CHAPTER-40
LOVELY LAWYER
Naomi’s POV
“Akshat sir, why did you call for a sudden meeting?”, asked a woman in a blue sari and round spectacles having thick black-colored frames. “Head, Disciplinary Committee”, announced the green triangular plate on her central desk. I stood closer to Akshat. Both of us stood in the middle of the meeting room whose seats drew a U-shape.
I swallowed my tears, looking around, to capture every face there, frowning at Akshat and me. My head faced down on the white long rectangles constituting the floor design. There were two female members on the left and three on the right of the HOD who sat like a queen at the center.
“Kiku, I’m really scared”, I whispered, in Akshat’s ears. He turned towards me and shook his head. His sweet smile accompanied by the meek and hesitant eyes convincing me, “All OK”, in no words, helped me breathe. He caught my right palm, making me feel safe.
“Respected Committee, sorry about the short notice. Thanks for the duly response though”, began Akshat, looking around to maintain eye contact with every member assembled there.
“No problem, sir. It's our duty to resolve issues. Please tell us what has happened?”, said a lady in a maroon salwar, sitting to my left. She offered me a wide smile. I faked a smile but it was the first moment that made me feel comfortable amongst all the noise populating my brain.
“Thanks, Mrs.Samyukta. It was an emergency so I was urged to arrange this meeting as a high priority today”, replied Akshat. He released my hand and pointed at me. I couldn’t take my eyes off my empty right palm. I need you, Kiku. Never ever let go of my hand again like that, irrespective of the situation.
Urgh, Naomi! What’s wrong with you? How does it matter now? You’re in serious trouble. But, why did I grow anxious at such a tiny thing; as tiny as Akshat holding my hands? Is my heart beating for Kiku?
“She is a second-year law student at our university. Naomi was the topper last semester as well. She is excellent…”, he went on, introducing me to the team. The strict head shrank her eyes and nodded at Akshat’s words. I faked a smile and greeted a simple good morning to each of them.
Akshat turned to me. What’s wrong with him now? An absurd eye contact? His meek and hesitant eyes smiled to arrest mine. I struggled to bite my lips to stop myself from blushing but couldn’t help my black pupils dilating at him. Kiku, focus now and romance later. My heartbeat struck, realizing how I couldn’t move my face away from him. Urgh, Naomi! Stop, you can’t romance him. What’s this, Kiku? First of all, I’m going blank as to how I can control myself. Why are you now shouldering another responsibility on my shoulders to control your heart?
“Naomi and I have been in a relationship. Yes, we love each other”, announced Akshat.
“No sir…”, I was about to oppose that he held my right palm once again. Our eyes interlocked as he blinked once gesturing for me to remain silent.
“Yes yes, I don’t have a memory-loss heart. I remember quite well that you can’t love me. That's enough. As of now, we should get out of this issue. Isn’t it your goal as well, Kiku?”, he whispered. I raised my eyebrows and swallowed my shock. A moment of silence followed his words, as the members threw their mouths open at both of us while the young lady in maroon blushed and chuckled.
“I’m sorry to mention but yes, I agree that we kissed on campus a few days ago”, Akshat surrendered. I bulged my eyes and stood startled at him. The head member was already frowning with red spicy eyes at both of us as if she would hog us alive as if she were an anaconda!
“What nonsense? This wasn’t expected from a popular lecturer like you, Akshat sir”, roared the elderly gentleman as he stood up and shrugged at us. He sat right beside the head lady. I closed my eyes and was about to sob when Akshat held my palm even firmer.
“Naomi! You’re mine and I can’t see you crying. Stop! I’m here”, he reassured, at which I slowly opened my eyes and displayed my tearful eyes at him whose meek and hesitant eyes grew sorry for me. He turned back at the committee.
