All is Fair

Chapter 18

It was a Friday evening and Shoba was in a vey happy mood. She was dressed to impress and the twinkle in her eyes made Sanaa look at her suspiciously.

Mary called out to Sanaa, who was sitting with her back to the window sill. “Sanaa, give me your Major-1 notes. Maam won't be coming for this hour. I'll finish my classwork.”

Sanaa slid the book to Mary, past Shoba. Then she turned her attention back to Shoba. “You're going out with Ravi?”

“No, not going out.”

“Ok, so you're going to meet him then. To talk to him.” She cleared her throat. “Do I have to come?”

Shoba gave her the sad pout. “You will, won't you?”

Sanaa sighed in defeat as she took out her phone. “Of course I would have to.”

She called Rasheed to check on him. That crazy boy and his crazy plans. He would choose the most inappropriate times to call her out on ‘dates'. And since this was an inappropriate time, maybe Rasheed was thinking of asking her out. The phone kept ringing but Rasheed did not attend the call. The same as the last few days. Sanaa relaxed. At least this time Rasheed wouldn't be making her life difficult.

After college, Shoba and Sanaa headed to the quiet lane near the café. Shoba clung onto her bestie's arm. “Oh my God! My heart is beating so fast. What will he think when he sees me? Is my hair good? What about my face? All perfec”

Sanaa rolled her eyes at Shob. “You went out with him just yesterday.”

“So?” she shot back, still fangirling over her boyfriend.

“So, why do you have to get the jitters every time as if you're going to meet him for the first time? Inspite of meeting him almost everyday?”

“Oh, that's because, ya know, ‘my heart falls for him everytime I see him' kind of stuff?” Shoba shrugged. “I don't know, okay. I feel the butterflies in my stomach.”

“Girl, you need help.”

“Uh-huh…” Shoba fell unnaturally quiet. A few feet ahead, Ravi was seated on his bike, grinning at her. There was someone else with him, a plump boy in a white shirt and dark blue denim pants. His back was turned to the girls.

Sanaa stopped four steps away from the bike. “Go talk to him and come back fast.” Sanaa told Shoba.

Shoba winked at her bestie. “Of course.”

Sanaa stood staring. ‘Uh-oh!’ It was then that she realized that her best friend had set up a trap for her. And she had walked right into the trap. But what was it? She looked up and down the empty street, waiting for Rasheed to pounce at her from behind one of the parked cars. Or maybe Ameena? Perhaps Feroz? But the street was still empty, except for the four people in it.

Ravi took hold of Shoba's waist. The couple then turned around and casually strolled down the lane, away from Sanaa. And that was when Sanaa actually took in the presence of the boy clad in the white shirt. She put a hand over her mouth, over the niqaab. His back was still turned to her, his hand rubbing the back of his head.

Sanaa glared at her bestie's retreating back. ‘Has she set me up with someone?’

The boy finally turned around and gave her that sweet, shy smile of his. And Sanaa took a step back, her hand clutching her bag’s strap. Shoba had not set her up with just anyone.