It was a bet that I should have never taken, but I wish I knew what I was in for! All my hostel friends had gone for the annual fest of St. James School, one of the hippest boys school in the town and I, being the president of green house, had other business to attend to,  and so was stuck to our dorm. My dorm had the capacity of five, but five of us weren’t exactly "friends".

Nikita , my next bed neighbour, the one I shared most of the STUFF with, was the first to come back and after seeing her expressions, calling her extremely excited was an understatement! She was on cloud number nine at that moment; reason, she had met 6 new guys, and had got the maximum attention! According to her all of them were "literally" drooling over her, but she liked only one of them-Milind. He was the "decent one", the one with "right attitude", "brains and looks" . On top of all that he had asked for her number too. My other three roommates had their own stories to tell which were more or less similar, and dealt with how they flirted with guys and what their ratings of the boys were. Interested, but exhausted, I tried to sleep but was constantly disturbed by their constant chatter. Nikita and me were the only ones in the room who were single, both of us had never been involved in any relationship,. Though we had had our share of crushes and heart breaks, there had never been anything serious.

I was perceived as the serious one of the lot. Shy and stuck up were the other words which were often used to describe me. Well , that didn’t bother me much because I was just too focused; I knew what I wanted. I came from a middle class family, unlike the others in my room, and hard work was the only way I knew to get what I wanted. And I wanted to be the school topper, so that I could get through to a good college in Delhi. I didn’t have time for boys and affairs unlike other girls of my age. This made me feel seriously out of place a lot of times. My roommates just assumed that I was scared to meet the guys or was stuck up. Nikita usually would incite me on this issue. She would often shoot questions at me : “What’s wrong in meeting men?” or “Why don’t you even try to flirt?” . (The one time I tried I was branded as ‘Bad Flirt’.)

But I digress…

After several failed attempts at sleeping I finally gave up. And to the surprise of others, and even myself,  I told the girls that even I wanted to go for the fest and check out guys. Well they were more surprised then I was. Nandini Singh, Green House President who thought that guys were a waste of time wanted to go for a boys fest!! Nikita teased me by asking “What will you do there? Read a book?”

I, confidently, told her  “I am going to flirt, have fun, like you all do!” and to get back at Nikita I added, “ And you know what , I am going to be better than you with that guy you liked!”

“Milind?"

“Ya , what do you think , I can't?

“Ya , sure!” with her irritating smirk.

“Wanna bet nikki?”

“Ya sure! as if I am in love with him,” she said,“go ahead!”

Well my proposition definitely put Nikki off but I was seriously irritated with being branded as “not-interested-in guys” girl. Next evening, I had to actually do what I had said and, to be honest,  I was scared. I was almost dehydrated – with all the water I had lost as sweat – when I met Milind . Nikki was with me and looking at me all the time as if judging me, but soon she lost interest in me as Milind introduced her to one of his friends. I started walking with him without saying a word. I wanted to simply disappear at that moment. It was Milind who started the conversation “So, where are you from?”

“ Raipur,” I said.

“Ah! I have a friend from that place , he studied there till class 10th in some school called Swami Vivekanand there.”

“Hmmm…”

“He doesn’t have high regards for that school.”

“Most of the people don’t have high regard for their schools after they come to Shimla.”

“I have!”

“I was talking about people from that school.”

As will not be hard to infer from the conversation, I lost the bet. Though I was with Milind for some more time, we hardly exchanged any words.

Well after that day I got back to what I did  best – Academics. Nikki, and my other room mates, met these guys on a regular basis and became friends with them. Nikki got over Milind very soon, and got proposed by two other guys I had never met. But some how the thought of Milind always excited me and I wanted to meet him again. And I got my chance on Nikki’s Birthday party. I was definitely scared  by the very thought of meeting Milind again. I wanted to wear a red- tshirt and blue jeans , the one I wore when I met him for the first time, but Nikki said, “ He has seen you in it already…why do want to repeat it?”

Her statement left me a little confused, and all the more worried. I was in a “now what” state! Then I decided to wear a suit , and somehow I liked myself in it. But what was happening to me? This was so unlike me… I was reacting like this to a guy who I had met only once. I didn't even know whether he remembered me or not.

In the party, I was surprised to observe it was me, not Nikki, who was the centre of attraction. And Milind was actually talking to me and giving his attention. Milind , was from Lucknow, in the science section, and wanted to pursue engineering. He was an amazing singer, and the cultural head of St. James. Well I was definitely impressed and happy. Both of us had so much in common. The icing on the cake was when he said, “ Nandini you look beautiful today.”

Though I was feeling genuinely sorry for Nikita for stealing her thunder (and that too on her Birthday), but it just happened! Back in the room she was visibly jealous, and I didn’t know what to say. So, I thought sleeping would be the best option at that time and just when I was about to sleep my cell phone rang. I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw Milind’s number blinking! It was around 10, and never before in my life  had I got a call from a guy that late.

“Hello,” I said.

“Hi! You won’t believe this but I was kinda missing ya.”

“Hmm…” I actually blushed, and was totally clueless about what a girl is supposed to say or do at a moment like this.

“Well…I just came to know that teams from your school and mine  are going to Delhi for some fest at DPS. Iam going for it… are you ?”

