HE IS NOT MY FRIEND

I woke up this morning; there were butterflies inside my belly. I felt nauseous because we were close to the station. It had been three days that we spent in the train boogie. My parents came with me. If you are wondering why I am super excited it’s because I am accepted at Benjamin college of Bangalore. One of the most prestigious colleges of India, you can see this college in commercial ads and over dozens of newspapers. After my boards I told my father if I was going college then it shall be this college. My cousin sister Shristi graduated from this college last year. She is the only cousin that I am attuned to, the rest are all barbaric.

So coming to the point, I was thrilled when my dear father said,

“Rosie, you are my only child. I will spend everything for you” well my father occasionally drinks and when he drinks he makes promises but this time I wasn’t going to take it lightly. So the net was set, the trap was ready and the fish was already inside it. My mother was strictly against it.

She said, “Look at your cousins, they have government jobs they can afford big city life. I heard Shristi has a boyfriend there. You will be like her. Hanging on your boyfriend far away from home. Blah blah blah....”

To a certain point dad agreed with mother. Then I couldn’t make him see how I wanted to get out of this small town as soon as possible. I cried all night and in the morning I won.

Me=1, mother=0. Ha I won mother!

My father loves me and he will do anything for me. He is manipulated sometime by me and I hate when my cousins do that to him. They make fun of his walrus moustache and bald head but to me and mother he is handsomest the way he is.

So Rosie Rai was off to big city Bangalore, to fulfil her dreams and to be a new girl.

It’s not that I hate my hometown. I love Darjeeling so much that if God has made the paradise for me then it is my paradise. But I am not dead, I want to feel alive. It’s crazy to think that I would be spending my college years at my hometown and beside I don’t stay with my parents there. I lived seven years with my cruel maternal aunt. Her husband is worst. They make me do all the work. And on weekends they made me fill the Sintex. (as we all know about the water problems of Darjeeling). It was a total Cinderella story, only my fairy godmother and my prince charming was missing.

All work and no play will make Rosie Rai mad one day.

So I decided to save myself from further agony and decided to ditch the hills for another beautiful place.

Thats how I got here.

Bengaluru.

The first day of college I was over the moon. The weather, the trees and the soil, no more mist, no more “Rosie who will do your dishes, your appa!”.

I loved being here. It was as if the universe was in my favour. I was singing loudly at the girl’s hostel.

I made friends with fellow roommate. One was Choden Bhutia from Sikkim and the other was Priya Jain from Rajasthan. Choden was about my height. I think I got my attention towards her because she was from my neighbouring the neighbouring state. She was blessed with round face and beautiful fair skin. She wore glasses that were of a size of a bangle but she looked good on them. Beside she had good sense of dressing. Her hair was straight on her feminine shoulder. From my observation she was coy young girl who would smile whenever she meet my gaze.

Priya Jain was nothing like Choden but she was tan beauty. She looked filthy rich. Her everything was branded from her underwear to toothbrush. She was lean and weak. She had sharp facial features. Her hair was wavy and she had too many shades of red attire. She was little taller than us but due to her lean figure she looked taller than her actual height.

My parents spend their evening chatting with the director of the college who coincidently was a Gorkha. Suraj Mani Pradhan, was a resident of kurseong. Now the city of Bangalore was his home.

I heard from Choden that he owns a big land at the outskirt of the city and an authentic farm house. Dear God, Some people are living such a great life? Here I am dying for a new laptop.

Anyways my stuff was unpacked. I was doing my BA in Benjamin College. And tomorrow it was my first day at the institution.

My Dad became grumpy in the evening as we went across the city for some fresh air. He was very upset about me staying at the hostel. He kept blabbering and my mother nudged me and whispered to me my aunt’s conspiracy.

I knew it that woman needs a detergent for such foul mouth. He was having second thought, of course the city was expensive but come on for once I want to breathe here. I want to fly away from the safe nest. I want to hold on to life.

Next morning I receive a call from my father. They were leaving early, so my father bid me goodbye at 4am in the morning. I was half asleep.

When I woke up, I was late for my breakfast. I had to skip it. I had my oriented classes at 9. The shower was not working. When I hurriedly ascended towards the corridor, I saw Choden with a pale expression, “I am sorry I tried to wake you up but you were dead as a log”

No hard feelings girl! Because when someone disturbs my sleep I usually end up getting a dead sleep. And this time it was my father calling me to say goodbye. Tears swelled up as I recalled his face from yesterday. I‘ve been very close with my father more than my mother and it was killing me that for a year they would be thousand miles away from me.

I ditched my class. I had a nerve to ditch my first class. Choden insisted joining me but I wasn’t going to ruin her life for me. I walked across the lonely student park, the college was still under construction at other side of the land. I heard that they were making professor quarters. It was a huge compound. I went across the swimming pool and care to cry over for saying goodbye to home and to my parents. It’s kind of funny it wasn’t for forever that I had left them but at that moment I felt homesick, alone and stupid. Then I went to the basketball court. It was a decent court with wooden benches covering the perimeters. Beside it was the tennis court. I decide to sit at one of the benches to scratch some sketch on my note book. Not caring that it was now 11am.

While I was busy with my thought, I heard a group of boys howling. I cared not to lift my head and shower them with my attention. Then after a minute they occupied the basketball court I heard them playing. Soon they forgot I was there. The howling was for the game. I was disappointed at the thought but I was stubborn enough to stay there. I was about to finish drawing blue mimosa the ball hit my head hard and I fell on the ground between the bench. It was so embarrassing. My leg was up in air, my upper body was on the floor, God knows where my notebook was. I heard sniggers and a curse. Then two boys came to rescue. It was a surprise that they were Mongolian looking boys. One tall boy had an orange thin band around his head. He had a round face and small sparkling eyes.

He smiled apologetically at me “miss, are you okay?”

I was trembling with embarrassment and anger. I felt a warm gust of emotion rising on my face. I chose to stay silent as I dust off my jeans. The other boy was beaming at me like he was having the best time of his life.

I felt a sharp pain and realise that there was bruise marked by my pencil.

That silly boy clutched my arm and I realise that my arm hurt.

“Ouch, you idiot!” I cried.

“Sorry it was Tsujae’s fault, not mine.” He spit the truth out by pointing at the boy.

That Tsujae fella had the audacity to turn his back on me. He was about to score when the jerk looking boy next to me sold him out. He was tall and strong built. He wore his blue satin sports shorts and sport tees like everyone in the group. His hair was onyx black with a pale skin turn tan around his sleeve lines.

I was pissed that the boy who did me wrong wasn’t sorry for what he did to a girl.

“Jerk!” I said it loud so he could hear it. I saw the expression of the teammate. That Tsujae boy froze too. Then the cute looking guy next to him patted his back with a smile. So he was short tempered too. Unlucky you I can beat you in anger game.

I saw my note book at one corner and I had to rescue that piece of art I had just drawn.

“You!”

I heard the boy name Tsujae call me. It was not the voice of a 19 year old boy. It was a voice of a man coming out of his throat. Though it was muscularly coarse, he had a singing voice. I looked above to meet his gaze. He was indeed handsome boy with a perfect face and the ingredient to make him qualify as the next greek model. His nose, his eyes and his Adam’s apple were both attractive yet repulsive because of the aura he was throwing at me.

“Sorry” he said narrowing his perfect eye brows. I was appalled because his apology was like a forced one word speech. Was I suppose to thank him for knocking me off the bench?

Argh! What a Waste. So I rolled my eyes and I moved across the court to have lunch. I could sense their eyes following me so I had to run away as soon as I left the court. I heard them snigger again and while I turned back. I saw him smirk.

Waste!

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