7 As a professor
Part 7 As a professor
Arnav was dumbfounded to see a phone in her hand. He looked at her unbelievably.
"Phone? You said your phone was with your friend? Then how did you get it?"
Khushi was silent.
"Tell me, Damn it..." He shouted.
Khushi jerked and said,
"I lied..."
"Lied? But why? If you had told me, we could have found your friend too..." he said and stopped, staring at her, thinking something.
"Is your friend true, or is she also a lie?" he asked.
"I have no friends. I came to Nainital alone," she said hesitatingly in a gauzy tone.
Arnav rolled his eyes.
"I lied because you would scold me for coming to Nainital alone."
"But why did you hide the phone? I could have sent you yesterday itself if you had no friends."
"That's why I hid it."
"What do you mean?" he frowned.
"I lied to be with you" " she said feebly.
He stepped, gritting his teeth, and she moved back in fear.
"You don't know how hard it is to meet a lovely person like you, " she said, making a face.
He rolled his eyes.
"Why did you come to Nainital alone? Did you see how dangerous it is to roam alone? What's the use of being a graduate if you don't use your brain properly?" he chided.
"What to do? You don't even tell me your name. If you were free, I would have told you the truth..."
He sighed.
"Listen, we are going to separate in a few hours. After that, our paths will be different, and there will not be a one per cent chance for us to meet again. Go to Delhi and join the Master's. Study well and enjoy your life. Ok?"
"Shall I call you Barun?" she changed the topic
He glared at her.
"He also looks so handsome like you."
He sighed.
"Don't you know who Barun is? He is a hero of IPKKND...a daily soap."
"It was telecast long ago... I know"
"Really? Do you know? You, too, watched it?"
"My mom used to watch it... And it ended many years ago."
"But, still, I like it and Barun. He is my first crush," she said crazily.
Arnav chuckled.
"What was your age when the serial telecast?"
"I was eight. I watched it with my Mom, but she changed the channel when the romantic scenes came, so I watched all the romantic scenes on YouTube," she said, suppressing her laughter.
He said thoughtfully, "I suppose your mom must be counselled first."
She chuckled.
"She admired Barun more than I did..." She laughed.
Arnav nodded his head from left to right.
"So, I will call you Barun."
"No... don't do it."
"Why?"
"You may face a COPYRIGHT issue", he said rigidly.
Khushi looked at him for a few minutes and laughed.
"Wow, do you know how to counter? Unbelievable"
"Not more than you..."
"Think anything. You are so awesome."
He looked at her plainly.
"What's your wife's name?" she asked.
He got sick for a while and said,
"Sanaya"
She looked at him suspiciously.
"Didn't you say I look like Barun who acted in IPKKND? So, my wife is Sanaya who paired him in IPKKND."
"Do you like her?" She raised her brows.
"My mom likes her antics."
"That means your mom will like me too..."
"She won't... because she likes my wife."
"Why don't you tell me your name?"
"You hid your mobile. Likewise, I, too, have a reason."
"Did you fight with your wife?"
"We never fight."
"Then why didn't she call you at least once?"
Arnav was supposed to say something, but she stopped.
"Don't say she is busy auditing..."
"No... she called me. You were sleeping at that time."
"Could you show me her photo?"
Arnav was stuck. He nodded no.
"Why?"
"I don't want to risk... if you meet her anywhere, I don't know what you will do."
Khushi became distraught.
"Listen, you are a nice girl. Don't get distracted by something that cannot happen."
She fiddled with her bag edge, pouting. Arnav sighed.
They saw the bus coming. They got inside and sat. Arnav closed his eyes as if he was sleepy. Using the chance, Khushi captured their selfie without his knowledge.
Arnav pretended to be sleeping to avoid conversing with her. But, he thought, talking with her would be better when she leaned on his shoulder.
He didn't know why she was so fond of him. Being a college professor, he could not encourage her. She was a young girl who had just graduated. He didn't know how she could think this kind of relationship would work. He felt bad about the young generation of guys.
Arnav didn't sleep and looked cautious. He accompanied Khushi only for her safety. Until her safety was confirmed, he could not leave her alone. He looked in the bus to see if there was anyone looking suspicious. He made sure no one watched them.
After a while, he sensed she had slept. He took a paper, wrote something on it, and folded it.
When he saw the board that indicated 'Five kilometres to Delhi', he tried to insert the letter into her watch strap but stopped seeing the Rolex watch in her hand. He wondered if she was a rich girl who could afford a Rolex watch. He inserted the letter into her watch and stood up slowly. Making her lean on the seat comfortably, he got out of the bus, leaving sleeping Khushi.
After reaching Delhi, the bus conductor saw Khushi sleeping. He approached her and tapped her seat.
"Hey, madam..."
She opened her eyes, jerking, and looked at the conductor.
"You reached Delhi..." He said.
Khushi looked around, searching. Undoubtedly, she was searching for Arnav.
"What are you looking for?"
"My friend was with me..."
"The one sitting with you?"
"Yes..." She said enthusiastically.
