'Guess what, I heard about this term's grading activity for English', Nikita's excitement was evident as she dropped in her seat beside Aarushi.

Aarushi looked up from her novel, facing her desk mate with curiosity pasted upon her face. They were in second year of their middle school and owing to new education curriculum for senior school, activities and projects accounted to 20% of their final result. Their teachers would come up with engaging activities which would usually be a surprise element for students, this term was no different. A little tipoff before an impending surprise is what every student craved for so as to ease their anxious nerves.

Aarushi, although a top student and ardent pursuer of rules, was interested in hearing about it; the surprises maybe too nerve racking sometimes, and in this case, this sometimes was replaced by too often. English department of their school always came up with tasks which were more difficult and fraught than any other subject.

'It is just too exciting! We would be preparing play for this semester!', Nikita continued her eyes dancing with excitement.

'Oh' was all Aarushi said as she tried to fake her enthusiasm while her eyes opened wide in shock.

'Damn it! It must be my doom's day! How can you be so merciless God!', she thought to herself.

She wasn't terrible at acting but she wasn't the best actor out there too, as a matter of fact she particularly hated to act. As a child, she had played small parts in plays which weren't the part of memory she wanted to recall. Mostly she would stick to playing narrator rather than putting up a terrible show acting the characters.

'Yup! I think groups would be announced in upcoming period, and there is another exciting info! We would be preparing our own scripts', Nikita stated, doing a happy dance.

'Goddamn it!', Aarushi cursed in her mind while her expressions played the opposite.

She was a great writer, so script won't be a problem. The actual problem laid in the group part. She had some experience of group activities in past, and she wasn't a big fan of it. Her luck always allotted her into the worst groups with students harboring least interest towards project.

The activity was announced in the following lecture and groups had been formed. Aarushi stepped into their courtyard area to discuss the assignment with her group members. They had been divided in groups of seven based on alphabetical order of names, their play must be personification of a chapter from their course book and was due in next two weeks. Ajay too was in same group as her.

'Ok so would any of you like to share your ideas?', Aarushi enquired her fellow classmates. She was the only girl in group of six boys, and all of whom appeared as clueless as goldfish. Aarushi rolled her eyes at lack of response.

'Fine, so first let's decide the script writers for play?', Aarushi continued when her question was met with silence.

'What's there to discuss about it, you'll be writing the script', Ajay piped up almost immediately, his eyes lighting up mischievously as he smirked at an utterly appalled Aarushi.

'And what will be your contribution?', Aarushi asked him sternly.

'Nothing', he stated airily. Aarushi gave a cynical laugh at his response, amazed at the audacity of this boy before her.

'I can't believe it, how can you-', her sentence was cut in midway with shrieks of Ajay's friends calling him for lunch.

'Sorry there little Miss know-it-all, I have some important task at my hand, when you are done with script, let me know my part', he said, giving her a puckish grin and imitating her eye roll before running off to his friends.

'I can't believe this!', she thought to herself, staring after him.

'Aarushi so... if you are writing the script, then there is nothing for us to worry about right? Then we'll go and grab some lunch', one of the other boys said, as others nodded vigorously in agreement.

Aarushi scoffed as she was left alone, abandoned by her not so serious teammates.

'What a bunch of idiots! What a great play it is going to be!', she thought sarcastically, storming back to her class, irked up by the bare display of impertinence.

They had selected A January Night*, a short story by celebrated author Munshi Premchand* for their play. Aarushi had finished with the script writing within next two days, she had improvised a few parts to make it look more reasonable and interesting. She had assigned the roles according to the ability of each person, including their overall acting and speaking skills. She gathered her group members, intending to explain the script the following day in school.

'I think everybody will be satisfied with their roles and script?', Aarushi asked, as soon as she finished briefing them about the story.

'No, I have an objection', Ajay spoke up. Aarushi turned to look in his direction, over past two days he had been least bothered by the activity, she wondered what objection he could have now.

'What?', she enquired trying to read his thoughts from those brightly lit eyes, she could not make out the expression within them.

