“Stop it.” shouted John.
“Peace. Don’t shout. And don’t try
to prove your supremacy just by shouting at Me.” shouted back Lisa.
“What? What the hell on earth are
you even saying? Who was the one that started all this mess?”
“So, you mean to say that it was
all thanks to me?”
“Why do you even doubt it? This is
just not the first time. Every time we had an argument, you were the one who
initiated. Next, you always be one to first to disagree, and I would end up on
compromising side.”
“Oh. So, you mean to say that you
have been compromising all the while just for my sake? I never expected this. I
always liked you, the way you were. But you have changed. And here is the
testimony in your own words that you have been changing all these days. I
really don’t understand...”
“Stop...”
“I really don’t understand...”
“I say stop...”
“...why you guys want to prove to
the world that you are only chivalrous and gentlemen...”
“What did you just say?”
“Yes. You heard it right. I meant
every single word I said.”
“Well, I knew it. This is why you
girls are very tough to be understood. You change sides in just a flick of a
moment. You expect us to be gentlemen, you want us to be so nice and good to
you, you want us to be accommodative, and at the same time, you want us to be
honest and you want us to be ourselves.. Wah.. What a contradiction. I never
thought this would end like this. You change sides all of a sudden. No wonder
if you change partners frequently even.”
“What did YOU JUST SAY? If you
have any issues with me, do dare to face me. Why do you want to make some
stupid remarks on women in general, you idiot? You should be insane in every
frame of your mind to have made such remarks. And you are coward enough not to
speak out on my face, which is why, you are sandwiching words between some dumb
general statements and trying to attack me personally. How dare you even say it
about girls? You have no right ...”
“Ah... look who’s speaking. You
were the one who started generalizing on guys in your conclusions, and now, you
start blaming me for my words. Hmmm... this is the height of hypocrisy. You
can’t stand yourself. You are the one who gets confused with yourself, and
think that you are always right and the others are always wrong. I don’t see
any point in dragging this argument any more when the person on the other side
is someone as dishonest as you are.”
“Stop it already. You are the one
who spoke sweet words luring me into a relationship, and then you never cared
for me. I’m sure you were with some other girl and were always pushing aside
the topic whenever I raise it with you. You are just playing your pawns with as
many girls as possible and want to finally settle with one of them, or probably
some of them, you XXXX. I don’t see anything wrong in my speaking out like
that. In fact, you are the one who made me speak out. You liar, You immoral
baxxxxx. Get the bloody hell out of my life. And first, get the eff out of
here. I can’t stand you anymore. I feel ashamed to have been with someone like
you all these days.”
Saying so, Lisa started weeping.
John went closer to cajole her, but in vain. She shrugged him off in one jerk
and he was taken aback. She just sagged closing her arms when tears started
flowing down. The more John tried calling her out, the more she started
shouting at him. Feeling helpless, he left the room in silence. Such was the
instinct of an immature girl who felt lost in love with another immature young
lad.
- - - - - - -x x x - - - - - - -
It all started twelve months ago...
Lisa was just done with her class
XI. The results were declared and she was the topper in her school with a
98.5%. She was overjoyed. At last, the efforts during the last one year paid
off really well. The moment the results were declared, it seemed to her that
the whole world had its’ eyes on her. Everyone around her, the Principal,
teachers, her parents, neighbours, friends, everyone was eager to meet her and
congratulate her. The Press was also all around her after knowing that she not
only topped the school, but also stood first at the state level. They were
queued up around her house to have her exclusive interviews. Her principal
declared a cash award of INR one lakh and also promised to offer her free
education for the next year. She was overjoyed with this and her parents felt
very happy that their tough times have ended. Poor humans, for they haven’t had
a trace of thought that times could make things worse after all. The day being
a holiday, her dad sent her in a car to school for giving her interviews to the
press.
Lisa had always been a brilliant
student academically. Blessed were the couple, at least, that was what their
relatives and friends thought, when Rakesh and Lata, had a baby girl on a sweet
summer morning in Mussourie. Rakesh was a tourist guide who earned sufficiently
enough that they could handle, and Lata contributed to it with her dexterous
hands at needlework. The couple lived happily until their expenses started
rising. The inflationary trends in India coupled with the additional expense of
bringing up the child, made things a little difficult for the couple. However,
they gave up certain wants initially. Gradually Rakesh started working overtime
with a travel agency on the Mall Road. Things went on well despite the hand to
mouth existence. One fine day, the owner of the travel agency decided to settle
himself abroad with his son, and decided to sell the entire business. Rakesh
looked into this opportunity and bought over the entire business via a loan.
The initial two years were very hard and at one point, Rakesh almost decided to
sell off the business when Lata persuaded him to hold on. The next year, they
saw very bright business profits, sufficient enough to repay their loan. Then
started their way to glory and success.
The frequent rush of tourists
coupled with the goodwill of Rakesh, gave customers a confidence to trust in
him. Rakesh being a tourist guide himself, toured frequently across the region
and came out identifying exquisite locations. He designed some very good
packages for the guests and in no time, more people started flowing in through
the referrals. Meanwhile, Lisa was growing up to be an exceptionally
intelligent girl. She consistently topped all through her academics and was
also very good at public speaking. She was very outgoing, frank and honest
which won her many friends. Everyone liked her and one girl, Anjali, remained
her best friend. Anjali also hailed from a lower middle class family and hence,
felt a great sense of responsibility towards her studies. She was very hard
working, not so outgoing but very friendly, and above all, bestowed with all
virtues. For those outsiders, it would appear that they were archrivals, and in
fact, they share an academic rivalry but personally, they were very good
friends. They both decided to join the same school for their class XI, and they
did do. Both of them worked very hard throughout the year and in the end,
Anjali ended up scoring a 98% just falling behind Lisa. But she was the one who
was really happy at Lisa’s success.
- - - - - - -
x x x - - - - - - -
“Anju Dear...” called out Lisa,
looking at Anjali amidst the crowd around her. “come, here. Get inside.” She
said from inside the car. Anjali got in.
“I’m very happy for you, my little
darling.” Anjali said in exhilaration, “I really feel happy for your efforts
finally paid off.”
“Ah, it was nothing. I’d have been
just nothing had you not been with me all along and supported me in times of
need. You deserve the position, had luck not favoured me marginally. Anyway,
i’m sure there will be a day when i’d be proud to see my Anju second to none.”
Meanwhile, they reached Lisa’s
home. Lata was at the doorstep awaiting he daughter’s return. She was very happy
to see Anjali along. She took them both inside and treated them with all kinds
of delicacies she had prepared to celebrate the occasion. They had a lot of fun
together even as it got late in the evening, Anjali was escorted by Rakesh to
her home. The next day, was the re-opening of their school post the vacation.
So, Lisa dozed off very early hoping to get back to school in high spirits for
the next year. She would have never expected that the day would make such a
huge difference in her life.
... To be
continued...
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