Simply Rebellious

Chapter 7 - New Dimensions

Happy Reading

"Toh tune kya kaha?" Shefali, Naina's once pen friend and now neighbour asked her.

They were walking back home after Shefali was done with her grocery shopping. Naina had joined her partly because she wanted fresh air and partly because there was a lot of weight on her chest.

"Maine ..." Naina trailed off again. This was all new and all confusing for her.

"Ghar aa gaya." Shefali said to pull her friend out of the void she had been staring at the whole time they were walking.

Seeing her friend hesitant and confused, she pulled her inside her home.

"Kya baat hai? Acche se baith kar bata?" Shefali urged Naina.

"Dekh ..."

Naina started describing how the rishta ball was thrown at her out of the blue, how unprepared she was and then how she decided to run away.

"Kitni smart hai na tu!" Shefali made a sarcastic comment.

"Mujhe aur kuch samajh nahi aaya tab. Ab tu aage sun ..." Naina shut her up and continued telling her about her random but beautiful encounter with this stranger called Sameer Maheshwari.

"Aage?" Shefali asked.

"Wo ladka, Sameer Maheshwari, hi wo ladka hai jiska rishta aaya tha!"

"Kya!"

"Haan!"

"Toh tujhe Sameer pasand hai?"

Naina pressed her eyelids against each other and then pressed her temples.

"I don't know." She looked away then. "Sab naya hai. Mujhe nahi pata."

"Toh tune haa kaha ki naa?"

"Maine ... Maine kaha ki pehle ladke se pooch lo aur fir usne haa kar diya aur maine ..."

"Tune?"

"Mujhe nahi pata, Shefali. Uss raat jab mai uske saath thi, toh kuch aur yaad hi nahi tha, sab accha lag raha tha par shaadi ... Shaadi toh kabhi mere dimaag me thi hi nahi. Mujhe toh apna career banana tha ... Aur wo mai ab bhi kar sakti hu par mujhe nahi pata ki mai itni badi responsibility ke liye taiyaar hu ya nahi?"

"Toh tune naa kar di?" Shefali said in a small voice.

"Ab tum naa nahi kar paogi."

Sameer's cheeky words and confident face flashed in front of Naina.

"Maine ... Haa kar di." Naina looked down at her feet. Feeling stupid, a little happy but yes, stupid.

"That's great news." Shefali began speaking but Naina was looking disturbed so she asked her again, "that is great news, right?"

"I don't know. Rishta accha hai, ladka bhi accha hai, family ko bhi mere padhne/kaam karne se koi problem nahi hai par ... It's all new for me and I'm scared."

"Mujhe iss sector me koi khaas knowledge nahi hai par I think ... kuch questions ke answers zyada nahi dhundhne chahiye, unko aise hi chod dena chahiye. Jawab apne aap kisi din mil jaata hai." She kept a reassuring hand on Naina's shoulder.

Naina nodded her head in agreement. The night was drawing closer, so she took Shefali's leave and began climbing the stairs that took her home.

Sameer's home was in another mess, while he would have loved to just soak in Naina's yes, he had to deal with a hyperventilating, overreacting Munna.