Not At First Sight (Episode 3)

Episode 3

Havent read the second Episode Yet?? Jump to Episode 2  

I have always wanted to become a movie director. Engineering was never on the cards for me. Yet, I became one since my family had insisted. But the desire to become a director refused to die. I had already written one script which I hoped would be turned into a movie someday. But there are at least seven million people out there who have similar hopes.

I had never showed my scripts to anyone for reasons I don’t know. But that day I gave them to Disha, again for the reasons I don’t know. It was half past five and we were about to leave office.

“Wow..!! This looks so fat..!! It would take me at least a month to read it, I guess!” she exclaimed. She kept the fat pile of scripts in her bag. But it appeared as if she was least interested in reading it. Sometimes she would be excited about whatever I do, and sometimes she would find them completely uninteresting.

Imagine you have promised someone a hefty dinner. That chap comes all excited to the restaurant. And if you order all expensive items and all that which he hates, he would choose to put up a forced pleasant expression. Few people refer to it as courteous smile. I could see the same expression on Disha’s face. I felt that I shouldn’t have given it to her.

“Let’s go out. I have some shopping to do”, she said. It meant that it would be at least ten o’clock when we reach home and yet another night duty for me making sure that she reaches home safely. But I had no complaints, because I was enjoying her company these days.

“What do you want to buy?” I asked her. We were at the Ferguson Road Signal waiting for it to turn green.

 “My manager asked me to Get lost this morning. So I am going to get lost for him. You want to sponsor?” she asked and followed it up with a loud and ugly laugh. People on wheels, waiting for the signal to turn green started to throw ugly looks at us.

The joke was really lame. But one of the million rules on how to be with ‘Fairer Sex’  says that,  you have to laugh at each joke of theirs, however lame they are and try to follow it up with a compliment; if possible.

“That was a very good joke” I lied, loud enough for the drivers three rows ahead and behind us to hear it. They looked at me with utter disbelief. I felt embarrassed and turned red, just like the top lamp on the signal.

The signal turned green. “I have to buy a green bag for my new green top” she said and went past the signal.

“Bag..!!!  Not again” I said to myself.

The basement parking of the mall was really vast and quite dark. It was a perfect setup for a fight sequence in a Hollywood or Bollywood movie.

She parked her vehicle and picked her bag up. The bag looked lumpy, thanks to my fat bundle of scripts. “Leave it here in the vehicle, Disha!! I don’t want you to lose my scripts. I don’t have a soft copy of it and its the only copy that I have”, I said. I was concerned.

“Don’t worry Adi. Trust me…!! I may die, but I will safeguard your scripts till my very last breath” she replied in a filmy way. This was a clear case of overacting. The Director in me felt like punching her right on the nose.

 “Did your manager really scold you?” I asked curiously. But I had a fair bit of emotions and expressions on my face to convey that I was concerned.

“Yep..!!” , she kept her reply short.

It took time for me to figure out whether I should shoot my next question or not. Both my heart and my mind were asking me not to. But I have always been a great fan of mathematics and two negatives always mean a positive.

“For what reason?” I asked.

“I don’t know why on earth his parents named him Arthi Krishnan. For god’s sake, Arthi..!! Have you ever known a guy with this weird name?” she asked me.

“Nope, he is the only guy I know with that name” I replied.

Our manager’s name was Arthi Krishnan. And, of course, he was a guy. His bald head, beard and moustache was proof of that.

“You know this new lady in the other team right, Arthi? I got to know that she has been spreading rumors about the both of us. That B***h...!” she sounded furious.

Rumors..!! I badly wanted to know about it. But I chose to stay silent and just looked shocked.

“So today I decided to take her into task and I pinged her on the messenger. And do you know what I sent her?” she asked in half excitement.

“Girl..!! You are kidding me..!! If I knew, I wouldn’t have asked you. Do I look like some astrologer?" I badly wanted to say but instead I chose to reply, “No, I don’t.”

“I just typed a single word Bi**h and sent it to her”, she winked.

 “Are you out of your mind?? You are not supposed to do that and that too on the official messenger..!!” I reacted instantly and with genuine concern. Yes, I was worried.

“Shh..!! Listen to the entire thing na..!!” she hushed me and continued.  “Instead of sending it to her, I sent it to my manager. Got confused with the name, you know. And the worst part of the story is that he was in a meeting giving a presentation with his laptop screen being projected”. She was now trying to control her laughter. She looked damn pretty with her shades on.

“And when I pinged him, the message flashed on his screen. You know, on the projector screen in front of the meeting attendees, the word Bi**h.  Imagine, his plight” she broke into laughter.

But I was worried, really worried. Such things are viewed very seriously and would have severe consequences.

“What did he say?” I asked.

“He blasted me for about half an hour. He said that the consequences will be reflected in my appraisal cycle and thereby in the salary increments. Well..!! If it’s all about the money, then who cares..!! Don’t you worry because I am not worried” she said.

From what I had seen in her, Disha was a happy-go-lucky girl. Things like these hardly affected her. And there was no reason for her to get worried.

Blue Water mall was jam packed with ladies, wearing large sunglasses and carrying bags which were twice the size of their bellies. Disha was very fond of bags. At least twice a month she would buy a new one. And every time she went, I would always be there to assist her in choosing the right one.

Going out with her for shopping has always helped me to ogle at some really hot and beautiful girls. And the best part of going out with a girl for shopping is that you can even stare at girls who have their boyfriends beside them. You won’t be doubted.