I was in the school dance team, and being the captain I was going but I didn’t know that St. James was also going for the fest. What I felt at that moment cannot be described in words.

“Yes, I am! You are going to be there too. Wow! Its going to be fun,” I said automatically.

“Yeah! So will meet you in Delhi now and hope to see more of you now.”

“ Gotta get up early tomorrow , Good night,”  I said hastily, feeling I might have shown a little more emotion that the situation demanded.

We were leaving for Delhi after two weeks. and till that day I spoke to Milind each and every day. The day before I was supposed to leave, Nikki came to me and asked: “Do you like Milind ?”

“Ya! I think yes. You know what he is very honest and sorted. Though he flirts with me at times and uses beautiful eyes, nice smile type of one liners but I like it , I feel he means it. But why are you asking that?”

“ Aise he , Iam confused between Nikhil and Mohit”

“Both of them are good,  why don't  you just two time  them?” I smiled.

“Milind , is a nice guy yaar, he is the best in the group . I wish I had him”

Her statement surprised me, she knew I liked him and still she had said it. Knowing Nikki, I could expect it from her; she wanted all the men on the planet. But somehow I had started counting her as one of my friends and was concerned about her. Without paying much heed to what she said I started packing my stuff.

Delhi, Day 1

I saw Milind in the school auditorium with one of his friends. He looked at me and smiled. I was performing the next day and wanted him to come. I went to him and said “So, we meet again.”

“Happy to see you, Nandu.” he said ,giving me a friendly hug.

I felt a little awkward , but quickly got back to my normal self.

“ Iam performing tomorrow, do come and cheer me up!”

“Anything for you sweetie…will be there. Are you free tonight? Theirs is this place called Ansal Plaza, we can go there for dinner, I have got a friend's car too.”

I was being asked out on a date. I had never been on one before, and didn’t know anything about it. I was missing my roommates so much at that time, Nikki, especially.

“a..y…yes!”

" What??? "I thought to myself, "I said yes." I could scarcely believe my ears.

“What time? Is seven ok? Outside your hostel?”

“Seven, it is!”

I was ecstatic. I went back to the hostel to get ready. I was feeling extremely conscious and jittery. I asked two of my close friends Jhanvi and Shradha to come along. They refused initially, but agreed after I literally went down on my knees. So from a date, it became a group thing. Though for the entire evening I was with Milind, presence of my friends made me feel comfortable. After we came back to the hostel I went for a walk with Milind. I was now completely comfortable with him; we discussed about our families, our aspirations. For me, Milind was a friend who I liked. Later that night I told Janhvi and Shradha that I liked Milind and maybe was on the verge of falling in love.

“Are you serious?” said Janhvi

“Don’t you think that it is too early? And does he even feel for you maybe he is just flirting with you.” Shradha said.

“I don’t know all that, I just like him, and love spending time with him and who knows what the future holds!”

To be honest, I seriously liked Milind. It was for the first time I felt like this for some one. And I was happy.

“ Ok then, will sleep now , have to perform tomorrow .”

Day 2

I woke up early the next day and went for practice .Though we were performing in the evening, I called the team for practice in the morning. My entire day passed in practicing. In the evening before our performance I kept checking the cell phone, but no message from Milind. He must be there in the crowd, cheering me up, I thought. We won the second prize, and by the end of it I was exhausted. Second day, went without any news of Milind, I was kind of sad but that’s the way Milind was. If I had to describe him in one word, the word would be inconsistent. At times, I felt that he really liked me, may be even more than I liked him, and at other times he left me really unsure about US.  After that day I decided that at least Iam not going to be the first one to call him up. That was the last day of the fest and I was leaving for Shimla the next day.

After reaching Shimla I told Nikki the entire story and was more than surprised to know that she and Milind were in constant touch for the entire period.

“We are just friends you know,” Nikki said.

Two days after reaching Shimla, Milind called me up and asked me about the competition.

“You weren’t there?” I asked.

“Oh I was with my friends; we went to this place called RPM in Delhi.”

“Ok!” Honestly, I was hurt but was too egoistic to show it.

“ Nikki and others are coming to meet us at our school. Are you coming with them?”

“I don’t know about that, and any way I don’t think  I will be able to make it,‘ I am kinda busy.”

“ I want you to come yaar, aao na aao na……..” he started singing on the phone . But I didn’t go. I was hurt, I thought there was something between Milind and me, but I guess I was wrong.

Milind called me up couple of times after that; I met him couple of times too, but always with my roommates and others. I was still not sure that there was nothing from Milind’s side. So, I used to remain sad most of the time, and started spending more time in the library than the Dorm. St. James was the flavor of our Dorm, and Nikki was the flavor of St. James. At times she used to come to me and tell me that she had talked with Milind. I saw her receiving his calls, and when ever I asked her what she talked about, her standard answer would be “same boring stuff, nothing much”

More than a month had passed since I had any contact with Milind. Just before our last exam, I came back early to our dorm. Everyone else expect Niki was there. I asked them about Nikki .

“Oh she has gone to meet Milind,” said, Parul.

“ Milind … why? She doesn’t have to study or what?”

“ She didn’t tell you or what? Milind proposed her last week, they are a couple , stupid!”

“I didn’t know that,” I almost choked.

I went out of the room and cried.