"You said you'll catch me next year but never returned!" said Swati spotting a sheepishly grinning Sathya, who looked very amused about something.
He recollected himself to answer, "Yes, that would my dad's doing. I really would have liked to meet you the next term. Believe me! That would have been eventful, to say the least."
"Eventful? You mean, you didn't have enough competition in your new school?"
"Yeah, something like that. It was never most fun without you and me battling it out."
"Hmmmm, I felt the same... So tell me what have you been upto, after you left town?"
"With no one to challenge me at the top, I completed higher secondary and got into a good college. Wherein, I studied engineering apart from doing other assorted activites! And im soon going to rediscovery myself in a software company. Your turn now."
"Does 'assorted activites' involve any girl?"
"Girl? You mean 'girls', don't you?"
"haha... don't flatter yourself. Although, Congrats on the job!"
"Thanks. So tell me, what useful role did you play in the past 6 years?"
"I did the same as you, actually. School, College, Fun, Friends. Exactly the same."
"What about personal life? Doesn't your boyfriend like to accompany you to the temple?"
"sheesh.. shutup willya?"
"A girl as good as you...surely has a boyfriend. It is the First Law of Thermodynamics...they taught me well in engineering!"
"Stop teasing already. And FYI, I don't have one. You studied engineering from out-of-date books, I assume."
Sathya smiled to himself in light of this new evidence(She-is-Single) as he made a mental note that he should stop teasing her now.
A comfortable silence streched itself out between them.
Swati said, "Come lets talk walking."
"You mean, inside the temple itself? Like, go around the temple a couple of times?"
"Yeah!" said Swati and they started walking.
Sathya continued, "You know, its luck that I blocked your way near the door."
"Otherwise we won't have met?"
"Yeah, exactly." said Sathya. Suddenly he remembered the first time he met her in school and said, "Do you remember your first day at school here?"
"Vaguely."
"Ok, I will tell you. You couldn't take your eyes off my 1st Rank badge. I thought I made a big impression on you, get strange stares from you and all, but only later I realised that your affection stopped at the badge." said Sathya, and conveniently forgot that he could not take the eyes off her that day.
"C'mon you are exaggerating! I did not stare at you or your badge."
"Really ya, believe me... I've a memory for these kind of things. I remember this one to the tiny details."
"Ok, if you insist."
"Yes, I insist."
Again there was a silence before anyone spoke. Sathya's pride wanted Swati to accept that he remembered tihngs right.
So he continued, "You surely remember the last revision test before the finals. We were neck-to-neck until the last paper was distributed?"
Swati looked at him quizzically.
Sathya continued, "It was english, I guess. I got a 93 and beat you by one mark? Don't you remember it?"
Swati still looked empty.
Sathya said, "I think I got a total of 460 and yours was 459?"
There was a beat before Swati slowly spoke up, "It was english alright. But you got 470 and not 460."
Sathya stopped on his tracks, suddenly remembering the lie and the foul up.
Swati continued, "And you did not get a 93... you got a 90."
Sathya turned and saw her in the eye. He asked, "*You* lied that day? Why did you do it?"
But before Swati could answer, he saw the answer in her eyes.
His ego got crushed, but he gained the crush.
Labels: Short Story
13 owls