First Posted on 07/04/2015

Three, two, one, and ... BANG!!

Before anyone could react, a box of pastries and a cup of coffee flew in the air and then came down, leaving the owners of the respective things completely drenched and covered with it, without giving them even a second to react or think.

Few minutes precisely seconds ago ...

Kabir was already in an unpleasant mood because of all the things which happened some time ago, though his friends did ease up his worries a little. First those images of his troublesome past and those nightmares, then his GM's words regarding his marriage and her death and if that wasn't enough then Dr. Raghav's order that he had to do the briefing of those young interns, all of these were enough to work him up.

So he really needed to calm himself down and get a grip over his emotions which were trying their best to empower his logical mind, and were somewhat successful as the sort of man Kabir was, anger and irritability were something, which weren't exactly part of his calm personality. Though his seriousness and strictness toward his work was most of the times interpreted as his anger. But that wasn't true as said aforementioned, he was generally a calm and composed guy with a polite and sensible approach toward everything, except his past. As black coffee was only thing that could silent his haywire going thoughts, he decided to have a cup of coffee to stabilise his disturbed mind.

His past, on which he knew he had no control as neither he could forget it nor he could undo it. His troubled childhood had this much effect on him. Whatever happened in his life when he was child, had left him damaged both emotionally and to an extent mentally! Mentally because even the mention of that day could imbalance his perfectly balanced state of mind. He tried his best not to be affected by it but he had never been successful. And emotionally, because his past was the main cause behind his reserved and introverted personality.

And today, what his GM told him about her death, just scared him to core. He didn't know what happened to her today. She was old, he knew that but she was not that old to die! She had still got a long time. He had never imagined his life without his GM. After all apart from her, who else was there for him in his family? His parents, who had always kept a distance from him for no apparent reason. He wasn't even the one to be subjected to this but then why would they listen to him? And ... leave that!

His foul mood was getting even worse thinking about the things his parents had done to him. And damn, he had to do the briefing thing! He was fine treating his patients and being little friendly with them but briefing those interns that too at this moment when he was in a not-so-sweet mood, worked like a fuel to his already burning mood!

He went inside the cafeteria and ordered his black coffee, though the cafeteria already knew his order well. While his order was being prepared, he looked around the cafeteria to kill his time and saw a bunch of youngsters, who were laughing and chatting with each other. Maybe they were the interns he had to brief today, he assumed.

While looking at them, he kind of felt envious. Probably because their lives were so much better than his. Without any stress, pain and wounds of the past. His life would never be normal. He sighed and took his coffee, glancing one more time at those interns, he moved toward the doors of the cafeteria.

Just as he was moving out of the cafeteria, and was about sip his favourite 'black coffee without sugar', he collided with someone and then BANG ...

Anaisha was in a really good mood. Today was her first day of internship and what would be a better way to start it than having those yummy chocochip pastries that her Didda had brought for her. Though the tyre puncture thing made her a little anxious but she decided to not think about it. She had already WhatsApped her batch mates to meet her in the cafeteria. Her batch mates were really sweet and just like her were very hard working.

She had asked her Phuphu to give her the contact details of her batch mates. Though her Phuphu denied first but then how could someone say no to her cute sad face! He gave her the contact details of her five batch mates who were joining the hospital with her. When she called them for the first time and invited them for lunch, they all were a bit surprised but then they all accepted.

Though at first her batch mates were hesitant when they met but then once they were comfortable with one another, it was like they have known each other for ages! Throughout the lunch they talked about their colleges, what speciality they wanna do, what were their aspirations and aims, etc! She had a good time with them and had been in contact with all of them since their first lunch together.

She was really looking forward to enjoying this one year of internship with them and making millions of memories as well. With this thought in her mind and her ear-to-ear grin she was just moving inside the cafeteria holding her pastry box while looking for her friends, when she collided with someone and BANG ...

Back to present ...

Both of them tried to make sense of the situation. They were trying to comprehend what had actually happened in just the matter of few seconds.

Kabir looked down at his white well crisped shirt, which was completely drenched blackish brown with his hot coffee and chocolate pastries. Only this was left na? Even if there was a teeny weeny chance of Kabir's mood getting any better, well as of now that chance had also vanished.

He was in a very bad damn mood! His favourite white shirt was ruined, though his wardrobe was 60% filled with white shirts only, but that's a different story. What mattered right now was, his shirt totally ruined because of the stupid girl standing in front of him, who collided with him. It's entirely her fault!

