NB : The timeline of events and age of characters may vary from the original.
2008
"Aren't you happy we ditched class today?"
She smiled while I simply sat and stared at her. When we first met over a year ago her hair was much shorter and it grew like our relationship I guess.
Ritika Sajdeh
That's the name of the girl I fell in love with last year after our very first date on Valentine's Day.
Sounds crazy and a bit creepy but I did.
She was the one who asked me out. I weighed almost 70 Kg and not muscle at all, so the fact that she bothered doing it surprised me.
I wasn't much lighter now.
Ritika was beautiful in so many ways.
She had golden brown hair with dark brown eyes and fair skin tone . I figured she was a Punjabi girl.
I didn't question her because she hardly ever spoke about her family; only her mom's cooking.
I would always ask when I would have the chance to taste it and she would say soon, it never came though.
She loved baking for me..
She had met my family, I took her over for my birthday as well as for winter holiday. I remember making them promise about not to ask her much about her family until she is ready to talk about it.
I haven't always looked like this, when I joined the college l was as fit as I can be.
I was happy but then I sunk into depression.
Closed off, I didn't bother going home. I hid out at the campus basically making excuses only seeing my family at important games.
The last girlfriend I had before Ritika was almost an year before, when I first started gaining weight.
She wanted the hot jock in the college and I guess that disappeared soon after. We weren't together long, a couple months, so I didn't blame her for ditching me. I wasn't as invested in keeping her either. I wished I was but the need for a girl in my life disappeared with the old Rohit.
At one stage I even got fined for starting a brawl in some cafeteria, I hadn't told anyone I was at home at the time. Funny thing was I went to the cafe to get prepared to act like I was on top of the world and make them believe it. Being a kind of the one in local headlines as an young cricket prodigy the authorities knew who I was and who my family was, so they gave my house a call. I prayed that somehow my uncle was over there but all I got was my Mom and Dad with a look of disappointment for their eldest, so I simply stayed away, not wanting to see it again.
I knew I wasn't getting better , everyone visiting me only made me sink further into depression once they left.
I became a shadow in this place, the only time I got noticed was on the cricket ground. I was good, real good, the only place that made me smile slightly...
Until her.
"I think I have been a bad influence on you Ro"
She smiled as she let her hand rest on mine, tracing small circles onto it.
"Its your last day before you go. I wouldn't want to spend it in class, so a fancy restaurant seemed like the best option."
I shrugged, even after a year she still made me a bit nervous.
"Sushi and the man I love? You are right, always the best option" She let her fingers intertwine with mine, her hand was so small but yet perfect.
