Chapter 5. The Winds 1

Days went by, students formed groups and these groups worked hard and often came across each other at Raghu's café. Raghu was often mistaken to be a student. He was the Cafeteria Guy, too intelligent for his place, as some would think. But he did what he wanted to and had to. Every year, he would see new people visit his café, make friends, and then bid them goodbye in 3 years. This year he had made some good friends.

"He likes you Urmi," Roshan giggled.

"Oh please," Urmi would always reply with a blush.

Deep down she liked being liked by Raghu. He was one of those hardworking, strong and handsome men, who were noticed no matter where they stood. Eventually, Urmilla started going out with Raghu. While to Urmilla, it was something she treasured to make others jealous, to Raghu it meant everything. He was in love with this woman.

Aditya noticed everyone. He saw what Urmilla felt and where this would go. He saw how Zara had already overcome two short-lived affairs and was currently dating a senior. He noticed how Koel and Will had become close friends, but no one confused it for an affair. Theirs was a very platonic friendship which people treasured. He saw how hard Zara and Will tried to ignore each other and how often they crossed swords. He also observed how his dear friend Roshan had started sporting new clothes everyday to class. He couldn't afford them, but he still did. Aditya would often smile to himself and see how almost everyone had already paired up in three months. He knew very well in his head how many of them would last. Amidst all this, he often noticed Koel, a person he couldn't really assess; he never knew how to. They talked, but very little. Aditya was the kind of man people would come to talk to for an advice. He never enjoyed solving problems, but he loved helping people nevertheless. He decided to talk to Roshan.

"Talk to her," said Aditya.

"Talk to whom?" Roshan replied with surprise, while spraying himself with an expensive perfume.

"Can I borrow another 500 from you dude. Will return by the month end. You know how dad is, he doesn't send me much. How can one survive on 2000 a month, tell me?" said Roshan.

"You could if you wanted to. I don't mind lending you money if you knew how to spend it wisely. You have to stop buying expensive things. Focus on your career, that's what you should do now, let everything follow," Aditya said while lending Roshan some money short of 500.

"That's all I have right now in my wallet," said Aditya.

"Thanks bud. I just use up the money to buy books and invest in some stocks; I am a voracious reader, it helps me see things in a different light," said Roshan.

Aditya smiled and said, "You can't lie and make someone fall for you. Be yourself and ask her out."

"What…who…what you talking about?"

"You know who. Ask her out, and stop impressing her with these silly things. From what I know, she is an honest and genuine person. The last thing someone would like is being lied to"

"She won't go out with me dude. She is so rich and always surrounded by her group. Moreover, she does what her parents tell her to, from what I heard. She will never go out with me"

"Wearing expensive clothes won't help either"

Roshan decided to talk to Nandita. He would wait for her at the end of her optional classes, but never gathered enough courage to speak to her. He would greet her as a matter of coincidence. He would purposely take the longer route to the campus gate, so he could pass by the Ladies hostel.

Nandita and her friends noticed Roshan's behavior. They suggested that she talk to him.

"I don't know. I have never been out with a guy. I don't know if my family would like that," said Nandita.

"Stop it Nandu," said Urmi and Raghu.

"I know Roshan. I have heard Aditya speak to him. Roshan likes you," said Raghu.

Nandita refused to pay any attention.

One day at a DJ night on campus, Roshan took the courage and walked up to Nandita.

"Care to dance with me?" he asked.

"I don't dance" Nandita replied reluctantly.

"Oh, I don't either. Care if I sit here?" he asked.

"Sure you can," said Nandita.

Time flew by as they watched others dance. They were both smiling in their hearts.

Will asked Zara for a dance. Everyone knew this was coming since people had started anticipating that Will and Zara had started developing an attraction towards each other. After all, they were trying too hard to cross roads with each other intentionally. No one knew if Zara was single or not; she had too many breakups to keep count of, but they knew Will would be a perfect match for her.

"I am with someone. Thanks," Zara responded to the dance offer.

Koel noticed Will and Zara. She felt anxious for unknown reasons. Her heart was beating fast. No one could have noticed how hard she tried to push her thoughts away, but Aditya. He had been observing Koel all this time. He felt like a stalker, but it was one of those chases he didn't mind exploring.

"You wouldn't mind dancing with anyone else but me. And I know you hate me, so much so that you don't want to admit that you hate me in an effort to ignore me. You don't have to do that you see. We could still be friends," said Will.

That was the longest one-sided conversation they had so far that evening. It was like a speechless tug of war that they were trapped in. They were like fire and air, an almost fatal combination. Zara was waiting for this moment. She had decided on this moment on the very first day. She wanted to be sought after, especially by Will. That he didn't approach her before maddened her more. She tried every unobvious way to grab his attention. She befriended other men to show off her abilities to have anyone she wanted. She crossed him at every opportunity she received. She wanted to stand out as his biggest competition.

"We can never be friends," said Zara.

Will bent down to her ear and whispered, "You meant just friends?" and left.

He always had the last word, thought Zara, and she hated him even more for that.

A few days later, while sitting near her window, Nandita spoke to Koel about how Roshan had finally asked her out.

