The Train Journey that Changed Destiny - Part 7

Ishant woke up to the glint of sunlight in the window and quickly checked the time on his mobile phone "Damn! it's 8'o clock" he thought. His head hurt from the long train journey. He looked at his phone again.
2 unread messages flashed on the screen.
He opened the first message, "wat does dat mean? R u moving to dat village? So bad yaar ishu" He scrolled to the next one "Hello? you thr? u comin tomo rite?... alrite...luks lik u r asleep...Gnite...Swt dreams...tlk 2 u tomo. Dont 4get 2 cal me tomo morn."
20 minutes later, he was trying to fish out the details of the scandal from the newspapers with a cup of coffee by his side. He was desperate to find out about the admission process for DU. He could not survive in KIT, the entire place was a massive culture shock. How can anyone even dream of studying there?He had to call her, but before that he would have to meet Prof. Sharma.

Walking into Prof. Sharma's office, Ishant announed to his PA "I am Ishant, I want to meet with Prof. Sharma. Please tell him it's urgent." A few minutes later, he was sitting at Prof. Sharma's desk admiring the books in the book shelf behind Prof. Sharma's desk.
"Yes Ishant, How can I help you today?" Prof. Sharma said as he walked in with a cup of coffee.
"Prof. I heard about the admissions scam last night on TV. How does that affect the admission process this year? I really need to know" he asked hoping for some good news.
"Ah yes! I have been meaning to talk to you about it. Here's the deal Ishant, in light of the scandal, I won't be able to help you with your application to DU or your research proposal. Any favors I dispense at this time will not be looked upon kindly. I am sorry Ishant. I really wish I could help. You are going to have to go through the standard admission procedure, which will most likely take another month to kick start."

Ishant did the math real quickly in his head, his classes at KIT started in 2 weeks time. He had only a week to withdraw his admission and get his original certificates back. On the other hand, with Prof. Sharma backing out, DU was a no-hoper, with his grades, he would get nowhere near DU. He thanked Prof. Sharma and started walking towards the bus terminal. His mind was in turmoil. "I am doomed to KIT" he mumbled to himself.

"One ticket to Dhaula kaun" Ishant handed money to the bus conductor. He picked up his phone hoping to see an SMS waiting for him. Anything from her would have cheered him up. He had never told her how he felt. " Would she know? She sure flirts with me a lot, she probably does. Still, I should tell her. How can I tell her now? especially since I will move 1000 miles away from Delhi. I can't stress myself this much over a girl. " he punched a few numbers on the phone keypad...
"Hello", the voice said at the other end.
"Hey! Whats up?" he said
"You stupid boy! I thought you were messaging me last night. You left me alone and went off to sleep and you never even bothered calling me in the morning when you woke up. you are such a bad friend" she said.
He did not have the energy to argue, just hearing her voice made him struggle for words.
"I am so sorry yaar, there were a few things I needed to take care of. I called you now na?"
"Yeah right! Make up excuses. you just forgot about me. some friend you are!"
"friend? thats all I am to you? just a friend? I want to be so much more than a friend" he thought to himself.
"Anyway, you are coming home right? I am making lunch for you. We can have lunch together and you can tell me all about this village you are going to study in" she said mischievously.
"Yeah, I am on the bus to your place. I will be home in 30 mins." This lunch was the brightest spot of what was fast turning out to be a really gloomy day.

When he finally reached her place, she opened the door wearing her white and pink salwar. She looked as pretty as always, her sprightly brown eyes with a hint of kaajal, her hair neatly combed and tucked away with a clip. She smiled at him creating the cutest dimples in her cheeks.
She offered him a seat on the sofa, placed a glass of water on the coffee table and sat down next to him. "So, tell me about your adventures." Ishant talked for an hour about KIT, his missed opportunity with Prof. Sharma at DU and his decision to move to KIT for his BTech. Suddenly, the smile disappeared from her face, it looked like she would almost cry. " Does that mean you won't be in Delhi anymore Ishu? I can't believe it!" Instinctively, he hugged her. She, too, didn't bother to stop him. "So she does feel the same way for me too" he thought to himself. He was holding the most beautiful girl of his class in his arms. Screw Prof. Sharma, DU and KIT, he would give up anything to be able to hug her again. Suddenly, she pulled away from him, "Lets have lunch Ishu..."
They had a quick lunch and talked for a while about her medical school applications. Time flew so fast when he was with her. He held her hands as they talked, she didn't bother stopping him. The next time he looked at his mobile phone, it was 5 in the evening.
"Oh my God! it's 5 already, I need to get going" he said. She offered him coffee/Tea, he was almost tempted to take up her offer, but he had to leave, it was getting late. He gave her half-a-hug and headed back to his house.

Later that evening, he was booking one way tickets to KIT. His heart was in Delhi. He did not want to go to KIT, not with her right here. But, he had no choice, maybe if he had applied for some B.Sc. courses. He had only told her that he was leaving for KIT, he hadn't told her that it was in less than 2 weeks time. If only he could get a little more time, just enough to tell her how he really felt...he picked up his mobile phone and started typing a message....