Life is a Ride - RIDE 8: Hesitantly I replied, Yes Shiva, its Preethi here. Oh Preethi!! So how are you? I heard that you were hurt! I am fine Shiva; there were some minor bruises, nothing to worry about. We had two to three more conversations about exams and practical‘s before the call was done. I sat on my bed, thinking, why Shiva and Vikram interact with me unconnectedly? Why Madhav always seams with Vikram whenever, there is something to deal with me? I couldn‘t understand the whole picture at that point of time. Sipping a yummy coffee, prepared by mom, I started to prepare for my exams vigorously. Gripped with exam fear, we were all back to our exam halls with hall tickets and collection of stationeries. Luckily, I didn‘t get any chance to face Ganesh that day and with sincere prayers, I started to write my paper. That after noon, I met Ganesh face to face. His forehead had an evident stitch. Cold Vibes filled with hatred crossed between our eyes. I headed to our bus, and sat along with my friends. The days moved on with exams, holidays, combined studies, whole night studies etc etc. The exams were done and the semester holidays commenced. I left to my native along with my parents. I had a good time with my grandparents. I missed my friends, I missed Vikram, but something or the other kept me occupied. The first day to our second semester, was colorful. We hugged each other, expressing how we missed everybody and continued with our casual chats and gossips. I heard from Priya, that they had a get together with Vikram and his friends twice during their holidays. I didn‘t react much to that. Within a couple of days, we got our results and much to my glee, I scored the college First rank for the Year 1 CSE .It was Shiva in Year 2 CSE. No idea about Year 3 and 4. Many known and unknown college mates congratulated me.We all moved to our computer lab and I occupied the same machine, this semester as well. I opened some programs just for name sake and I was busy chatting with Priya. Abruptly, Priya shook my shoulders and urged me to see the screen saver. The screen saver moved left and right … …..‘CONGRATULATIONS PREETHI….U DESERVE IT…..CHEERS…SHIVA‘. I was ….I did not know what I felt, but for damn sure, I was disturbed with the way the things were moving on with Shiva. Our routine classes started to move on. The boring class was brought to an end by the circular brought by the office boy …….‖ COLLEGE FEST‖ for three days….. Sports, competitions, awards and honors, special guest….blah…blah….blah….. God only knows, to what extent we were all excited. I enrolled myself for the singing competition. Our P.T mam selected me and Priya along with 8 other girls from various departments to invite the dignitaries. The first day of the fest was all about, inaugurations, speech by various dignitaries, achievement summary and similar stuffs like this. I brought all my stuffs to get dressed up. We were in the 2nd floor for dressing up. We were waiting for our senior girls to drape the saree for us, as both of us were naïve. Our seniors did the job well and all the 8 of us looked pretty in the various color combinations of silk sarees. Out P.T mam urged all of us to be there in the reception at 10.30 AM sharp. The other six girls rapidly completed all their dress up, make up etc and moved downstairs. I was not satisfied with the hair style. It was the fourth time; I was changing my hair style. Our P.T name knocked the door violently and screamed at us to move to the reception. It was already 10.15 AM. Priya rushed out and moved along with our P.T mam, and told me to join her immediately. I took few more minutes to complete the hair styling and now, I was quite satisfied. I took my bag and moved out of the room. The whole corridor was completely empty. I couldn‘t walk much comfortably as this saree is really a new stuff to me, as I was wearing the saree for the second time in my life after my school farewell. The steps were at the end of the corridor. Somehow, I adjusted myself and walked fast and to my dismay I heard some footsteps. It was Vikram; he stood near the steps and gave a smile at me. I didn‘t know what to react. I stooped my head and walked slowly. He leaned himself on the wall and stood folding his handsand looked straight at me, with a little naughty smile on his face. I started sweating like anything. What on earth! He is doing here? The moment I crossed him, he gave a mild whistle and I literally forgot how to walk. I felt, that I will jump directly from the second floor of the building. He kept on whistling mildly some song and walked behind me. Thankfully, all the 8 girls were standing in the first floor. I rushed to them, and disappeared