“Sorry, sir. But, I would like to add here that we didn’t kiss in the classroom. Neither did we kiss within anyone’s field of vision. The spot is one of the privacy zones on our campus. Should we still take the blame for ruining the decorum for I condemn that we haven’t ruined any?”, Akshat began playing his role as our defense lawyer.
Sexy! What a strike, Kiku! I gazed at Kiku and smiled secretly at his idea. However, I now feel that I’m ready to be his girlfriend in real life and not just to fight the case. I blushed at the floor. Wait, what? No, Naomi, you shouldn’t love him. No way!
“What! Kissing was still wrong. Above all, you are a lecturer here. Don’t forget that. Do you want special training to teach you how to keep up your own standards? Especially, you, Akshat, students look up to you as their role model and you…”, argued the head lady.
“Sorry ma’am, but I would like to reiterate the point that neither Naomi nor I is wronged”, Akshat pointed out, in his meek and hesitant voice, “Because, for us to be accused of guilt, there should have been a CCTV camera installed in the spot. Under its absence, it clearly implies that we kissed, but in a privacy zone. Besides, all of us must have witnessed couples holding hands and sitting there during the late evenings. Do you agree?”
The panel members dived into serious discussions among themselves. I shrugged at Akshat who then patted my palm with his fingers followed by a slight nod. I sighed at the disciplinary committee shaking their heads and at other times, nodding at each other.
“But, why are you sharing your private moments with us? We don’t care, right?”, chuckled the sweet lady of the committee, shrugging at Akshat.
“Yes yes! There is, of course, a purpose”, replied Akshat, “It's because….” He faced me. I nodded slowly, with my eyebrows raised along. Akshat sighed. “Someone has shot the scene and interrupted our privacy. That's the whole case we wanted to report.”
“Oh no!”
“Oops! That's really dangerous!”
“What! Who?”
“Sha…Sha…Shashan...Shashank”, said I, trembling. Akshat pressed my shoulders hard as tears accumulated in my eyes.
He nodded and gestured for me to speak. I had been standing dumbstruck throughout the execution till then. It seemed as if I were a culprit wearing white and standing on the witness box while he, my lovely lawyer, in the regular black and white suit, walked to and fro, as he raised point after point to the honorable judge in order to prove me innocent.
“Sir!”, trembled I, sobbing and hugging Akshat firmly as our kissing video, as filmed by Shashank, played on the projected screen in the dark meeting room.
“Naomi, calm down. All OK, as I always say. Don’t worry, your culprit will be punished. Trust me”, he convinced me, massaging my head, as I closed my eyes hard and soaked his light brown formal shirt. I released him yet tightened my palm in his and clung to him like that of a jockey to its mother kangaroo. I swallowed my tears at his brisk smile. I don’t know how, but I felt very secure with Akshat that very morning. I had never been this close to a guy ever before.
“What happened, Naomi? Who is Shashank? Tell us everything only then we can help you”, said the young ma’am in maroon. I couldn’t take my eyes off Akshat.
“Speak up, Naomi. Narrate all the required incidents wherein Shashank troubled you. Reveal his motive right away”, Akshat encouraged me to proceed.
“I’m really scared. What if Shashank?..”
“No, Kiku. He can’t do anything now. That's why I planned to override him and we did it, now.” I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.
“Shashank, a third-year law student, my senior, threatened for me to be his girlfriend otherwise he would leak the video which will in turn defame both Akshat, a reputed lecturer, and myself, a studious student. I had no other choice and agreed to his weird demand. Even before the incident, he had misbehaved with me twice or thrice…”
“I too was a witness once when Naomi had fallen sick”
I nodded and smiled at Akshat. I faced the team, continuing, “He is damn creepy. He started doing video calls during the night…I didn’t know what to do, whom to approach until…”
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?
No sooner did I finish my confessions that the team began conversing about their plans of action. Akshat and I looked at each other and nodded.
“Fine!”, exclaimed the leader lady, raising both her hands up, at which the other members nodded and stayed quiet. I witnessed goosebumps on both hands. Urgh! Shouldn’t have worn a short-sleeved top that day.