"I refused," said Nandita.

"Why? What's stopping you?" asked Koel.

During their conversation, Zara entered the room. She was always late, hanging out with friends who were either seniors or outsiders. She still managed to get her grades shockingly high. Koel often wondered why she didn't have the same luck. She was hard working but had to struggle for everything. Zara didn't work hard at all and had everything she wanted. Koel hated feeling envious about her roommate, but she didn't know what else to feel. Zara couldn't help but overhear Nandita and Koel chat.

"I don't think you should go out with that guy, not that it's my business. But he is in my study group and I know him, he seems pretty odd in some ways. I doubt his integrity," said Zara.

Nandita and Koel were quietly paying attention to Zara's abrupt interruption. But Nandita was the kind to rely on everyone's inputs. Meanwhile Koel spoke up, "Shouldn't she decide that?"

"Well, just wanted to give my two cents," Zara added.

Nandita slept over it all night. She decided to ignore him completely the next day. Roshan wondered why she was acting indifferently. He decided to approach her.

"Are you mad at me about something?" asked Roshan.

"No, I just can't go out with you," said Nandita.

"Why not? Give me a chance. I know you want to," said Roshan.

"I am afraid of taking chances," Nandita responded dubiously.

Roshan waved his hands in the air, trying to enact an orator, and said, "Chance is what life is about missy. You miss a chance, you miss life. So take every chance that your heart beats to. You know, I am going to give you an unbiased advice,"

"More? OK, what?" asked Nandita and shook her head.

"You should go out with me," Roshan said with a smirk.

"That? That is your advice?" asked Nandita.

"Duh! Yea!" said Roshan with an unambiguous certainty.

Nandita scraped the dirt off the floor with her shoe and looked around to see of anyone was watching them.

"I don't know yet," said Nandita.

"You will, once you listed to this," said Roshan and handed out Aashiyan's music CD to her.

"This is for you. Listen to it and then let me know. Now don't you give this to your other boyfriend," said Roshan and winked.

Nandita took the gift and thanked him politely.

She listened to the songs all evening in her room. At night, the girls heard a voice. Someone was screaming under their window. It was Roshan.

"Nandita, will you go out with me?" he screamed.

He was on a new bike standing under the big banyan tree and had a few friends with him.

"Unless you say yes, I will not leave," he screamed again.

One of the friends climbed on the banyan tree and screamed, "haan bol do, nahi to yeh nahi jayega, aur hume bhi nahi jaane dega"

The encounter continued for half an hour as Roshan loudly played the same songs in a loop on his music system. Other girls looked through their window in curiosity and disbelief. The security was summoned. Nandita quickly realized that a frenzy was about to take place so she agreed.

"Yes. I will. Please leave now. Please, please. I will see you tomorrow," Nandita screamed through her window and then tried to lower her voice.

Roshan swung his bike around, threw a few roses at the window and left. The security was late and left when they found no trace of intrusion or trouble.

"What a hopeless romantic!" Koel laughed.

Zara rolled her eyes and looked away.

Koel had started her own little hobby of chatting on the internet. She had made some good friends. Especially one – The Hulk. They chatted for hours. She discovered, there were no expectations involved at all, that's what was most charming about chatting. They didn't exchange numbers or pictures. Just ideas, views, and inner fears.

One night, Koel found her laptop giving her trouble. She looked desperate, yet didn't utter a word.

"Do you want to use mine?" Zara asked. Zara had often noticed Koel on her laptop; you didn't have to be intelligent enough to know what she was doing.

"You could use mine tonight, I am done with it," said Zara.

Koel thought for a moment, felt almost vulnerable and exposed and somehow guilty for envying Zara always. She said, "Thanks" and used her laptop that night. That was the first act of kindness Zara had shown, and Koel was conquered by that.

It took one good deed to bring everyone together. Gradually Koel and Nandita became good friends with Zara. They realized over time that she was actually not a bad person at heart. Her ways were different, but she could be a good friend if given a chance. They used to talk and enjoy each other's company. They realized how different they were from each other but how they came together. They became very close and started confiding on each other about everything. Nandita and Koel were the only real friends Zara ever had. Everyone else was just her admirers, and she knew that.

Roshan and Aditya knew Raghu and Urmi, who knew Nandita, who knew Koel, who knew Will. The circle of acquaintances is strange. It brings the furthest ends together. The common ones fall out. Nandita had started going out with Roshan, who was now desperately borrowing money from friends to impress Nandita, to a point where he had to put a veil over his background. Nandita often refused taking gifts saying they were expensive and that he shouldn't spend so much money on her. Roshan convinced Nandita that his father was a self-made rich man. Nandita would fall for it because she was vulnerable by nature. By now Roshan, Nandita, Aditya, Koel, and Will had become good friends. They would often spend hours at Raghu's café chatting about anything from the stock market to the color of Roshan's shirt. They were now habituated with each other's presence, their jokes, remarks, and characteristics.

Aditya had talked to Koel a few times outside the group and had discovered that she had more to herself than he thought.

"Have you discovered what you want in life yet?" Aditya asked Koel when they were alone one day.