in between them.The first day was a grand day and I felt elated with the way, Vikram roamed around me. With pleasant dreams, I had a wonderful sleep that night. The next day, were full of competitions. I have enrolled myself for the Singing competition. Being a decent singer, I practiced a lot for the song ―Every Night in my Dreams‖ by Celine Dion the title track of the movie Titanic. It was 2 PM when the singing competition started. To my shock, the students behaved like anything. They screamed liked jungle animals, whenever a student started to sing on the dais. Without any knowledge about the college atmosphere, I made a blunder mistake by enrolling myself for the competition. I approached the volunteers to remove my name from the list. But they convinced me that, it‘s all fun and don‘t be bothered about it. The girl doing the MC, roared on the mike. ―The next contestant, is Miss. Preethi!!!! She is the only contestant from the first year….Guys give a loud applause for Preethiiiiiii‖ God! For the first time, in my life, I heard such uproar. I trembled and I was literally about to cry. I thought, I will act like I have fainted and can escape the situation, but nothing worked. Trembling with fear, I took up on the stage. There was pin drop silence suddenly, and the silence made me to tremble more. I kept the mike close to my lips, and started the initial hum, …………………...the whole crowd roared with laughter and some screamed and some mimicked like a goat…cat…donkey…..horse….dog….etc etc….I closed my eyes firmly and continued my singing. Somehow, I dint expose my trembling, I was on properly on my note. I gave a pause and sang the second couplet in the high pitch, ―You‘re here there‘s nothing I ll fear, and I know that my heart will go on‖….. The crowd also shouted with the same pitch as I sang. God only knows, how the judges will decide. By God‘s grace, I completed the song and slowly I opened myeyes and to my utter shock, I saw Vikram standing on the Chair and putting his belt around his neck and posing as if he is going to hang himself because of my song and all his friends were shouting and clapping their hands like anything around him. With complete disappointment, I came down from the dais and moved to my friends. Many congratulated me. I did know that I sang well, but Vikrams behavior completely brought me down. The M.C girl congratulated everybody and announced that the results will be declared the next day. We moved to the pantry, Vikram came straight to me and congratulated me. I gave an unforgiving stare at him and tried to move away. But he blocked my path and stood still… Hey Preethi! Don‘t you know manners? You have to say ‗Thank You‘ when, somebody congratulates you! I gave a sharp reply; I don‘t have to prove my decorum to loafers like you. Traumatized with my reply…. Ok ok ….Cool Cool!! It‘s all fun!! We should have those funs! Ok …Miss. Rose! Who is the Jack? Startled, with his question!! I grinned and questioned him!! Do you really want to know that Vikram? He again widened his smile and retorted, Yes Miss. Rose!!! I want to know Mr.Jack. I sighed and pounced back ….Its SHIVA!!!! And gave a sharp cut and moved across him! Vikram was shaken! Both of us moved away from the Pantry…. Offended and hurt …., without knowing, that Shiva was on the other side of the pantry counter listening to our conversation!!!.
Life is a Ride: RIDE -9 I decided, never to speak with Vikram . I cried to my friends, complaining about Vikram. They tried to convince me, but I was not in a position to listen to them. The final day of the fest was filled with loads of entertainment and grandeur. At 3.00 PM, the awards session started. The Rank holders were honored with certificates and cash awards. I won, third prize for the singing competition. I was very happy. Days moved on. I avoided Vikram and Shiva equally. I decided to concentrate more on my studies. I don‘t want to get hurt anymore. But something kept burdening me constantly. I realized that I was not happy, but still, I lived through it. On a fine Saturday, Priya and her parents gave a surprise visit to our home. They invited us for their elder daughter Praseetha akka‘s (sister‘s) wedding. We made lots of plans for Praseetha‘s wedding, right from dresses, to cosmetics to hairstyles……. I had a doubt that Priya would have invited Vikram…but I was not sure…..I didn‘t bother to ask that as well….. The day dawned….We were all excited….Glittering in colorful Choli…we all stood in the reception inviting the guests with rose petals, perfumed water etc….and Priya happily introduced us to all her relatives… There came a big gang….yah around 15 boys…..all looked handsome. Especially Vikram, he was