“We will get justice. Leave it free, Naomi”, Akshat whispered. I faked a smile.
“Ensure that you don’t kiss once again within the campus. The privacy-zone point is on one side yet I warn you not to, especially, as you are a faculty member. Got it, Akshat sir?”, the leader asked. Akshat and I looked at each other, turned back at her, and nodded, in chorus, at which the sweet member blushed again.
“Of course, many student couples sit there. I have witnessed it myself. But, one shouldn’t interrupt their privacy by shooting videos or taking photographs. This isn’t an acceptable attitude”, declared the leader, in her elderly and commanding voice. She rang the bell on her desk.
“Yes, ma’am”, said a clerk, barging in and bowing at her.
“Call Shashank from the third year right now. Ask him to come here immediately. Got it?”, she roared. He nodded and left, at once.
“Excuse me, ma’am. Good Morning all!”, greeted Shashank, entering in, after five minutes. He checked me out. “Darling! Darling!”, his annoying greetings echoed in my mind. Akshat wrapped me in his cozy arms; aww, he could feel that I felt insecure!
“I’m afraid it will be a bad morning for you, Darling!”, said Akshat, shaking his head and offering a wicked smile. I chuckled secretly at Akshat addressing Shashank as ‘Darling’.
“We know how to handle him. Silence!”, said the leader, frowning at Shashank.
“What happened, ma’am? What have I done?”, asked the creep, striving to sound cool, as he shrugged along.
“Are you planning to defame our esteemed university? Why are you filming couples in college? It's none of your business. There are laws to protect every netizen's privacy. Being a law student, how could you behave this way?...”, she began. Shashank gnashed his teeth. He wore an unreadable face consisting of a mixture of shame, insult, and rage. I breathed hard as I raised my eyebrows at him being rebuked by all the committee members.
“So, just like that, someday, you may end up uploading such videos on Instagram just for it to reach Pune’s troll page. Have you lost it? Don’t you know the consequences of….”, they continued targeting him as if they were sharp arrows and he was a yummy fruit hanging from the only tree in a desert.
“Sexy! Kiku, see, I brought your time”, Akshat boasted, whispering in my ears. I blushed and nodded.
“Thank you, Kiku. If you hadn’t been by my side…”
“Never repeat it ever again, Naomi. Your Akshat will always be here with you. Anytime!”, said he, pinching my right forefinger. Aww, how could I miss you, Kiku? If this isn’t love, how else are we bonded? Urgh! Guru Devo Bhava! No, I shouldn’t love him. Akshat is my lecturer. No way, I can’t love him. I shook my head and reminded myself again.
“Done! How adamant of you? You aren’t even ready to acknowledge your fault. One month suspension”, shouted the other man in the panel. Akshat and I smiled at each other. I shrank my eyes and enlarged my throat at the villain.
“Shit!”, Shashank exclaimed, kicking the door behind him.
“Mind your language!”, roared the young lady, frowning at him. Akshat waved and chuckled at Shashank who closed his fist, just a little harder from letting drops of blood out. Thanks to the universe for not including Rishabh sir on the team! Phew!
“Hmm, keeping in mind that you’re a final-year student, I stopped with a month. If a junior was in your shoes, I'd have punished them to repeat a year”, the head lady shouted, carrying the register and walking away to exit.
“Ramlal, ask the typist to hand over the suspension letter to these rogue torturing girls within the campus”, she ordered and left, with her crew getting up and following her like the army of ants traveling to attack their target rich in sugar.
“Don’t be scared. Let us know everything upfront, then, and there. These issues need a lot of attention, in fact, much more than what could be expected”, the lady in maroon patted my shoulders. We nodded and smiled at each other before she greeted Akshat and left.
“Thank you, respected team!”, Akshat and I thanked the departing team, in chorus. We blushed at each other as our eyes hugged again. I bent down to hide the strand of hair behind my ears. I felt my cheeks turning rosier as I turned away from Akshat. I felt his fingers nearing my face.
