05: About the big Fight

<Prev | Next>

It had just been a day after Sunidhi redrafted the rules of the college, and the students had already started making "SUNIDHI! WE HATE YOU" groups.
"Oh boy! It seems your perfection in the rules didn't come easy to them." commented Smiti as they all walked past a group of juniors making posters with slogans telling Sunidhi to stop killing innocent kids coming to college. They were crossing one of the connectors when a guard standing at the other end stopped Smiti.
"Yes?" Smiti said.
"You need to come with me to the Dean's office." guard replied. He was big and talked like a bouncer.
"Why?? Now are there any rules against walking on the connector? Sunidhi?" said Smiti and looked at Sunidhi. Sunidhi suddenly recalled a clause that she had added to keep the connectors free from rush for them to relax.
Sunidhi whispered to Smiti "Do you have your ID card?"
"Ofcourse! I have it.." she declared and put her hands in her pocket to search for it, continued in a lower tone "in my bag", and further lowered her voice, as she looked at everyone in embarrassment. "And it is downstairs"
"And" the guard began, looking at the door at the other end as if making Smiti realise that now she can't even run back, "you have already come too far, and crossing the connector without an ID Card has given you a golden chance to see the Dean for an offence. Thanks to clause number 666."
"Seriously?" said Kanishk, looking at Sunidhi. The way he looked conveyed "You really kept awake through so much of reading?".
"No.. It wasn't her. There aren't so many clauses in the rules" started Antara. Smiti tried to make the guard forget the punishment and get involved in this intriguing discussion.
"Oh! You wanna hear it too, honey? I'll tell you the whole story. Now go, go! Talk to the dean." said Antara. According to her she was being really kind to Smiti for offering to tell her the story. But only the wise men knew what Smiti was upto and how Antara blew her plan.

[Fifteen minutes later, during Mister Sanal's lecture, the whole class was trying to draw his face on their notepads as he went on and on with his lecture]
"Is he still talking about Machines or he's shifted to the remains of Mohenjo daro?" whispered Rishab to Kanishk.
"Oh! So you're here with us, huh? I thought you're still busy missing Smiti!" snapped Kanishk.
"What's the matter with you?" said Rishab screwing his nose, and then suddenly bringing his face back to 'sincere boy listening to every single word' look. "I thought you'd cooperate".
"'Cooperation'? When did you learn this new word, kid?" replied Kanishk, speaking as though talking to a little boy, and then he brought it back to the complaining tone. "Because you didn't know what it means when I tried to ask that beautiful girl at the Levi's showroom, out."
"Hey! That was my sister." said Rishab.
"And Smiti is mine." Kanishk replied raising his voice, and finally loudly he said "She is mine!"
The class suddenly got filled with pin-drop silence, which by the way was supposed to be the scene during the lecture.
"He's my boy!" celebrated the Professor. "No one in the history has appreciated my work like he did."
He came to Kanishk and hugged him and said that Kanishk could definitely learn more about the new pulley Professor was teaching about and called him to the Mechanics Laboratory after the lecture.
Rishab and Kanishk didn't know whether to get amused or upset. But the class did. They burst out in laughter, but covered it up with even louder clapping of hands (which was just not an applause).

[Time lapse. Anish, Antara, Sunidhi and Armaan sitting were sitting in the cafeteria]
"So, how did you come up with number 666?" asked Armaan, excited to know about the whole thing.
"See!" started Antara, leaving her shake, keeping her bag aside, and pulling a notepad out to explain.
"Uhh, why do you need a notepad for this explanation. It's a simple one. Just that-" said Sunidhi trying to give the reason in very simple words but was interrupted by Antara.
"BLAH BLOOH BLEY BROOM" loudly gibbered Antara, to stop Sunidhi.
"What?" said Sunidhi with a stroke of laughter and confusion.
"So you couldn't understand this little thing I said. How are you so sure you understood my theory? So just keep quiet." said Antara and continued with Armaan.
Anish began to talk to Sunidhi. "So how was it writing the rules?"
"Oh please! Something else." said Sunidhi pulling a comb out of her bag and brushing her hair.
"Something else? Like?"
"Uhmm.. Gossip, Affairs, Relationships and stuff" replied Sunidhi. Vineet entered the cafeteria and sat right next to Anish.
"Hi everyone, EXCEPT ONE" he said.
"Hi!" responded everyone, but Armaan didn't.
"Say Hi to Vineet, Armaan" Antara told to Armaan, like a 'Mom' tells his son when she takes him to an Aunt's place.
"I 'am' the One" replied Armaan.
"Really?" said Antara, smiling and then continued with a doubt which she thought was one of the wisest she had ever come up with. "The Everyone 'One' or the Except one 'One'?"
"Tell me the story about clause 666, Antara!" said Armaan.
"Ohkay!" said Antara, and slightly turned around to look at Vineet. "By the way, I can read it on your face. Something is gonna happen that will make you sad and Anish happy. Actually I'm not really sure, because it will be a mix for Anish. Don't worry. Mother Nature is with you both."
Antara giggled and got back to telling about the clause number 666.

