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Authors: Durjoy Datta
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stupid
take-me-home-I-am-your-puppy
smile on my face. I wiped it off.
‘Nothing. Didn’t I tell you once about Tanmay’s belief in something called the Spirit of Living? Sri Guru heads it. She is quite into all that; it helped her to get out of all the shit she was in. So, did you like her?’ she asked as we fastened our seat belts. Vernita wasn’t the safest of drivers.
‘Nah, not much,’ I lied.
‘You did
not
?’
‘No, I did not!’ I lied again.
‘
Don’t tell me!
Why?’
‘She is pretty dumb.’ Lying. Again.
‘Dumb? Are you out of your
fucking
mind?’
‘Anyway, I had expected her to be better-looking than she turned out to be.’ And again.
That’s it. Now I was certainly on my way to hell. But I couldn’t have raved about her when I knew I wouldn’t be a patch on the image Tanmay had brainlessly created. I could have boxed Tanmay’s teeth in if he hadn’t been Avantika’s brother … and strong.
‘That’s strange. I haven’t seen such a beautiful girl in a long time, Deb. I think she is very good-looking.’
‘Anyway, where did she have to go?’
‘She had a date.’
‘With Shawar? I thought she hated him. That’s what she told me.’
‘No. With Paritosh. Her ex-boyfriend and Shawar’s best friend before they broke up. He is back from the States for a week. Didn’t you notice the tears? She
still
loves him. That’s the reason why she started dating Shawar in the first place. To make Paritosh jealous. I don’t know what Avantika sees in him. She should have been over him by now. The guy’s a jerk.’
‘Why did he dump her?’
‘No idea. Nobody knows. That’s the way those rich bastards are. They pamper you and promise you the world and then dump you without a reason.’
Now, Avantika started to sound more human. Somebody had dumped
her
. The guy had to be a freak. Vernita and I talked a lot more about her on the way back. Avantika had wanted to take up engineering but her parents had different plans for her. They wanted her to get married as soon as possible. She had fought her way through the years since she turned eighteen. Through rough relationships, hostile parents, drugs and alcohol. Her parents knew nothing about it. They had gotten used to the snubbing and vice versa.
It was strange to see how little they cared about her. They knew everything that Tanmay did, but, shockingly, they had no idea about Avantika’s addiction. She had been a methamphetamine junkie. Ice, as it is popularly known. The first and only time Yogi and Viru used it, the high had lasted twelve hours—more thanthat of cocaine and LSD combined. They had wisely stayed away from it ever since. The trips often scar users for life.
This was 7 April 2007. The first day I met her.
‘Don’t tell me!’ I exclaimed. ‘I always knew it was
you
. It had to be
you
. This isn’t real. I don’t know how to thank you.’
‘Yes, it was me,’ Smriti murmured.
It couldn’t be Smriti. It was a shimmering Tissot watch with a huge blue dial. The watch must have cost her a fortune! I had always wanted one. Or more.
‘Do you like it?’
‘Do I like it? Are you crazy? I am already in love with it. I’ve always wanted one of these.’
She hugged me as soon as I said this.
‘Aw! You’re so cute,’ she kissed me. ‘Happy six months’ anniversary!’
Six months’ anniversary? Wait. What?
It was the first time I was celebrating such a thing. It was only April and I felt like I had been with her since puberty—the good old days when hormones raged. Things had changed since then. Now even if she dressed up in leather, it would hardly make me unzip. Mannequins aroused me more. She had been around all these months despite the torrid time I gave her. I had ignored her on the grounds of illness/depression/bickering mom/friend troubles … the list was endless.
‘Same to you. Sorry, I couldn’t get you anything,’ I said. I thanked god I hadn’t. A hundred-rupee coffee mug with her name
take-me-home-I-am-your-puppy
smile on my face. I wiped it off.
‘Nothing. Didn’t I tell you once about Tanmay’s belief in something called the Spirit of Living? Sri Guru heads it. She is quite into all that; it helped her to get out of all the shit she was in. So, did you like her?’ she asked as we fastened our seat belts. Vernita wasn’t the safest of drivers.
‘Nah, not much,’ I lied.
‘You did
not
?’
‘No, I did not!’ I lied again.
‘
Don’t tell me!
Why?’
‘She is pretty dumb.’ Lying. Again.
‘Dumb? Are you out of your
fucking
mind?’
‘Anyway, I had expected her to be better-looking than she turned out to be.’ And again.
That’s it. Now I was certainly on my way to hell. But I couldn’t have raved about her when I knew I wouldn’t be a patch on the image Tanmay had brainlessly created. I could have boxed Tanmay’s teeth in if he hadn’t been Avantika’s brother … and strong.
‘That’s strange. I haven’t seen such a beautiful girl in a long time, Deb. I think she is very good-looking.’
‘Anyway, where did she have to go?’
‘She had a date.’
‘With Shawar? I thought she hated him. That’s what she told me.’
‘No. With Paritosh. Her ex-boyfriend and Shawar’s best friend before they broke up. He is back from the States for a week. Didn’t you notice the tears? She
still
loves him. That’s the reason why she started dating Shawar in the first place. To make Paritosh jealous. I don’t know what Avantika sees in him. She should have been over him by now. The guy’s a jerk.’
‘Why did he dump her?’
‘No idea. Nobody knows. That’s the way those rich bastards are. They pamper you and promise you the world and then dump you without a reason.’
Now, Avantika started to sound more human. Somebody had dumped
her
. The guy had to be a freak. Vernita and I talked a lot more about her on the way back. Avantika had wanted to take up engineering but her parents had different plans for her. They wanted her to get married as soon as possible. She had fought her way through the years since she turned eighteen. Through rough relationships, hostile parents, drugs and alcohol. Her parents knew nothing about it. They had gotten used to the snubbing and vice versa.
It was strange to see how little they cared about her. They knew everything that Tanmay did, but, shockingly, they had no idea about Avantika’s addiction. She had been a methamphetamine junkie. Ice, as it is popularly known. The first and only time Yogi and Viru used it, the high had lasted twelve hours—more thanthat of cocaine and LSD combined. They had wisely stayed away from it ever since. The trips often scar users for life.
This was 7 April 2007. The first day I met her.
‘Don’t tell me!’ I exclaimed. ‘I always knew it was
you
. It had to be
you
. This isn’t real. I don’t know how to thank you.’
‘Yes, it was me,’ Smriti murmured.
It couldn’t be Smriti. It was a shimmering Tissot watch with a huge blue dial. The watch must have cost her a fortune! I had always wanted one. Or more.
‘Do you like it?’
‘Do I like it? Are you crazy? I am already in love with it. I’ve always wanted one of these.’
She hugged me as soon as I said this.
‘Aw! You’re so cute,’ she kissed me. ‘Happy six months’ anniversary!’
Six months’ anniversary? Wait. What?
It was the first time I was celebrating such a thing. It was only April and I felt like I had been with her since puberty—the good old days when hormones raged. Things had changed since then. Now even if she dressed up in leather, it would hardly make me unzip. Mannequins aroused me more. She had been around all these months despite the torrid time I gave her. I had ignored her on the grounds of illness/depression/bickering mom/friend troubles … the list was endless.
‘Same to you. Sorry, I couldn’t get you anything,’ I said. I thanked god I hadn’t. A hundred-rupee coffee mug with her name
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