‘BEEP’, the loud message tone of her mobile startled Tanu. She took the phone suddenly. ‘You have a message from Abhi’, it showed. ‘What’s it now’, she thought and opened the message reluctantly.
‘Heyyy,,,,Cann yuu cumeee onlnnn in 5 minutteess??? Pllss plss plsss,,,,Tanyyy Urgeent,,,!!’
‘Uff’, she thought ‘why do he texts like this all the time?’
During the first few days of their friendship, that is, about two years ago, she would have immediately went online and enquire him what the problem was on receiving such a text. But now, after knowing him too well, this was just another regular message for her. She receives this type of ‘urgent texts’ each and every day from him. His urgency would be something like he lost his notebook or that he misses her.
‘BEEP’, the mobile flashed again.
‘Heyyy,,,comme soonn,,,I’m die ingg herree,,’, it showed.
‘Who taught him to text so badly’, she thought and switched on her lap. She logged into her FB account. As soon as she was online he messaged her.
Abhi: OhhTanyy,,, I hvee to tell uuu sumthnngg,,,, !!
Tanu: What’s it Abhi? Y do u txt me ol d tym?
Abhi: Ohhh Tanyy,,,,,Okk uu cann goo,,,, I won’t txtt yuuu anyymoree,,, I thoghtt thatt uuu caree fooor mee… !!!
Tanu: I’ll call you…thtwil b btr
She always prefersto text or chat with Abhi than to call him. Because she can think well and give wise replies which doesn’t show that she is mad at him due to his over emotional talks. But today she felt so uneasy just by watching his strange and irritating way of texting and decided to call him and end this drama soon.
‘Tany…’,Abhi said.
‘Yea Abhi, what’s it? Say quickly. I don’t have sufficient balance for long talks’
‘Oh…see...Now you don’t have time for me’, he replied sadly.
Tanu let out a sigh. ‘Okay I’m sorry. Say it now. I’m all ears’
‘Tany…Don’t you remember yesterday’s lunch break in our class? I took your purse and played with it without asking for your permission’
‘Yeah sure. So?’
‘When you saw that you snatched your purse away from me and asked whether I took your money. Remember?’
‘Yeah, I do. It was just for a fun Abhi. I just...’ she said but was interrupted by him.
‘Yea yea I know. Then you confirmed it by asking the same question to Amit who was sitting beside me. You know, your new best friend’, he stressed the last two words.
Tanulistened silently and thought ‘this is gonna be complicated’.
Abhi continued, ‘do you know what Aju said on watching this? He said to me that even my best friend does not trust me’
‘Aju, tomorrow is your death’, Tanu thought.
‘Abhi, I just said it forfun. I clearly know that you won’t take my money and even if you do I would be glad to give it to you. Don’t feel bad dear…Please...’
‘But what will the others think?’
‘Abhi, I do this to each of my friends. Friends usually do it with each other. Aju is mad. He is just provoking you’
‘Oh…! Now you complain about Aju! He is a very good friend. He said what he felt frankly. I think good friends usually does this too’, Abhi said. He was irritated. It was clear from his voice.
‘Okay listen Abhi, I’m extremely sorry. I won’t repeat it. I swear. Forgive me Abhi’ , she said and ended the call.
She sat on the couch with her right hand massaging her forehead. It was not easy to put up with Abhi. He is an active boy in the class and very talkative like Tanu. But she didn’t knew that he was so over sensitive and always wanted his friends by his side and pamper him till she reached his best friend zone. But she had now become the best of best friends for him as he would say and it became a mere headache for her.
‘I shall call Teena. Maybe she can help me’,Tanu thought.
Teena was her best friend from primary classes itself. She picked up the call and when Tanu explained everything to her, she told her that the only solution is to tell Abhi what Tanu felt.
‘But he may get sad’, Tanu said.
‘If you don’t, you’ll become a psycho. I know that you have had enough of him. If you go on forgiving and supporting him you will never have a peaceful day. Learn to speak up Tany…’ ,Teena said boldly.
‘Hmm…okay. Let me try’. Tanu texted Abhi to meet her at the Café Coffee Day around 5 pm.
**********
‘Hey Tany…my dear Bestie!’,Abhi entered CCD with a smile and hugged her. He sat down with Tanu.
‘How are you Tany…? I told Aju about our phone call. He was so happy when I assured him that you were just joking with me’ , he said happily.
‘Oh… good to hear that Aju is so concerned about our friendship, Tanu said with a hint of sarcasm.
‘Hey, what do you mean by that?’,Abhi asked quickly.
Before Tanu could say something, the waiter appeared and they ordered for two cappuccinos.
‘Abhi, you still don’t understand anything. You act so childish at times. I’m fed up being nice with you’, Tanu said keeping her gaze to the floor.
‘What? You are fed up with me? Don’t you like me Tany? You told me that I’m your best friend. Was it a lie? How could you? I love you so much more than any of my friends. And what I got in return is this?What is this? What is happening here? Can anybody explain it to me? How…’,Abhi went on ranting.
‘Abhi, stop it. Just keep quiet and listen to me. No one can explain things to you if you go on talking like this’, Tanu said angrily.
Abhi sat with an open mouth. He was shocked by Tanu’s abruptness. She always behaved nicely to him. It was the first time he saw Tanu like this. He didn’t knew that she was suffering a lot because of him for the past 2 years and that she was just expressing it to him for the first time.
‘Abhi, listen. You know, you a bit too sensitive. I know you love me a lot and you express it a lot too. But actually, I can’t take it anymore. You express it in such a weird way’
‘Oh…’,Abhi said, upset.
‘Listen, don’t feel bad. I don’t want you to feel horrible. That’s why I hid it and tried to adjust with you. But unfortunately I couldn’t. You are still my best friend. I know you give a lot of value to friendship. But there’s life beyond that Abhi. You should stop texting and calling me all the time. I’m preparing for my entrance exams and it leaves me with very little time. I can’t always chat with you. You should also concentrate on your studies. When your mom calls me she complains that you are not studying well’, Tanu said and looked at Abhi who looked devastated.
‘But Tany…I love you a lot. I haven’t got a better friend than you. You are my bestie. You...’
‘Yeah yeah I know. Stop being so sentimental. We are friends not lovers. And don’t consider friendship as a game. You think that if I say you are my best friend, you won the game. I’m a human, not a trophy’, Tanu said and had a sip of cappuccino.
After a few moments of silence, Abhi said. ‘Okay I understand. I’ll reduce it Tany. Afterall we are still best friends. Right? ’, he asked anxiously.
‘Of course, we are. No one can change that’, Tanu said and smiled. Their meeting ended soon and both of them returned to their respective homes.
**********
Tanu woke up on hearing the alarm. Since it was a holiday for her entrance coaching classes, she switched on the computer and logged in to FB. There was an offline message from Abhi. It had a link in it. She opened it and saw Amit’s pro pic in which she had commented ‘Cool pic, my bestie!’
Abhi’s message continued as follows
‘Thenn whoo am I Tannyy,,,?? Y doo uu call eachhh and evveryyy person urrr bestie??’
Just when she saw the message, her mobile flashed. It was an SMS from Teena.
‘Hey Babez, how did it go? ;) ‘
Tanu stood up from her chair, opened the door and screamed, ‘Mom..!!! Where are those headache pills?’
**********
Sandra :)