Anaisha felt something something hot against her skin, which seeped through her new dress, giving her a burning sensation. She immediately looked down at her dress, which was ruined with coffee and pastries. Oh no! Her pastries were meant to be eaten by her and her friends and not for ruining her dress. What a great start of her very first day!

Filled with anger, she looked up at the man standing in front of her, wearing a white shirt soaked in coffee and having imprints of her pastries. He was the one who collided with her. It's his entire fault!

"What the heck?"
"What the hell?"
They both said at the same time!

"Can't you see and walk? Do you have buttons instead of eyes?" asked Kabir with an evident tone of anger. His day wasn't already great and this collision, only infuriated him further

"I can't say about myself but you surely do have chocochips in place of your eyes," retorted back Anaisha with equal anger. If he could rudely speak to her, without any of her fault, then obviously she would do the same.

After hearing her answer, did only Kabir notice that there was chocolate on his face and small chocochips had decided to beautify his eyes and brows. He frowned as she mocked him, even though it was because of her.

"Excuse me! But ... ," he started only to get interrupted by her, "You're excused!"

What the hell? "Hey, you, can't you see because of you my shirt is completely drenched with my coffee. Instead of apologising ... ," he again started speaking only to get interrupted by her for the second time.

"I should apologise? Mr. You-Drenched-My-Shirt, you are the one who ruined my dress with your stupid coffee and even burnt my skin. You should be the one who should apologise. If you so wanted to drink that coffee than you should've walked carefully," grumpily muttered Anaisha.

This girl was getting on his nerve! First she collided with him, made his shirt get soaked with his coffee and if that wasn't enough, she instead of apologising, had the audacity to say that it was his fault! Of course not! Hell no!

"Listen, you, Ms. Mindless-With-Big-Fat-Ego, it was your fault! You should've walked properly if you didn't want your dress to get covered with your so called chocochips pastries. You are the one who should apologise not me!" stated Kabir in a matter-of-fact voice.

With this reply of his, Anaisha lost it completely now. First he ruined her dress then wasted her pastries and now he was telling her to apologise. That's the limit!

"Only in your dreams, Mister! Even if I were to die the very next second for not apologising to you, even then also I won't apologise to a guy like you who has no chivalry and manners and doesn't know how to behave with a gi ... ." Before she could even complete that, Kabir cut her in between, with a voice, enough to scare the hell of her, atleast for a minute.

"ENOUGH!" he shouted. "Who's saying this? You're talking about how unchivalrous and ungentlemanly I am, what about you, a stupid, mindless, mannerless girl, who even after committing a mistake can't even apologise. No one has ever talked to me like this. Don't you dare talk to me like that!"

Even though she was slightly scared by his loud voice but she kept a strong face and in quiet yet confident voice said, "I guess this is why you are so ill-mannered and rude! Those people have just spoiled you and turned you into an unchivalrous arrogant man without any etiquettes!"

As the argument continued, people started gathering around them and keenly listening and enjoying the fight Though it wasn't the first time the hospital staff had seen the otherwise calm and well-behaved Dr. Kabir in an angry mood but this was the first time when his anger was of very high intensity. This girl, who for majority of the hospital staff was new, surely had pushed his buttons quite deep. Kabir was like those volcano which didn't erupt so frequently but when they did, their magnitude was so large that they could destroy anything, be it a person or any other destructible object.

The spectators shifted their gaze from Kabir to Anaisha, who too looked very angry! She was new here so only a few of them knew her, who had seen her with Aarav or Aashika. Her anger was visible from her face and the look in her chocolaty brown eyes. Seemed like the loss of her pastries and her ruined dress, had made her lose her cool and turned her into this angry young woman, who appeared quite ready to set the world or currently this man on fire.

For the audience of these two, this argument seemed like a like a debate competition, just a more aggressive version! The spectators were thankful as these two didn't have swords or any other weapon, because if they had, then surely one of them would have been dead by now. They thought it would go on and on as neither Anaisha nor Kabir was in mood to apologise or act sensibly. But before the situation get anymore heated, Anaisha friends decided to handle it.

The table where Anaisha's batch mates were sitting was in the north of the cafeteria entrance and so the fight or commotion happening outside the cafeteria wasn't visible to them.

The batch was of six interns, three boys and three girls, namely Yuvraj, Nikhil, Shivam, Rhea, Neha and of course Annie! They were waiting for Anaisha when they heard voices coming from the entrance of the cafeteria. They all got up from their table and moved toward the entrance door to get a better view of the situation.

Reaching toward the door, they saw that a girl and a guy were in the middle of a heated argument and there were many people who were witnessing their argument, which with each passing second was turning quite ugly.

