The Nerd and The Brat ✔️

1. First Day

Hello Family :)

Happy Reading...

It was the end of July and Mumbai is on a visit by its annual guest, the monsoons. After halting the normal life for a week, the rains have taken some mercy on the people of the city as Mumbaikers breathed the sunlight for the first time in days. The most thankful among them was a boy of nineteen years who, at present, was behind the steering wheel of his favorite Audi. He entered his destination on the GPS of his mobile, took a deep breath and started his car.

At over six foot in height, Manik Malhotra was more confident about his knowledge on the physical laws of the universe than the roads of Mumbai. While boys his age were more inclined towards building a six-pack, he preferred curling up with his books. The disadvantage, he was too lean for the displeasure of his family and had hardly built a muscle that he could show off to people around him, not that he wanted to show off in the first place. He would still prefer his books over anything even if he sometimes could use some confidence while meeting someone new.

Music was the second best thing which calms his nerves down when his first best option isn't available. The busy roads, the heavy traffic, the faded traffic lights that refused to change their colors due to the pollution aren't helping his nerves. He was about to calculate the probability of working of the traffic lights when the red turned yellow and then green. He sighed. Afraid of being stuck again, Manik rushed his way past the traffic constable, never once crossing the speed limit.

It was all good until he felt the urge to change the song and suddenly there happened many events all at once. He applied the brakes, noticed a bike, fallen, in front of him. It hardly took him a minute to switch off his music and open his door to check if the person in front of him is safe or not but the Mumbai crowd were faster than him. They eagerly pushed him aside and started helping the girl, he noticed after she removed her helmet, out. The girl dusted her jean shorts and hung her helmet to one of the handles of her bike before turning to him. If people could die due to death glares, he would have already been dead, he thought.

"Abey, hero. Dekh kar nahi chala sakta kya? Gadi chalana nahi aata toh road par lekar hi kyun aaya?", she screamed. [Can't you look and drive? Why did you even bring your car on roads if you don't know how to drive?]

"Ma'am, I apologize to you. You are hurt because of my car but I can assure you, it's not because of my driving", he said. He recollected all the traffic rules he had studied to pass his driving test and assured himself. He wasn't driving in the wrong route. Neither did he violated any other rules. The girl was speechless and it satisfied him somehow which was again short-lived.

"You apologize? Ladki dekhi nahi ki gadi thok di. Aur yeh bashan jaad raha hai yaha. Teri itni himmat kaise hui?", she screamed again once after composing herself. [How dare you to not only dash my bike but also to give me a lecture?]

Manik was about to protest but he heard the 'responsible' citizens around them started speaking on behalf of the girl.

"Aise ladke ko chodna nahi chahiye. Ameer ghar ke bigde hue bete", said someone. [We shouldn't leave such boys. They are just spoilt brats from the rich families]

"Madam ji, police ko bulakar andar kardo ise", said another. [Madam, call the police and lock him in]

Manik paled. Why are people complaining against him even if she was the one to come in the wrong route? He turned to the girl. "Ma'am, I didn't plan on this event. We can discuss this instead of involving the police. My mom wouldn't be happy if I get myself arrested on the first day of my college", he said. He didn't care if he was ranting. He needed to escape from this place as soon as he can.