I don't think I will ever forget that evening. When my life took a new shape.
When you have to wake up at 8AM for classes, an evening nap is a must to recharge yourself or else that I am gonna experience that irritating migraine during nights. That day, when I woke up after the nap, I felt something weird. I, i probably overslept. Then Lazy Kankana came up.
"Ishuu , let's go to the terrace"
It was a routine for all the girls. The terrace was a safe space. The moss on the railings, girls sitting on the staircase of the water tank and underwear on the rope for drying. The most common scenes in every girl's hostel. I find the third one weird but again who's gonna watch?
Chetna, Shweta and Kankana were the inseparable elements of my life. I rarely felt homesick because who would wanna get back to the old controlling household where your life isn't yours to decide? Four of us lean on the railing. Shweta didn't dare to look down because she is scared of heights. Beside me was my bestie Chetna, the joyful and kind one
If you smell the stench of cigarettes and alcohol, don't freak out because it's normal here. How do I know? Well....i have played this game before. Anyways, me and my friends talk about various topics like Park Seo-Joon (He's so cute!!). All of a sudden Kankana says
"Ishu, Look..."
The hostel I was staying in was located just a few blocks away from a residential apartment which had a big compound. There was a group of boys standing and probably hanging out but that one boy..he was looking at me or maybe staring at me. I met his gaze with mine and he soon turned away.
It wasn't love at first at all like the one with Rohan. Ohh i forgot to mention huh? Sorry. Can't fit everything in one episode. So Rohan was my first love. It was like during 7th Class. You know, the early puberty love. He was the one who proposed to me. I knew little about love from movies like "Yeh Jawani hai Deewani" so I moved into one. At this point we didn't know what a boyfriend or girlfriend was so we never used the label. The biggest task itself was to keep it a secret. We both knew we had no future together so as usual we broke up. Last time I saw Rohan at Class 11, he found someone else and honestly I was happy.
Alright, back to the present. The boy who was looking at me, turned his back but I can feel there was something going as the others were laughing. He was just an average looking guy with a ruffled haircut , dense facial hair and pimple marks on face.
I looked at him for some time and my feelings for him...is zero, none, nil, non-existent. I am not a Disney princess who is going to fall for a stranger boy. I am "The Ishita Ghosh". Not gonna do the same mistake as Fawaz.
Alright kids, flashback time. So when I settled myself in the hostel comfortably and explored this freedom, I fell in love..a second time. His name was Fawaz Khaz and we met through mutual contacts. I didn't care much. After all, religion doesn't matter. That's what I thought. All my peers objected to it. A girl coming from a highly respected conservative family was not only in a relationship but also with a Muslim. Sounds terrifying.
I still went with it until I saw the red flags. He objected to me wearing Bindi, would share Islamic reels or Zakir Naik's videos and then one day he suggested that I wear a hijab so that "I actually look like his girlfriend". From the news, I knew I would be in great trouble if it continued so I broke up with him, blocked him from every social media and even told the security guard to watch out for him in case he tried to stalk me. It was tough but survival was important. After that, I didn't get involved with any boy. "Not with a boy"
I know you are curious but that incident is my deepest darkest secret so maybe some other day. Anyways the sun descended and all of us went back to our room. I indulge in my studies while the other bitches taunt me.
"Ishu got a new lover."
I genuinely wanted to throw my huge Biochemistry book on their face. Initially their taunts faded by dinner time. After eating that special Hilsa fish from the canteen, I could barely wait to jump on my bed. Once I reached my bed...
*Whoomph*
Time for the love triangle of Ishita Ghosh, her phone and her bunk bed. I just opened Instagram and the first thing I saw was a follow request. I ignored it but when i checked my DM. It was something new. No 'Baby honey' shit, no dick pics just a simple "Hey".
The sender? Someone named Samar Chaudhary. When I look at his account and my eyes go to his profile picture... It's that GUY FROM EVENING!!!
And then I remembered, It was not a normal story. It was MY story where nothing normal happens…