'I am not playing narrator', Ajay replied coolly. Aarushi had designed two narrators for the play to make it more compulsive. Being a narrator not only required distinctive speaking skills but also the ability to express the emotions of scene through their voice, they were the main carries of play although they had little stage time.

Apart from herself, Ajay was the only worthy candidate for anchoring, who filled in nearly all brackets of narration. She had decided on both of them for narration.

'And why is that?', she asked him as she struggled to hold back her rising temper. He perfectly knew why he had been assigned the role yet he was being unreasonable.

'Well, it has too many dialogues', he said, hunching his shoulders nonchalantly.

'It's not like you have to learn them, we have the liberty to read from script', she pointed out, narrators had been granted permission to read from the scripts.

'Doesn't matter, change my role', he said to her.

'No, I am not doing it', she replied smoothly.

'I am not playing narrator and that's decided', he said obstinately. Ajay was pushing her carefully controlled temper to its edge now! He was perfectly aware of reason, yet he was stuck to being a stubborn jerk.

Aarushi stared at him for a couple of seconds with her jaw clenched tightly.

'Fine, then you better play the dog! I'll change its name to Mr. J from Jabra* in order to honor you', she snapped at him, turning to scribble the change in her script.

Ajay snatched away the pen and script from her hand before she could write.

'Hey!', she called to him as he bent down to edit the script.

'Here', he said handing her the edited script and smiling impishly. Aarushi shot him a glare before turning to script. He had scrawled his name in front of landowner's character.

'Are you serious about it?!', she asked fuming up. Landowner was a character which required impressive acting skills although it had a little stage time. Ajay was grinning at her archly.

'You know that it requires you to "act"!', she asked emphasizing the last part. She was well aware of his acting skills, which were no better than hers. He would occasionally fumble with words and ruin his part when on stage. This was also one of the reasons she had assigned him as a narrator, the job did not occupy the centre stage.

'Yup, but it has least dialogues', he replied stubbornly.

'Fine, then you better not ruin it!', she said, turning her back towards him and walking off. She needed to calm herself, or else she might end up giving that obstinate boy an earful.

'Where the hell is Ajay!', she flared up, it was their third day practicing and he had been absent from the rehearsals consecutively, not even bothering to turn up to show his face for once. Aarushi was amazed at his careless and neglecting attitude.

'I think I saw him in front of administrative office', one of their teammates replied. Aarushi gave him a brief nod before storming off in the direction of office.

Their school campus was elaborate, with paved paths lined by vibrantly colored pots of flowers and gardens, with water sprinkler drenching them in cool water. Sprawling playground stood at the other end covered under a blanket of neatly trimmed lush green grass. On one end the seating pavilion with a capacity of more than thousand students stood imposingly while on the other end, activity hall, stage and music school guarded the ground. Their school was built in late 1970s and was one of the top schools in state. Apart from its splendid history and campus, it provided one of the best educational facilities.

On any other day, Aarushi would have admired its beauty, but it wasn't a normal day or time.

'How can he be so irresponsible, when he had selected the role according to his preference? It's his fault if he gets a piece of my mind now!', she thought fiercely as she rushed over to the garden in front of office. Ajay was laughing surrounded by his friends. She walked up to him, maintaining a fair control over her imminent wrath.

'Ajay, we all are waiting for you at practice, please be present there', Aarushi told him, cautious to keep her rage in check.

'I am not coming', he replied nonchalantly. It was a painstaking effort for Aarushi to stop herself from hauling over the coals.

'Ajay Sanghvi, you have to be present there and I'm not hearing any excuses', Aarushi ordered, her voice was a little louder than she expected. Ajay sensed the imposing danger as he heard his full name; he looked up at her roundish face, and saw the burning fury in those deep black doe eyes.

He got to his feet and followed her almost instantly.

'Why do I have to be present? It's not like my role is important!', he questioned her as she walked in front of him.

