The Wrong Number

02

Alankrita Sundar waited patiently at the bus stop, rubbing her shoulders to warm them. It was October in Bangalore, and the cold monsoon winds had descended upon the busy city. It was cold enough for her to make a little cloud every time she exhaled. Despite this fact, she'd arrived a few minutes earlier than usual. Why, you might ask. Well, Alankrita Sundar was not one to pass up an opportunity of solitude in the midst of nature, and with the ungodly traffic that materialized at seven thirty every morning, such opportunities were a rarity. She closed her eyes and sighed. This was such a relief from her usual demanding daily routine. Her day was filled with obligations towards friends, extra courses at school, co-curricular activities, student council meetings and what not. Squeeze in a shift at Chai Coffee, the café she worked at, and she was surprised she still found time to sleep. But she knew better than to complain.

She heard the bus arrive before she saw it. The great yellow brute rumbled into view, and Ally noticed that the windows were adorned with indicate patterns of frost. It gave the otherwise drab vehicle a sense of grace. Greeting the driver with a smile, she searched for an empty seat. She spotted one at the back and scurried to it. Almost as soon as she sat down, her phone started to vibrate in her coat pocket. Looking at the screen, her smile vanished as she read who the message was from. Rolling her eyes, she decided to reply only out of pure respect for textual etiquette.

07:35 am, Ruhan: how do you know Tanya?

07:37 am, Ally: I thought I told you not to contact me again.

08:38 am, Ruhan: yeah, well since it turns out Tanya DID hand me the wrong number I want to know whose it was. Are you a guy? Because if u are u better stay away from my girlfriend.

07:38 am, Ally: how stupid does one have to be to mess up giving someone their own number?

07:40 am, Ruhan: what the hell?!?
07:40 am, Ruhan: it was party and there were a lot of distractions. Don't change the subject

07:41 am, Ally: uh huh. I thought you and Garima were a thing.

07:41 am, Ruhan: that's last week. Just answer the damn question.

07:42 am, Ally: jeez calm down already. I'm a girl, so u don't have to worry about your girlfriend cheating.

07:42 am, Ruhan: ok.
07:48 am, Ruhan: are you single?

07:50 am, Ally: you are unbelievable!

07:51 am, Ruhan: I am also very attractive

07:53 am, Ally: I beg to differ.

07:53 am, Ruhan: what's your name?

07:55 am, Ally: I thought I made it clear that I wasn't going to tell you that.

07:59 am, Ruhan: Aw come on :)

08:00 am, Ally: no.

08:02 am, Ruhan: please? :')

08:02 am, Ally: no.

08:04 am, Ruhan: come on, babe, don't be this stubborn. ;)

08:05 am, Ally: God, will you stop with the emojis? A day ago you texted me thinking I was your girlfriend. Also, stop calling me 'babe'.

08:07 am, Ruhan: wow that must be the longest sentence I've gotten out of you. Fine, whatever you say babe. ;*

Grunting in disbelief, Ally shoved her phone back into her pocket. What an arrogant airhead. Ruhan Das was the embodiment of all that was wrong with today's teenagers. He and the rest of the 'popular crew' lollygagged their way through classes, and ambled about the campus with an air of superiority.

Popular-no doubt. Handsome-check. Surprisingly smart-positive. A moronic narcissist from his first minute under the sun, he was actively avoided by Alankrita. She had made this decision when, in fifth grade, she, having being appointed the class monitor, caught him eating food in between classes and was greeted with a handful of dal makhni to the face when she threatened to tell on him.

And it was just her luck to see the specimen in question walk through the doors of the bus. She glared at him as he flamboyantly made his way to the back of the bus, clapping numerous boys on the back as he did so. He made it to the backseat and stood there with the rest of his friends. It seemed that if one was 'popular', they never occupied any seat other than the last in any vehicle, and when they did, they wouldn't sit down- they had to lean on their bags. Alankrita understood this as one of the terms in 'the Popular Agenda', along with having rich parents, importunate messy hair that miraculously looked intentional and pulling on backpack straps until they hung down low enough to cause a chronic spine injury.

Wobbling next to his friends, trying to stay standing in the moving bus, Ruhan was animatedly talking to them. With several eyes on him, and fully aware of this fact, loudly exclaimed, "Wow, I'm so sore from my workout today, yaar," and sighed, "A hundred push ups takes a toll on the body, you know?"

Not surprisingly, this was followed by 'ooooh's and 'aahhh's and "Did you really do a hundred push ups?" and even "Can I touch your arms?"

Grimacing, she turned away and rolled her eyes.

*****