Heart wrenching adoration Part-20

The next few days at school were the worst I had ever spent. The swell of misery was almost unbearable and I compartmentalized the blame for my continuing wilfulness into three reasons.

The first one being the constant whispers and giggling that followed me everywhere. The details of the Lavanya  and Arnav’s heated confrontation had spread like forest fire in the entire school and as the time passed they became even more far-fetched. In fact, people were all but sanguine that I and Arnav were engaged in a very flamboyant romance and that I was the sole reason behind Lavanya and Arnav’s break-up.

As if that were not annoying enough, girls, including some of my classmates asked highly embarrassing questions regarding my and Arnav’s ....as they put it, love-life and vehemently ignored any type of explanations  that I gave to clear their misunderstanding and all the time like some screwed up spotlight, eyes followed me, absolutely unabashed and unrelenting even when caught staring . I hope staring was still considered a bad thing, right?

The second on the list of the causes of my misery was the constant babying and what she definitely thought an elder-sisterly-guidance of my Payal di who left no stone unturned to persuade me to limit my friendship with Arnav to mere courteous Hyes and Byes. Since that embarrassing gaffe, she had taken to blame Arnav as much as she blamed Lavanya for my injuries and had minced no words in letting her displeasure known to Arnav, despite my constant pleadings and rebukes.

And the final cause of my sadness was Arnav himself. Though I tried thousand times that I didn’t hold him even in the slightest responsible for my injury or whatever transpired later but to no avail. He continued to blame himself vehemently and shot a particularly deadly glare at me every time I attempted to tell him otherwise! More so, he too was going out of the way to pamper me like hell! 

From lifting my schoolbag for me to feeding me at least thrice helping of every item at every meal, he treated me like some highly breakable and delicate thing which would break at the teeniest pressure, making me a standing joke for Anvesh who reckoned that soon I’ll find myself wrapped up in cotton and stuffed inside a glass cabinet and sometimes I felt on the similar lines too! Mores o, what was the most disconcerting aspect of his babying was that it furled the rumours of our relationship.

So,  anyways, my melancholy continued for two solid weeks until finally the pre-cricket- match-madness gripped the entire school. As the date of C.B.S.E. Tournament closed in Arnav and to immense happiness, others at school finally became too excited and engrossed to take interest in my supposed love story.

Students thronged the playground every evening to watch the school team practicing and cheered and encouraged the players enthusiastically. Though I couldn’t make out  much of what was going on the ground except the balling and batting, despite my friends constant string of explanations, fraught with lots of cricket-words, I could make out that our school team was really good, especially Arnav.

I watched with more than on-the-edge fascination as Arnav guided other players around, working very efficiently and captaining pretty effectively. I was absolutely mesmerized and intrigued by the way he played like a pro, hitting sixes and fours every now and then, and not to mention the way he smiled every time he caught my eyes...well, it made me feel rather mushily warm, in an odd way!

“Arnav, you were fantastic! I’ll be the first one to admit that I don’t know even ‘C’ of cricket still I even I can tell that you were too good! Keep going at this pace, and you’ll slaughter other teams alone!” I said fervently one evening as we walked back towards the hostel together with others.

“Well thanks for the amazing compliment! I’ll try not to let that get to my head, you know!”Arnav grinned, looking pleased.

“Reading between the lines buddy, I’m sure you are going to slaughter much more than the teams!” Aman said boisterously, winking at Akash and Anvesh.Something about the way he said that made me blush furiously and I swear I heard Arnav whisper menacingly something about ‘No toeing the lines.’

“Um...You guys carry on.I’ve got to catch up with some studies for my upcoming Maths test. Honestly, that chapter on similar triangles if flying out of head like bats out of hell!” I murmured, trying to excuse myself from the smug glances of my friends and irritated and anxious looks of my di.

“Are you having troubles with that chapter? Maybe I can help you with that. My maths was not that bad either.” Arnav said eagerly.

“Show off!”I teased him before trying to turn down his offer subtly, but obviously he persisted and we ended up being holed together in the Study Room again. And for reasons unknown to even myself, I was secretly glad he did. I was beginning to enjoy and seek his company more than I should!

The next day began gloriously with more than perfect climate. Nothing about the soft, comforting breeze or the buttery sunshine bore any foreboding of the on coming tempest.

It was 18^th of March, the day other  semi-finalist teams of D.P.S. R.K.puram, Kendriya Vidyalaya Haryana and  St.Xavier’s, Lucknow were due to arrive.The teams came early in the morning and were lodged in the extra dorms of our school hostel.

The day passed in a flurry of activities and soon it was time for Lunch, something which all of us looked forward too.There was an inexplicable, almost childish enthusiasm regarding the guest teams.

I sat with my friends, joking and laughing about, munching our lunch when the teams entered the cafeteria in groups,looking about curiously and to my immense astonishment I felt Arnav freeze beside me.

I turned around, looking at him curiously,but he didn’t meet my eyes as he usually did, yet his expressions shocked him. His jaw was clenched just like his fist and looked absolutely livid. His nostrils flared and his eyes were flat black in their depths. 

“Arnav, what’s wrong?” I whispered.

He looked down, his face tranquil, but his eyes had a strange agony in them so much so that I couldn’t avert my gaze from the intensity of his.

“Nothing! Absolutely nothing!” He tried to assure me, pulling one side of his lips in an unconvincing smile, but it quite didn’t hide the pain in his eyes.

As he turned his gaze away from me, I followed his suit and found his eyes zeroed on one of the players of our guest team and to my utter astonishment I found Arnav’s expression mirrored in that of the newcomer, only his face was contorted in more than just mad-like anger...it was all-consuming hatred!