[Rishab, Smiti and Kanishk were sitting in an empty lecture hall. Though the reason was not clear to Smiti, but she knew Rishab and Kanishk were fighting over 'something']
"Guys! What is it with you two? Stop fighting." she said trying to cool them down.
"I don't always start it." said Rishab.
"Yeah! I do. Right?" responded Kanishk.
"Stop fighting like you're husband and wife." joked Smiti.
"I don't. And I don't want to either." explained Rishab.
"Ofcourse you don't! That is exactly why you don't think before you do or say something." replied Kanishk, and turned his head on the other side with a jerk.
"Uhmm, don't you guys think you are really entering a Household fight?" carefully interrupted Smiti, but had neither of them listened.
"'I' DON'T THINK? You give me every reason to be angry with you, but I keep giving you another chance." said Rishab forcefully pointing his finger at Kanishk. Infact, at this point Smiti looked at the finger and thanked God that she didn't come in its way.
"REALLY? YOU DO? And what do I do when I get all that lack of cooperation from you?"
"I don't cooperate?"
"Yeah! You don't." said Kanishk and turned to Smiti. "Tell me, Smiti. Who cooperates more, he or I?"
"Yes! You tell us what 'YOU' think." said Rishab, the finger coming to Smiti with a lot more force.
"You know what I think? This marriage won't work. You guys need a divorce. Lawyer anyone?" replied Smiti to shut both of them up, and started reading a novel she had just bought.

[In the cafeteria]
"Sooo" Antara reached the conclusion, "since I thought the clause was evil, I suggested the clause number to be Devil's number, 666"
"Oh!" said Armaan, his eyes got all bright. "But I didn't get all the story in between. I only understood the last line."
"That's ohkay. That was the only line that meant- urgh- mattered" replied Antara, touching Anish's head like a granny.
Meanwhile Anish and Vineet were discussing about what Antara had just said about Vineet and Anish.
"How can she always be right?" said Vineet, as his brows contracted. He really found it freaky.
"I have an idea. I'm gonna do something that'll make you happy and make me.. Uhh, she didn't talk about me, so doesn't matter" said Anish.
"What?" said Sunidhi.
"Well, you were not involved in this, but since you have asked, I'll use you in my idea. So here we go." said Anish and stood up. Sunidhi was sure that another mishap was about to take place with her. She was always caught in one or the other mishap, anyway.
"I want to make a declaration. Vineet out here is looking forward to get a partner for a date this evening. He's a hunk, and I have seen girls drooling over him. Now just one condition. The girl who comes and kisses Sunidhi will get a date this evening with Vineet" declared Anish and pointed with both hands at Vineet.
"Wha- What?" said Sunidhi, as her expressions turned tragic. Her eyes were all set, and were waiting for Sunidhi to faint. "Another girl? What have I done to you? I am just not ready to kiss another girl. I am not doing it." Sunidhi was blabbering when suddenly she became quiet. And when people turned around to see what had happened, the reactions were weird. It was as though a Nuclear bomb had just been detonated there. After five seconds two sounds were heard.
"Ewwwwwwwwwwwww.. Clear the way! Clear the way!" she said. She was about to throw up.
The other sound was "So! I did it. Do we have a date this evening?"
It was Naresh, the new cleaning boy (who hits on guys, remember?)

