7 Years & Waiting

Chapter - 50

Amara...

My anger had worn out as I reached outside the gates of his college. The feeling of anger was now replaced by restlessness and fear. What am I gonna say to him? And what if he doesn't want to see me at all! Am I imposing myself onto him? May be...he does not want our friendship anymore!

I parked my Scooty outside the gates and took a long breath trying hard to gather my wits. The gate-keeper was busy writing something on a register at the cubicle by the large gate and I took this opportunity to sneak inside the campus. This was a trick Sarthak taught me when we both were in college and used to sneak in here to eat at the university's cafeteria....

Those days! They were so easy and complication-free...I wish things could have been the way they were. When...When does things become so messy!...messy to the point of him deciding to go away.

I sighed as I entered the university campus and started looking for him. I knew his class schedule too well to know that now would be a free period i.e. he must be in the cafeteria.

It didn't take me long to locate him when I entered the cafe since it was his habit since school to attract most of the crowd everywhere he went. Therefore as soon as I saw the largest cluster of students hunching together, talking, laughing, I found Sarthak in the middle of it.

I would have rolled my eyes and smiled at his over-popularity but my wish to smile went into gutter as I witnessed a female someone hugging him fiercely. What was her name? Sanchita!

She removed her arms from around his neck for a minute but after a moment's staring hugged him back again. What the hell?

I was contradicted between moving forward to grab her arms away from Sarthak and leave this place and go back to my wallowing, when Sarthak's eyes fell on me.

I sucked in a breath as I stared back, the outside world dissolving in that moment. Please don't go, Saru! How will I survive my messy, complicated life without you...I realized that if I don't do anything now, I might end up crying. I reluctantly started walking towards the group and the whole group turned mute at my arrival.

I watched Sanchita sneering at me, some of the guys smirking at me but Sarthak...he was just staring. What are you thinking? 

"Hey..." I mumbled embarrassingly, fighting with my inner dilemma to hug him tightly. Just like Sanchita did...

"Hey!" he whispered back, his voice giving nothing away.

"Umm...May I talk to you...in private?" my eyes flickered towards his new friend as I spoke. She continued to scowl at me as if I was some reincarnation of evil. What's her problem?

He looked at me for a while and I felt vulnerable under his scrutiny.

"Okay.." he finally nodded. "Let's go outside!"

I didn't wait to see him follow as I turned on my heels and walked away from a lot of judgmental eyes.

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Sarthak...

She is here! If she is here then it means that she knows!...I had already anticipated of this happening since it's not possible to hide such a news from one person when so many people are already in the loop.

I asked everyone to hide the news of my going away from Amara. At that time I told them that it was because I wanted to avoid any heated conversation with her but in reality, it was because I knew that one look at her face.... and I might fail in doing so altogether.