The Wrong Number

45

"I pierced my lip so she thinks I'm cool
I ripped my jeans and dropped out of school"

Ruhan bobbed his head to the music blaring out of his JBL speakers as he dumped his clothes in the cardboard box. His friend Dev had visited an orphanage with his community service group and that had moved him so much that he was organizing a charity collection. Since Ruhan had a bunch of things he didn't really need, he'd decided to pack it all up in cardboard boxes and drop it off at his house, from where Dev and the rest of the members of his community service group would take it along with the stuff other people had donated to the orphanage.

As he folded a Hard Rock cafe T-shirt he furrowed his eyebrows. Why did he need this many of these t-shirts, again? He sighed and grabbed a bundle of jeans from the top shelf of his wardrobe. Who knew there were this many shades of denim.

"Sitting here at home, it's obvious
She's so out of reach"

Ruhan broke into song as Luke Hemmings dipped into the chorus. Soon he was singing-very off-key-to the music, throwing pairs of jeans into the box, making them stack up in a very haphazard manner. 5 Seconds of Summer was his guilty pleasure music, and when there was nobody in his house except for him and his mother, who rarely left the sofa in front of the T.V. downstairs, he could listen to their songs as loud as he wanted.

"I'm not being me
And it's getting me down
That she makes me-"

A choked giggle from the door made Ruhan stop singing abruptly and turn around. Standing at the door, hand clamped over her mouth, was Alankrita.

Ruhan ran over to his laptop and paused the song. "I, um, it's not what it looks like. I was listening to some ACDC and this stupid thing was on shuffle and, uh..."

Alankrita burst into laughter. "Yeah, okay, I believe that," She said, holding her sides. His face flared up, and he was sure he was blushing. "What are you doing here?"

"'Here' as in your room or your house?"
"Both."

"Okay, I didn't break into your house or anything, your mother let me in. She's really nice, by the way. And I came to your room because I needed to find the source of the ungodly cacophony that was your singing."

Ruhan stifled a laugh, going back to scanning his wardrobe for clothes he didn't need. "Very funny. So, did you come over just to insult me or is there anything else?"

She laughed sarcastically and leaned on the door frame. "I was just heading to Pinky Aunty's to get myself some dessert, and I wanted to know if you wanted to join me. Also," she added with a sheepish smile, "going there in a car with you seemed like a better option than sitting in an auto and having my face ripped apart by the wind."

Pinky Aunty's was a diner down on 12th Main. It was the go to hang out place for most of the teenage population in Indiranagar. It was an old place, and had a retro feel about it, and its comfy atmosphere and excellent service attracted people from as far as Kundanahalli. That and the fact that the chocolate fudge sundae served there was to die for.

Ruhan pretended not to be overjoyed at this offer. "Yeah, sure. But first I need to go to Dev's house and drop these boxes off."

Alankrita nodded and said, "I could help, if you like."He tossed a smaller empty box at her. "I've kept a bunch of books on the floor there," he said pointing to the large bookshelf that dominated half a wall of his room. "I didn't know you could read," she laughed, a little surprised at the enormity of his collection. Ruhan gave her a wry laugh and said, "And I didn't know you were such a knob. Now just help me so we get the ice cream fastly."