The Crush - Part 2

Vivek did not need an alarm to wake him up on Monday. In fact he hadn’t slept a wink. He twisted and turned on the bed; heaving a massive sigh of relief as the alarm rang at 5 in the morning. 

He rushed to his class. As he entered the classroom his eyes darted towards Priya’s seat. There she sat, looking angelic as always. She was staring out of the window; perhaps unaware of his arrival. She seemed lost, like when he had seen her for the first time. He went up to her.

“Hi.” He said.

Priya looked at him. For the first time Vivek saw for him, a hint of repulsion in her eyes. Then suddenly she smiled. She got up from her seat and walked away from him, towards Manish – the new kid who had recently joined school. Priya’s attitude changed as she interacted with Manish. She smiled widely and chatted animatedly as neither of them noticed or acknowledged his presence. With each passing second, Vivek’s heart sank deeper into an abyss of disappointment and dejection. Somehow he knew that things were never going to be the same again. Priya never spoke to him again.

Days turned into weeks and weeks into months. The feeling of rejection was bearable. It was her cold avoidance which made deeper hurts on his ego. His grades took a severe beating as he failed in 3 subjects in the first internal exams; the first time he had failed. To everyone around he was a failure, a loser. To his parents he had fallen into bad company. He felt miserable. Only he knew the pain that would choke him every time. Only he knew the feeling of being ignored by the person he loved the most. Only he knew the agony of not being able to sleep inspite of being perpetually exhausted. But he had to get over it. He had a future at stake. He would win back his parents’ trust. With renewed zest Vivek entered 2001 with a determination of doing well for himself.

On that Friday morning the alarm clock did not beep as usual. Vivek had slept peacefully after a long time. He felt thirsty but couldn’t gather himself to wake up. He could stay thirsty for some time more. But the daily routine in his house had begun as usual. He could hear his parents’ voices. He could hear MS Subbulakshmi’s morning prayers emanating from dad’s room. He could hear mom working furiously in the kitchen and talking loudly to the maid. It was annoying. All he wanted was to sleep. It took him a while to realize that his mom was  screaming at him. The noise from the kitchen had been that of vessels crashing on the floor. His bed shook violently. ‘Violent’ was perhaps an understatement as his mother tried desperately to wake him up. Instinct made him bolt out of the room as his mother grabbed his arm and rushed out of the house. Everything around him happened at a ferocious speed. Walls collapsed and people screamed as he tried to get out of the house. And then without warning, just like it had started, the tremors stopped. 

It took him a while to realize the gravity of the situation. Chaos and panic surrounded him. Cries and shouts reverberated in his ears. He looked around. Mom and dad were safe. “Priya” he suddenly exclaimed. What if she was in the school?

The next moment he was on his bicycle and speeding towards school. He didn’t know why but he was certain that his school wouldn’t be able to withstand the quake and that Priya was trapped beneath the rubble. He reached the gates of the school. He let out a mighty sigh as the school stood safe. Yet he needed to be sure. 

"Another quake is on the way" he had heard someone yell on the way. He rushed towards his classroom. It was on the ^4th floor but he covered the distance in record time. He met Dikshit on the way who scowled at him.

“Late as usual. No need to enter my classes henceforth” she muttered.

“What? Don’t you know? Mam, there has been an earthquake? It isn’t safe. We need to get out of here.” He screamed in panic.

“You need to get out of here. Are you trying to be over-smart? Tell me then, who discovered the nucleus?” Dikshit said without batting an eyelid.

“What? What is wrong with you? Why would I joke about this? I am telling the truth. Get out of my way.” And he ran inside the classroom.

As had been his practice his eyes darted towards where Priya sat. There she sat as usual, staring out of the window. She was safe. He could hug her there and then. He walked towards her; his breathing heavy.

“Priya?” he called her in vain as she continued to stare out of the window.

“Please talk to me Priya. I am sorry for what I did. But I can’t lose you. Please look at me once. Please.”

His pleading had effect as slowly Priya turned her head towards him. And for the first time in months she had a smile on her face. He turned around to see if Manish was the recipient. It wasn't. A huge sigh of relief escaped him.

“Thank God you are alright. I was…so worried.” said Vivek as tears welled up in his eyes. Priya kept smiling.

“Don’t worry Vivi. I am perfectly fine. And I loved your gift. Will tell you all about it on the phone. Chalo, I got to go. Bye.” 

Vivek stood there rooted to his spot as Priya walked away. He couldn’t believe his ears. Priya had finally spoken to him. She had forgiven him. And once again, Vivek broke down into tears. He sat down on the bench as he cried like a child. Only this time he was relieved, and happy. His body shook a couple of times as tears flowed freely. His angst, his feelings and his emotions finally had a vent.

***

“There, he twitched again. Something is wrong with my son.” cried Vivek’s mother.

“Mrs. Iyer please have faith in me. Your son is responding well to the treatment. The twitching is just some sort of reflex action. He will be fine” said the doctor.

Mr.Iyer hugged his wife tightly as she cried looking at Vivek’s comatose body. It had been 2 months since the quake. While they had escaped with couple of fractures and bruises, their house was reduced to rubbles. Vivek was caught under a wall that had collapsed as he rushed out during the quake. 13 hours he remained underneath the rubble before rescue arrived. He survived. The doctors however were unsure as to when he would gain consciousness.

***

Vivek lay unconscious, unaware of his predicament. He was happy though. She had forgiven him. Now he could sleep peacefully. For as long as he wanted.

THE END