Happy Reading

Tuesday.

Naina saw the date and day hung on a calender in a book store. She was on her way to board the Mumbai local train with the rest of the gang.

Tuesdays and Thursdays were different than the other five days of the week. MunDit had informed her on last Sunday that Sameer will be going to the university with them on every Tuesday and Thursday from the next week. The attendance was never the problem with him it was the only thing he saw in hindsight to be around Naina.

As the gang of five boarded the local, Naina saw her faint reflection in the greasy mirror near by. Her hair could drip oil, her over powdered face and the two too tight pigtails she made, made her look nothing short of comical.

"Ye kya hulia banaya hai?" Preeti had asked Naina when they had seen her the first time in the morning. Swati on the other hand had fallen on the couch laughing.

"Naina!" Asha had let out a shocked scream "Ye kya hai beta? Agar tumhe lagta hai ki aise taiyaar hone se mai tumhe aaj college skip karne dungi to aisa kuch nahi hoga! Are bhai jawab dena hota hai mujhe tumhare parents ko."

"Hum nikal hi rahe hai Aunty" Naina had replied and dragged the two of them out.

Even MunDit had a hard time muffling their giggles when they met the girls at the corner of the street.

Naina saw herself in the mirror and buried herself in shame. All eyes in the coach were on her. Naina tried to hide behind her friends but they were of no help either. They kept laughing looking at her and the worst of her angry glares couldn't hold their giggles back.

Back in school when Sameer had started taking interest in Naina she had poured a whole oil can on her head to drive him away but it didn't work then. She hoped that it will work now.

As the gang entered VJN University's campus they could notice all eyes on Naina and people laughed shamelessly right on Naina's face.

"Koi kaam nahi hai tumhare paas?" Swati almost slapped one of their classmates when she found her laughing near the gate.

"Jaane de Swati." Naina stopped her and walked inside the college building ready to face all the humiliation.

"Naina ke pet me bahut badi dadhi hai" Munna said

"Dadhi?" Pandit bit his nail "Kya Chenu? Ek to Dadhi pet me nahi muh par hoti hai... Aur Naina ladki hai uski dadhi kaha se aayegi? Maine kaha tha ... Kaha tha maine itna achar mat kha chadh gayi gas dimag me."

"Tu Ponga ka Ponga hi rahega" Munna slapped Pandit's arm "Ye muhavra hota hai."

"Ho gaya tumhara?" Preeti said and pulled Pandit towards the building. Munna jumped and pointed to the building indicating a Pehle Aap to Swati. She walked away with her chin showing her annoyance to Munna but he followed her with a glad smile and excessive blush.

_________

12:27 pm

Sonakshi excused herself from the other creatives.

She shut the cabin's door behind her, looked here and there for a while and whistled for a while as she walked towards the canteen. She hurried and stood behind a Peepal's trunk. She waited for Dev. He would soon be out of the set or vanity and head towards the canteen for a quick snack. Everyday she hid somewhere and as soon as she saw him she would come out and behave as if she met him by accident. Every. Single. Day.

The sky was clear and cloudless, a rare event these days as Mumbai was experiencing its first spells of monsoon.

Dev came out of the set. Sonakshi checked her appearance. He was still far from the canteen's door. She saw him and didn't realise when an innocent stare turned into full fledged ogling. She noticed that his 90s costume didn't suit his skin tone much. She made a mental note to talk to his stylist. She could recall all his costumes, the day he wore them, the scene they shot. Every detail of his was imprinted in her mind with astounding intricacy.

She heard a slam and came out of her thoughts. Through the canteen window she could see the back of Dev's shirt. She smiled, hit her temple with her hand and walked inside.

Sonakshi walked inside the canteen with an indifferent and preoccupied air.

"Chotu cold coffee" Sona ordered and then pretended to have noticed Dev's presence only at that moment. "Oh Dev!"

"Oh Sona!" Dev smiled "Were  you not check me out? ... Bahar ped ke peeche ... Chotu sandwich aur cola de."

"Ch..check out? Nahi... Nahi toh. Mai tumhe kyu check out karne lagi bhala?" Sonakshi felt her breath getting erratic. Each word took enormous efforts to speak.

"Because I am me." He shrugged his shoulders with a casual air.

