6:00 am - Avni had finally agreed- but not just for Ali, deep inside her heart there was a desire to meet Neil and spend some time with him- uh, not with him but staring at him. Avni was horrified as she realized that they had just few weeks together- after that they would not meet again. A lone tear dropped from Avni's eyes as she was thinking about it.
"Baccha, have you packed everything? Don't forget your meds and your blanket, I've heard that you get used blankets in such camps. And, remember, don't eat soya products- you are allergic to them, but in case you do eat them, I'm keeping some meds for that too. And, since it is a trek you might get cramps in your legs, but don't worry. Aur haan, mujhe roz phone karna or I'll be worried" Neela continued her monologue as she was packing Avni's stuff. Avni, all this while was lost in Neil's thoughts- her daydreaming routine.
"What are you thinking about? Itni der se bol rahi hoon, kuchh sun hi nahi rahi." Neela asked Avni
Avni came out of her bubble, "Maa teen din ke liye jaa rahi hoon, why are you stressing about it?"
"Baccha pehli baar tum jaa rahi ho and your asking me why am I freaking out? But you know what, tumhara bahar nikal naa bhi zaroori hai." Neela said
Neela dropped Avni to the bus. She saw many boys and was worried for Avni which clearly was evident from her face.
"Maa, aap itna stress kyon le rahe ho, Chamko hai na mere saath" Avni tried to satisfy Neela
"Haan, voh bhi hai. Par please bacha apna dhiyaan rakhna aur roz phone karna. I'll miss you." Neela said
"Ab rulaoge kya Maa? Chalo, I'll see you after two days. Bye Maa! "Avni hugged Neela. Ali came to the stop.
"Oye Avni!" he yelled from a distance. "Ready hai?"
"Haan. Aur tu Chamko"
"Main to EverReady hoon, woh battery ki tarah, ekdum charged"
Avni laughed at his stupid joke, she was glad that Chamko was back. "Toh chalein?"
"Aise nahin" Ali said, Avni understood.
"Ganpati Bappa Moreya" They both screamed in joy and laughed. Neil, who was standing in a corner laughed at this. He never saw Avni so happy. He loved this side of her. The bus was now ready to leave. Avni waved Neela a goodbye and they left. It was a 6 hour drive. There were about thirty of them going to the trip.
In the bus, Avni's heart wanted to sit beside Neil, but she had to control herself. She chose the seat that was farthest from him. But, Ali wanted to sit with Avni and the gang. So, the gang decided to take the seats facing each other. Avni was sitting beside the window, Ali was sitting with her. On the seat across the passage, KK was sitting and Neil was sitting on the other window side. The seat opposite to them was empty. Riya and Mitali were sitting on the seat opposite to Ali and Avni. Juhi couldn't find a seat near the girls and she was hell angry.
"What? you guys didn't save a seat for me?"Juhi said.
"Oh sorry babes, Avni, tum kahin aur baith jao, humara group ek saath baithna chahta hai." Riya asked, politely
"Avni bhi toh hamare group ka hi hissa hai" Ali looked at Avni and said
"O hello! group ka hissa tabhi ban sakti hai, agar hum sab agree karein. Aur yeh- Avni, humare group mein rehne ke laayak hi nahin hai. " Mitali advocated Juhi.
"Koi baat nahin Chamko, I'll sit somewhere else"Avni was hurt. She got up and started looking for a seat. But she couldn't find any and when she found one, she didn't want to sit there as if she sat opposite to Neil, she would keep staring at him for the entire trip and she didn't want that to happen.
"Aise kaise Avni. Isse idhar baithna hai na, to baithne de. Juhi tum yahaan akele hi baitho. Chal Avni hum vahaan baithte hain, KK ke saamne waali seat is empty." Ali advised.
"Par.." Before Avni could complete, Ali dragged her to the seat.
"Oh no, ab iske saamne baithi hoon, control Avni! usse please mat ghoorna, agar usne oopar dekha, to it will be very embarrassing." thinking this, Avni closed her eyes. While Avni was stressed, Neil was quite happy, he could now see Avni for 6 hours continuously. He was looking at her, rather staring at her and she could feel his gaze set on her. She was wondering what he was doing but did not have the courage to look up. To avoid such situations, she decided to read her notes she had bought with her to prepare for her upcoming exams.
"She looks so beautiful while she is reading" a dreamy Neil thought as he was staring at her.
"Cards anyone?" asked KK and brought Neil out of his trance. Neil was still looking at Avni.
"Haan bhai, chal chal kelte hain" Ali said, much excited.
"So let's form teams. Me and Riya will be one team" KK said knowing that Neil didn't know how to play cards well. (Juhi was sleeping guys:)
"O! mujhe underestimate mat kar bhai! meri team mein kaun?" Neil said and Avni looked up, Neil looked at her.
"Main! Neil I'll be in your team" said Mitali. She quickly switched spots with KK.
"Avni, yaar aaj inhe bhi dikha dete hain ki Ali- Avni combo kya dhamaal machata hai" Ali was trying to persuade Avni.
"Nahi yaar you play, I'll watch" Avni said
"Ye dekho, bomb samajh ke daava kiya, nikla fuski! Ali-Avni combo" Neil mimicked Ali.
"Okay Ali, bring it on!" Avni took up the challenge.
"Neil bhai cards shuffle karde na" KK asked.
Neil stopped for a moment, he didn't know how to shuffle cards properly. But he couldn't avoid it. Everyone was looking at him. He had an idea. He started pretending that the bus was shaking a lot and so he couldn't shuffle the deck properly. Avni saw this and smiled.
"Can I try?" She asked innocently.
"Sure" Neil passed the deck to Avni and their hands slightly touched. Avni bushed! but gladly no one saw it except, of course, Maa da ladla Tillu! and now he was blushing too.
Avni started shuffling the deck and distributed the cards.
"Ganpati Bappa Moreya" Ali and Avni screamed before each round and burst into laughter. They were clearly having a good time. Neil too shared laughs whenever they screamed. The gang, except Juhi (who was now awake and mad at everyone else as they were playing among themselves. She saw Avni who was clearly having a good time, she was not-so pleased) spent the new three hours playing cards. The Avni-Ali combo rocked. But Mitali was clearly the happiest- she was playing with Neil after all.
Neil was astonished seeing Avni so excited. He was ready to lose every game just for her. He was just staring at her happy face, he had not seen her so happy ever.
"Guys, I'm bored, I've not won a single game. Let's play antakshiri, aur is baar, tu bhi khel le, sleeping beauty" KK said looking at Juhi.
"Sleeping ka toh pata nahin par haan beauty toh definitely hai" Neil said looking at Avni.
Juhi blushed.
Precap: AvNeil in one team.
Neil: "Tu safar mera.. hai tu hi meri manzil"
YOU ARE READING
Naseeb- Naamkarann
FanfictionAvni and Neil's life as they meet as teenagers, hate each other and move on in lives only to be together in the future.