terrific in his slim fit ….full sleeves …..Black shirt and blue jeans………..instinctively I was excited, I don‘t know why? But, I voiced within me … I should be stubborn, no matter what and I should never smile at him or talk to him… The whole wedding crowd stared at the gang of boys. They reached the reception and all my friends invited them with a broad smile and Anu Sprinkled the perfumed water on them, and Thivya sprinkled the rose petals……and I extended the tray with sandal cream and many other stuffs mounted on it. I didn‘t react much, apart from a simple smile. At last Madhav and Vikram stood before us. Vikram snubbed me; he didn‘t even give a single glance at me. He looked at my friends and gave a big Wowwwwwww…and screamed….Wow Anu…Thivya…Priya….U three are the most beautiful girls in the world….They laughed…………and Blushed……I couldn‘t bear this….but I stood still…..Then he gave a loathing look at me…….I stood there staring at him….. He smiled at Thivya …….Hey Thivya ….can u please take the tray….the next second Thivya pulled the tray from my hand…….Then he took the sandal cream and applied it on his neck and whispered….Oh Thivya….I should be very fortunate to take this from your hands….. I could not understand what is going around me…….I was expressionless…….He again gave a mischievous smile at me and moved inside the hall………I felt like running back to my home…..Thivya was on Cloud nine……..Priya gave a pat at my shoulder and urged me to move inside…. I felt so burdened……I couldn‘t concentrate much..I was not excited anymore……I sat along with my friends in the front row during the function……We completed the buffet and sat in the hall…… The guys came and sat along with us….Vikram pulled the chair and forced me to move….and he sat in between me and Thivya….. He flirted with Thivya and Anu…..and now and then he gave a weird look at me…….…..I scolded him in my heart with all the words I knew…… I excused from them, and I took an auto to my home. Suddenly, I started to sob. I couldn‘t understand, what was happening within me. I couldn‘t understand about Vikram as well….Sometimes he behaves as if I am his world…Sometimes he behaves as if I am his victim for all his naughty stuffs….. My mom was surprised at my early arrival. I sat on my couch with a blank head. My phone rang and my mom shouted….Preethi!!!! Its Vikram ….. I was surprised. I didn‘t expect his call. Without any reaction, I took the receiver. My mom moved to kitchen. There was complete silence. I didn‘t dare to speak. I kept listening to his breath. He broke the silence with a fake cough and ……..spoke with a calm tone…. Preethi!!! You looked so beautiful today! I sat still! I didn‘t speak back! He coughed again and spoke again……actually……I was about……..I didn‘t mean to………….He couldn‘t speak more….. (He blabbered)…… He gave a calm smile…… Ok Preethi!!! Take Care….. The call got disconnected……For the whole conversation! I didn‘t speak a single word! Tiny droplets of tears skated on my cheek down…..
Life is a Ride – RIDE 10: I had a restless sleep. I had no clue, why I got affected by Vikram this badly. The second semester moved on with lots of emotions...I cried….laughed….felt great….felt poor….had butterfly dreams….hardly slept some nights…..etc..etc…and it was Vikram who played a crucial role in most of my emotions…. Our civil class moved like a snail. Owing to our nearing semester exams, our lecturer left the class and instructed us to prepare for the exams without much noise… Oh! What a great relief!! All four of us indulged in to latest gossips of the college. Suddenly one of the girl in the second row screamed ….oouchhhh…….The whole class looked at her…..but nobody could understand what had happened?…including the girl! Within some seconds, another girl in the first row Jumped from her chair…the girls were terrified…without knowing what was happening…But the boys laughed as if they were mad….Priya told us to observe Ganesh and his gang. Those stupid’s, had a pile of gooseberry seeds on their desks. Ganesh kept one gooseberry seed on the edge of a scale and he aimed at the girls! Shocked! we alerted the nearest girls and wrote a note on a paper and passed it among the girls at the other end! But many of our class girls loved Ganesh and his gang and hated us to the core! Some girls never likes to get in to problem and some girls doesn’t react to anything in the world! So the girls sat quietly despite of the assault from those guys and even some girls giggled and enjoyed this. But till now no seed had hit any of us…..we waited patiently for something to trigger us. Many seeds flew here and there and we patiently gathered all the seeds that had reached our desks. Unfortunately…one