LOCATION: NEW PUBLIC SCHOOL, BAREILLY

"Good afternoon Teacher" ... greeted the students of eight standard, section A, New Public School Bareilly.

"Good afternoon" Svetlana Kapoor greeted them back with a generous smile.

"Please sit down" she instructed and the class sat down in their respective seats. "Today we are going to read something interesting" she talked in all excitement bringing out curiosity in the class.

"We are going to read the story of Trojan war" she said and the students put up a blank face having no idea of what it could be.

"Teacher" a hand raised in doubt.

"Sahil... I didn't yet start the class and you are ready with a question" she playfully glared at him.

Sahil grinned at his favorite English teacher "But mam... I do have a genuine doubt"

"Hmm... what is it?"

"Why should we read Trojan war? Why not Romeo and Juliet?"

Svetlana rolled her eyes "Because it is not in your syllabus... ab baitho aur chup chap suno (now sit and listen without a word)" she ordered him and he obeyed.

Forty five minutes later the bell rang marking the end of the class and end of the lecture for the day.

"Okay... so tomorrow we will see how prince Paris's decision effected his entire kingdom" she said smiling and got eager nods by her students who were now gripped by the story.

"Mam... when will we get our books for the year?" asked Kamala standing in her place.

"Your favorite bhaiyya will come with the year books today" she informed and the class cheered.

"Then it is obvious that didi will be coming in the evening too... with her cupcakes... right mam?" asked Sahil without missing a beat.

"Sahil!!" admonished Svetlana in a scolding tone.... "You are becoming naughty day by day...don't trouble Omkara" she said and he looked at her as if he didn't understand a word she just spoke.

"Don't give me that clueless look... you very well know what I am asking you... stop pestering him"

Sahil nodded his head vigorously in agreement and Svetlana though doubtful of his obedience, left the class to let them have their lunch.

Once the teacher left the classroom, the clatter of lunch boxes and chatter of devilish mouths began filling the room.

Kamala who recently joined the class from a nearby village for that academic year asked her new friend Roshni "Who is going to give us books? Why did Svetlana mam scold Sahil?"

Roshni smiled at the newbie as she put a morsel of rajma chawal in her mouth... after she completed chewing and swallowing it, she called her best friend Sahil.

"Sahil... Kamala wants to know about Omkara bhaiyya and Gauri di" she shouted and the whole class turned towards her.

Getting disbelieving looks from her fellow classmates, Kamal felt nervous...she nudged her friend and said in a whisper "Wasn't I supposed to know? Why is everyone looking at me weirdly?"

Roshni yelled again "Guys... she just joined our school a week back... stop looking at her like that and let us fill her in..."

"No... on second thoughts.... Let us enact the famous love story of our school" said a smirking Sahil and got encouraging cheers from the class.

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The stage was cleared in no time to set up the scene and the door of the classroom duely closed. They had half an hour for the lunch time to end and they decided to make maximum use of it.

Sahil donned the role of Omkara Shetty raising his shirt collar while Roshni took up the role of Gauri Kumari Sharma draping a dupatta over her head. One of the students Bheem with his praised oratory skills started the description in the false low pitched voice...which one finds in those old Hindi movies introducing the main characters.

Kamala sat with the others, eagerly watching the drama play out as Bheem described.

"All started three years back when the handsome and shy Omkara bhaiyya met the fierce and beautiful Gauri di on a sunny day beside the school".

Sahil as Omkara hurriedly walked on the stage with a pile of books in his hand when Deepak, their classmate who draped a scarf covering his mouth and nose ran towards Sahil and stole his purse from his pant pocket making him stumble to the ground along with the books.

Sahil rose from his place and started collecting the books not knowing that he just lost his wallet. In the next few moments when he realized it, he tried to catch up with the thief and to his surprise he saw Roshni dressed as Gauri beating the culprit black and blue.

He neared the angry woman as she took his wallet from Deepak and called out "Excuse me?"

Roshni turned around to face Sahil and he gasped loudly at the beauty before him. While he stood there his mouth wide open... Roshni mimicked Gauri saying "EEe... chirotaa... is this yours?"