“Shit! Shit! Shit!”, exclaimed Shashank. We turned back to face him.
“Sexy! Aye, come let's go there and talk to the poor fellow”, chuckled Akshat, holding my hand and pulling me along.
“Why, sir? No, this isn’t required. Let's just drop the matter here. Glad that the disciplinary committee understood our point of view and got him punished….”, I whispered, opposing him.
He chuckled, shrank his eyes, and shook his head rapidly. “How to take it so easy, Naomi? He has hurt you”, said Akshat, touching my chest with his right index finger at which I blushed. His eyes colored mine with something special. No, what’s special, Naomi?Nothing. Absolutely nothing. I closed my eyes and shook my head.
“Sexy! Beautiful Naomi!”, he neared my ears and complimented me, at which I blushed to the fullest, this time. He frowned as he headed towards Shashank pulling his ID restlessly and restraining to take his eyes off the floor.
“Hi Darling!”, Akshat called Shashank, patting him hard on his back; he, I guess, almost bet him! I blushed to see a guy fight for me, for the first time, in my life. Aww, am I really so special to you, Kiku?
Shashank frowned and grabbed Akshat’s collar. Akshat smiled and released himself like a hero!
“Aye, chill, Darling! I have hardly come here to screw you”, said Akshat, wrapping his right arm around Shashank’s neck. “The team meant to rebuke you have already carried out their duties perfectly and left. I want to talk to you, Darling”, dragged Kiku, triggering me to chuckle, in silence.
“Having heard that Shashank Darling has been suspended..wait, for how long, Naomi?”, my naughty guy pulled me in!
“So sad to say that the duration is as long as a month!”, added I.
“Sexy! Kiku, keep it up”
“In that case, lemme see…hmm” He shook his head. “Nah! When will he visit college next, Naomi?”
“Hmmm…sad again…He will miss lectures and above all, the last internal. Fish! What’s this, Darling?” I bulged my eyes and threw my mouth open, on purpose.
“Aye, Kiku is mine. You are my darling, Naomi!”, specified Akshat, pulling me closer.
“Shut up!”, Shashank roared to the pitch.
“Take this and leave right away”, informed Ramlal, entering and pushing a letterhead into Shashank’s hands.
“How are you, Ramlal? Long time!”, greeted Akshat, grinning and handshaking with the servant. “Tea to my cabin?”
“Sure, Saahab!”
“Great!”
“Kiku, do you literally know everyone at Janki University?”, I enquired, raising my eyebrows. He chuckled.
“You too know Ramlal. We have met him before…Think, think, medam!”
“What? No, sir…”
“Hmm, leave, you won’t understand. Forget it!”, diverted Akshat, blushing and holding my hand again. Aww, how many times will you keep holding my soft palms?
“Oooo, coming back to you”, Akshat continued, at Shashank, “Missing internals is the hardest. You will need to beg from table to table requesting every faculty member to conduct a retest just for you. Sexy! In case of any help, contact me…Actually, I too handle the third year. Who are your lecturers? Maybe I can talk…”
“Shut up! Abhey saale chutiya ladki kya mil gayi iss launde ko itna hilaaoge?...(curse words)”, yelled Shashank, grabbing Akshat’s collar once again. As the two men pulled each other’s collars and fought, exposing all their rage out, I caught Akshat’s hands and applied all my force to release them from Shashank’s collar.
“Kiku, please leave. He is a creep. Fuck him!”, said a tense me, trying to pull his hand away but, all in vain.
“Aaah!”, I exclaimed, falling upon Akshat. My pendant protruded out and oscillated as our eyes interlocked, with his cozy arms around my hip and he blushing at me. I breathed hard. Why can’t I hear my heart beating again?
Sexy! Is Naomi indeed falling and feeling for Akshat?!
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