7 My Gang

"Anyways mom, as you said I'm too early for such things. Let me wait a while. Then I would try and propose her. If she agrees we can worry further." I tried to end the conversation.

"He does speak sense. Let it take some time to bloom. Now can we get moving for the shopping?" concluded aunt.

Mom and aunt left for their evening dose of shopping, ending the conversation. A conversation which could never happen in any house in the whole of world for the sake of a ten year old. But I really understood the odds that could possibly be stacked against me.

I made up my mind to give time some time really. Not after school, but after college I'm gonna do it. I'm gonna propose her, and till then I'm not going to let any other girl to step into my life.

Also I got to figure out a way with regard to the last point. I ought to get rich! And she became THE ONE FOR WHOM I WAS GOING TO GET RICH.

I somehow opened up to mom. But I had to open up to my friends as well. I really had no clue as to how I was planning to do that. But I had to, because we were starting up a gang only then, and everyone had to know, just in case if things get messy sometime in the future and someone had to cover my back, though we were a solid ten to fifteen years from marriage.

One fine day, right after some school chores we gathered up in front of the school gate for a brief chat.

Bhanu our gang leader

Jhonny the bookworm of the gang,

Mohit the hotshot of our gang and

Sandy the silent assassin.

"Now that we started a gang, should we take in girls as well?" Mohit started the conversation.

"No." an instant reply from Sandy.

"I have friends. If everyone agrees I can ask them to join" said Bhanu.

"I have no issue either way." shrugged Jhonny.

All focus was towards me to know my reply.

"I too have friends but I'm not sure if we have to take them into gang." I replied.

"I think I can call a few as my girlfriends." Said Bhanu with a sense of pride.

"Who would that be?" I was curious.

"Vinita. Isha. And a few more" Bhanu started listing.

"Yeah I know. You guys are together right from childhood. I can also call Vinita my friend, we too have been together from kindergarten." echoed Mohit.

"Even I too have a girlfriend" I didn't want to be left out.

"And I'm going to propose her after tenth" I asserted.

"I won't be proposing and all, they are just my closest friends" Bhanu corrected his earlier remarks.

"Don't you feel it's too early to decide on whom to propose?" Jhonny, as always tried to kick some reality into things.

"I don't know that. But I am going to propose her. And I need your guys help if anything happens otherwise." I finally opened.

"We will. We are a gang now." Mohit tried to affirm things.

"Who would that be? Your girlfriend whom you going to propose?" Bhanu hit back.

"Anshu." I started blushing.

"Stop drooling, you look horrible" Mohit tried to poke some fun.

Though I have to admit I should have indeed seemed so very horrible. The chat went around about on various things. We spent nearly an hour or so in discussing various things. But I was relieved that I opened up about Anaisha to them. For if anything goes wrong, I have a set of friends who would do filmy things to help me get to her.

The last person whom I had to confess was Zara. Zara Hussein is my first friend ever. We grew up together. Though not from the same hood, we still were at each other's place most of the time.

Each time mom couldn't pick me from school I had to wait at her place. And if ever aunt and uncle were out of town she would come over to mine. We were really like Tom and Jerry though. Competing against each other. And in that process, more than winning, we tried on things to pull each other down, in a way trying to bring the best out of us.

I was looking for Zara all over the class the next day. But she was nowhere to be seen.

A week passed by and she was still nowhere.

I finally made it to my class mam only to find out that Hussein left school. Now that meant she didn't even hold back to say bye. I was really felling down.