S8 39 Circar Express - part 13

cotinued from part 12

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Just as we settled down in our seats, Siri came in a quick dash, with an infuriated look, ‘Ravi, the painting, in the exhibit board, we gave it on behalf of green group, though you did it, it belongs to green group, you just can’t take it.’

‘Whoa! Wait a minute, how can you say it’s me who took it?’

‘Oh! Come on, isn’t it obvious, you took it for your darling here.’

Visibly intimidated by the imagined consequences, Mahi said, coming to my rescue, ‘I’m sorry, I took it.’

Siri left saying, ‘I don’t care.’

Mahi was noticeably upset.

----O----

A little while later one of my friends came up to me and told me there’d be a re-election for the post of the Class Representative. I laughed at the evident joke, but later when the instructor was diligently trying to affect the same during a leisure class, I was veritably dumbfounded.

I was the Class Representative ever since anyone can remember, and I have held that post since my day one. And as someone who is ambitious enough to be good in academics while also participating in every other event, I was in a way respected and never for once anyone even tried the suggestion of a re-election for the Class Representative. It’s a post of privilege and honor, and some useless things. I was even more stung when I came to know about the fact that it was a suggestion from a group of girls, obvious enough, Siri and her girls’ gang.

We have gone with the tedious process and not surprisingly, I was re-elected.

Some guys visibly favored both me and Siri for the post while a wink in their eyes during the process told me that they were doing so just for the fun of it, and moreover, it’d definitely be more entertaining to get a ‘girl’ boss over them.

At the end of it to my nasty shock, she was made a deputy to me, who, according to the instructor, could  help me do the things, standby when I’m not around, and also help me not to lapse in my duties.

I brushed of entire issue as merely a childish annoyance, but it established one thing for sure, I’ll no longer get those small helps from Siri, like writing my record, helping with my notes (I’m a bit lazy, particularly when there’s a lot of pointless writing), and getting attendance for me in one of those few classes I bunked, though my teachers never suspected me.

But all the same my instructor called me into her room to have a small word, though I felt, she was a little amused herself at the idea of these re-election and stuff and enjoyed the show thoroughly.

‘Ravi, I just have a small advice to you.’

‘Yes, madam.’

‘Already you take part in too many activities, so I don’t want you to get distracted, you should always put your academics first. Of course! I trust your capability and judgment.’

‘Okay, madam.’

‘Also, I was told of a particular painting having been removed from the exhibit board?’

‘Yes, madam, I removed it since it was torn badly, someone might have accidentally did that. I’m doing a landscape in oils which I’d  put on exhibit board on behalf of our group.’

Everything went better than expected, and with a swelling pride I recounted to Mahi how I handled the issue, but for a greater part of the day she didn’t talk with me, which puzzled me like hell.

At the end of the day, she was waiting for me silently and just when everyone else went out of the classroom I asked point-blank, why she is behaving strangely.

After some more persuasion, she asked, ‘Do you always lie?’

‘I usually don’t, unless I think it’s necessary.’

‘So you’ll lie to me if it’s necessary?’

I didn’t know what to say.

She said, ‘I admire you, don’t do these silly things and whatever it is, please don’t lie to me, I don’t want to start a relationship based on lies.’

There was a prolonged silence.

‘Did you just say relationship?’

She bit her tongue having understood that she accidentally blurted out her feelings, and to her defense, she said, ‘No, no I never said anything like that, I might have said friendship,’ saying which she turned back, so her face wouldn’t betray her feelings.

‘And you were just telling, no lies.’

‘Hmmm! I’m caught! Am I not? It’d have been better if the guy proposed — hey, where are you going?’ She screamed as I immediately ran from her.

----O----

I have taken a while before coming back after my brief disappearance. The sky was already becoming a dark, bluish abyss with a tinge of crimson revealing the place of sun’s exit for the day. I had gone to her, who was waiting under the Mango tree, tensed and not knowing what to do.

I knelt in front of her and asked, placing the ring towards her, ‘Will you marry me?’

She looked at the makeshift ring I made out of coconut leaf and coconut leaf rose, and loosened a bit.

She was a little misty eyed, and with a little rawness in the throat, she gets whenever she becomes emotional, she said, ‘Where did you go? I thought I freaked you out by saying that, you - you aa-almost frightened me.’

She was still emotional, but not with grief anymore, I guess as a corner of her mouth started moving up before the other corner joined and slowly formed into a complete smile and she then let out a wholesome regal smile, and then pursed her lips to control the further flow of emotions.

I got up and put the coconut leaf rose in her hair, while almost caressing her ear with my lips I told her, in a soft whisper, ‘I love you.’

She gave a small peck on my cheek (I'm not sure if I can call it a kiss),  and thrust her hand towards me.

I slipped the coconut-leaf-ring on her finger.

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click here for part 14