Fake Ishq - Blogepisode 03 - The Winner

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I woke up with some noise coming from kitchen; It was Deepak struggling for lemonade.

.. Bencho, so nahi sakta kya, I yelled at him.

Bhai, hangover, se bahut headache ho raha hai, Deepak said.

Peete kun ho, jab sambhalti nahi hai, I replied, and laughed.

Tu beith mein banta hun. Tu bas cold drink piya kar, hit nahi karegi. :D. I continued.

Jis kaam ke liye utha hai, wo kar, gyan ki tatti mat kar, Deepak replied, irritated.

I continued laughing.

Thanks bhai, tu hi mera saccha dost hai, Deepak said.

[10 minutes later]

Chal tub hi ab dosti ka farz nibha, or mere liye chai bana, adrak wali, I replied.

I was wondering if I had my mobile right now, I would have taken his picture, that innocent face he made, but suddenly, I got up, where is my mobile!!. It was on charge near sofa. I was feeling very lazy to get up just to take his pic. If he were a girl then it would have been a different thing. All of a sudden, something came in my mind me, I immediately, ran towards my phone. I saw, two messages from an unknown number.

Good Morning Ravi “Sir”at 7:00 AM

Still sleeping, its 11 AM at 11:09 AM.

Who is this; I was assuming and praying it to be Anu.

However, how could she had my number, I never gave her; this thought was continuously wandering in my mind.

Yes, it was she; I came to know from last night message.

However, I tried to act innocent so asked, who is this?

<Punch>, unknown number replied.

Mr. or Miss. Punch, What should I call you? I sent a text back.

Anu Desai, <angry smiley>, unknown number replied.

Hey, Anu, Good Morning. How are you? I replied with excitement

Good. She replied.

Then we switched to WhatsApp.

She was looking very cute in her profile picture, playing with bubbles.

Nice pic, I said.

Thanks and this one? She replied, and changed her pic immediately. She used the same pic that we took in the previous night, in the party, but it was cropped.

Its ok, ok <laughing smiley>I replied.

Very funny, huh. Anu replied.

[Deepak from Kitchen]

Raja Sahab, agar aap free ho gaye to akar chai pee lo, Deepak called me sarcastically.

OK, I will talk to you later; I replied to Anu.

I took a sip and said, “I told you many times, you should leave this shitty job and open a Tea Stall, believe me, you will earn more than our manager.”

Do not worry; at least, I will be your regular customer.

I should have put some poison in your tea, Deepak said.

Then you will be the first and last one.

We laughed and finished our tea.

Post lunch, we decided to go for a movie. Conjuring two,

He booked two tickets, for10:45 PM show. Shall I book corner seats, he was laughing.

Yes, One-one on either side. I replied.

It was 6:00 PM, and we both were lying like laziest people on the planet.

My mobile rang with Anu’s message.

Anu – What is up Ravi Sir ;)?

I – Waiting for the clock to hit 10:45 PM, Anu Mam.S

Anu – What is so specific about that?

I – Conjuring 2!!!

Anu – Oh, you are going for Movie.

I – Yo.

Anu – You should have asked me at least, I too want to watch it.L

I – Oops, I did not know that. Next time I will ask you for sure.

Anu – Hmm.

[While chatting with her, I said to Deepak]

Bhai Anu ko bhi chalna hai sath mein.

Tu apni ticket de de, main nahi dene wala, He replied.

Ya, use apni godi mein beitha liyo, Deepak teased me.

I wish ha-ha. We laughed.

[Switch to chat]

I – Sorry Anu, no availability, however, we will go next time. For now, we can have tea, if you are0 interested.

Anu – Tea!! Ok sure. Where are we going? Is Deepak sir there?

I – Yes, he is here at my place, you can also join us.

Anu – Ok, I will be there in 20 mins.

[Deepak to me]

Deepak - Main chai bana raha hun, you want it.

I – of course, but teen cup bana. Anu bhi aa rahi hai.

[He gave me look and said]

Deepak – ab ye kya bakcodi hai, who has invited her here? Moreover, Why?

I – She wanted to meet her, handsome Lead. Therefore, I invited her here. She is not aware; his lead will be preparing tea for her. :D

Deepak – Mara le tu.

[Deepak went to the kitchen, and I went out to pick her]

She was standing at the meeting point when I reached there.

I - Hi Anu, I hope, I did’nt keep you waiting for long?

Anu – No, I came here two minutes ago. How are you?

I – Yes, I am great. (I only knew how different it felt, I never felt this way, this is the first time I was meeting her outside the office.)

Anu – How far is your place?

I – 2 Km from here, and we have to go by walk, no other option.

Anu – Seriously!! 2 Km?

I – Just kidding, my place is just 2 mins away.

Anu – What happened to you, you are not like this in office. I like you in this way, office wale Ravi bahut boring lagtey hain.

I – I donot know if this was a compliment or she was teasing. However, I like it. Let’s go.

[Those were the most amazing two minutes of that day!]

Anu – Hi Deepak sir.

Deepak – Hey Anu. Do not call me sir, leave that for office.

He had prepared the tea and served us.

Anu – Wow, Deepak sir, sorry, Deepak, it is the best tea I have ever had. Very nice.

Deepak – Thankyou Anu. Would you like to have anything else with this, cookies, or snacks?

Anu – No, thankyou.

I – Ok guys, so rule number one, before we begin – No office talks at my place.

Anu – You live here alone, you have maintained it nicely. I like that.

I – Thankyou Anu ji. (I was jumping with happiness over such a small compliment, god knows what would happen if she said something romantic: P)

We talked, laughed for some time. Anu got a call from her roommate, and she left for her place.

