I remember the bus stop !!

We all were sitting on the college stairs when she came to me and said, ‘can I borrow your physics note for today? I will return you in the evening’ I dragged out my notes handing over to her saying ‘sure’.

‘What time you will be reaching home?’ she asked. ‘Around 6’ I replied. ‘Ok then I will meet you at the society gate at 6 and will return you the file there.’ She said and walked away. Well, she also stays in the same society where I stay so it was no issue. But as I turn towards, there was an issue, my gang; they all were continuously staring to me. ‘What?’ I asked.

‘You never told that you knew her’

‘She stays in the next building’

‘And you are telling this now’

‘She is just a hi-hello friend’ I said and the topic was over there and then. She was not the most beautiful girl in the college but yes she did belong to the category of beautiful ones. It was the last lecture and more than me, my friends remembered that I had to take my physics notes back no matter what. After the lecture we picked our bags and started walking towards the bus stop. It was already 5:30, but Mumbai transport is quite good, you can get a bus in every fifteen minutes, so I was not worried. But my friends were worried, they all stood beside me on the bus stop. No one of them catches bus from this bus stop but still they were there to help me catching my bus. Finally I saw bus number 356 coming, I said to them; ‘now you people can leave’ they just smiled. Bus came and stood in front of me. I found myself stuck not able to move, they all held me until the bus was gone, followed by huge laugh from them and cussing from me. Every time a bus was coming they were not letting me go. It happened thrice. I cursed the moment she came to me, while these devils were around and I cursed the moments when I also did the same with others. Now the only way was to fool them around. I thought to catch any random bus and change the bus from next stop. It worked; as soon as the next bus came I just jumped inside. Next moment I was in the bus and they on the bus stop,

‘ladki mil gai doston ko bhul gaya’ (you got a girl, now why will you remember friends), they shouted.

I knew it was emotional blackmailing but friends are friends, I started walking towards the door.

‘Hey go go, just don’t put your hand out of the window, we just care, you know’ they shouted again and started laughing. I saw people in the bus smiling on this. I also smiled and saw them till the bus took a turn. Now after five years I don’t remember what I talked to the girl, but remember my friends saying, ‘don’t put your hand out of the window’ and I remember the spot we used to hang out hours of hours, the bus stop…