seed gave a straight hit on Anu’s head…..Wow!!! This is all we waited for. Before anybody could envisage , all four of us gave a clear shot at Ganesh and his friends…..Around 6 to 10 seeds thrashed directly at Ganesh’s face and 3 other notebooks thrashed the head and shoulders of his friends.. Anu! Gave a warning look at Ganesh who looked humiliated and yelled at him….Be careful Ganesh! Don’t force me to move to the management! We all were amazed at Anu’s boldness. At the same time, many girls in our class gave a hatred glare at us. As usual, we ignored that and felt proud of us. During lunch, the hot topic was all about how we insulted Ganesh and how Anu reacted. Slowly we realized that most of our class started to get empty. There were only few more girls left. Again …Maya…..one of the admirers of Ganesh, came inside and whispered something in the ears of the remaining girls. Within some minutes the whole class was empty except the four of us. Before we could realize what had happened….the boys closed all the 2 doors and windows. We were startled. Priya ran near the door and shouted to open the door. We moved across every window and door and screamed …but nobody responded. In a complete rage, I took the lecturers chair and gave a heavy bang at the door. Immediately Anu, Thivya and Priya took the students chairs and gave a bang at the other door. With a heavy bang, the first door opened wide with a huge thud. I went straight to Maya and gave a tight slap at her and screamed at her at the top of my voice. She stood helplessly, without knowing what to do. Priya went straight to Ganesh, and yelled at him at the top of her voice…..hey if you want to deal with us…deal directly…don’t use these stupid girls and behave like a shameless coward. At the peak of the argument….our Principal and few other staffs rushed to our class and roared at the top of his voice…What is happening here?? All four of us stood at one end of the Principal room and Ganesh, Maya and his friends stood at the other end, The enquiry went on for 2 hours. Our principal enquired with few more students from our class . Finally we all wrote an apology letter and Ganesh and his friends were suspended for one week. After this incident the girls in our class were split in to three groups….one group headed by Maya…another headed by us and another gang…the calm and sweet…reactive to nothing on the universe. The second semester came to a closure making all four of us the most popular girls of the college. We were the victims for most of the gossip mongers. But hardly had we taken those things to our heart. We enjoyed all that we heard, we topped the academics, we stood together in our happiness, glitches…etc. Ganesh waited for a good chance to dig at us. Our second semester came to a closure with lot more wonderful incidents than the first semester. Now we stood as seniors for our fresher’s. This time, the management organized the fresher’s party within 2 weeks from their date of joining. We roamed here and there and enjoyed that day thoroughly. The next day, our HOD made the 2nd Year, 3rd Year and Final Year to gather at the auditorium. Shiva was busy running here and there. Now and then, I turned back to talk to the girls and gave a glance at Vikram. Our HOD entered the hall with a big smile. Ok Students, It’s the time to enjoy! We have decided to take you all for excursion……The whole auditorium echoed.ooooooooooooooooooooooooooohhhhhhhhhhh….. The First years will not have any excursion as usual. The final years will be taking a separate All India Tour. This Year we have discussed with the department representatives Shiva and Rajesh and we have decided to club the 2nd Year and 3rd Year together for the excursion. The students bounced up and down with excitement. There are three different options …Goa or Munaar-Cochin or Ooty- Bangalore. This will be decided based on the entries. It’s a 3 day trip. We will come back on this next Monday. We were all excited like anything. We started to discuss, which place to put our entries on. We decided and gave our entries to Shiva for Ooty and Bangalore. We moved away, Shiva scratched his name from the Goa list and gave an entry into Ooty Bangalore list.
Thank you dear.. i cant under go suspense.. as given name it was easy to find... but the Climax is so sad