"He got down ten minutes ago", The bus conductor confirmed.
"Are you sure?"
"Yes... Look at the bus, you are the only one here."
Khushi's throat dried. She felt like choking. She took her bag and hung it on her shoulder. That was when she saw a folded paper being inserted into her watch strap. She removed it from the watch strap and was supposed to throw it away but stopped thinking about something. She opened it hurriedly and saw it was a letter from Arnav. She knew he didn't like her, so why did he write her a letter? She read it curiously.
Khushi, I'm sorry, but I'm going without bidding you goodbye. It's needed because our relationship is a train journey friendship—only a two-day relationship. So, don't confuse your mind and concentrate on your studies. Education is a must for anyone. Keep it in your mind. I wish you very good luck—Arnav.
Khushi cried, hugging the letter.
"The duration of our relationship might be two days, but our experiences are not forgettable. You didn't understand that. I believe one day I will definitely meet you again. That day, you will understand our relationship is not a train journey, one," she thought.
Present
Arnav was cooking dinner and thinking about Khushi. He could not believe she had again come into his life. How could he be going to restrict her? As he didn't want professors and students to think differently about their relationship, he framed a story that their fathers were friends, but, his bad luck, she got to know about it. He didn't know what she would do. He kept the spatula down with a thud.
On the other hand, Khushi was on cloud nine. She could not believe he had again entered her life. She thanked God for making her belief come true. As she wished, she had met him again. He would be with her for the next two years. Her life journey would be so thrilling with him. He was her professor. Charming professor! She pinched her cheeks and kissed her fingertips.
The next day
Khushi waited for Arnav in the parking lot, hiding, of course. Arnav stopped the car, and his eyes robotically wandered. He got out of the car and was supposed to take his bag; before he did that, a flower-like hand pulled it. Arnav looked at the hand's owner, even though he knew who it was. Khushi smiled at him brightly.
"Good morning, sweetheart," she said.
"Give me my bag," he said, trying to take it from her hand.
"Don't create the scene, Arnie. Everyone is looking at us."
Arnav straightened himself and walked, with Khushi walking in parallel.
"Give my bag."
"You know what, I usually don't like angry people, but you are exceptional... You look so hot when you get angry," she hopped joyfully.
"Khushi, I have respect in this college. Students will not obey me if you behave with me like this."
"I will not do anything that spoils your respect. Just talk to me casually and maintain the lie you created. Then everything will go smoothly. I will not do anything that ruins your respect... I will just talk to you. More than that, I will not do anything in the CAMPUS. You can trust me."
Arnav became thoughtful. He decided to trap her as a professor. He stopped at the staff room and smiled at her, making her dumbfounded. Taking his bag from her, he said,
"You are not my servant. You don't have to do this for me. If you do it again, I will ask your father to cut your pocket money. Ok?" he intentionally said as he saw his colleagues and students watching them.
"Wow, Arnie, how beautiful you are when smiling! I feel dizzy...!" She winked.
Arnav went to the staff room casually, leaving Khushi in surprise.
Akash smiled at him.
"It seems she started serving you?"
Arnav didn't answer but smiled. He was not ready to discuss Khushi's matter because it might backfire him again.
Khushi saw students looking at her respectfully, especially the old students. She sat on the first bench next to Jane.
"Hi.." Khushi smiled.
"How did Arnav sir talk to you casually? Didn't he ignore you yesterday? Did you make your father talk to him?"
"Didn't I say we know each other?"
"Yeah, you are so lucky. He smiled at you like he never did, " Jane said, and Khushi sighed inwardly. Only she knew what was running between her and Arnav.
Khushi smiled when Arnav entered the class. As she said, she didn't disturb him except ogle at him. Could not help! As she didn't expect, Arnav called her name.
"Khushi..."
She looked at him, jerking.
"Yesterday, I introduced a lesson. You are going to explain what I taught you yesterday. OK?" he said without a smile. He sat on the table, hanging a leg, looking at Khushi. He knew Khushi would not have studied the lesson because neither she listened to it nor should have studied it in the excitement of meeting him.
Khushi was dumbfounded. She looked at her classmate, who smiled at her teasingly.
"Do you know what lesson I taught yesterday?" He asked.
Khushi bit her lip and then smiled.
"It was Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet... a love story of eternity. Love is the overriding theme of the play, " she said dreamingly.
"Romeo and his friends gatecrash a Capulet party. Romeo meets Juliet at the party and falls in love with her instantly. They were shocked to discover they were enemies due to their feuding families, and Juliet was supposed to marry her father's choice, the County Paris. Juliet fakes her death to avoid marrying Count Paris. She takes a sleeping potion that makes her appear dead, thinking that Romeo would take her away. But Romeo drinks poison after believing Juliet to be dead. Juliet then wakes up and, seeing Romeo's body, kills herself with Romeo's dagger," She said, feeling sad.
Arnav gulped hard. He didn't expect she would have listened to the lesson. Or, she might have read it at home. Otherwise, she could not have narrated the story summary of Romeo and Juliet. He understood one thing: he underestimated her!
To be continued...
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