One Cuppa Chai

°2°

2006

She pulled out her gun and clicked the safety off, aiming it right at his forehead.

"Last chance. You better tell me or I'll blow your head off, mister. Where is the document?"

"No, no, I'll--"

Quivering, he reached into his pocket and she noticed that he'd attempted to reach for the pistol in his waistband.

She jammed her elbow into his side and quickly tackled him down to the ground. "I gave you one chance, shithead."

BAM!

My windows were shut but I could still hear the loud music reverberating below along with the laughter and cheers from the people enjoying themselves.

We always had a new year party in our residency which I seldom joined.

I was in my bedroom absorbed in my diary, books sprawled all over the mattress, when I heard someone outside.

I opened my bedroom door to see Kabir perched at the edge of the sofa.

He noticed me and he looked surprised as his gaze went down...

Oh yikes, I wasn't wearing pants!

I quickly shut the door and leaned against the door, the embarrassment scale was soaring to the ceiling.

"Give this to your mom okay? Carry it carefully on the way back. The halwa is hot," My mother spoke from behind the door, obviously having packed something for the poor boy who was too traumatized to reply.

Why, God! why?

School, on the other hand, was becoming increasingly annoying.

Mrunal-my so-called friend twirled her hair and let out a generous laugh.

I simply looked at the group passively and when Mrunal gestured me to come over, I declined. I knew Mrunal had every physically attractive feature that conformed to adolescent polls which got her more popularity in junior high than when I met her but that did not let me tolerate the fact that she was giggling with a group of boys that I did not get along well with. I mean- boys whose neck I wished to wring with my bare hands one sunny morning.

Correction: I did not get along with almost any of them in that group at all. I simply could not go for the position of Miss popular's bestie because I couldn't tolerate those smug two-faced jocks who wanted to show the world how tough they were.

Most of my classmates of the opposite gender weren't of tolerable nature.

So, I just sat next to my trusty friend Vikram who was currently impressed by the tattoo collection behind my maths textbook. He wasn't one of those boys who just did stuff because he wanted to look cool. So I genuinely preferred his company.

And then there was Kabir who was twinkling among those masculine rodents. Kabir never attempted to be something he isn't. That's in his nature. He's always kind, straight forward and receptive to the other person's feelings. In short, a dreamboat.

As far as the teachings at Siya's convent goes, illicit thoughts about a person from the opposite gender is a sin. My mind seemed to think otherwise, so...

When we met for a Sunday brunch that week, it was Siya who initiated a conversation with Kabir and it was myself and Saloni left to deal with each other all over again. I glanced at the ceramic bowls of Machcher Jhol and the other arrays of fish-based delicacies placed on the table. It wasn't a surprise, considering that my hosts were half-Bengali.