'Why do you have to be present? You really have the nerve to ask that! First, you alter the script according to your preference, then you are absent from practices and now you refuse to cooperate! Let me clear your delusion Mr. Sanghvi that it's a play, a damn play which has a value for every role! I had assigned you the role considering your capabilities, but you changed it without considering any other aspects! And now you are chickening out of rehearsals. Do you have slightest idea of what troubles you have brought upon your group members, we have to change our whole script now! I can't believe you could be so selfish!', Aarushi lashed out, she could feel the moisture filling her eyes as she looked at his stunned face. Her anger had a weird connection with tear glands.

She turned away breathing heavily, trying to control her raging emotions.

'I... I'm sorry... for being difficult', he whispered shocked by the recent outburst. Aarushi sniffed slightly, not turning to look at him. Ajay took a step towards her, his face showing lines of worry.

'Aarushi, are you crying?', he asked tentatively, troubled by her silence. Aarushi blinked back her tears as she turned to face him.

'Let's do the play according to you', Ajay told her, smiling brightly. Aarushi looked at him for a few seconds before breaking into a cheerful smile; he definitely had a special ability to turn the tide from perilous to warm.

'Ok then, you and I will look after narration, Mr. J', she told him, smiling gleefully. Ajay gave her amazed look at his new name and Aarushi smirked slyly at his expression.

'As you say, Miss know-it-all', he retorted breaking into a pretty dimpled grin.

Aarushi was fidgeting with her fingers, anticipating over the approaching performance. She clenched her script tightly as disturbing imaginations set themselves free in her mind. It was her first time playing both director and script writer. Over past one week, they had managed assemble their drama with two or three successful rehearsals, but still thoughts of unwanted surprises were gnawing Aarushi from inside.

She felt a hand tap on her shoulder, bringing her back from frightening visuals. She turned to look at Ajay, standing behind her, he had some tensed lines tracing his features but he was keeping a better calm than her.

'I trust our efforts. We won't completely ruin it, so don't worry', he said to her as though seeing through her unspoken questions. Aarushi nodded, as she pulled her face into a smile. Their teacher called them up for performance.

'Best of luck!', Ajay beamed at her before joining others on stage.

Aarushi was beaming with joy as she got off stage. Their play had invited a huge round of applause and praises from teacher, it was more successful than she expected!

'Aarushi!', Ajay's voice called her, he was heading in her direction his eyes glittering with delight.

Aarushi ran towards him, throwing her arms around his neck.

'We did it! I am so happy!', she cried delightfully, hugging him tightly; right then her senses kicked in.

'Gosh! What did I do?!', she thought letting go of her hold immediately. She looked down, embarrassment shrieked loudly from every part of hers. She could feel her cheeks and ears burning hot as Ajay stood in front of her flabbergasted by her sudden actions.

'I-I am sorry. It-it wasn't intentional. I was just too excited right now...', she mumbled to ground, unable to look him up in face.

'Uh.... Oh... No... It's okay, I mean I understand, forget it; I was just here to congratulate you, I better get going now, Viraj must be looking for me', he replied incoherently before walking away hastily. Aarushi finally looked up to see his retreating figure, walking away dazedly with his ears and back of his neck glowing deep crimson.

She palmed her face scolding her reckless attitude and inconsiderate actions.

'How can I be so stupid humiliating myself like this!', she thought as her cheeks turned a deeper shade of red.

----xxx----

Ajay was beaming appreciatively as she joined him near the bench. Aarushi's eyes were lit up with glee and proud. She had successfully distributed her polls and collected enough opinions for their research project.

'Thank you!', she beamed at him. Without his help she would still be standing at the pavement deliberating over her own thoughts. Ajay smiled at her reverently. She noticed a little brightness flickering in his previously empty and glacial black orbs. She detected his comparatively brighter mood though the reserved manner still remained there.

'Most welcome! So are you alone here?', he asked her.

'My teammates are accompanying me. To be precise were accompanying me, I messaged them to not to wait for me, I have some errands to run after finishing here. So I believe I would be alone right now', she answered as she checked her phone for their replies. She saw Anjali and Harshita's messages, they had returned back. Ajay nodded slowly.

'Let me walk you to the exit then', he stated, as he turned around leading the way. Aarushi followed him, startled by his statement. She struggled to keep pace with him with her short legs. She had sophisticated height but it wasn't enough to match his long strides.