As soon as she stepped out, and I closed the door, Deepak, kicked me, bhencho, dubara tune ese kiya na, I will kill you.

We both laughed.

Deepak went to his home after movie.

[Next day in office]

I could feel the tension and pressure on everyone’s face. We have competition in two weeks and we have a lot to gear up for. I was taking a session with my team regarding the process. My mobile vibrated. I ignored and continued.

It buzzed again; Someone is looking very handsome today. ;) Anu’s message.

I smiled and replied Thanks. To avoid distraction, I switched off the phone and kept it aside.

I was happy with my team; everyone was working hard and making efforts, grasping things very quickly. We have covered almost 80% of the process topics within a week.

[Friday night, Deepak and I were drinking at my place.]

What do you think, who is going to win? Deepak said.

It's ok yaar, we will see that. Don’t think much about it. I replied.

Yaar, I shouted at Anu during the session, and she started crying. Deepak said.

What, but why? I asked, almost in anger.

From last one week, I am teaching the same thing repeatedly, but I don’t know where the problem is. Likewise, I do not think there will be any progress. Deepak said.

It's ok bhai, you don’t have to take much pressure of this. It's just a competition, not our CBSE exam. I told him.

[I poured some whiskey in his glass with some Ice cubes.]

My mobile vibrated with Anu’s message. Are you awake? Can I call you?

I saw the time;it says 1:30 AM.

Hey, what happened? You are still awake? I replied.

Yeah! Could’nt sleep. Can we talk, if you do’nt mind? She replied.

Anu, sorry, but it is very late; I will call you in the morning. I said.

Ok.. Gn. Bye. She said.

Good night. Bye. I replied.

[After 20 minutes.Deepak slept, as he drank too much today. I was cleaning and picking the empty glasses and bottle.]

I will be resigning on Monday… My phone vibrated with Anu sent a message.

What? But Why? I replied.

I left the things there itself, and dialed her number.

I - Hey, what happened to you, are you gone mad?

Anu – No, I am fine. I cannot work in this environment. People do’nt know how to talk to a girl.

I –Anu, I know, Deepak told me about yesterday’s incident. He was feeling bad about it. However, He did that under pressure. When you will be at his place, you will understand.

Anu – But I know how to talk.

I – I understand, I agree he should not talk like this. Moreover, you should not take any stupid decision because of a small incident. Be strong. Perform well in the competition.

Anu – Yes, I will. Then I will resign for sure.

I – Ok, we will talk about it later. Now you should sleep its very late.

Anu – What were you doing?

I – Just cleaning things, and now I will sleep.

Anu – You guys were drinking again. Right?

I – Yes, but we have finished now. He slept and I will also sleep after talking to you.

Anu – I will not stop until morning. :D

I – Galti kisi ki, punishment kisi or ko. Bahut nainsaffi hai.

Anu – She laughed. Ok Gabbar, you have my permission, good night.

I – Thankyou mam. I am highly obliged. Good night.

[Day of competition]

All the Teams were present in the conference hall. Two Managers came and started giving the introduction; they announced the rules of the competition. There were three rounds and after that, they will calculate the points to finalize the winner. Rs 5000 voucher was to be awarded to the Team Lead and Rs 2000 voucher to everyone from his team. After second round, only two teams were through to the final round, Deepak’s team and my team. My team was leading with 3 points. The next was a buzzer round. Teams were to be asked five questions in total and first four questions carried 5-5 points each but last question would be a 10 pointer. -5 points for every wrong answer and the question would hence pass on to the other team, no negative marks for incorrect answer but the correct answer will give the actual weightage. I heard the buzzer sound from Anu, when jury have asked the first question, she was so quick, as if she already knew the question. She answered correctly, now D-33, R-31. After fourth question, the score was D-43, R-41. Now the last question came, of 10 marks. One correct answer would make a big difference. It was a tough competition, Jury had asked the question, once again, Deepak’s team hit the buzzer, but unfortunately, it was a wrong answer, which resulted in deduction of five points. Moreover, the question then passed on to my team and we gave the correct answer.

Final score was D-38, R-51. Everyone was cheering in my team. I congratulated my Team. Deepak too came and congratulated my team. Anu was sitting silently when I saw her. Deepak went to her, and shook hands, you played very well, and she smiled and saidThank you.

After prize distribution, everybody came back to his or her workstation.

Congratulations. J Anu ping me on communicator.

Thank you Anu, you played very well. I replied.

J Thanks Ravi. She replied.

Treat ;) Anu replied again.

Sure, my teammates and I were going out for dinner; I will ask Deepak to join us with his team. I replied.

Ok then. See you. Bye. She replied.

I invited Deepak and his team for the party. We went to a restaurant for dinner. While coming back, he told me, she played very well.

Indeed, I said.

I said, sorry for my behavior. Deepak told me.

Great, you should not take much pressure buddy. I replied.

Drink’s on me, Deepak said.

Deepak couldn’t stay for long, because his cousin was arriving next morning, and he had to pick him up, So he just had 2-3 Pegs and left.

Call me once you reach home. I said.

It was 12:30 AM, I was almost asleep. Suddenly I got a call on my phone.

[Unknown number]

I – Hello

Unknown Number – Hello, is this Ravi?

I – Yes, Who is this?

Unknown Number – I am calling from City Hospital, your friend Deepak, met with an accident.

He is in ICU.

I – What. What happened?

Unknown Number – I guess some truck wala hit his bike from behind.

I – shit man, I will be there in 20 min.

Unknown Number – Ok Sir.

next episode !!