Life is a Ride – RIDE-11: The whole college was engrossed with the excursion fever. The next Monday, our HOD announced that there are equal entries for Goa and Ooty-Bangalore. Most of the guys shouted….Goa….Goa….Goa…..we screamed ….Ooty….Ooty…. Our HOD sighed……and spoke…… Ok then! Let the boys take the Goa trip and the girls take the Ooty Trip…….The whole hall came to a halt……………..We were all shocked…What???? A split tour...Nooooooooo…………….All screamed….Nooo………. K…then….if you want to go together, then decide one place and let me know immediately. I have hectic work to be done for the arrangements. Shiva took the onus, he made a quick negotiation with all the representatives and finalized the excursion to Ooty- Bangalore. The circular on the dates of excursion, accompanying staffs, amount to be paid, rules to be followed, accommodation etc orbited around every department. That‘s the day…..we gathered in our college with luggages, hand bags, snacks… 4 buses moved with violent roar of the students around 7.00 PM. We sat in the last row. Standing on the top of the seats, we shouted with all the known songs. Whenever our bus crossed the other three buses, we screamed at the top of our voices. The staffs instructed to behave well every now and then but we hardly listened to them. We thoroughly enjoyed our night journey and early morning we reached ‗The Queen of Hills resort‘. Ooty gave a warm welcome to us with its scenic beauty, trembling chillness, foggy atmosphere. Our staffs instructed all the students to get prepared andgather at the local restaurant for breakfast. As decided earlier, all four of us appeared bright and pretty in blue jean, pink T-shirt, multi-color scarf around our neck, dark blue woolen caps, black shoulder bags and canvas shoes. We ourselves were awe stuck looking at our beautiful dressing.We intentionally gave a late entry to the restaurant so that everybody should notice us.We made a proud ramp walk amidst them and seated ourselves in the corner table.Hundreds of eyes gave a jealous stare at us. After the breakfast, Shiva read a list that divided the students into 4 groups and the students boarded the bus according to the groups. As expected we were with Shiva, Vikram and co. The bus took us to all the must see tourist spots. Anthanksharis during the travel between the tourist spots, hot tea, roasted corn, fresh carrots, creamy ice creams, petty shopping, and photographs in all form of poses made our day unquestionably enjoyable and memorable. Somehow, we gelled up a lot with Shiva and Vikrams group. It‘s a group of 10 with 4 of us and 6 boys. We made an awesome team. Seriously for the first time, I admired Shiva for his perfectionism, decorum, soft language, humbleness above all a lovely care. But Vikram , the just opposite , had his charm in his own way, with his stylish look, flirts, teases, attitude, naughty talks and matchless energy. We had our lunch together. As usual Vikram irritated me with his stupid talks, …..Preethi! I never imagined that you will be able to gulp 3 persons starters in a single go.‘ I hardly ate one third of a chicken piece…..hearing his comment, I dropped it back on the plate. But he was least bothered about me being upset and continued teasing others. Shiva told Madhav to move aside who actually was sitting next to me and took that seat. He gave a warm smile and pacified me to ignore Vikram‘s comments. He gave a gentle talk with me about the beauty of Ooty and the captivating chillness .His talk was so soothing, without my knowledge I started to ignore others and listen to him. He gave some weird but interesting stories on the starter dishes on the table and made me to taste almost everything. I completely forgot what was going around me and got much into Shivas talk.I came back to reality, when suddenly a plate gave a screeching bang on the floor…tingg..tang…tang…..near Vikram. Everyone laughed, and Vikram gave a cold stare at me …..I sensed the irritation and frustration in Vikrams face. We reached the Ooty‘s Botanical garden around 3.00 PM. What a lovely place!! We ran here and there and the photographs taken were countless. It was an awesome day. I am sure that I will never have a day like that in my entire life… After our dinner around 7.30 PM we had the bon –fire arranged in our resort. Some danced, Some mimicked, some narrated some funny incidents, some teased our staffs, principal and college rules. The entire students had a lovely time. Vikram took his position and started as if he is going to sing. But to my horror! He mimicked my singing ‗my heart will go on‘, he impersonated me so badly, that the entire students and staffs rolled with laughter. I sat still….where my eyes laughed and my heart cried. After one hour, everybody dispersed to their allocated cottages. I cursed Vikram with my whole heart and desperately waited for a better chance to take revenge on him. The next morning we moved to Cunoor. We visited some parks, Rose gardens, shopping and after lunch, our bus drove straight to Bangalore. The route from Cunoor to Bangalore was absolutely awesome that