chapter 25

The Best SurpriseBack to College – Year 2003: Semester 4“No way!” Sarv exclaimed as he read through the letter.“Yes way!” I smirked.“But why?” Shiva added thoughtfully.“I don’t know. I just see it as a chance to be reunited with Rakshit,” I explained them my actual agenda. Their expressions softened instantly.“By the way, thanks for not freaking us out last night,” Shiva glared at me. “We called and called and called. But you didn’t pick up. You were not at college, you were not with Sohail. We don’t have Pratham’s number. We were out of our bloody minds. We were about to go to Police when Sarv tried your phone one last time, and Pratham answered.”“What?” I asked, shocked. I didn’t realize they were calling.“Yeah. He informed us that you were with him, and given he didn’t take your advantage the last time, we let it be.” Shiva slapped my shoulder. Her slap hurt me a little too much, maybe I was broken physically too. “I don’t know what happened to me,” I massaged my shoulder.“You must admit, you love Pratham,” Shiva started. I got up and went to the washroom in hopes of evading this conversation. However, when I came back, Shiva continued.“You need someone when we are gone!” She had the most harassed expressions on her face.“We have two more semesters. You are not going anywhere until next year,” I started, but the way they both exchanged a look, it said otherwise.“We didn’t want to tell you before, but we had applied for an internship next semester and got it,” Sarv explained with a very careful and earnest look.“Internship as in?” I asked skeptically.“A full semester internship in Chennai with a stipend. It would help us get a good MBA college. We would come back only for exams,” he answered. Ideally, such news should be announced merrily, but they both had guilty looks on their faces.His words came as a huge blow to me. Yes, they both were acting distant lately, but not having them around at all was a totally different matter. I composed myself and spoke, “See, I knew you both would eventually leave me. You are together now and have similar aspirations. Anyway, don’t worry about me, I will manage.”Much to my shock, Shiva started crying at my words. I knew our parting of ways would be a tough decision, but I never imagined her crying. We consoled her, made jokes, and dropped the topic for now.However, the topic could not be avoided for long because a big notice was hung on all boards across the college. It read: “Congratulations for bagging full-semester internship.” and underneath it was a list of five names… and the names on the second and fourth position were of my best friends. I was devastated.“How do you feel bested by your two weird friends,” I heard a whisper next to me. It was Riya. Her jealousy had surpassed Tam’s ever since I got Sohail’s contract. I didn’t bother responding to her and walked away. “So, when are you both leaving?” I asked my friends. They were sitting in the class studying together. That’s what they did now, studied all day and romanced all night. I wondered when did they sleep.“Err…” Shiva started, but Sarv added, “As soon as the term ends.” I nodded as I sat down.“You know it is a very tough internship, but it would help us a lot,” Shiva explained. “Are you angry?” she asked, worried.“No, just feeling betrayed,” I spoke to the wall. They didn’t respond. “You could have told me before. I wouldn’t have stopped you. I would have encouraged you and helped you. But you didn’t trust me enough, did you?”“Don’t be dumb. We didn’t tell because there was no point bothering you until it was final. We found out last week. We wanted to tell you the same day, but you were sleeping at –” Shiva stopped abruptly. The words ‘sleeping at Pratham’s’ would have caused a riot in our college. “And the next day –”“You started crying,” I finished her sentence. They nodded glumly, and I let it go. They had done enough for me, and them choosing their own ways was perfectly justified.“I am fine, I anyways have to focus on this bloody contest. Pratham had asked me to enroll in grooming classes, some meditation classes, and God knows what else. Also, he wants me to shed some weight,” I paused to roll my eyes. Shiva smirked. “I would be swamped this whole year,” I continued, and Shiva got too excited suddenly. Me participating in the contest – we were not supposed to disclose it yet – was her fantasy.“And I feel I am being followed. I see a man everywhere I go,” I stated my doubts, and they exchanged another look. Before they could make any guesswork, I continued, “Pratham suspects it is the people from the contest. He said they are very strict about their rules. They don’t want any tampering etc. So, it is a procedure to stalk,” I shrugged, and Shiva relaxed.“You are not doing anything illegal, so it’s all good. You are not. Right?” she added, giving me a motherly stare.“Of course, I am not.” I smiled, and they relaxed. Time flew by in all studies, exams, shoots, and all additional grooming and meditation classes.We wrote our exams in Mid-May, and even before our results were out, Shiva and Sarv packed to leave. Now I was depressed beyond comprehension. How would I spend my two months break? Pratham was as usual distant – all thanks to me – and without my solace, i.e. my friends, I would go mental. However, I didn’t show and helped them pack.