Rhea was the first one to spot Anaisha. Horrified, she immediately turned to her friends and passed this piece of information.
"Guys, that's Annie over there! And I don't know why but this guy, she's arguing with looks like a doctor of the hospital."

Hearing that, Yuvraj tried to recognise the doctor as his elder brother, Anuj Oberoi was a senior doctor of this hospital and because of that he knew most of the doctors here. It took Yuvraj only one look to recognise Kabir and he gasped as he knew what trouble Anaisha had gotten herself in.

Anuj and Kabir being close friends, Yuvraj knew well about Kabir's rare but infamous temper. And he knew, he and his friends needed to end this fight immediately, to save Anaisha from Kabir's wrath. So he quickly drew the attention of his friends and hurriedly said, "Guys, that's Dr. Kabir! He's the attending Cardiac Surgeon here. C'mon, we need to stop this before this goes out of our hands."

Before Kabir could retort back to Anaisha's rude remark, from the corner of his eyes, he saw that the same group of youngsters, who was sitting the cafeteria, walking upto the doors of the cafeteria. For a minute he thought they were just passing by as he and the ill-mannered girl were standing just infront of gates of the cafeteria, but then realised they were there to apologise and request him to end this argument then and there.

"Please, Sir, let's end this fight here only. We apologise to you on her behave. Please end this matter here only," requested Yuvraj, supported by Neha.

Maybe they were her friends, Kabir assumed. Even then also that thing of a girl, kept telling her friends not to apologise. Such an insensitive spoilt brat! But then he too thought it was the best thing to do according to the situation, seeing the number of people who had gathered around him and the stupid girl. Shaking his head, with anger still in his tone he said, "Fine! But it's only because I don't want to make more scene here."

"Thank you, Sir!" said the girl's friends with gratitude.

He left for his cabin soon after but not before giving his deadly glare to that girl and mentally deciding to teach this girl a good lesson when he get a chance to. He'll make sure she paid back with interest!

Anaisha saw her friends approaching them and then Neha and Yuvraj started apologising to that moron. Feeling humiliated with her friends apologising to him, she tried to interrupt but was pulled back by Rhea and Nikhil, who told her to keep quiet citing that already a scene has been created and it's better to end the matter here only. So she kept quiet.

"Please, Annie, stay quiet, yaar. Already a big has been created here unnecessarily. Please let Yuvraj and Neha handle this situation. Don't stretch this matter more, please," pleaded Nikhil.

This did make her feel that maybe her friends were right and she remained quiet, letting her friends to take care of this matter.

But she couldn't stay calm for long as she saw him moving away throwing daggers toward her through his eyes. But then he didn't have the monopoly in glaring, so she too did the same. If not for friends then she wouldn't have let that man go without a proper apology. Such an unchivalrous and obnoxious man! But she'll give this man a piece of her mind when she'll get a chance. For sure!

"Guys, why the hell were you apologising to him? He ruined my dress and didn't even apologise to me," huffed Anaisha. It was fine with her that her friends were trying to end the matter but apologising to him, well that was against her pride.

Her friends shook their heads. This girl was really short-tempered at times and acted like a kid in her anger, not thinking about the consequences, post the anger.

Looking at her softly, her batch mate, Nikhil politely said, "Annie, there was no use in increasing this matter. Already a scene has been created and it was better to end this here, even if that meant to apologise to that man. Now go and change your dress. Our duties are about to start!"

Shivam agreed with him and calmly added, "He's right, Annie! Go and change your clothes. We'll meet you at the nurse station."

Annie looked at herself and in little calmer voice said, "You're right, guys. You guys go, I'll join you guys in some time."

Her batch mates nodded and left for the nurse station where their orientation and first briefing would take place. None of them wanted to be late for their very first briefing, after all who would want to make a bad impression on the very first day?

Anaisha left from there for her Didda's cabin. On her way, she kept cursing that stupid man who collided with her. If she it was in her power then she would've given him a piece of her mind and made him apologise to. Perhaps this reaction of hers was only because of the fact that she didn't have even a slightest hint that man she collided with, will be the one to change her life!

Grumpily, Kabir walked toward his office. What a great day! That girl had irked him very badly. No one, except his parents, had ever infuriated him this than this girl had done. He would teach her a lesson, if given a chance. Only if he had any idea, that the same girl, might be the one to change his perspective toward life and maybe him as well.

This was only the beginning of a new chapter of their life! Only time will tell who'll teach whom a lesson!