Ruhani Ahuja, vice president and executive head of Poetry Club, was approaching room 72 for their weekly team meeting. As thrilling and exhilarating as it sounds,she was absolutely exhausted and drained. She was barely managing her stuff when being overburdened by the club's activities gave her long-lasting fatigue. With the club's president being absent,all the work pressure landed on her, again. She was glad that she had Manshi to help her.
She knocked on the door to see if any prevalent classes were taking place.
"Aa jaiye Mohtarma." She heard a voice and peeped through the half-opened door. Manshi was already waiting for her at the podium, and everyone was already settled.
"Sorry, Peeps, I got occupied," Ruhani said as she laid her files on the table nearby.
"You were occupied by work, or Rajneesh occupied you?" Suhani teasingly asked her, and the whole room broke into laughter. Ruhani glanced at Manshi to see if she could handle the situation, but her friend was already rolling on the floor.
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Rajneesh.
Two months into the semester, and her life was already a mess. But one could say it was a mix of chaotic and good kind of mess. A list of proposals followed Ruhani ever since she joined her second semester, but Rajneesh was one of a kind. He was an average Indian guy who could never be distinguished from a crowd. His curly hair,dark skin, and tallness of five feet five made him look absolutely normal. But the cherry on top were his braces, which appeared every time he gave his signature smile.
At an open mic event held at their university,Ruhani and Rajneesh were both participants in the same competition. Ruhani performed first, and her performance ended with a series of applauses and compliments. Then came Rajneesh. Back then,he chose to sing 'Breathless', and while singing, he ran out of....breath. After the event, he walked up to Ruhani and nervously asked for her Instagram ID. Ruhani took him to be among all the admirers who were complimenting her for her art, but little did Ruhani know, That's when her worst nightmare started.
One night, her phone beeped. "Hi Ruhani,kaise ho aap." Ruhani had encountered a million men like these to know where this was going. She didn't wanted to reply but something in her texted back. AURAT JAAT. After two hello's and the usual 'Mai badhiya..aap kaise ho', Rajneesh asked if they could meet. Ruhani sent the screenshot and an attachment of his D.P. on group chat she had with her friends.
After reading the chat, or more like watching his profile picture, Arpita's unborn child had a miscarriage. Manshi,Arpita, Sneha, and Nisha warned Ruhani, but Ruhani's curiosity won over her. AURAT JAAT.
"Please akele aana" was Rajneesh's last text.
Ruhani went alone,on the front. The whole gang was following her from a seven-feet distance. They were supposed to be on standby in case anything happened. Men can't be trusted. Rajneesh took her into a corner. Little did the poor guy know that he was being stared at by four women who were ready to pounce at him any time.
"Hyy, Ruhani, aap kaise ho?" He asked
"I'm absolutely awesome. What about you?"
"Myself...good"
Ruhani smiled..awkwardly.
"Ruhani, mujhe aapse kuch kehna hai."
"Ji,Kahiye"
"I LOVE YOU, Ruhani. Mai aapse bhot pyaar karta hoon,Will you be my...girlfriend?"
WHAT ??? How can two hello's and aap kaise ho lead lead to one falling in love? Men are so desperate, for real!!
"Rajneesh,Mai toh aapka pura naam bhi nhi jaanti."
"Rajneesh Kumar"
"I –"
Later on,Arpita helped Ruhani in breaking out of that awkward situation. Every morning after that led to Ruhani receiving a shayri from Rajneesh.
'Ruhani'
'Tumse Mulakat hui kaafi accha laga,
Tumse baat hui aur bhi accha laga,
Kuch toh baat hai tum mei
Isiliye ye dil tumhare alawa kisi aur ke baare mei.
Soch hi nhi raha'
Ruhani was a kind soul who never had the guts to reject him; it may break his heart. So,she chose another option that may not hurt him as much. She blocked him.
All of this wasn't such a huge deal, right? Then why is this incident so exaggerated? Ruhani forgot about her recently skyrocketed image and who she was. Among the trails of proposals,unfortunately all by men, Rajneesh was the only lucky one who got an interaction. That day, her friends weren't the only ones watching the situation. There were hundred others who witnessed it all from afar, and Rajneesh's choice of flowers surely didn't help the case. A few days later,all the university pages were flooded with Ruhani and Rajneesh's images. People started their #R&R hashtags. Comments like 'Made for each other' surrounded the social media. Comments like 'Pyar sach mei andha hota hai' and'Behan tere itne bure din kyu aagye' were making headlines on university pages. Sarcasm was clearly visible, but there were people who were actually wishing them luck. Ruhani gave it her all to clear the air filled with rumors and reach the one who clicked them, but all of it was of no use.
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Ruhani ignored the chaos that was being created and used her stern voice in the room. "I hope you all are done with your jobs."
Manshi,who was also the creative head, now composed her laughter and answered on everyone's behalf. "Everything's done, ma'am. Posters have been created, announcements have been made, permissions have been signed, and certificates are being created as of now. Anything else?"
Ruhani literally would have been gone if not for Manshi. "Great. How many contestant enrollments do we have again?"