'Can you slow down a bit?', she said, almost running to keep up. He did not say anything but did slow down. Aarushi looked at him incredulously, trying to decode his look, she failed miserably though. Ajay had arranged a flawless guise for himself. He was staring straight ahead. His face glowed golden orange under the rays of setting sun, casting beautiful shadows. Aarushi could not bear to take her eyes off the fascinating sight; it was too good and mesmerising to be real.

'How have you been?', he asked her, his voice not hinting any emotion. Aarushi was caught off guard by sudden question.

'Fine, I think', she replied circumspectly. Ajay did not reply as he turned to face the open field on their right. Aarushi wondered what was going on his head.

'Aarushi!', a familiar voice called out to her. Sarthak was running towards her.

'Sarthak! What are you doing here? I think I told you all to not to wait for me', Aarushi said, amazed by his sudden appearance.

'I just read your message, I was about to call you, but your phone wasn't reachable. I just finished with my work, so technically I was not waiting for you', he explained halting beside her. Aarushi was too bewildered to speak.

'Are you returning back with me?', he continued.

'Umm... I don't think so, I still have some work on, you go ahead. I'll return to the campus shortly', she replied, peeking at Ajay from the corner of her eyes. He was looking down at the ground with an inscrutable expression.

'Ok, if you say so... Take care, and call me if you run into troubles', he told her as he left for the exit. Aarushi let out relieved sigh. She was glad Sarthak wasn't inquisitive today, usually he was particularly difficult and curious.

'Who is he?', Ajay enquired coolly.

'College friend, Sarthak Gupta. You met him yesterday', she replied. Ajay nodded.

'He seems to be caring and friendly', he said abruptly. Aarushi chuckled at his response.

'He is, but he is a bigger idiot!', she said through her laughter. Ajay stopped in his tracks, turning to look at her. She saw an unrecognizable mien pasted upon his features, it was an uncanny combo of agony, frustration and desperation. She looked back confoundedly.

'Aarushi, I am asking you again... Are you really fine?', he asked her, Aarushi could sense exasperation in his voice. She could feel her expression flicker as past four years replayed in her mind. She had been everything but fine. She wanted to cry out loudly, recount all those heart-rending memories to him; she wanted to sob her heart out, cursing the cruel game life was playing with her. She wanted to lash out her fears and distresses to him, but she couldn't. She couldn't drag him into this mess; she couldn't afford to make him lose his life the way she lost hers.

'Y-yes, I am... fine, thanks for walking me', she replied looking away, his gaze was too overwhelming, and she would be enchanted by it into uttering the truth, a truth which she would regret saying for her entire lifetime.

Ajay sighed exasperatedly, walking off towards their campus. Aarushi stared at his back as tears welled up in her eyes. She had lied to him, the person whom she had been unintentionally truthful to, person who had always been her glimmer in the darkest night. It was deplorable, it was sickening, it was excruciating.

'I am sorry Ajay... I cannot let you know the truth. I wonder what terrible sins I had committed to bear the torturous anguish and miseries! How I wish time could rewind itself, how I wish we could return back to the time which wasn't as painful as present, how I wish I could love you without caring about hurting you...', she thought.

The sky had been absorbed by the inky moonless night; early stars were faintly visible under the dense blanket of grey clouds. The day had met his fated ending, sinking into the nothingness. Aarushi's heart screeched in pain as tears escaped down her cheeks.

'Please heavens! I have finally met him; please don't crush that innocent feeling of love under your uncharitable wheel of fate. My life had been a disaster, I don't want to make it more pitiful, help me! Help me find the way, help me find my love!', she whispered to night sky.

A/N:

* A January Night is a short story by celebrated Indian author, Premchand who wrote about the miseries of farmers and poor.

* Jabra is the name of watchdog in story.

I hope you enjoyed reading this part. This must be the first genuine interaction between our leads, do comment how did you like this chapter and remember to put in your precious votes!

Do tell me your favorite part? And what did you think about the origin of name Mr. J?