we literally enjoyed every essence of it.During this journey, we all four of us sat quietly and shared our personal secrets, family problems, child hood memories……..It was a long chat but a very enjoyable chat. The journey was really great. We reached Bangalore around 6.00 PM in the evening. The Garden city gave us a lovely welcome with jam packed traffic on the Hosur road. Around 7.10 PM we reached the hotel Imperial at Koramangala.The climate was absolutely pleasant, we watched mouth opened at the stylish and lavished Bangaloreans. After dinner, the staffs took us to PVR cinemas in the nearby Forum mall. Shiva headed the entire team, as he is the one who has planned all this. Everybody praised Shiva for his dedicated diligence. It was the first time for most of the students in a Multiplex. To avoid problems from the mischievous boys, our staffs instructed the boys to occupy the first 7 rows and then after the girls occupied the back seats. The movie ― Silendru Oru Kadhal‖…………….( Tamil Movie Name). We screamed for actor Surya and the guys cherished forActresses Jyothika and Bhoomika. Though we have seen the movie already, seeing with the college gang was a stupendous experience. The second half of the movie moved very slowly. So we decided to play something. We saw Ganesh watching the movie with full emotions. Priya took a polo and gave a sharp hit at his head and sat silently. Since the theatre was dark, he gave a glace left and right and immersed into the movie again. This excited us a lot. We gave a hit at all our hatreds, till the two packets of polo were done. We enjoyed a lot with the comments, naughty plays, giggles …than the movie…. The next day , we were again in our uniform beautiful costumes ……and moved to the tourist spots. After lunch, our bus parked in the Brigade road for shopping. We were with Shiva and co. I was keenly looking at the collection of ear rings with a road side wala, when Vikram interrupted me….hey Preethi! Why don‘t you try the blue stoned one, it will suit you. I gave a cold stare at him, and moved on to the net shop. Vikram followed me wherever I went and kept on irritating me with his stupid comments. I shopped some little stuff for my mom and dad. I shopped few more stuffs for my friends and bought some random stuff. We took lot many photographs on the Brigade and M.G Road. Our staffs instructed us to move to the bus. Before we could reach there, Vikram came close to me and blocked my way. I gave a irritating look at him. Hmmm….Preethi! I want to take a picture with you! I was surprised! The whole three days we were all together and most of the pictures, we were together! But why is he asking now a special permission! I called my friends for the photo! But he stopped me abruptly and whispered, I want to take a picture alone with you! I was shocked! Before I could say No! He called Shiva and told him to take a picture of us both. It was quiet evident from Shiva‘s face, that he really hated to take this picture, but he didn‘t speak a word and quietly took a flash. Before Vikram completed his Thanks! Shiva took a position near me and requested Vikram to take a picture of me and Shiva. Vikram‘s face darkened, but he quietly flashed. I gave a smile and moved away.I laughed a whole hearted laugh with my friends, about Shiva and Vikram . But Priya warned me, not to encourage this, as this involves the true feelings between two best friends. But I was not so serious about it that time. The next morning, we reached our home. I gave my mom a warm hug. After refreshing, I unloaded my luggage. To my surprise I saw two bags, one medium sized pouch labeled ‗Dear Preethi ‗… and the other one, pretty larger than the previous one, labeled ― MY PREETHI ― ……I had no clue how this came in to my bag and who had dropped it.
Life is a Ride: RIDE-12: I pushed those two pouches under some clothes, because my mom was eagerly looking at the gifts that I have bought her. After some time, I moved to our bed room, locked the room silently and took the two pouches. I looked at the handwriting very keenly but I was not able to identify whose hand writing was that. Filled with many kind of emotions and anticipations, I unwrapped the smaller pouch which was labeled as ‗Dear preethi‘. As I undid the gift paper, a small square shaped box popped out wrapped in silk cloth. I removed the silk cloth and my mouth opened wide! It‘s a crystal rose of 4 cm height. It gave a beautiful glow, with a mild sea blue shade and a thin golden stand. Suddenly, I remembered seeing it somewhere…Oh my God!!! I saw that in Bangalore, in the Forum mall. I stood along with my friends in the, The Swarovski Crystal shop!!!! Admiring the beautifully crafted