[An hour later, in the library]
"What is it?" said Smiti. "Why did you call us all to the library?"
"Yeah! We were planning Vineet's date. We're not sure what to buy, because his date has not made it clear whether we should buy a gift for a girl or a guy!" said Antara, controlling her laughter somehow.
"Huh?" said Rishab, who by the way had called everyone for something important.
"Yeah! He's dating Naresh, our canteen boy?" said Sunidhi, with a smile, and then Smiti and Sunidhi whispered something further and giggled.
"Naresh?" Rishab laughed. "Dude! You could have atleast waited for him to become 'her'. But anyway, guys! I called you here for an important declaration."
"And if you don't make it within next thirty seconds, we might have to hear a weird news, my senses are telling me." said Antara, and turned to Anish. "And my senses are always right, aren't they?"
Anish made faces at her and told her to keep quiet. Rishab gave them a minute to get quiet, and said "I thought a lot about it, and I have decided that Kanishk and I are getting divorced."
"I told him not to wait for more than thirty seconds. Now you know I am never wrong!" said Antara, moving out of the circle they had all made to listen to Rishab. Kanishk came to Rishab, and very gravely asked, "Dude! When Smiti was talking about 'divorce', were you, by any chance looking at some pendulum?"
"That seems to be the only explanation" said Smiti, her voice turning all worried.
"No! No, guys. I mean, a divorce is a contractual end of a relationship of expectations. I think Kanishk and I are having all the fights because we expect a lot from each other. We need to end this. So we'll sign a-" explained Rishab.
"Dude! But I love this. I like the bond we share. That makes us buddies!" said Kanishk. Suddenly, everything was serious.
"No! I don't think it does. I don't think we can be buddies. You and I think differently. And I don't want to create misunderstandings between us."
Kanishk was not ready for this. Rishab, however, knew that things would turn ugly very soon, if this was not done. He had seen what was coming, and to save their friendship he had to do this.
"I- I don't know what to say!" said Kanishk, and his voice began to crack. "I just- I can't-"
Smiti looked at both of them. Nobody knew what to say.
Antara put her arms around Kanishk, and took him aside.
"Why, Rishab?" said Smiti. Rishab didn't have an answer. He just knew that what was a joke today was definitely going to turn ugly very soon.

[Later that evening]
Kanishk was busy on a call.
"I think she called him up! Why else would a miser like him be talking for so long and still not giving us those expressions?" said Sunidhi. She was referring to his 'I think I'll die after this call' expressions.
"So why did you do that divorce thing?" said Anish, taking a sip from his Strawberry shake, for which he had explained that guys do like pink things at times. That had given him a license to get all pink. Yeah! He did buy a pink Shirt and a 'pink'er bag too.
"I'm gonna share something with you that I don't want any questions on." said Rishab, looking at everyone with eyebrows risen in a way that conveyed 'Hope I am clear to all of you'. Everyone agreed.
"I like this girl who-" began Rishab, and was interrupted by a group of responses thrown at him, all together.
"What's her name?" was Sunidhi's query.
"Seriously? That's the reason?" was a doubt from Anish, and a similar one came from Smiti too.
"Does she have blue eyes?" was Antara's response.
"Does she .." was Armaan's. The rest of it cannot be mentioned for obvious reasons.
"Fine! I am not talking about it. But yeah," said Rishab firmly and then turned a little polite as he continued. "she does not have 'Blue eyes' but whatever color they are, they're really pretty."
Everyone was discussing about this huge revelation by Rishab, and he was enjoying being discussed, when Kanishk gave his news.
"Guys! You're not gonna believe what just happened." he said, his was clearly in its celebration mode.
"What?" said Vineet.
"I have a date this evening" Kanishk replied, and turned to Vineet for a little leg-pulling "with a 'girl'. Yeah, Pratigya asked me out." Everyone began to celebrate this and shifted their attention to Kanishk, who was looking at Rishab and smiling. In some freaky code language of expressions he conveyed to Rishab "I am not alone without you. Now, I don't need you." Everyone was talking about Kanishk's new girlfriend.
Rishab could not take this. And he then gave the next big news.
"That girl I was talking about is 'Smiti'" he said. Suddenly everyone was quiet. Kanishk stared at Rishab with a 'Are you sure you wanted to say this? Do you wanna go back in time and correct this?'. This was the last statement said in the audible range for human ears. No one said anything before they finally left for the day.

That evening, Kanishk went for a date with Pratigya; Vineet ditched Naresh (Naresh was mumbling to himself all evening "He's such a Jackass. Why do I love him?"); Sunidhi, Anish, Antara and Armaan went to eat at a nearby restaurant; Smiti and Rishab stayed at the college for another hour, spoke nothing to each other and then left before it could get dark.
[The day concluded]