Koel was taken aback by his abrupt, strange question. She was starting to realize over time how well Aditya knew her, although they had spent very little time alone. He was a man of few words. He never spoke a lot about her to anyone or about anyone to her. When he was with someone, he would focus only on them. Koel started wondering how well Aditya could predict her. She always tried to hide her feelings about everything from everyone. But he knew her so well and it all seemed effortless. She found a degree of great peace and challenge at the same time when she spoke to him. She knew this man was wiser than her or anyone she knew, and that made her want to know him more.

She would tell her online friend how she had discovered this new friend. The online friend and her never said any names to each other. It was an unspoken commitment to respecting each other's privacy. At some point, she felt torn between her online friend and Aditya because they were so alike. None of them expected anything from her, yet she felt guilty when she spoke to either one. She realized that she had developed an intellectual understanding with both and that called for a monogamous friendship.

During these days, Will, Roshan, and Aditya had developed an important role in each other's life. Aditya played a pivotal role in the group, almost like an elder brother. Everyone knew, he was the one who tied them together. Will was the organizer and provider for events, such as parties. Roshan was the entertainer without whom a party would seem to fall on its knees. Raghu was the friend they could approach anytime for food and place.

Zara was the only one who wasn't and didn't want to be a part of the group, except that she was happy with the two friends she made. They would ask her to join them, but she often refused, except for at parties. Everyone sensed the heated cold war between Will and Zara, and knew that he was the reason for her not being part of the group. Nandita and Koel had a tough time juggling between the group and Zara. There were times when Zara had passed caustic remarks at them when they chose the group over her company. It was getting difficult. Zara was already frustrated at Will about stealing the limelight and for not trying harder to befriend her. She was now more frustrated at his indifference. One night at a party, Zara walked up to Will and confronted him when he was drinking alone in the balcony. She had a few too many drinks.

"Why are you doing this?" Zara asked.

"Doing what?" Will replied with a surprise.

"You, ignoring me, attempting to overshadow me, making me look like a loser"

"I don't know what you are saying"

"I know you are doing this deliberately, walking away with the limelight and then pretending to ignore me, as if I don't exist, when you know that everyone acknowledges my presence"

"Well if you must know, dig into your memory and you will see that you had started all this. You have been an utterly self-centered, condescending person, who cares about nothing but herself. Any attempts I made at being friends with you were thwarted. You were the one pretending to ignore me, while deep down you craved for my attention. You hated me because Zara Zafar hates to admit that someone can be better than her, and of all people, someone she was smitten with. And now that I ignore you, here you are making me look culpable. Is it true then, playing hard-to-get works?" said Will.

He looked at Zara triumphantly. He continued drinking.

"I hated you because you were always trying to win me to win everyone," Zara fought back.

"The last thing I want is to win you to win everyone. Look around, I already have everyone. You are the one with no one, except Koel and Nandita, who probably feel torn between you and their other friends. And look at you -you already had 3 relationships with men that hardly cared for what you want. All they cared for was …you know what! " Will replied.

"May be that's why I broke up with them."

"Actually I don't blame those men. You knew all along that they just wanted to sleep with the Zara Zafar. They were playing with you. And you played along. Truth is, you are the one that used other men to win me. And for your information, that didn't work. You were playing the wrong cards."

"I am playing no cards. And so what if I played along with them; they knew I am not looking for my Mr. Right in them. They knew I was not serious. They knew that very well. They were not some naïve kids that I was misleading. Stop judging others without knowing the whole truth."

"You judge others Zara, not me!"

Zara was quiet; she had the look of an innocent girl who had just been caught stealing something. Her eyes were sad and hollow but they were fixed on Will's. Will suddenly felt guilty about the things he accused Zara of. He knew he wasn't that way to anyone, yet this one girl had strummed some strings inside him, that he had never knew existed in the first place.

They looked at each other for sometime; tumultuous feelings crossing their minds. They felt a strong connection, which they had denied for long. They wanted to give in, yet their pride would stop them. Just when they were trying to decide on their next words, Will pulled Zara towards him and kissed her. Zara resisted momentarily, but she knew now how much she had wanted this. She gave in. They stood there kissing each other. What they felt was fierce and strong. Neither one of them had experienced anything like this before. Zara didn't know what she hated and loved in this man. She was never so perplexed before. But she decided to ignore those feelings for now.

Koel watched them through the dim lights and continued munching her food. Aditya watched Koel disguising her thoughts. He walked up to her and asked, "Do you like him?"

"Excuse me? Like who? Why do you always ask such abrupt questions?" Koel asked almost defensibly.

"I guess you are not answering that," said Aditya.

That night Koel chatted endlessly with her online friend. She told the online friend about her strange surge of feelings lately about different people. She confessed feeling bizarre about what happened between her two friends, whose identity she wouldn't reveal.

"I don't know what this is. I don't love this guy, I have always liked him as a friend, and wouldn't quite mind if he dated anyone but I am not happy today. I know I should be, they are both my friends." There was a strong silence. "Are you there?"

"Yes. Why aren't you happy; is it because he kissed someone or is it because of that someone he kissed?" The Hulk asked.

"I don't know. But I want to know," she replied.