relics. It was this rose piece, which I keep admiring for a long time and I even commented to Priya! One day, I will earn more and buy this crystal rose! I was happy!!! I was confused! I was terrified! I wondered who would have done this. May be Vikram ? But he was busy running to the theatre! May be Shiva? But he was busy organizing various stuffs!.. My friends! Obviously... They do not have that big money! Who? Vikram?? Shiva???I searched the box for any clue….but there was nothing apart from the single label, ‗ ‗ ‗Dear preethi ‗ Clueless! I decided to open the next pouch labeled ‗MY PREETHI. I really fainted! A beautiful Tweety, popped up with its bright yellow shade and its big eyes. I was about to buy that in Bangalore ‗Archies‘, but the cost was 999, which is one third of my entire pocket money. So unwillingly, I kept it back on its shelve. Since I loved it, I requested Priya to take 2 snaps along with the Tweety ! But the shop keeper flared a stare at us, we stopped with one flash and moved out! I stood still! Completely Confused! Both the gifts were packed neatly and meticulously. God! Who did this? Who is observing me this intensely? I was confused to the extent, that I started to blabber alone. But for the known reason, I had a thought in my mind that it was Vikram! Cause he roamed around me for the entire three days! I thought, I will call my friends and discuss with them on this issue. I ran to our phone, before I could take the receiver, our phone cried. I picked the receiver, and Vikram exclaimed!...So you were waiting for my call Preethi!U just picked in just one ring! I gave a sigh! Ok Vikram ! What do you want? So how were my gifts? I was shaken! Excited! Feeling satisfied that I guessed right! So you are the culprit? Don‘t you have any work? So from Ooty to Bangalore, you were following me and observing? You coward! You did all this, but you did not dare to give me the gifts directly! Vikram interrupted! Wait! What are you talking about! Vikram replied in a confused tone? What Gifts? What are you saying? I didn‘t give you anything! I just teased you! Just to confuse you! I asked how my gifts were. ? But for God‘s sake! I did not drop anything! I was shaken! What is happening? I whispered, quietly, so is it Shiva? ****&^%*())*&^& …..My head gave a terrible ache…. Vikram ! I will talk to you later! Before he replied, I disconnected the call! I sat still! What is happening? How am I going to deal with this? VIKRAM Vikram geared his bike, straight to Madhav‘s house. He explained everything to Madhav in detail and they decided to go to Shiva s house. Vikram was so tensed. He never expected his Best friend, would stand as his rival! He felt ashamed of himself! I should have told this to Shiva, about my feeling for Preethi! I avoided because he doesn‘t like these kinds of talks. Vikram has adjusted many things for Shiva! He obeyed Shiva in many things, right from sitting in the first row, studying properly for the exams, and many other good habits. He actually chose this college, just because Shiva has chosen it. Both being friends for nearly a decade, they were dependent on each other for most of the things and hardly had they taken any decisions without knowing each other. But as far as Preethi is concerned, he couldn‘t resist.The day Vikram saw her for the first time; he felt that she is born for him. But Vikram thought that, Shiva may insist him to stop these kinds of activities and will force him to concentrate on studies, so he always chose Madhav on his entire encounter with Preethi. Many things went through Vikram‘s mind and without his knowledge he felt a heavy burden in his heart and tears stagnated in his eyes. The bike screeched to halt in front of Shiva‘s house. Shiva invited Vikram and Madhav with a glad face. Shiva‘s mom served them dinner and Vikram said, Aunty…tonight we have decided to stay in your house…..We are going to watch some old movies together and have some fun! Shiva s mom gave a pat on Vikram‘s shoulder,….Vikram…this is your home….you don‘t have to ask any permission to me!!!!... After having a night coffee, we moved to Shiva‘s bed room in the first floor. Shiva, though born with silver spoon, was blessed with a pleasant humble and responsible character. We watched the movies, made funny comments and after some time, I insisted Shiva and Madhav to switch off the TV and to talk on some interesting topic. Madhav , understood the point and bluffed some stupid love story. Vikram keenly watched Shiva‘s reaction. On the peak of the topic, Vikram gave a casual question at Shiva!!! What buddy! You don‘t have any colors in your life! So you are waiting for your mom to find the right girl for you! Shiva gave a simple smile! And spoke quietly! Yup! Even I thought that only my mom will decide my girl! But one girl turned my life upside down! Vikram‘s heart choked! Vikram gave a fake smile and joined with Madhav!!! Hey Shiva!!! What????Gr8 da!!! Why you didn‘t tell us? Who is that lucky girl? And my worst fear came true…….as Shiva smirked and drew with a black marker on the last page of a notebook…….” MY PREETHI ”
