7 Years & Waiting

Chapter - 31

Approx 2 years 4 months before D-day....

Damn! Nothing is worse than being stuck in the Delhi traffic in the peak afternoon hour, especially when you really need to be somewhere soon.

"Come on, drive now! The signal is green" I shouted at the car in front of me knowing very well that there was no chance that the driver would have heard me from inside his air- conditioned car.

Heard or not, the car finally moved and I wasted no time and speeded my Scooty, overtaking the stupid car. I would not have been in this situation if Sarthak had taken his damn tie when he left in the morning.

It was a big day for my friend today since he was speaking at the annual meet by National Positive Psychology Association at IIT Delhi. Almost thousands of Psychology students of Delhi university submitted research papers for this meet and only three were finally selected, Sarthak being one of them.

To say that my bestie was excited would be the understatement of the year. It was even more of a big deal for him since he had already got into IIT Delhi and would be starting in a few months. Next week we both are graduating and after that, while I will be miles away in US completing my masters, my friend would be fulfilling his dreams here.

Except for the fact that if I don't get his tie to him on time today, he may kill me before any of this happens. His speech is scheduled to start sharp at 2 p.m and just before an hour, the idiot realized that he had left his tie at home. Although he pretended that it wasn't a big deal, I knew him well to know when he was disheartened. So....here I am! Amara Tripathi on the rescue.

Also I was the perfect choice for being the person to get his tie since Sarthak's parents and sister had already reached there and it made no sense to go back in a car in such Delhi traffic. I, on the other hand had my Firebolt.....the Scooty I bought a few months back by finally breaking into my father's savings. And I named it Firebolt since it made me feel like I was flying....not because it bolts on seeing Fire!

The sound coming out of the loudspeaker outside the auditorium depicted that the show had already started and so I wasted no time and instantly parked my scooter, running towards the back gate where all the green room of participants were situated.

"There she is!" it was Sarthak's sister Naina who exclaimed with relief as soon as I entered the room allotted to the three speakers. " Bhai was going nuts without you".

However, her words didn't even get the chance to settle in since I was enveloped tightly in my huge friend's arms. "Oh thank God, Firebolt! I thought you wouldn't reach on time" he exhaled with relief and I managed to detangle myself from him.

"Jeez, Saru! Get your pants off fire...I am here now! And here...." I retrieved that damn tie out of my side bag, "is your tie....Happy?"

"Tie...Who cares about the damn tie!" he looked at the tie like it was something malicious.

"You don't? Then why were you so worked up about it not reaching to you on time?" I scrunched my eyebrows in confusion.

"Are you crazy, Am! Do you really think that I care so much if I speak at the most prestigious psychology institute with a tie on or not!" he gave me a duh look. "I was scared that you wouldn't reach on time. That you may miss my speech. That...is something I very much care about".

I grinned at my sweetheart friend, no more words required and grabbed the tie from his hands, tying it around his neck.

"Even if I am happy that you care about me more than this stupid tie, I had done a great deal to get it here. So...you better wear it now" I spoke in a warning voice and he grinned back in reply.