"Yaar Abhi - tu thoda zyada hi attractive nahi hain!" it was me, Ayesha, who praised my man - while he was describing his story with Kavya.

"Tumhe pasand hain na?" Abhi asked me, whether I liked his all-rounder, attractive nature.

"Haan...definitely...but then, humesha yeh darr lagta hain -

Ki agar tujhe koi ladki mil gayi, who is better than me- toh kya tu mujhe bhool jayenga" I spoke unpredictably.

"Arre pagli..." he hit me softly on my forehead, indicating my brain -

"Tumhe attract karne ke liye hi toh -

Main attractive banne laga hoon!" his statement was so mesmerizing that I went forward and hugged him tightly.

"Ayesha...log dekh rahe hain" he was a little scared, since we were standing near a soft couch of a coffee shop - on one of the corner tables.

"Tumhara dhyan logon par hain - ya mujhpe?" I asked him, with a cute annoying look.

"Mera dhyan unn logon pe hain - joh iss attractive ladki ko dekh rahe hain!" I blushed with my cheeks turning pink.

We sat down, as I held my mobile phone in my hand, secretly started the recording feature and there he was, sitting right in front of me - ready to relive his entire previous love life.

And finally, he continued his story -

*************************************************

'I' refers to 'Abhimanyu Mantri'.

In the upcoming few weeks, we started to talk more with each other.

Yes - one major barrier was the fact - that she was a little lenient with studies and I had promised myself - that I wanted to achieve the first rank - in our first semester.

Nevertheless, whenever we used to talk, whether sitting in groups or on DMs, we enjoyed a lot.

Kavya was a happy, enthusiastic, charming, beautiful girl.

Since she was the only daughter of her parents, she was pampered right from her childhood.

At first, I always had this thought in my mind - that I do not have all the over-expensive gifts and accessories, and since she is so stunning- there are chances that she might not like me.

I wasn't from a poor household, I had all my necessities, that too in an appropriate condition - but what if she compares me with a BMW guy.

And then came the second golden day of our life -

(The first one was our first ever meeting on the terrace)

My first friendship day at IIM INDORE.

2.5 months had passed since the college had begun and today,

Right in midnight, we boys - were enjoying at the boy's hostel, loud speakers were ON, some typical INDORI snacks, some crazy 1st year dancers enjoying themselves.

At 12:30pm, 3 of the boys - who were comparatively more involved in girls - made a loud announcement on the mic -

"Boys, Boys and Sexy buoys - (we laughed loudly, while they continued)

"Tum sabhi logon ke liye - friendship day ka special surprise. February mein tum joh kuch bhi karna chahte ho - woh sab tum 6 mahine pehle hi kar sakte ho" they exclaimed wickedly.

While we murmured amongst ourselves and gave our personal opinions, finally the announcers called out -

"Special Friendship Day party for all the students of 1st year."

This surprise seemed to be normal, so our expectations lowered a little -

"Lekin Bhai Log - iss baar party mein, humaare saath hain - GIRLS" The excitement in the room, had reached exceptional high limits.

"Ohhhhhhhhhh........." all of us shouted so loud, that our warden entered the hall- and screeched and scolded all of us.

The next day - at 4:00pm in the evening, I got ready with the most attractive outfit - just to look charming.

And yes -it was indeed the most common color combination.

Blue Denim - White T-shirt - black folded shirt (jacket).

Now, as usual - I was ready well in time - and our Sharmaji was still suffering with his black denim.

"Bhaisaab...kitna time?" I usually denoted him - with that title 'Bhaisaab'.

"Yaar...tum toppers ki problem hi yahi hain - saale khud toh sab time pe pehle kar lete ho -

Aur phir, baaki duniya humaari leti hain" I laughed loudly on his comment.

Finally after 10 minutes, he sat beside me - wearing his NIKE shoes - and asked something interesting -

"Abhi...ek baat bata -

Tu usko propose kab karne wala hain?"

I spilled the water, which I was drinking and Pratyush laughed loudly.

"Bhai...kabhi bhi - koi bhi Mazak mat kiya kar!" I gave him a stern look.

"Oyee...mazak kya kiya maine?"

