365 DAYS 365 TALES

1 crazy day with 3 friends

"Mom, I know when I've to finish my work. Just don't stick your nose into my business. This is the 2,475th time I'm saying you and yet you can't keep your mouth shut," I told my mom, a little harshly.

I was watching the TV and simultaneously, having a heated argument with one of my friends WhatsApp group when my mother wanted me to do the dishes. Despite that I had been busy with two-in-one work, I felt pretty lazy from the afternoon.

"Okay, my mother-in-law. I'll keep my mouth shut," she teased me, before closing her mouth with her hands dramatically.

I rolled my eyes at it and got back to my TV and WhatsApp.

When the argument going on in the group was over and I turned my fullest attention to the movie on the TV, I heard another bing. Again? I was so excited to get into another argument and quickly scrolled down the notification.

Upon opening it, I was surprised by what awaited me or 'who' would be an apt word, in the inbox.

"Jafar?" I whispered to myself, scrunching my eyebrows, as I looked at the display picture.

Then I remembered giving him my number a few weeks ago. But even when I touched the 'sent' with my number in the content, I never thought he would contact me. To my surprise, he did and I gaped at my mobile screen, longer than it would take to read few pages of a book. It was nothing uncommon or unfamiliar, just a 'hi' and 'how are you?'. Yet, I found it difficult to process it in my brain and get back the net result.

Why am I staring anyway? I asked myself and hit the reply soon. With all the formalities blasting to and fro, I still doubted that was it really him.

"Will you be a guest for our group?" he inquired, out of the blue and I was perplexed.

What was that? "What group? And guest?" I typed and sent.

"We have this group and we used to invite guest to spend a day with us," he replied.

I stared at the screen like before, my already big eyes wide as saucers? Nah, maybe eggs. It would have come out of its socket if I kept doing it, I warned mentally, and chuckled under my breath.

It might be like the other two groups who had invited me to join them but I was not sure. The two groups invited me were readers group. And as they had insisted on having a writer among them, I accepted their invite even then I only knew two or three among two hundred members.

Maybe, Jafar was upto the same but only as a guest, I told myself.

"Sure," I typed and adding a smiling smiley, I had sent it.

Soon, I was reeled into a group called 'Craziest 3'. As it had became a habit from using WhatsApp, I immediately opened the display picture of the group. I closed my mouth with one hand, as I held the mobile in my other, watching the three well suited men in the collage.

No... No... You're shitting your pants right now, my mind mocked. Oh hush, I'm a big girl now, you moron. I'm not scared of them anymore, I snapped.

Those were the three kids, scared me back in the college. They were like our class villains, or I was made to believe so. I was not sure anymore, though I hugged onto every word I had heard about them, eight years ago.

Before I could comprehend what all was that about, there was a bing and I opened the text I received on the new group, I was added to. Despite the airy evening, my hands started to sweat and again, I was gaping at the screen.

I'd like to have some mosquito for dinner today, I forcefully closed my lips.

Anish had sent the welcome message followed by Jafar. Here goes nothing, I took a deep breath before adding the text and hit the sent.

After the formal 'Hi's', I quickly ran out of idea, as of what to do next. Still I didn't had any idea on what all was that about. Considering their friendly talks, I decided onto go with the flow.

It was so awkward to make the conversations with the three whom I knew very well, yet, knew nothing about. And in all honesty, I told them, I was really bad in socialising. That was when the third and the fearsome of all, Aran jumped in.

Pretty soon, I felt so guilty for even being scared about him for all these years. He was such a nice guy, a gentleman should put everything together. I was ashamed of how I had behaved towards them when we were at college.

The fullest credit for my shamefulness would go to the people who were around me, during my college days. Damn you assholes! I cussed mentally, not someone specifically since I couldn't brood over the so called glorious names of people who had deceived me, by wrapping the rotten ideas around my head.

Then again I couldn't blame everything on others since I had been a part of it myself. They had used my immaturity to what? The people around me didn't achieve anything from playing with my innocence and neither did the guys had any misfortune since I thought they were a bad omen. If anything had happened out of my stupidity, it was that I had embarrassed myself, admitting that I was easy to fell for craps.

The day rolled by, with them blowing off each other's covers, teasing around, whacking each other's head with whip and all the stuffs friends would do, and I, on the other hand, enjoying and envying their friendship.

Twenty four hours was up and it was time to say goodbye to my guest role. I kind of felt bad about leaving, after twenty four hours of sheer happiness and enjoyment. But then everything had to end somewhere.

I made up to the past judgements with regrets and said my goodbyes, after making a deal with the three that they should consider me as a friend.

Two minutes later, I was staring at the screen that showed, "You were removed" and I told myself, Now I can win any staring contest after so much practise.

It took few more minutes to roll back and forth of the day's happenings, until I got back to my normal life, accepting the finishing line of one time enjoyment. Whatever that had changed in that twenty four hours became permanent.

Though I had got three friends, whom I had lost once, what I had missed couldn't be salvaged from the wreck I'd made. And I had learnt my lesson for judging them before knowing them.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Hi guys... Hope you liked the story. Do not judge people before knowing them...

Aki~♥

Akiprabagar (18/04)