Cigarettes & Peonies

28

"Maahi we're going to Ramleela and that's final." vaishali shouted on the phone. Maahi huffed.
"Dusshera's over vaishu, remember??" maahi reminded her.
"Dear Ms Maahi, this is vanasthali and here we have two Ramleela performances, one before Dusshera and one after that. C'mon, there's gonna be rides, food, earrings and everything else. But most importantly BOYS. Trust me girl I am gonna hook you up with a ravishing hot guy. There's gonna be plenty of them....." and vaishali began rambling. Maahi heard her less while dusting off her shelves. Vaishali always had a queer habit of blabbering, complemented with a serious obsession to hitch maahi with a sweet and handsome boy. If maahi detested her one habit then most probably it was the one mentioned above. Besides, maahi always maintained her distance from guys. And ofcourse there was a certain special someone who she tries to stay clear from (Ahem!!!).
"We have tons of hot guys around here in Yercaud. Most of them are actually aspiring south actors, I know that sounds crazy. But don't worry we'll find you a nice guy. Although Karanvir is the hottest guy in the entire Yercaud, he was Dolce Gabbana model after all, yet I think we may find few guys nearing him in hotness."
"Stop it right there Vaishali!!! I don't wanna hear anything about that man like boy. And please I don't need any hot guy." maahi cried out miffed.
"Ok Ok. Calm down angry girl. Well, I know he kissed you on your chubby cheeks and I'll kill him for that but I don't see any reason in not seeing hot guys just because of a dork. However, it's entirely your call if you wanna hang out with guys or not. But you're going with me and that's it. Period." vaishali declared. Maahi rolled her eyes.
"Yeah yeah. But hey, we'll come home soon. I have to study for the upcoming tests." maahi kept her condition.
"Ofcourse my good girl. This is why Karanvir is so much into you, you're a typical good girl. We're at a shortage of them you know." chuckled vaishali. Maahi's cheeks swelled red with anger.
"Shut up vaishu. Don't talk about him or else I am ending our friendship." maahi fumed. Vaishali bit her laughter.
"God!! So much anger. Ok chubby cheeks, no one's talking about him. Bye, take care and..... Karanvir is the hottest dork!!" giggled vaishali before disconnecting the call. Maahi tossed her phone angrily on the bed.
"Karanvir!!! Karanvir!!! Why do people even talk about him??? He's just a bad guy." she muttered irritated. Hanging the dusting cloth on the peg nailed in the wall, she strode towards her bookshelf. Suddenly her phone rang again. She huffed and plodded heavily towards the bed. The number floating on the screen was unknown. She picked up anyways.
"Hello." she said politely. Someone drew in a breath.
"Hi." there was only one guy who had this sensuous manly voice in the entire Yercaud and MAAHI IS SCARED TO DEATH OF THAT MAN. Maahi's blood froze.
"Is that you??" she asked. Her voice quavering. He chuckled smoothly.
"Well if you probably forgot than I should remind you that I gotta name and that's Karanvir. Your Karanvir." the voice replied cheerfully. Maahi was fuming for no reason.
"How can you be my Karanvir?? Are you my brother or my Father??" she said peeved.
"You sound angry for some reason. Any problem gorgeous??" asked he with concern. Maahi frowned.
"You are my problem. Why do you keep nagging me again and again?? I had blocked you then why are you calling me with different numbers.... WHAT'S YOUR PROBLEM??" maahi yelled on the phone. Her cheeks flushed and red.
"Maahi is there something wrong?? You are never so worked up. Are you ok?? I don't feel bad honestly when you shout on me, but I am just a little concerned about your health. Do you have a fever maahi?? Should I send a doctor?? Or is there any other issue??" karanvir's voice sank lower. Genuine concern was flowing in his husky voice. Honestly speaking, maahi was on periods. Periods and mood swings are totally normal and because maahi had a history of 'bad periods' she is usually crabby in days like these. Even karanvir's genuine concern felt irritating to her.
"I don't feel any need to tell you anything. Just don't call me again ever." she snapped at him rudely. Karanvir drew in a breath.
"I think I understand why are you so miffed today. Um, maahi you should take some rest, I have heard it helps a lot in days like these. Just stay away from cold food and drinks. If still it's not ok then please call me, I'll send a doctor at your house. Take care." he said softly. Karanvir was both evil and shrewd. He had this inbuilt capability to put things together in a relatively short span of time. It took him no more than a minute to figure out that she was on periods. He might not have a sister but guys do hold this much knowledge about menstruation and it's important to have a basic knowledge about periods. He didn't wanted to make her feel awkward by openly discussing things with her as sometimes girls aren't comfortable talking about stuff like these, hence he passively kept his thoughts in front of her. Maahi was having a serious cramp in the lower abdomen. Her fists balled as she tried to bear the pain.
"Shut up." she yelled and disconnected the call. After that, she marched off to her bed and hopped into the bed.