"Main tujhe seriously puch raha hoon -

TU USSE PROPOSE KAB KARNE WALA HAIN?" I was shocked to hear this question and more startled to know - about which girl, was Pratyush talking?

"Kisko?" I asked anxiously.

"Meri hone wali BHABHI re" he again teased me, while I was still anxious.

"Bhaisaab - kiske baare mein baat kar rahe ho?" a worried ABHI asked him.

"Ab itna bhi bhola mat ban" he turned around and was trying to find his watch, on the table or in the drawers.

He must have taken it casually, but on the other hand - for a naïve and sincere boy - like me -

The fact - somebody knowing my secrets - without me, personally telling him - was something very scary.

"But Pratyush - mere bhai - tu kiske baare mein baat kar raha hain?" I walked towards him and asked.

He did not pay any attention as was troubled - since he was not finding his watch.

"Pratyush - bol na" I again asked him, since I was scared.

He shouted - "Yaar Abhi...ek toh mujhe watch nahi mil rahi hain - aur yeh tu kya faltu sawaal puch raha hain"

I tried harder, harder than him, to find his watch.

After 2 minutes, when he finally found it - in one of the drawers - I silently asked him," Ab toh bata - tu kiske baare mein baat kar raha tha?"

"MERE MANTRI" HE squeezed my cheeks tightly.

"Tu khud ladki ko pasand karta hain - aur tujhe khud ko - uska naam nahi pata" it felt like a friendly harassment.

"OH BHAISAAB..." I loudly stated -

"Main kisi LADKI ko pasand nahi karta..." I stressed on the word - LADKI.

He took a step back and did the 'Daya-Ben' action from TMKOC,

"Hey Maa Mataji.......

Yeh kaisa sach hain -

Ab main duniya ke saamne, kis mooh se bolunga -

Ki mera room-mate,

IIM INDORE ki iss saal ke batch ka hone-wala topper -

Ek honhaar ladka -

Asliyat mein...

GAY hain" he provoked me.

"HAHAHA...very funny" I ignored him and sat on the bed, starting my phone.

He sat on the bed and exclaimed in a hushed voice -

"Haan Bhai...ab toh tu mujhe ignore karega hi -

After all - tere dhyan toh sirf MM pe hi hain"

All of a sudden, I turned around restlessly and asked -

"Tujhe kaise pata?" I was shit-scared.

"Saale Abhi...baap hoon main tera"

"Aur TOPPER..." he hit me tightly on my back.

"Tune itni important baat, mujhe aaj tak nahi batayi"

He was a little angry this time, and he continued saying -

"Mujhe laga tha - ki hum dono best friends toh ban hi sakte hain, after all we are room-mates from last 2 months.

But you didn't even share this with me."

That was the first time, I realized that PRATYUSH SHARMA - is a very understanding friend and I would be very lucky - if at all, he becomes my best friend.

"Nahi bro...aisa nahi hain - its just that - main khud sure nahi tha" I explained him.

Later, I questioned him -"Lekin pehle mujhe yeh bata - tujhe yeh kaise pata chala?"

"Tujhe kisine kuch bola kya?" because this was the secret, which only ONE person knew - MR. ABHIMANYU MANTRI - that is me.

So, I wanted to know - how was he sure, about my liking?

"Mere bhole TOPPER -" he looked at me, and explained -

"Jab tu Kavya ke saath hota hain -

Kya tune kabhi apne aap ko notice kiya hain?"

I nodded with a NO.

"You are entirely different."

"Number ONE - aise toh tu bohat normal hindi mein baat karta hain - aur kabhi kabhi toh tu Mumbai ki Marathi bhi bolta hain, but uske saamne - you try to flaunt your fluent English."

"Number TWO - tera chalna, uthna, baithna - uske aate hi, tu humesha conscious ho jaata hain - bohat zyada nahi/ but thoda bohat conscious"

"Number 3 - Aise toh basketball khelte wakt - tere 3 mein se 1 THREE-POINTER jaata hain,

Aur Kavya ke aate hi - tu 5 on 5 shots maarta hain - woh bhi sexy waale - basket maarne ke baad mein - dono haath upar karke, tu flaunt karta hain"

"Number 4 - Waise toh tu ladkiyon ke messages ko, 12 bajne ke baad, raat mein open bhi nahi karta..."