When Sahil merely nodded his head, she smiled at him and gave him his stolen purse.

Finding his voice Sahil immitating Omkara stammered "T...Thank you... aap... kaun?"

"Are... Hum... I am Gauri kumari Sharma... paanchvi kaksha paas from Bareilly... Namaste" she said in her signature style giving him a wink and the former held his heart trying to stop it from thudding so loud.

At that moment, Bheem narrated with a dramatic effect of drums playing in the background "Gauri di did give back Omkara bhaiyya his wallet but unknown to her, she stole his heart in return"

Kamala and the others clapped after the performance dreamily imagining the love story and its leads. "Phir kya hua... what happened next?"

The entire class sighed at the question Kamala raised, making her frown in confusion.

Sahil walked up to her and told her in an irritated tone "Aur kya hona hai.... Kuch bhi nahi hua... bas teen saalo se Omkara bhaiyya duur se Gauri di ko dekhte hai aur isi mein khush ho jaate hai" (Nothing else happened... From three long years... Omkara bhaiyya continues to find happiness in looking at Gauri di from a distance)

"Why? Didn't he tell her that he likes her?"

Roshni gasped dramatically "Omkara bhaiyya and propose.... Suryodai pashchim se hogi... amavasya mein chanda dekhega...Duniya khatam ho jayegi (The sun can rise from the west, moon might be seen on a night of new moon...even the world can end)... yet that is not possible" she said shaking her head.

"Again.... why?"

"Because Omkara Bhaiyya is shy..... the moment he sees Gauri di... he goes mute, deaf and dumb" explained Roshni making Kamala laugh.

"You will see for yourself this evening Kamala...just wait and watch" said Sahil and the class nodded in agreement.

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"Thank you Omkara... you are a darling" said Svetlana and he looked at her scandalized.

"Madam... you called me darling?... how can you... You know I love Gauri right? She is the only one for me... what if she listens to you"

Svetlana rolled her eyes at him "Omkara... it is a way of appreciation... I didn't literally mean it" she said and he sighed in relief.

"Where is she? it is past her usual time... is she not coming today?" he asked

"Why... what will you do even if she comes? Tum to usse baat nahi karoge bas dekhte raho tum (you don't talk to her...you just keep staring at her)"

"I am trying madam... but ... but I am afraid she will reject me"

"Why will she? ... You are a gem... you and Rudra lost your parents at a very young age... you gave up studies after your eleventh only for Rudra to get good education... you single handedly managed to handle your dad's book store and brought it to its current status... you give books to these poor children at subsidized rates only because their parents will be less burdened... How can anybody reject you"

"I am a shy person.... A man of few words madam... I can't openly express myself... she on the other hand is charming, beautiful, full of life...she spreads happiness wherever she goes... everyone in this village knows about her while I am just a mere nobody... a wallflower.. why will she choose me to spend her life with?"

Svetlana sighed "Omkara... stop belittling yourself... you should seriously ask her... I tell you... it has been more than three years... you didn't even talk to her properly... I seriously doubt if she even knows your name"

Omkara merely smiled and was about to answer her when they heard excited squeals from the corridor.

"She is here I think" said Svetlana and before she even completed her sentence Omkara dashed out to get a glimpse of his love of three years.

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Kamala looked at the enchanting woman before her with a dazed smile "Di... aap bahut khubsoorat ho (You are beautiful)" she complimented.

Gauri stroked the little girls hair with a smile "Thank you... here your cupcake" she said and gave her one of her hand made delicacies.

"Gauri di... you are late today" said Roshni coming towards her and Gauri replied "Yeah... had to deal with something... sorry for the delay Roshni... here take your treat"

"Achaa... where is my boyfriend?" asked Gauri making Kamala look at Roshni in bewilderment.

"You said Omkara Bhaiyya loves her... she has another guy as her boyfriend? Where is Omkara Bhaiyya?" she whispered to her friend worriedly.