"Uhm,around forty-five," answered Manshi.
"Close the form now; don't take anymore entries."
"Aye, aye, Captain!" everyone shouted in unison.
"Well done, team. All the best for the event; let's kill it."
Everyone waved at each other and moved towards the exit. Manshi and Ruhani left together,locking the gate behind them. It was nearly five p.m., and their friends were waiting for them at the main gate.
"I thought you guys were going to spend the night here only," Nisha taunted.
"If Miss Oberoi was here,she surely would have," Sneha commented, and everyone controlled their laughter.
"Guys, remember the code; we aren't supposed to talk about her." Arpita commanded
"Can we get going already?" Ruhani ignored everyone and asked them. They all made their way towards the auto stand. Ruhani's XUV 700 stood tall in front of the gate,her chauffeur sleeping on the driver seat.
Ruhani made a call on his mobile, making him break out of his stance. She knocked at the window later and took her seat.
"Are you going for your date or straight home?" Arpita asked as Ruhani rolled down her windows.
"To home,I don't have the energy to interact with anyone right now," she said and waved to her friends.
Ruhani never expected her life to be like this, but she never complained either. Her performances, YouTube channel, shows, and stand-up comedy career made her somewhat of a social media celebrity. She was never attacked by a mob for pictures, but people did reach out to her a lot for pictures. When her identity was not so normal anymore,it wasn't easy to hide anything from his father.
She never wanted to hide it; she just never felt that it was important enough to let her family in on things. One day,when they were out for dinner, a handful of people reached out to her for pictures, and that's when it caught her dad's attention. Her mother told her that her dad received numerous calls regarding the same previously as well, but he never mentioned it. Surprisingly,his dad never complained or asked anything about it, but he never praised her either. Ruhani was never disappointed; it's just now that she had to travel with their chauffeur no matter where she went,it was taking a toll on her. She was told by her dad to do so. She did sneak out in autos and metros once in a while with her friends, but other than that, her life was completely closed. Her days were lined with shows and events, and she cannot be more grateful. She didn't have to lie to her parents anymore, and it was comparatively relaxing.
As soon as she entered the second semester,her class section was manipulated by the discipline committee, and she was shifted to section B, whereas Arpita remained in section A. Manshi changed her course and was shifted to the same class as Arpita, but here Ruhani was left alone. These three friends were eye-catchers for everyone, and their humorous nature and fun personalities weren't handled well by the authorities. That's when Ruhani met Sneha and Nisha in Section B. Sneha was a pretty, shy, and introverted girl. She was very introverted and cornered when Ruhani first approached her. Something about her was different, and Ruhani literally had to push her way through her, but it all worked out in the end. Sneha had her best friend Nisha, who was the absolute opposite of her. She had sharp features, a small height, and a very fun nature to be around. She was extroverted on another level. They all just hit it off immediately, and that's when the accommodation of new people took place in Ruhani's life.
Ever since Alina, Umm...Sorry,Miss Oberoi left,it took Ruhani an unholy time to move on when they weren't even a thing. She still hasn't completely; it's just that her senses and emotions have calmed down now. She has been on around fifty dates in the past few months, but nothing has worked out. Most of the dates took place because all of them were influenced by Ruhani's status. They were all too hell-bound to take things forward immediately. There were also a handful who just wanted something casual and fun in the meantime, and Ruhani wasn't just an item that could be used for fun. Again. And she didn't wanted to get her heart broken. Again. Old-school slow romance just doesn't exist nowadays.
She reached her home, and the dining table was already decorated with food. It was six in the evening, and her brother was curatedly waiting for her at the table.
"Aaiye,Thakk gyi hongi aap. Majdoori krke (Come,you must be tired from all the labor work") His brother said
"Kairav, Will you shut up for a second, please?"
"You interact with thirties and forties daily on stage, and here,you are getting irritated just by some handful exchanges of words?"
"I get paid for that."
"Will you be sold for anything? Are those the Sanskaars you have? Chee chee chee..Haye ram..Mumma, are you listening?"
"I'm listening, and I'll slap you so hard that you won't recognize yourself in the mirror. Just eat the food, will you?" Her mother asked,moving the sweat on her forehead from her thumb.
"Aapki beti haath se nikal rhi hai," Kairav said.
"Tu pakad le, AAJA," Ruhani tauntedly pointed
Suddenly, the main door burst open, and their dad entered. He looked around the room and sat on the sofa. Kairav took the bag from his hands, and her mother passed a water bottle.
"How was your day?" Her mother asked
"We cracked the deal," her dad replied.
"Does that mean we are buying a Mercedes finally?" Kairav asked
"Beta jab khud kamayega,then buy one."
Kairav sighed
"Ruhani," her dad called her
"Ji papa," she replied.
"When's your next show?" He asked,not looking her directly in the eye.
Usually, she just gave her driver the dates, and all her schedule was managed. This was the first time her dad has directly asked her.
"Uhm,This friday"
"Get all your shows done in these upcoming two weeks."
"Why..What happened?"
"We have a wedding to attend."
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