“Sorry darling, we have to go early because we need to find accommodation and adjust to Chennai. They will drown us in work from day one, and we won’t be able to do anything then,” Shiva apologized. I didn’t say anything. “But don’t worry, we will spend your birthday first, and in a way that you would remember forever.” She beamed, but I just smiled. What was the benefit of having an epic birthday, if everything that followed would be rotten and hollow? The night before my birthday, Shiva called some grooming girls and made me swear that I would do whatever she asked of me. She called it a ‘farewell gift’.“You want a farewell gift on my birthday? Shouldn’t you be giving me gifts?” I asked sarcastically, and she shrugged. A girl started with my facial, and luckily, all meditation and grooming classes had helped diminish the marks on my face. Shiva was still shocked to see me. “Have you been applying makeup at home too?” she asked, her mouth hanging open. I didn’t respond.Another girl applied henna on our hands. Shiva insisted I do my feet as well. I denied thinking it as over-doing, but Shiva got it too. “We match,” she beamed.I couldn’t understand what she was playing at, but spending time – just the two of us – felt nice. We talked for very long and discussed our future plans. Shiva and Sarv would be writing GMAT in a few months, and once selected, they would be off to their MBA college. I, on the other hand, was getting a lot of modeling offers, and though Pratham was denying them, I was planning to accept a few – just to pass my time.We talked till late, and the next morning we went to a mall.“Where is Sarv?” I asked.“Gone home due to some emergency. He has to take care of some things before he leaves,” Shiva informed.We went to the food court, and Shiva asked urgently, “The man who follows you, is he here?” Something in her tone bothered me. Still, I walked casually around the counter and spotted him. He was standing at a distance and was pretending to wait for someone. I pointed at him discreetly, and Shiva growled at him. He was a stout, mustached man.We lingered around the counter for some time, then dropping one of her bags on a table, she dragged me to the washroom that was in the farthest corner.“There was one next to the food court,” I argued.“Oh, it was dirty, I heard a girl complain,” she spoke a bit loudly when we crossed that man.“What are you up to?” I eyed her as we turned towards the bathroom. The bag Shiva had left was still visible from the position, and the man was watching it suspiciously.“Wear this,” she said, handing me a package. I looked down at the clothes I was currently wearing, they were brand new. I was about to complain when she pushed me in a cubicle hurriedly. She occupied another cubicle, and by the sound of it, it seemed she too was changing.“Why am I wearing a burkha?” All the secrecy was making me anxious.“Shush and change quickly,” she ordered in a hushed tone. I plunged into the bag and saw a gorgeous salwar suit too. ‘Wow,’ I whispered as I checked it out. It was red and golden. I changed into it and wore burkha on it. I stepped out and much to my surprise, Shiva too was in burkha.“Let’s go,” she hissed, and together we stepped out and took the stairs next to the washroom. Shiva peeped, and the man was still staring at the bag we had left. We climbed down four flights of stairs and were panting heavily when we finally reached the parking. Shiva pointed at a car, and the driver drove towards us.“Whose car it is?” I gawked at her, from under my burkha.“Shut up and get in,” she pushed me inside. She sat next to me, and we drove out.   “Mind telling me what’s going on?” I peered outside; we were now crossing the heavy traffic of the mall.“Just wanted to celebrate your birthday in the most kickass way. And those stalkers don’t need to know,” she remarked. “Your bag?” I exclaimed, suddenly remembering.“Oh, that was the old bag which had some rough books from the first year. Don’t mind them,” she dismissed casually. She had planned everything.We took off our burkhas in the car, and I was shocked to see that even Shiva was wearing a blue salwar suit. She never dressed traditionally! She pulled out matching sandals, jewelry, and bangles for both of us. Now I was anticipating something huge; if she had planned so much, it must be spectacular. I just wished that Pratham too was a part of this plan.It took us two hours to reach our destination. The driver halted outside a temple. It was a big temple, but there was no crowd outside. “What?” I asked, shocked.“Take the blessings first,” Shiva rolled her eyes as she started to walk.“Oh, we are late,” I stopped Shiva and pointed at the board which stated that the temple was currently closed. “It’s already 2 pm. Maybe that’s why it is empty.” “Never mind, we are already here. Let’s pray from the outside, at least.” She insisted and dragged me on. We finally reached the temple door, and what waited for us there rose goosebumps all over my body.