"Tum? Samajhte kya ho khud ko? Lambi gardan wale zebra lagte ho!" Sonakshi almost screamed to prove her point.

Chotu kept their orders on the table with a thud. Dev picked his tray and cocked an eyebrow. Sona grabbed her cold coffee and stormed out of the canteen.

____________________

"Jab baal dhoyegi na to mast effect aayega" Preeti said.

"Khaakh mast effect aayega? Ye tel ki khan na saari dust attract karegi aur hair fall hoga." Swati said in a matter of fact tone.

"Manhoos shakal hai to manhoos baatein karegi?" Naina closed her eyes in irritation.

The girls were waiting for the boys in Red Rose Restaurant.

"Manhoos shakal aur meri?" Swati laughed as if Naina had said the most ridiculous thing in the world. "Apni shakal dekhi hai aaj?"

Naina touched her cheek and some powder rubbed off on her fingers. She heard Preeti giggle and turned to her. If eyes could burn Preeti would have been reduced to ashes at that very second.

"Kya hai?" Naina gave her a violent nudge when Preeti didn't stop laughing.

"Tera poora face white hai aur gal par se actual skin dikh rahi hai."

"Toh?"

"Dayan lag rahi hai." Preeti had to hold the table for support. She had no intentions to fall from the table while laughing.

Naina looked at her ragged white kurta with shocking pink leggings. She shifted her feet to have a better view of the bathroom slippers she wore. Hindi film heroines present themselves in front of the hero in the best of forms and sing sajna hai mujhe sajna le liye. Naina too had hummed the tune in the morning but had completely different intentions than the girls in the films. She felt that Sameer would run away after having one look at her. Why not? He was a celebrity. She wasn't even presentable that day. He would surely run away.

SaMunDit entered the restaurant. Sameer wore a black shirt with denims to impress Naina with his simple yet appealing appearance. He scanned the entire place but couldn't find her. Munna-Pandit had spotted Swati and Preeti on a table in the corner, next to the window. They were sitting with a new,oddly dressed girl.

"Aaj Naina me mata aayi hai ... Bach ke rahio bach ke." Munna told Sameer.

"Par Naina hai kaha?" Sameer asked him.

He followed Munna's finger and looked at the new girl. A closer look and strain of eyes made him realise that the girl was Sushri Naina Agarwal herself! A bewildered, amused expression escaped from his face even before he could stop it. He felt a slight giggle escaping his mouth but he controlled it just in time. He knew Naina's tactics. She had done this earlier to drive him away from her.

Pagli!

He still sat next to Naina. Munna dumped himself in the seat next to Swati. PreeDit sat across the table facing each other.

"Kya khaoge?" Swati asked them and the demands came flying in.

"Pao Bhaji" Naina and Sameer said it together. She out of sheer craving and he to gain browny points in front of her eyes.

"Sandwich" Naina changed her choice.

"Mera bhi same." Sameer added.

"Dosa"

"Mera liye bhi"

"Zeher"

"Mer...." The words dried in Sameer's mouth.

"Theek hai to 4 samose, 1 dosa, 1 sandwich, 4 cola, 1 zeher aur tum kya loge Sameer?" Preeti re-said everyone's order for confirmation.

"Ye zeher denge?" Pandit bit the tip of his nails in deep thought. Preeti slapped his hand.

"Pao Bhaji kar do." Naina said in defeat.

"Sameer?" Munna asked him

"Pao Bhaji hi le aana."

All four of them left to get the orders . Sameer looked at Naina with anticipation but she looked away. He had to do something to gain her attention and then talk to her.

Kya karu? Kya karu?

A memory raced back in his mind. A code that they had devised in school- Two taps of pen, two taps of book on a desk, two phone rings, two coughs, two taps of the bell, two honks and the other person had to answer. Two rings on Naina's phone and she didn't had to check who was calling even. It was a kind of code between them and they had to respect it no matter what.

Sameer picked up a spoon from the table and tapped it on the table, twice.

Thak Thak

The sound took Naina down the memory lane.

Thak Thak

She turned to face him and he gave a sly grin. The code worked.

"Kya hai?" She raised her eyebrows.

"Yeh kya kiya hai?" He pointed at her face. The truth was he didn't know where to start from.

