Heart wrenching adoration Part-19

“Bring yourself a notch down guys!I’m absolutely fine.”I yelled through the bedlam as my jiji literally shoved the poor nurse aside to get to me, her eyes tearing.Arnav,Anvesh, Akash and Aman stood near the bed, regarding me concernedly.

“Di relax!I’m not on my deathbed!”I tried to joke pitiably, which was obviously a very bad move on my part.I had practically put my foot inside my mouth.

“Not very tasteful khushi!” Arnav’s husky voice had a hard edge and I looked up to find him scowling down at me furiously.

“There she’s fine.” The elderly nurse assured ,scooping the ointment off the bed.

“How did this happen khushi?”Akash asked concernedly,eyeing my injured hand. 

I swallowed, toying around with the idea of letting them know the exact nuances of my er...accident, but I didn’t want to have a murder to my credit. My di will hunt Lavanya down and blast her-metaphorically, if I told her about the latter’s involvement.But I didn’t get long to fret as apparently  my choice was already made for me.

“Oh it wasn’t an accident...it was just that cow bitching around!” Divya growled her nostrils flaring.

 I looked at her startled.I hadn’t realized, and even lavanya too for that matter, that we had another audience to her sulphurous tirade.

“What do you mean?”Arnav demanded.

“Oh you should know!”She snapped sarcastically, accusation dominant in her voice.

“Divya!”I mumbled, chastising her gently. Surely, it wasn’t Arnav’s fault that his possessive female admirer has gone wacky!

“Your dear girlfriend bumped into her purposely so that acid would splash on her hand.”Divya said acerbically, ignoring me.

“What?Who?”Di asked sharply and I groaned.Why did she have to behave like an over-possesive mother hen all the time.

“That girl Lavanya! She did it.I heard her when she warned khushi to stay away from him.”Divya turned to my di, narrating the little exchange,that had everyone’s jaw unslacked.

“I can’t believe this! She actually hurt khushi! This is so downright... preposterous!” Anvesh was outraged, looking incredulous and his expressions were mirrored by others with just one exception. 

I stared at Arnav, alarmed by his expressions...he was absolutely livid.There was an indescribable inferno in the browns of his eyes, which literally looked flat black as he clenched his teeth and fists aggressively.

“Arnav listen...”I began, but I never got the pacification out as he turned on his heel and stormed off.

 I immediately hopped out of the bed, losing my balance and steadying myself by clutching the bedpost, the blistering pain in my injured hand forgotten. I raced down the corridors with others at my heels, hoping fervently that I caught up with him before he caught up with Lavanya. 

The way he had looked,I wouldn’t be surprised at all if he literally bit her head off! But apparently, Lavanya’s stars had decided to betray her on that particular and crucial junction and Arnav caught her strolling casually in the football field.

“LAVANYA!”He roared and I nearly missed a step, cowering.I had never seen his so....so furious! 

Everyone on the ground whipped around and gazed surprised as Arnav bored down on her.

“ASR what...?”She trailed off, flinching way from his irate gaze and then looked at us as we reached the place, panting.Her eyes tightened as she looked at me and it didn’t take her long to put two and two together.

“HOW DARE YOU LAVANYA KASHYAP?HOW DARE YOU?” Arnav snarled.

“Arnav don’t!”I whimpered,looking awestruck at his rigid stance, Surprised with the intensity of his anger. On the peripheral I could see Aman and Akash exchange a glance, but I couldn’t bring myself even to blink.

“How dare you hurt her? Throw acid on her?Have you lost even that teeniest of brain that you had?How could you stoop so low damn it? What if she had gotten hurt? Its me who rejected you, then why are you troubling her damn it! Which part of it is not clear to you?I’m not interested in you at all and heaven knows how blissfully glad I’m for that! I don’t care for a girl like you who can cross any limit of callous vileness....hurt someone as innocent as khushi! You brain-dead vixen!How dare you wound my friend?”Arnav spat, his words laced with venom.

“Arnav please don’t create a  scene here!I don’t want to...”

“Yeah right! You are so innocent aren’t you? Patron saint of forgivenss and nobility! You dupe scum! These antics may work on ASR,but not on me! I know how very cunningly you are trying to court him! After all, who wouldn’t want a handsome, famous, rich boyfriend! You fucking bitch....” Lavanya screeched, but was silenced with a loud roar. 

I should've been upset at her awful words but I couldn't bring myself to even concentrate on anything but Arnav's impromptu all-consuming-anger.

“That’s enough Lavanya!You have crossed every vestige of limits you pigheaded moron! How dare you use that word for khushi!”If I had thought that Arnav looked furious before, it was nowhere in line with how he looked now, literally shivering with ire. He grabbed Lavanya by her upper arm and dragged her mercilessly towards the blocks of houses that were reserved for housing of teachers and administrative staff and the far end of the field.

“You have said enough Lavanya Kashyap and now its my turn!And you bet I’ll be damned if I didn’t get rid of you from this place!”Arnav vowed in a deadly voice and I shivered. 

Apparently  things were spiraling out of control!

My premonition proved to be right as Arnav dragged Lavanya to the Principal’s house and sought an appointment with the latter. The principal listened to the entire incident gravely and was very upset and irked by Lavanya’s  little stunt. Lavanya got severely berated by her and every teacher that thronged the place and her parents were called. 

She would’ve gotten expelled, but not wanting to take animosity of the next level and also out of concern that Lavanya was in class 10^th and was supposed to give her boards this year, I pleaded the Principal to let her off the hook,not that I had forgiven her.I couldn’t possibly be that noble, considering I was only human, but still I didn’t want to be the cause of someone’s misery, more so I was moved by the look on her distraught parents face, who were shocked to know about their daughter’s deed. Lavanya might not realize her faults now, but she'll surely regret it in future if she carried a tainted character certificate about, not getting any respectable job.

 However my little venture didn’t go down with my friends as I earned dark scowls from each of them not to mention the glower Arnav specifically bestowed on me! In the end of the entire debacle, Lavanya wasn’t thrown out of the school, but was awarded yellow shirt for the entire session-the highest punishment one got for behavioural and disciplinarian discrepancies at the school and she was cuttingly warned by the Principal that if there were more toeing the line by her, then her class 12^th Report card will also flaunt the glory of her thoughtless and inconsiderate act along with her class 10^th one.

All in all as I watched her nodding to every word that her parents and teachers threw her way, I hoped that probably my act will curb her animosity, her hatred towards me.

Naive as I was I didn’t even have the slightest of inkling-I had no way of knowing- how very wrong I was and how  my coming to her rescue had multiplied her loathing towards me!...How it will literally destroy me and everyone I loved, valued and adored in the near future....