Read Part I here: http://herethis-therethat.blogspot.in/2011/04/new-love-stories.html
Read Part II here: http://herethis-therethat.blogspot.in/2012/02/new-love-stories-part-ii.html
Read Part III here: http://herethis-therethat.blogspot.in/2013/02/new-love-stories-part-iii.html
Read Part IV here: http://herethis-therethat.blogspot.in/2013/03/new-love-stories-part-iv.html
Read Part II here: http://herethis-therethat.blogspot.in/2012/02/new-love-stories-part-ii.html
Read Part III here: http://herethis-therethat.blogspot.in/2013/02/new-love-stories-part-iii.html
Read Part IV here: http://herethis-therethat.blogspot.in/2013/03/new-love-stories-part-iv.html
PizzaLover123 looked to her left to reassure herself that she was in fact checking out of the library with the only male in the whole building. The fat girls and lesbians weren't happy. They glared at her for not only disturbing their peace with her giggles but also for "having a life" albeit an unsure one.
"I'm KeyboardPlaya87 by the way," he said as they walked out after reserving their books and magazines at the checkout counter.
"PizzaLover123," she replied.
"That's a cool name. Wish my parents had given me a cool name like that," he told her. "Sometimes people mispronounce or mistakenly call me 'Synthesiser'! Like that's a cool name!"
She smiled. "That's true. It can be confusing to some people."
He laughed and skip-hopped over the steps leading down from the library towards the cafeteria. She smiled and looked at him skip-hopping. In spite of his feminist jabs, he did seem like an OK guy, someone who could be conditioned into fighting for women's rights over time. And she would work on him till he turned into a feminist lover.
"Do you live in the hostel, PG, or are you from here itself?" he asked her as they continued to walk the distance to the cafe.
"I live in the city," she replied. "With my parents, unfortunately."
"Ha! That's never fun," he laughed.
"No, it isn't," she agreed. "They expect me to be home at a certain time and push me out early in the morning so that I utilise daylight as much as I can. I only have freedom as long as the sun shines during a day."
He laughed loudly. "So that means night-outs are a definite no-no."
"Absolutely," she replied. "But I don't know why you'd ask me that."
"Hey," he held up his hands defensively. "Don't shoot me for asking you questions."
"Do I look like I have a gun in my bag?" she asked in an irritated tone.
"No, but you could be smuggling in nunchuks."
She raised an eyebrow and looked at him. KeyboardPlaya87 had an innocent expression on his face trying hard to convince her that he was indeed afraid of her. That is, in case she had nunchuks in her bag.
"No!" she barked. "I don't carry weapons of any kind."
"Thank god!" he let out a sigh of relief and acted as if wiping his brow of sweat. She rolled her eyes again.
"Don't worry, I'm buying you tea to tolerate all this," he told her.
"At this rate the deal better be for a lifetime," she said.
"Oh, haha!" he said mockingly.
They were now at the entrance of the cafe. It was early in the afternoon and the lunch crowd had dispersed. As the autumn sun was warm and there was a light breeze, everyone had shifted to the college lawns and bamboo grooves to relax in the sun. There were only a handful of people inside the cafe, including the staff. No one looked up as KeyboardPlaya87 and PizzaLover123 walked in and sat next to a window on a stone slab.
KeyboardPlaya87 removed his bag and kept it on the stone slab, next to where PizzaLover123 had settled. "Let me order the teas," he told her and went to the counter. PizzaLover123 nodded and smiled.
She looked at him as he went to the counter and ordered in the teas and waited for it. He had a nice enough behind, she noticed. Though he had a skinny body, his full face indicated good health, and this was misleading. As she had not noticed him in college before this day, she wasn't sure of his nature or behaviour. She had never seen him in the library either, even though he looked like a bibliophile with his big-framed geek glasses. She herself had glasses but she preferred the thin, metallic frames to the plastic ones.
KeyboardPlaya87 had the plastic tea cups in his hands as he walked over quickly to their spot and placed it down on the cool, stone table in front of them.
"Hot?" she asked as he cooled his hands down by placing it palm down on the stone table.
"Of course," he replied. "You didn't want iced tea, did you?"
"I would have told you if I did," she answered.
He smiled. "Of course, you would."
PizzaLover123 took the tea cup in both hands and blew over her tea. There was a moment of silence as KeyboardPlaya87 also picked up his cup and took a sip.
"So," she said looking into her tea cup. "Tell me about yourself."
He looked at her and she gazed back. He smiled.
"Um...well, there's not much to say, really," he started. "You know my name and which course I am in. I will graduate next year and hope to do my MBA right after graduation."
