Heart wrenching adoration, Part-12

Khushi’ POV

“Hey guys!” I called out.Arnav looked up at me and smiled equally enthusiastically.

“Hi khushi!” He greeted, walking towards me with Aman and a lanky guys with boyish features and carefully tousled hair towards us, in his tow. Arnav’s eyes smouldered, striking against his russet skin and I was struck again by what a vibrant shade of brown they were.

Akash pointedly cleared his throat, trying to look affronted, making Arnav and Payal Jiji roll their eyes at his childish by play.

“Good Morning guys!” 

“Good morning bhai.” Akash said, his expression clearing.

“If you guys are done through your byplays then can you please introduce me to the new entrant in our group?”The lanky guys asked with a dramatic sigh, pulling up a chair beside me .Arnav opened his mouth immediately but was cut short.

“But of course letting other effect an introduction with a lovely girl like her can be indisputably considered absurd to the point of foolishness, so I’ll myself do the courtesy...Hi there! I’m Anvesh Mehta, the heart and soul of this school and the most reliable one to turn to if you wants anything, which also entails my shoulder to cry on in the times of distress.” The guy concluded his monologue with a slight bow.

Initially I had wondered whether he was flirting with me but now as I caught the undercurrent mockery in his voice, I grinned.

“Sure!It was very nice to get to know you Anvesh and I’m very grateful for your offer. I shall definitely count on you when the need be!” I replied in an equally mischievous tone, making his smile stretch wider, showing all his sparkling white teeth.

“Aha!I’m sure we are going to be good friends!” Anvesh said as if surmising the conversation.

“I’d wager that!” I grinned, shaking his outstretched hand.

“We should better get going to our classes. Its about time.” Arnav’s clipped voice caught me by surprise and I looked at him, curious about his sudden mood swing.

But he was quite interested in the spaghetti that he was eating all of a sudden  , not that he had eaten much of it. But, I didn’t get the chance to ask about his sullen countenance as at that precise moment my friends called out.

“Khushi, here!” Divya Singh and Qurratual Ain, or rather Dabba and Quru as I had christened my new friends were waving at me.

“Excuse me guys! I’ll see you all later!” I said, scrambling to my feet and slinging my bag on my shoulder. I walked off, with one last glance at Arnav.

“P.E. period!” Divya squealed excitedly, snapping her book and notebook shut.

I looked up from my book groaning. 

We had just finished with two continuous physics period during which our teacher, Mr. Shyamal Panda, who was popularly known as Mario among students due to  his striking resemblance  the famous character from the video game, had droned on endlessly about the Laws of motion. That was horrible enough already, since not even ‘P’ of physics ever penetrated my skull and I always managed to pass my physics exams only by thoroughly memorising each and every word, and here I was surely going to  publicly embarrassing myself on sports field!

I was never the sporty type, but was simply languid in literal sense of the word. I had always preferred to curl up with my favourite book on the couch rather than sweating out on the grounds. Beside I simply didn’t have the necessary hand-eye coordination for playing without injuring myself.

“Khush, what are you waiting for?Lets’s go!”Divya chirped, shutting my book and pulling me by arms.

The weather was pleasant and golden sunlight sweeped the ground as the sun peeped from behind the wisps of cottony clouds. The trees swayed and birds chirped meerily, lighting my mood a bit.

“Lets’s play football guys.” Sania  suggested to general agreement and I groaned in horror! God,this was going to be in parlance with massacre!

“Um, you guys play!I just don’t feel like it.” I tried to be crafty to hide my chagrin.

“Why?What’s wrong?Are you feeling alright?” Dabba and Quru asked concernedly.

“I’m fine guys!Just feeling lethargic.” I assured them.

“Oh,then you should play khushi. You need the perk!” Shivani enthused, pulling me along benignly.

The game began and I attempted as hard as I could to stay out of the ball’s way to avoid the ensuing bedlam as my classmates ran around behind it. I didn’t want to fall flat on my face and reveal my excruciating clumsiness!

“Khushi!” An all-too-familiar voice called me and I turned around to find Arnav jogging towards me.

“Hi Arnav!” I smiled.

“I didn’t know you played football.” He mused , making me blanch.

“Oh no I don’t!” I cried making a face and he raised his eyebrows.

“I can’t even run a yard or two without sustaining sprain or ligament tear.This would be the death of me, practically like handing oneself over to sharks!” I mumbled.\

Arnav gave me a skeptical look, rolling his eyes. 

“I’m not over exaggerating Arnav,but simply stating the fact! Anyways, let’s leave it at that! By the way, why are you here?Is it  your  P.E. period too ?” I asked.

“Oh no! Our school is hosting the cricket tournament that C.B.S.E organises every year and since, I’m the captain of the cricket team of our school, I’ve to get my team to start practicing.”

“Wow! Cricket team captain! You truly are versatile, an all -rounder, aren’t you?” I asked awestruck by his dexterity in every field.

Red tinge suffused with the russet perfection of his pagan-god like face, as Arnav Singh Raizada blushed deeply!