"Tension mat le... Omkara bhaiyya is right behind you looking through the window... see" Roshni whispered back and Kamala slightly turned her head to see a handsome man with a half pony looking at the scene with a smile.

"Then boyfriend?"

"Shhh... just watch the fun... you will know soon... keep looking at Omkara bhaiyya's face expressions" said Roshni.

In a few minutes, Sahil walked upto Gauri and said "Hi girlfriend... Tera saiyyan idhar hai"

"Aww... I missed you Sahil" said Gauri smiling at him while Omkara's smile was replaced by a look of annoyance.

"Ohh... then I deserve a hug... don't I?" he said and she laughed kneeling to his height and hugging him.

"Okay.. so what did you learn today" said Gauri sitting with the class as they narrated to her all the incidents since her last visit.

"Why did you get less marks in math Sahil? You always top the subject right?"

"Yeah... I did a silly mistake di... I will surely make it up in my next test"

"Very good.. that should be the spirit"

"Gauri di... I topped in science- biology" said Roshni proudly and Gauri beamed at her... "Are waah... excellent..."

"Bheem... what about your English debate competition?"

"I ranked the first di"

"Tum sab log kitne ache se padhte ho(you all are very good at your studies)... I wish I had completed my studies too" she said longingly.

"No problem di... we will make you learn" they said and she smiled at them.

All this time, Kamala's eyes were focused on Omkara who had a variation of emotions crossing his face... from annoyance to sadness to adoration.

Their English teacher joined him to watch the scene and at that moment Omkara frowned looking straight at them, clearly angry. Kamala turned around to see what had caused the change and found Sahil snuggling close to Gauri.

"Gauri di... maa kasam.. aaj to you are looking darwajetood" he openly flirted.

Gauri just laughed at his attempts while he continued "I can't wait to age old enough to marry you"

Omkara seethed at the comment while Svetlana went inside the class trying to placate the situation.

"Sahil... stop flirting with Gauri" she admonished him.

"Hi di..." Gauri greeted Svetlana with a hug which was warmly reciprocated.

"How is your bakery going Gauri? you are late today"

"Haa... that Vijay Thakur naak mein dam karke rakha hai... peecha hi nahi chodta... use bachte bachte aane mein time lag gaya di (that Vijay Thakur was troubling me.... I got delayed while escaping him)"

Svetlana looked at Omkara who had worry etched on his face and turned to Gauri "Is he becoming too much to handle? Do you need help Gauri?"

Gauri waved it off saying "Are... di... he isn't the villain... just a comedian... I will take care of him myself... Zyadaa kiya na to Ek jhaap se dewar pe sat jaye bee" and rolled her sleeve while Svetlana shook her head smiling at her.

"If you need help... you just give me a call Gauri... I will take care of him" added Sahil making them chuckle.

"Sure sweetheart" said Gauri.

"Hmm... where were we again... yes... about our marriage in future... big fat wedding for entire Bareilly to watch us. True lovers not caring for the age gap... we should set an example for future generations"

"Nothing like that... the moment you meet someone more beautiful... you won't even remember her" said Svetlana while he gasped in shock.

"Itna bada ilzaam mere 'True love' par (That is a huge accusation on my true love) ....now I have to promise Gauri that I will keep my word to marry her" he said in determination making Svetlana frown in confusion.

He calmly sat beside Gauri and gave her an innocent smile which she returned with one of her own not having an idea of his wicked intentions... Before anybody could fathom his scheme, he leaned and gave a loud kiss on her check making the girls gasp while he scurried away escaping his teacher's grasp.

Kamala, Roshni and Svetlana turned their gaze to the window and held back a giggle when they saw Omkara looking almost heart broken at the scene.

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Hi... this is the first shot...ended with a heart break...😆😆

I'm literally biting my nails in anticipation... did you like anything I wrote... or should I stop this... I am not sure...

There is no big story in here... just mere role play, badmaashi happening in the background and Rikara being a part of it...

Let me know your thoughts...

If you like it.. I will update the next part...

Signing off... yours Soujanya.