She nodded and he continued.
"OK, I don't know if you know this, but I am sort of a musician. I play the keyboards. I have this band with a couple of friends from school and we play in schools and college fests. We played last year at the college fest. Did you see us?"
She shook her head and frowned. "Unfortunately, I wasn't in the city when the fest was on. My grandmother died and I flew out with my mom for the funeral."
KeyboardPlaya87's eyes widened. "Oh, I'm sorry."
"It's OK. I wasn't close to her. I was happy to fly for the first time though."
At this he raised an eyebrow at her but she continued to sip her tea as if nothing was wrong.
"O....k....," he continued. "As I said, I play in band. I play the keyboard and sometimes fill in for the bass guitarist."
"Wait, is bass guitar the one with 4 strings?"
"Yes, it is. It's not as flashy as the lead guitarist but it is important for the band."
"Umm hmm...." she replied.
"Anyways," he continued, noting the sarcasm in her voice. "So, keyboard and bass guitar. I'm not much of a singer though. I leave that to the lead singer."
PizzaLover123 was enjoying listening to him explain his band and the various gigs they had done, their experiences on the road, squabbling, and their musical influences. He seemed like a nice enough guy who was earnest, loved his music, and also read a lot. After they were done talking about the band, they moved to the subject of books.
"I was in school when the Harry Potter books came out," she told him. "And my whole family wanted to read the books as soon as we got them. So finding time alone to read in silence was rare because all of us were fighting to read the book. So what I used to do was after everyone went off to sleep, I would pick up the book, remove the curtains from my bedroom window, and read in the light which came from the streetlight outside on the street."
"Do you live in the hostel, PG, or are you from here itself?" he asked her as they continued to walk the distance to the cafe.
"I live in the city," she replied. "With my parents, unfortunately."
"Ha! That's never fun," he laughed.
"No, it isn't," she agreed. "They expect me to be home at a certain time and push me out early in the morning so that I utilise daylight as much as I can. I only have freedom as long as the sun shines during a day."
He laughed loudly. "So that means night-outs are a definite no-no."
"Absolutely," she replied. "But I don't know why you'd ask me that."
"Hey," he held up his hands defensively. "Don't shoot me for asking you questions."
"Do I look like I have a gun in my bag?" she asked in an irritated tone.
"No, but you could be smuggling in nunchuks."
She raised an eyebrow and looked at him. KeyboardPlaya87 had an innocent expression on his face trying hard to convince her that he was indeed afraid of her. That is, in case she had nunchuks in her bag.
"No!" she barked. "I don't carry weapons of any kind."
"Thank god!" he let out a sigh of relief and acted as if wiping his brow of sweat. She rolled her eyes again.
"Don't worry, I'm buying you tea to tolerate all this," he told her.
"At this rate the deal better be for a lifetime," she said.
"Oh, haha!" he said mockingly.
They were now at the entrance of the cafe. It was early in the afternoon and the lunch crowd had dispersed. As the autumn sun was warm and there was a light breeze, everyone had shifted to the college lawns and bamboo grooves to relax in the sun. There were only a handful of people inside the cafe, including the staff. No one looked up as KeyboardPlaya87 and PizzaLover123 walked in and sat next to a window on a stone slab.
KeyboardPlaya87 removed his bag and kept it on the stone slab, next to where PizzaLover123 had settled. "Let me order the teas," he told her and went to the counter. PizzaLover123 nodded and smiled.
She looked at him as he went to the counter and ordered in the teas and waited for it. He had a nice enough behind, she noticed. Though he had a skinny body, his full face indicated good health, and this was misleading. As she had not noticed him in college before this day, she wasn't sure of his nature or behaviour. She had never seen him in the library either, even though he looked like a bibliophile with his big-framed geek glasses. She herself had glasses but she preferred the thin, metallic frames to the plastic ones.
KeyboardPlaya87 had the plastic tea cups in his hands as he walked over quickly to their spot and placed it down on the cool, stone table in front of them.
"Hot?" she asked as he cooled his hands down by placing it palm down on the stone table.
"Of course," he replied. "You didn't want iced tea, did you?"
"I would have told you if I did," she answered.
He smiled. "Of course, you would."
PizzaLover123 took the tea cup in both hands and blew over her tea. There was a moment of silence as KeyboardPlaya87 also picked up his cup and took a sip.
"So," she said looking into her tea cup. "Tell me about yourself."
He looked at her and she gazed back. He smiled.
