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Chapter 2
Chapter 1
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Nikhil parked his silver Kinetic next to the other vehicles as Nipun looked up at the dilapidated hoarding that read 'Pool Around'. “Losers
pay today?” Nikhil teased his bunk buddy. It had been a while since Nipun tasted success at the table. But
that did not deter him from saying “All I want to say is that you will go back
home crying today”. Nikhil couldn’t help smiling at Nipun's full blown confidence which sounded more like an empty jar without promise. For every time they played, it was agreed upon that the loser would bare the cost at Vaishali; a south-indian restaurant that was home to every collegian. Nikhil earned free Masala Dosas and Thums Up for the past three outings. As they walked up the narrow stairway, the muffled music became
crystal clear. The song `Californication’ eclipsed the sound of people walking
around, commenting over every prospective shot, and laughing at the failed
ones. The occasional whack of the cue ball hitting the colored ones went well
with the beat of the music. This place made Nipun and Nikhil feel right about bunking. Nikhil wasted no time in setting up the table, racking the
balls and placing the chalk at the side of the table. Nipun strolled to the
opposite side with a bottle of coke in one hand and the cue stick in the other.
He raised the stick slowly, pointing it menacingly towards his adversary.
Nikhil could only smile back and say “For god’s sake play." Each table came at Rs.50 for half an hour.
Nikhil still seemed unsure about missing college, though Nipun showed zero remorse. “Mehta" Nipun called out from the far end of the table, "Don't look so tensed man. You should be thanking me for getting you here instead of attending some boring lecture" Nikhil's frown and signs of guilt made Nipun edgy. "You should thank me for saving you from that life you had in school! You would’ve been that same fat monster with soda glasses on your face!” Nikhil’s past was a chubby boy being fed well by his grandmother, which he thought wasn’t too bad, but Nipun referred to it as 'disturbing'. His version of Nikhil's journey from school-to-college was primarily about how a four eyed ogre was rescued, and transformed into someone acceptable to society. “And to top it all off, how did you even think you had a chance with a girl like Jyotsna back in school?” Jyotsna was unanimously deemed as one of those pretty girls in Symbiosis school. She had a snow white complexion and the face found on a barbie doll. Nikhil found himself lucky to be her family friend ever since her family partnered with his dad to manage his sports shop. For fractions of minutes he’d stare at her in the assembly line, “I should go up to her and say something. Like, Right NOW” “What would she think of me if I removed my glasses and was just a bit thinner” “The day I start managing the shop, I can ask her for her hand in marriage” were the thoughts he catered to his 10 year old mind. A dream that was distant back in school, did not seem so farfetched now. Nikhil was taller, leaner and lost all that baby fat he collected over the years. Whack..! The familiar sound of the cue hitting the ball. “1-0” Nipun took the first game and he walked around with his chest so high that he could put his coke bottle over it. “Dude, I’ve been thinking” Nikhil said, now all dreamy eyed “Do you think I should ask Jyotsna out?” he said it nonchalantly, trying not to attract too much attention. “I mean, you said back then in school that I didn’t have a chance with her. But what about now?” All of a sudden Nipun stopped in his stride and pondered over what Nikhil said. He took a gulp of his drink trying not to look too surprised, studied his friend from head to toe and bent over to take the next shot. “Go for it.” Nikhil stood in silence, expecting for more doling words from his brother-like figure. He needed to know that he wasn’t going to make a fool of himself if he asked her out and she turned him down. That would be a catastrophe. Imagine what a feud that would create between her family and his dad, which could trigger fallout at the sports shop. That would mean Nikhil having to forget about that financial cushion his sports shop offered. He'd have to slog it out in college, attend those horrid placement interviews and take a steel tiffin for his nine-to-five job. “Listen..” Nipun finally lending him help “You liked her since what, the past nine-ten years..? I mean, your crush is LEGENDARY. You might as well try asking her out before it’s too late. You don’t want to repent it for the rest of your life.” Nikhil was in a thoughtful grump trying to make sense out of what he heard. “It’s now dude.. This is your time.. You KNOW it’s going to work out because she may be feeling the same way too” Nikhil didn’t want to play pool after hearing that. He just wanted to go home and prepare himself on how and when and where to do it. Nipun made everything sound so easy. He put his arm around Nikhil's shoulder, and delivered the finishing blow "Tomorrow's Rose day. No better day." Next Chapter |