can’t be selfish…”
“No, you aren’t. It's my decision to pull you out of here. I volunteer!”, I clarified. At once, I jumped over the short flames crowding at the entrance doorstep. I ran towards her. She hugged me firmly and soaked my chest with tears. I blushed at her petrified tears as she closed her eyes and pressed my back hard. I looked around to spot nothing other than the blue rolling chairs standing in front of the desktops put across every row.
I patted her shoulder with force good enough to ignite a shock all over her body. She lifted her head up and displayed her exhausted eyes at me. Aww, I could read the fear of loneliness more than the fear of fire. Nah, don’t worry, Rohini medam, you will never be alone again when I, just your Dhilip saar, is in your area.
“Let's grab a chair each and hit that window glass hard”, I suggested, pointing at the big window sealed thoroughly and spreading across the wall from the entrance door to the wall marking the end of the room. I hugged her at the sharp and loud sizzling sound emerging from the flames growing tall along the borders of the entrance door and burning the poor wooden door.
“Come come let's leave soon”, said I, grabbing a chair while she grabbed another. I held her hand and pulled her a step or two back, to keep away from the flames right below the window. “Three two one”, I counted, after which we struck the glass together utilizing all the energy our mitochondria had been saving for months together. We closed our eyes and turned our heads away, in sync, as fine pieces shattered on the ground.
“Ouch! Dhilip!”, she freaked out, at the short flames gathering at the fumes climbing up to surround the half-broken window. “I’m scared. I’m sorry for you, Dhilip. I’m sorry”, she clung to me and continued weeping.
I agree that love is unanticipated. I also agree that the identity of our lover is a true mystery
until we feel the love!
Following the same lines, one thus ends up falling for a bad partner-the wrong love. It's fine!
Making a wrong decision is common among ordinary homosapiens like you and me.
However, correcting our blunder and returning to our right love is a worthy question whose
answer may either be a ‘YES’ or a ‘NO’ or sometimes a combination of both! There is only one
superpower that can answer this query: ‘TIME’
“No, Rohini. This isn’t the time to cry”, said I, wrapping my arms around her waist. I carried her in my arms and jumped out of the window. We fell upon each other, just outside the lab. We looked into each others’ eyes for an entire minute.
“Quick! Quick!”, yelled the tall and slim security guard, walking slowly in a white formal shirt inserted into black pants. “Neevu ready aage irbekku(You should be ready). Don’t forget that we are in the security department. Eshtu sali dinaa belege helthini nimge? (How many times do I remind you of the same every morning?)Urgh?”, the strict officer yelled.
I released Rohini from my arms and got up. I blushed, extending my hand downward, and offered her to get up. We looked at the three security guards rushing with the fire extinguishers whose lids they then twisted to nullify the dreadful flames in the lab. I rushed Rohini into the nearby empty classroom.
“Are you fine?”, asked I, turning her around like a merry-go-round and checking her out to spot no signs of flame attacking her bag or attire. She nodded while her beautiful smile captured me.
“I don’t know how to thank you, Dhilip. I owe you my entire life”, she thanked, smiling and wrapping me firmly in her cozy arms. I released her.
“Anyone in my place would have acted in the same way”, said I, gesturing for her to take a seat and offering a bottle of water. She gulped in two mouths and offered her bottle to me. I drank a mouth and sat beside her. We chuckled at each other. She sighed, closed her eyes, and leaned backward.
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“Well done, my dear son! Hahaha!”, said the divine voice within me.
“But, such an incident didn’t occur back then in 2019. I remember everything clearly. Why are you adding conflicts? Wasn’t I gifted to relive?”, asked I, looking up at the pink gardens in the sky. I, in a white suit, was back in my brown narrow house. The white bright light thrown directly on me, from the sky, burst another round of laughter.
“Reliving the exact same incidents isn’t a fair test to help us decide if you should be gifted with your true love or not. In that case, you will be prepared with every little thing upfront. What’s the big deal then? That's why there will be twists such as the fire this time to test to what extent you will go to save your right love."
"I’m glad to announce that you passed the first test, son. Keep it up. If you pass all these surprise tests, no doubt we will bless you with your right love. Hahaha!”, the heavens completed their words, shutting my doors and closing my eyes to resume my reliving journey.
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As I was engrossed in chuckling and gossiping with my gang, my eyes went over Rohini chuckling at Vaishnavi as she headed towards their desk. Vaishnavi and Fathema sat at the desk in front of mine. Rohini hugged Vaishnavi as usual at which the other girls of their gang laughed while Vaishnavi nodded. “Dudeeee!”, she exclaimed, sounding like a tractor laying tar on a road.
“Rohini!”, I called. She turned to me.
“Hmm…Hmm...Urgh…”, dragged I, shaking my palms and shutting and opening my eyes restlessly.
“What, machan?”, asked Sameer.
“Wait wait I wanted to ask something but forgot”, clarified I, as Rohini chuckled at me. I sighed. “Rohini, I need your DLC notes”, asked I, sitting cross in a diagonal pose.
“Ok”, she agreed, in a soft tone.
“I’ll get it for Xerox after lunch break”, said I, at which she nodded. We got up as Manish sir entered our class. Rohini returned to her seat at the front desk.
Sexy! I remember it, Rohini medam. And I forgot to ask you again at two. You too pretended to forget and silently escaped like a cat dropping utensils and sneaking out. Hmm, perhaps she hesitated to share her notes when we had just met and were just classmates back then. But, what a twisted life gifts us with. The girl whose notes I forgot to borrow the other day, gave away all her heart to me today. Hardly could I guess it back then. Hmmm, how sexy life is!
Aww, will Dhilip go beyond his random classmate relationship with Rohini?
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