"Aur Kavya ko reply karne ke liye - saale tu google pe se 'good night' wale quotes copy maarta hain"

"Aur Woh bhi - raat ke teen baje"

"Number 5 - Tu usko ek aise assignment ke pics dene ko tayaar ho jaata hain - joh tu ek hafte pehle submit bhi kar chuka hain"

"Number 6 - Kabhi apne INSTAGRAM ki search history check karna - agar pehla naam KAVYA ka nahi mila - toh tere BHAISAAB - SHARMAJI ka naam badal dena"

He picked up my phone and opened my Instagram profile, just to prove that he was totally correct - from top to bottom.

I blushed at these wonderful observations of my friend.

"Yaar Bro...tune itna notice kiya" I actually admired his friendship.

"Oh Bhai - yeh sirf maine nahi, aadhi batch ne notice kiya hain!"

"What..." with my hand banging on my head, in frustration, I stood up.

"Yaar...aadhi nahi - but one-fourth ne toh notice hi hoga" he tried to console me, but this 1/4th was still a BIG NUMBER.

"Shit man - ab toh pure lag gaye!" I exclaimed sitting down on my place, in utter dissatisfaction.

"Arre koi nahi bro..." he patted on my back.

"Colleges mein yeh sab hota rehta hain" he tried to console me -

"Aur waise bhi teri umar ho rahi hain - toh jab tak jawaan hain, yeh body hain aur tera topper rehne ka plan hain - tab tak usko bol de..." he winked at me.

"Bro...tu kya bol raha hain - pehle hi yahan pe band baj chuki hain" I murmured.

"Yaar tu itna tension mat le - shayad one-fourth se bhi kam bachon ne notice kiya hoga" he spoke.

"Oh BHAISAAB..." I exclaimed loudly.

"Tension one-fourth ya half batch ki nahi hain - unhone notice kiya toh thik, nahi kiya toh bhi thik..

Tension uss ladki ka hain - jiske liye yeh sab observations valid hain"

"What if Kavya ne bhi yeh sab notice kiya hoga?" I exclaimed in a concerned and nervous tone.

"Guys...lets go...sab log nikal rahe hain" one of our batchmate banged on our door.

Sharmaji stood up and gave me a hand, as we left the room, for the Friendship day party, in utter confusion.

Well, it was more of a gathering - a get-together of the entire batch- in the large amphitheater of our campus.

This was organized by the group of a few fix friends, who had called contribution from all of us.

Both of us reached well in time, and then - the friends or batch-mates started exchanging bands and other gifts, whatever they had got for their respective friends.

"Yaar BBA ke 1st year mein - bands kaun pehnata hain...when will these people grow up?" Pratyush whispered into my ears and I nodded with a YES.

Little did he know that I was myself one of those cheesy people, since I had personally bought a band for that girl.

Now, the problem was - after Sharmaji revealed all his observations about my behavior with Kavya,

I was freaking scared.

Because I started thinking that -

If Kavya has herself noticed all my actions and my anxiety when I am with her or near her -

She might think something wrong - if I give this band to her.

Since I had bought only one band - only for Kavya - so not giving the band to my other friends - would be a little awkward.

Therefore, I decided that I will not give the band to Kavya, as well.

Some of my other friends - both in girls as well as in boys - came and tied me bands - we clicked pictures, joked a little and enjoyed.

But my eyes were waiting for the girl - whom I admired.

"Abhi...Abhi..." Pratyush suddenly pulled me towards him and whispered," Woh dekh...aa gayi, teri MM"

I turned around and there she was - the most lovable girl of IIM INDORE, according to my skillful eyes.

At first, I tried to roam away from her and therefore travelled to the food stalls or to some of my other friends.

Finally after 15 minutes, of this awkward unwanted strolling within the public, our eyes caught from a distance - and both of us signaled each other - as we started walking towards each other.

I was one feet away from Kavya, waiting to touch her hand and give her a firm handshake - when somebody interrupted.

TO BE CONTINUED.