Chapter 2

Two months ago…

Amishi attended Durgadevi girls’ college in the remote end of her town. It was one of the top rated colleges in Vishakhapatnam. The area was called Vidyanagar because of the large number of educational institutions that had come up in the place. Her huge college campus boasted of numerous courses for girls and she loved the facilities available. But she liked her room at home even more and her mom’s home cooked food so she travelled over an hour each day. Her eldest brother worked in a company nearby and dropped and picked her up daily. Amishi was preparing for her semester exams. Due to some university issues they were delayed by over a months and she now had all five papers back to back. She had taken permission to stay for a week in the girl’s hostel attached to her college.  That helped her to spend more time in the library and save on travel time.

Right in front of their college across the road, there was a huge ground where very often football matches were held. The ground belonged to Siddhartha Institute of Technology and Research.  It was a top institute for pursuing B.Tech or M.Tech and PhD studies in similar areas. Their campus too was huge and at a distance separated by the ground. So Amishi could only see people from that institute if they visited the ground. She didn’t have much interest in outdoor sports like football and cricket. Having 2 older brothers had given her more than enough headache related to the said sports. She preferred plain running or painting. She had an artistic flair for painting murals. She was a member with few groups and as a part of external field work she often visited places like railway stations, bus depots etc. to paint her murals with those groups.

It was a cold November evening in Vishakhapatnam and she had her research methodology paper next day… she loathed the subject as well as preparing for it. She was in the library bored to death when she decided to stretch a bit. She walked towards the window facing the ground. There was a football match going on.  From the fourth floor, she felt on the top of the world and enjoyed the breeze blowing on her face. The sun was soon to go down so she raised her face towards the sun enjoying the warm breeze. Suddenly there was a loud cheer, probably following a goal and she looked down, only to see a guy staring up at her, hands on his hips. He was in the college football jersey but must be the extra since he was on the sides and now… he was looking at her … He looked good… really good…

She wondered if she had understood correctly. The distance of four floors in addition to the ground floor was quite a bit. Though her vision was a perfect 6 she had doubts… She had always been a tom boy growing up with brothers. She had her share of crushes but never got reciprocated because of her brothers playing the protective card. She herself was dominating so boys she had come across didn’t usually like such girls. Then she was studying in an all-girls institute.  Now such a handsome hunk was looking at her.  She had never seen him before. Actually she had never bothered. She rarely got the time with her college, travel and mural field work. Her heart fluttered. She looked elsewhere as if checking the nature around and then looked back again…he was still looking. She blushed and looked away.  That night she saw him in her dreams… He was in his jersey but standing close…  That was the first time she dreamt about any guy.

The next day evening too she was in the library catching up on her studies. Her paper had gone bad as expected. She wasn’t in a good mood. She walked to the same window… and looked out. There was no game today so she was kind of disappointed. As she was about to turn, she saw him. He was drinking water from his bottle. From the looks of it he appeared to be running. Some other guys joined him and soon they were hi fiving each other. The others sat on the ground stretching tired limbs while he stood with hands on his hips and looking straight at her. Today she felt him smile. She smiled and looked away. Why was she blushing? She had no answer… When she looked back, he raised a hand as if saying hi.  She paused and then waved back at him. He looked down and dragged a hand through his hair and looked up again… she thought he was smiling…

From that day onwards for the next five days this became a daily occurrence.  About 10-15 minutes of a staring contest. But she never sought to go downstairs and look for him… she had to prepare for her upcoming papers. On the fifth day she had her last paper and was to leave early for home but made it a point to go to the library. This time he was already there on the ground. He was alone and wearing blue jeans pant and white half sleeved t-shirt. This was the first time she saw him in attire besides his jerseys. Her heart stopped…

She wanted to rush to meet him. But suddenly she was shy. She saw him gesture her to come downstairs.  She nodded slightly very sure that he wouldn’t have been able to make that out and rushed down with her bag. Her bag was heavy because of her clothes she had got along for her week-long stay in the hostel.  As she came down she realised her bag was slowing her down and left it in the watchman’s cabin. That took about 15 minutes. Then taking her purse out of it she exited the campus. She crossed over and reached the compound wall of the ground. . She stood on a boulder and tried to peep over the wall but couldn’t see anyone. She was disappointed and embarrassed too. Luckily her classmates had gone off for a movie and some had left for home. Otherwise she would have to answer their curious questions. But where did he go?

She then heard the roar of a bike. As she turned around she saw a Royal Enfield being driven by a guy in a helmet and behind him riding pillion was her football guy. The bike stopped in front of her and before she could react he gave her an envelope. They had a momentary intense eye lock and before she could realise he was gone…

She watched the taillight fade …and caught her bearings. After calming down her racing heart she opened the envelope. Inside was a beautiful sketch of hers…. When did he see her so close? She turned the sketch over and saw a letter written in a beautiful handwriting.

                           Hey beautiful,

As the breeze made your tresses astray

You took my breath away…

You came into my dream

My nights are now your realm

I want to get connected

But only if you are affected,

The same way that I am…

Now that’s my real test of time….

                                                                                    Your admirer

                                                                                         Pavan

Whatsapp me on 981*****28

WhatsApp? Was he serious? But she felt relieved. She wasn’t sure what she should be speaking… For a change cat had got her tongue. But her heart was racing…

That night after dinner as she rested in her room at home, she was still contemplating messaging him. She almost messaged and then deleted it for about ten times in a row. Finally she typed…

Hi Football guy…

It’s me… Amishi… we met today…that letter…

Holding her breath she sent it. She closed her eyes and waited… Within a minute her phone pinged with an incoming message.

Hey beautiful… sorry about today… had to rush for practise…

So… you at home or hostel?

She inhaled a quick breath when she saw him addressing her like that. Then thinking for a moment she typed,

Am at home….And you?

He replied

Here…and there…

Where u get some air…

She smiled and hit the keys,

You like poems is it? You write them?

He immediately sent

When I have a beautiful muse

I get a flood of words to choose

Don’t mind my blatant poetic misuse

I only tried giving my best produce

She laughed as she read it… He was funny…

She typed a laughter emoji.

He replied back.

Aww beautiful, you break my heart… (sad emoji)

She laughed again… feeling light hearted…

Her mobile pinged again

So beautiful, will I see you tomorrow? A little closer? Fourth floor is a bit too far…

She waited and sent

Hmm. Second floor tomorrow. Our auditorium faces the ground. Festival preparation- meet at 4PM. See ya… closer this time…

He replied

Awesome… beautiful, can’t wait for 4pm tomorrow…

Amishi smiled and sent him a good bye emoji.

He replied with the kissing emoji accompanied with an eye wink.

She laughed and shut her phone… She slept peacefully after many days… Dreaming of the handsome guy in his football jersey… him holding her, instead of the ball…

Copyright Disclaimer: All content posted here is a work of fiction and original work based on the author’s imagination. There is no intention to disrespect any person or faith. Any resemblance to any person living or dear is purely coincidental. No part of the content can be copied, reproduced or posted anywhere else either entirely or in parts, without the consent of the author.