"Um...well, there's not much to say, really," he started. "You know my name and which course I am in. I will graduate next year and hope to do my MBA right after graduation."
She nodded and he continued.
"OK, I don't know if you know this, but I am sort of a musician. I play the keyboards. I have this band with a couple of friends from school and we play in schools and college fests. We played last year at the college fest. Did you see us?"
She shook her head and frowned. "Unfortunately, I wasn't in the city when the fest was on. My grandmother died and I flew out with my mom for the funeral."
KeyboardPlaya87's eyes widened. "Oh, I'm sorry."
"It's OK. I wasn't close to her. I was happy to fly for the first time though."
At this he raised an eyebrow at her but she continued to sip her tea as if nothing was wrong.
"O....k....," he continued. "As I said, I play in band. I play the keyboard and sometimes fill in for the bass guitarist."
"Wait, is bass guitar the one with 4 strings?"
"Yes, it is. It's not as flashy as the lead guitarist but it is important for the band."
"Umm hmm...." she replied.
"Anyways," he continued, noting the sarcasm in her voice. "So, keyboard and bass guitar. I'm not much of a singer though. I leave that to the lead singer."
PizzaLover123 was enjoying listening to him explain his band and the various gigs they had done, their experiences on the road, squabbling, and their musical influences. He seemed like a nice enough guy who was earnest, loved his music, and also read a lot. After they were done talking about the band, they moved to the subject of books.
"I was in school when the Harry Potter books came out," she told him. "And my whole family wanted to read the books as soon as we got them. So finding time alone to read in silence was rare because all of us were fighting to read the book. So what I used to do was after everyone went off to sleep, I would pick up the book, remove the curtains from my bedroom window, and read in the light which came from the streetlight outside on the street."
He laughed. "Really, you could see in the darkness?"
"I had to! Flashlight was too risky and I didn't own a mobile phone. The streetlight was bright enough but the issue was my father's bladder," she said. "Every night he gets up at 2a.m. for a leek, and during this pee break, he comes and checks into every room to make sure no one is upto any hanky-panky. Whether everyone's sleeping or not."
At this, KeyboardPlaya87 laughed so hard that his tea spilled a little onto the floor. He quickly kept it down on the table and slapping his thighs, laughed and snorted at the same time.
"That's so funny!" he said when he finally stopped laughing. "Were you ever caught?"
"Of course! Which is why he made mom sleep in the same room as me to keep a check," she explained. "He didn't want me dozing off in class because I was up all night reading books."
"I have to admire your resolve," he said proudly. "When I read the Harry Potter books, I felt the same too. Recently, I read the Lord of the Rings series and it was the same...."
And he went on to explain in detail the plot of the series, the comparison of the books and the movies, CGI effects, etc. After this they talked in detail about other books they had read, authors they liked and authors they thought were worthless. As the discussion kept going, the hours flew by and the number of tea cups kept increasing. As the sun started to settle in the sky and sent an orange twinge across the horizon, signaling it's journey into the underworld to let the moon and stars take over the sky, PizzaLover123 was both in wonder and admiration of her new friend. And for some reason she could not help herself from wondering what it would be like to rip his loose shirt off his chest and "go to town" on him.
(To be continued)
"I had to! Flashlight was too risky and I didn't own a mobile phone. The streetlight was bright enough but the issue was my father's bladder," she said. "Every night he gets up at 2a.m. for a leek, and during this pee break, he comes and checks into every room to make sure no one is upto any hanky-panky. Whether everyone's sleeping or not."
At this, KeyboardPlaya87 laughed so hard that his tea spilled a little onto the floor. He quickly kept it down on the table and slapping his thighs, laughed and snorted at the same time.
"That's so funny!" he said when he finally stopped laughing. "Were you ever caught?"
"Of course! Which is why he made mom sleep in the same room as me to keep a check," she explained. "He didn't want me dozing off in class because I was up all night reading books."
"I have to admire your resolve," he said proudly. "When I read the Harry Potter books, I felt the same too. Recently, I read the Lord of the Rings series and it was the same...."
And he went on to explain in detail the plot of the series, the comparison of the books and the movies, CGI effects, etc. After this they talked in detail about other books they had read, authors they liked and authors they thought were worthless. As the discussion kept going, the hours flew by and the number of tea cups kept increasing. As the sun started to settle in the sky and sent an orange twinge across the horizon, signaling it's journey into the underworld to let the moon and stars take over the sky, PizzaLover123 was both in wonder and admiration of her new friend. And for some reason she could not help herself from wondering what it would be like to rip his loose shirt off his chest and "go to town" on him.
(To be continued)