“How is this?” asked Disha holding up a pretty bag. When you are out shopping with a girl, never jump into saying that her choice is good however pretty it may be. Else, you will lose respect. Take time and wait for her to show ten more alternates. Above all, when you are with a girl, be patient.

“It’s not that great. Doesn’t go with this monsoon season” I said. Couple of weeks back in some shopping store I had heard some girl saying so to her friends. And I had simply lifted the same set of words.

“Adiii..you know so much..!! ” exclaimed Disha and looked at me with utmost respect. I felt honored.

“Hey nooo..!! Can’t make it Rahul”, I heard a pretty girl speaking into her phone. She was standing next to Disha. She was god gorgeous..!! I felt like staring at her. But then she saw me. I don’t understand the physics and chemistry associated with eyes. When they meet they send high intensity electric pulses. And your heart will feel the jolt. 

I couldn’t continue to stare at her and so I looked at the orange bag which Disha was showing. “Hmmm. Not this design Disha. It’s boring” I said, without actually noticing it. I now moved closer to Disha, intending to stand closer to the lady. The lady was right behind Disha.

“No yaar..!! My parents will be in town. Can’t we have it on some other day?” I heard her again. She looked quite worried. But then, it didn’t affect her looks. And I looked at her again. Now I was interested in overhearing the conversation as well.

I think she noticed me from the corner of her eye and she showed quite an ugly emotion. I guessed I was making her uncomfortable. She lowered her voice and moved away a couple of steps.

Sometimes you can’t resist yourself from overhearing a conversation. And this was one such occasion. I showed desperation to stare at her and to overhear the conversation. I wanted to resist but both my Eyes and Ears refused to be convinced.

“Disha, how about this bag” I said pointing at a bag that was right behind the lady. That was just an excuse to move closer to the lady. Disha looked at the bag and said “Hmmm... It’s too large Adi. Not that”. Well, I was least interested in her opinion.

“Hmmm...okay! But, what should I wear for the party?” I heard the lady asking. She had her back towards me. I moved closer.

 And then I heard her saying “Rahul, can you wait for a minute?”

 She turned back and looked at me and spoke in a loud and clear voice “Rahul... There is someone here who is very desperate to talk to you. I think he has some urgent business with you. Just speak to him”.

I don’t know whether my face turned Red or Pink, but I was embarrassed. Within few seconds, a small crowd gathered. But the crowd looked harmless. Clearly, they were not here to beat me up. But they had gathered to enjoy the show, I supposed.

“What happened?” asked Disha. I was speechless.

“This guy has been stalking me for a while now and has been trying to overhear my conversation”, the gorgeous lady complained.

“You are sick..!!” said Disha and threw her hands up helplessly.

This was a weird moment. I had to come up with something in my defense, very quick. Suddenly, I noticed it and without a second thought I said,“Disha..!! Look at her. She’s wearing a top similar to the one you have. And I was just figuring out how similar they are”.  I thought that was a convincing reason to rescue myself. I felt proud of myself. But I was wrong.!!!

“What the hell..!!” both of them exclaimed synchronously, as if for years they had been practicing to sync this dialogue.

“Sorry”, I mustered up my courage and apologized. I didn’t know why they were pissed. But I felt that I had to apologize. Both of them looked really pissed. It was really awkward to stand in front of two ladies at once, with my head hung down in shame.

 “But, I thought it was a compliment. I mean, we guys usually feel good when we see someone wearing clothes similar to ours”, I said to Disha. I pleaded innocent. I noticed few male faces going pale; I felt that I shouldn’t have generalized by using ‘we’.

“Go, get a life dumbass!!” said the other lady before walking out of the store.  The very moment, I got one more new Gyaan about Girls. Saying that one’s attire looks similar to another’s is never a compliment for them. They want people to consider their attire unique from others.

I don’t know if Disha was really upset or if she was faking it. She walked out of the store. I felt like saying that she and that lady had similar walking style. My recently acquired Gyaan didn’t let me say it though.

I followed her out of the store. It had started to drizzle.

“Disha... It has started to rain. Shall we go back?” I tried to force her. I held her hands tightly, but then she stamped on my foot. I released the grip and she walked out of the mall, straight into streets. I looked for an unattended umbrella. But I couldn’t find any, so I ran behind her to streets.

“Have you gone nuts?? It’s raining heavily. You may fall ill. Moreover, what will people think, seeing us walk in rain?” I asked her, innocently. Dear ladies and gentlemen, this time I was not acting. I was really concerned. It was raining cats and dogs.

“Don’t worry. People on the streets don’t know us and they won’t even remember our faces after couple of minutes. They have better things to remember. You have the luxury to do whatever you want.” She smirked and continued. “Moreover, people in vehicles are not that jobless to stop and ask ‘What are you doing? It’s raining, can’t you see? Both of you look like freaks..!!!’. Don’t you worry; they have better things to do”.

I felt that her point was valid. But I had to get her back under shelter. “You are drenched Disha. See your dress is spoilt. And even your bag..!!”  I told her.

With that I realized something…!! My script..!!! Her bag was completely wet. My script was in there.

 “Disha..!! Please Stop..!!”, this time my tone changed. I was shaking. She sensed the difference and stopped. She turned and looked at me. “My script was inside your bag..!! Is it safe..?!”, I asked. Her bag was completely drenched.

She looked at me and froze for a moment. After few seconds she hurriedly opened her bag and took the book out. And what I saw was something I didn’t want to. The fat pile of papers was wet and spoilt. One could hardly read anything. In short, she had sent two years of my work down the drains.

I couldn’t think for a minute. I didn’t know what to do. I just grabbed the wet paper and furiously slapped her, right on her cheeks…!!!

To be continued…….