"Powder hai dikhai nahi de raha?"

"Kuch zyada hi dikhai de raha hai."

Naina looked for a hint of apprehension in his actions, the slightest of change in body language which said that he hated to be seen talking to a girl like her. There wasn't even a faint sign of that kind on his face.

"Naina ... Mujhe tumse baat karni hai." He had rehearsed the talk in his head a million times.

"Mujhe nahi karni." She looked away again. He had expected this. "Aur waise bhi ... Hum ek dusre ko jaante kaha hai itni acchi tarah se. Haa hum same school me the par mujhe tumhare saath koi aisi khaas interaction to yaad nahi."

Her words stung him but he hanged on.

"Tumhe yaad hai baaki ladkiyon ke saath kho kho khelte huye tum gir gayi thi aur rone lagi thi?" He asked her with hopeful eyes.

"Aisa kuch bhi nahi hua tha. Mai pareshan ho gayi thi kyuki mere joote
nahi mil rahe the aur baad me tum ne hi to.." She stopped in mid sentence. He had caught her off guard.

"Tumhe kuch yaad nahi?"

She didn't feel the need to reply. Sameer tapped the spoon on the table twice.

"Yeh bhi yaad nahi hai?"

Naina could feel tears welling up in her eyes but she stopped herself from breaking down in front of him.

"Tumhe wo ladki yaad hai jisko tumhare doston ne itna pareshan kiya tha ki wo dar kar school nahi aati thi? Tumhe yaad hai kitni baar maine tumhe bunk karte aur smoke karte pakda tha? Tumhe yaad hai ki tumhare doston ke pakade jaane ke baad tumhe aankh mila kar baat karne ki himmat nahi hoti thi mujh se." Naina felt like holding his collar and slapping him hard.

"Tumhe yaad hai humare school me ek water cooler area tha wahan tumhare joote chori huye the, wahan maine tumhe amul ki chocolate di thi, wahan pani leak kar raha tha aur maine apne hanky se usko theek kiya tha taaki tum pani pee sako, wahan jab tum pehli baar mujhse naaraz hui thi to maine tumhe ek rose diya tha, wahan maine tumhara haath ..." Sameer stopped in mid sentence. The water cooler was where he held her hand for the first time. "Ek galti Naina ..."

Naina looked at him. He was asking for forgiveness. A lot of time had passed between the last photoshoot at school and this conversation in Red Rose. He looked apologetic, ashamed of his mistake. She should be the bigger person and forgive him but the forgiveness didn't come to her naturally. She didn't have it in her to forgive him for a blunder that didn't affect her directly but it did had the intensity to shake the base of their friendship.

"Maine tab tumse baat karne ki koshish nahi kari, kyuki mai khud se bahut naaraz tha. Ab toh sun lo Naina ki hua kya tha?" Sameer said.

"Kya hua tha? Tum logon ne kisi ka bachpan barbaad kar diya." Naina said.

"Meri sirf itni galti thi ki maine un logon ko roka nahi jinhe mai dost kehta tha. Mai chahta toh unhe rok sakta tha par maine tab aawaz nahi uthai par aaj keh raha hu, Naina. Maine galti ki hai gunah nahi. Please mujhe itni badi saza mat do, please."

___________________

Sonakshi sipped the last drops of her coffee. She was about to get up from the bonnet and leave for some actual work. The only thing she hoped now was that Dev doesn't see her because even "she was embarrassed" - was an understatement.

She got down from the bonnet and there he was coming out of the canteen in her direction. For a second the idea to run crossed her mind but then it would confirm that she was infact ogling earlier. Sona being a patient of LLK syndrome, (Log Kya Kahenge?) stood grounded to the spot. She chewed the straw. There was no coffee left but she had to show him that she was there because of her will and she was not giving him part of her work time.

"Hey .... Baitho Baitho" Dev sat on a car's bonnet next to Sonakshi. He behaved as if she was the guest and he was the one whose private space was being intruded. "Ek quick advice chahiye. Suna hai tum bahut acchi advice deti ho."

"Apni zindagi jhand ho to dusro ki problems easy lagti hai." Sona said.

He didn't notice when a brief, forlorn expression passed Sonakshi's face. He didn't notice the hidden plea in her voice to look deeper into the words, to read in between the lines. Instead-

"Hmm... Accha dialogue hai. Jhand hata do fir serial me use karna." Dev chuckled at his own antics.