Life is a Ride: RIDE-13: I didn‘t have any stamina to hear anything more from Shiva! Madhav looked helplessly at me as Shiva started to pour out everything from his heart! Like a child! Right from the induction day….Preethi‘s confession about taking Shiva‘s seat in the computer lab…….Revealing that Shiva is the Jack of her dreams…which he overheard in the pantry……the way she preferred to stick to him during the excursion………..etc…etc…………………. Somehow, I feel, I should take care of her like a rose petal ….with this sentence Shiva gave a full stop. His face glowed with happiness. I listened quietly! I did not know what to do! I did not give any opinion! Also Shiva didn‘t ask any of my opinion as well! We moved to sleep! For the first time in my life, I cried! The pillows got wet! I struggled! I wondered how a girl can split two dearest friends for ages…. in just one year! I have never made any crucial decisions without Shiva‘s opinion and the same from Shiva‘s side as well. But today, both of us stood like east and west. My mind rolled with various thoughts. Though I was not able to come to a conclusion, I was sure about one thing. I should sacrifice some one…….. either Preethi or Shiva and I was also very sure that the decision that I am going to take , is going to make a huge impact for the rest of my life. Completely exhausted my mind pulled me to sleep. PREETHI The next day, in the college, I explained the whole scenario to my friends. We were equally confused, thinking what should be done. Priya, told me to return all the gifts to Shiva. But Thivya insisted, we don‘t know what‘s his real intention is all about, he could have given that with friendly attitude…. Anu interrupted! Friends never try to surprise! Only guys who have some different feelings for a girl, does this. So Preethi! Don‘t take risk! He is a decent guy! Talk to him politely and make him clear, that you will not encourage such kind of attitude. Priya interrupted….Preethi!! Please take immediate steps! Shiva is a very good guy from a really decent family. He is not someone, who will switch from one girl to another. So better, talk to him clearly and put a full stop at this very initial stage. Else, things will go out of control and nobody will be able to help you. I stood totally confused. I decided to have a talk with Vikram, before taking any step with Shiva! The tour photographs circulated here and there. All the photos were really very pretty! As we flipped, I saw the twosome photograph with Vikram and Shiva. Thivya! Teased! Hey Preethi! You and Shiva really make an awesome pair. Look how you both look, as if posing for ‗Wills – Made for each other ad ‗. In fact, it was true as well. The photograph had a pleasant look. The next photograph, I was shocked….naughty Vikram, he kept 3 horns on my head and stood giggling near me. My friends had a hearty laugh. It was really a very cute photo. I looked for Vikram during the lunch and interval, but I did not see him anywhere. Finally in the evening, he came along with Shiva and Madhav. Shiva and Madhav smiled at us and we smiled back. But Vikram moved straight ahead without even giving a single glimpse at me. His behavior worried me. Shiva politely said….So did you see all the photographs….. Before I could answer, Anu replied, they were too good, especially you guys pair photo. Shiva blushed. Priya gave a stamp at Anu‘s feet and gave a harsh look at her. Shiva smiled….Ok Ok….So Preethi…did you like the gifts!!!! I was totally shattered. I did not know what to respond. I….actually…….Hmmm…………….( I stopped talking) Priya interrupted…So Shiva….What is this? Why are you so biased? Where are the gifts for us? Shiva gave a straight reply!!!!............ Gifts are only for special people!!!All four of us stood still………as Shiva moved away with a grin and Madhav followed him with confused look…………. We couldn‘t see Vikram anywhere in the nearest distance. -----* Next evening….Totally tensed, we sat near the phone in Thivya‘s home. Ok Preethi….dont worry, make it clear today…… All four of us sat still. I took a deep breath and dialed Shiva‘s number. The voice at the other end, said a quiet hello!!! I held my receiver tightly with my sweating hands ….and whispered……Is Shiva there? The other end….replied…..Preethi!!! Its Vikram Here……………..
