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Koyal ran downstairs and stopped short when her eyes fell on Atharv. Atharv was wearing a suit. A proper, grown-up suit. When had he started looking all exotic, she wondered. His skin was a striking caramel shade that set his eyes beautifully.
His eyes. They shone.
Of late, Koyal had noticed how women had star
ted paying a lot of attention to him – not just Zainab, but the lady at the shop who would not stop smiling at him – or even the chemistry teacher, Mrs Saxena, who always asked Atharv to help her with stuff. Perhaps it was his voice, which was now a serious baritone, or the look in his eyes, which was intelligent and grave, or perhaps it was the aura around him. Or perhaps a mix of it all.
‘What?’ he asked, bringing her back to the present.
‘You … look different,’ she stammered.
‘Do you want to come to the dance with me?’
‘What?’
‘Do you want to come to the dance with me?’
‘What about Zainab?’
‘She had other plans,’ he shrugged.
‘Okay, give me a minute,’ said Koyal and dashed upstairs. She pulled out almost every piece of clothing from her cupboard in a mad frenzy and finally settled on a black skirt (that she wore as high as she could), her favourite blue top and high heels. Her heels clanked against the floor as she ran to the kitchen.
‘Ma!’ she hissed to her mother.
‘Yes, Koyal?’ Ma replied, looking up with a knowing smile. ‘Do you want me to help you with some make-up?’
‘Yes, please.’ Koyal grinned sheepishly.
‘Beautiful,’ she said.
‘Beautiful,’ he said at the same time.
Koyal and Atharv looked at each other and smiled. This happened all the time now. The two of them were sitting on a rocky edge of the mountains, staring at the valley below them.
‘Looks like someone opened a box of jewels,’ Atharv said with a faraway look in his eyes.
It was close to midnight. Atharv and Koyal were on a school trip to Mussourie. They had sneaked out of their motel after dinner – during which she had almost hit another boy for sneaking a piece of bread off her plate. They had trekked up this little hill and had been sitting here since, in silence. The little houses that dotted the valley had lights switched on, some yellow, some blue, and in the darkness of the moonless night, they twinkled like jewels.
The winds picked up and Koyal shivered.
‘Are you cold?’ Atharv asked, smiling.
‘Yes, very!’ she said.
‘Come here then.’
When Koyal leaned towards him, he pulled her in so that his jacket was wrapped around both of them. It was weird to be this close to him, but familiar. Very familiar. Koyal snuggled in, wrapping her arms around his waist, taking in the warmth of his body. He sighed a deep, content sigh and went back to staring at the lights.
‘Atharv,’ she said into the phone, wide awake.
‘Koyal.’
‘Why are you up?’
‘Why are you up?’ he asked at the same time.
‘I am studying,’ he said after a pause. ‘I desperately want to get through to Indian Medical Institute, Koyal. Do you know at least one person from each batch gets the Fuller scholarship?’