"Kya advice chahiye?" Her tone suddenly turned sharp and formal.

"Kuch nahi bas ek choti si advice chahiye. Kuch acche sad songs batana." He said.

"Sad songs? Dil toot gaya kya tumhara?"

"Haa ... Ab dekho, Fit24 pata hai?... Nahi! ... Gym hai. Toh pichle ek mahine se waha ek ladki workout karne aati thi ... Sonakshi, Sonakshi mai kya batau tumhe? Kitni hot thi wo bandi! Matlab oho oho jab wo sports bra aur tight capris me workout karti thi na to basss" Dev hit his fist on the left side of his chest. "Ab kuch din se wo aayi nahi thi to maine pata kiya to trainer ne bataya ki uski ek hafte me shaadi fix hai. Ufff!! She used to really turn me on yaar! Uske chakkar me mai zyada workout karta tha. Ab kaun banega meri gym motivation?"

Sonakshi could feel her bile rush up to her throat. She looked at him with disbelief. Wasn't he supposed to be her ideal?

"How do you look in gym wear?" He cocked an eyebrow.

"You ... You ... Tumi ekdom impossible." Sonakshi screamed and stormed away.

___________________________

Sonakshi came back home and she didn't even feel like speaking to anyone on dinner. The sick feeling grew in her stomach exponentially. She didn't feel like crying but she wasn't composed or happy either.

She walked back straight into her room and threw herself on her bed. She kept tossing and turning as the same conversation kept playing and replaying in her head. She punched her face in the pillow and screamed "Arghhhh" for a while. In the silence that followed she heard a faint noise from the living area.

Hoping that it would be a ghost and in the fight that would follow Sona'll forget about Devrat Dixit but when she descended from the stairs it was only Naina in the room.

"Naina, itni raat ko kya kar rahi hai? Padhai?" Sonakshi threw herself on the couch next to her.

"Film dekh rahi hu." Naina replied.

"Subah uth ke padhai nahi karni?"

"Ek din ka break bhi nahi le sakti mai?"

"Nahi - Nahi. Bilkul le sakti hai. What are we watching tonight?"

"Suryavansham, Nagina, Jeene Nahi Dunga, Dharti Ka Rakshak." Naina flipped the channels and the named the movies they were playing.

"Remote de." Sona took the remote from Naina's hand and after scanning a few channels she found -"Dil Hai Ki Manta Nahi."

Dil to yeh chahe mar ke tumhe hum
Bas yuhin dekha kare

Both the girls exchanged an awkward expression and the channel was changed.

"Eh! Harry Potter aur Aag Ka Pyala!" Sonakshi exclaimed

"Pehle toh I like the books better than the movies and Hindi me kaun dekhega ... Yeh Maglu, Cheelghat, Mehnatkash, Nagshakti, Garuddwar ufff!! Yeh yeh dekho kya hai Vismit bhava!?! Prisoner of Azkaban me Expecto Patronum ko Pitrdev sanrakshanam bana diya hai. Bolo!" Naina kept complaining.

Sonakshi went to the kitchen and emptied a Lays Rs. 20 pack into a glass bowl and kept it on a tray with two glasses full of Thumbs Up.

She kept it on the table and the girls enjoyed the feast and laughed on the Hindi dubbed version of their favourite book series.

They were both in a mess created by boys but fire spitting dragons, Gliding 'Mayus Meena', Cedric, Cho and the return of Voldemort made them forget about their problems for a while.

Hey!
Sorry for the delay but I have some work that keeps getting in between updates.

Moreover wattpad auto deleted the chapter twice and I didn't had the draft saved somewhere. So I was hell irritated but I did manage to script the chapter.

There may be glitches. Ignore them. It's unedited.

Lastly,

Where will you know about the updates and spoilers?

Instagram - @ritii11

And you can also follow my wattpad account to know stay updated.

Please, vote on this one. It took real PATIENCE to script this one.

SamAina finally talked and DevAkshi's chat 😆.

Precap - Mohabbat jinhe ho gayi ho kisi se mohabbat ka anjam kab sochte hai? How will Sona react? Sameer tries to impress Naina.