Page 59 of Storm
I couldn’t help but remind him,
‘She told you he asks her out.’
‘Yeah...She showed as if he is an annoyance but at the same time did not completely deny being his girlfriend or a close friendship.’ Irritably Zidaan added,
‘Now even I am confused bro.’
I was not.
‘She is not his girlfriend.’ I stated with a tone of finality.
I will not let her be his.
Zidaan cheered agreeably and we hung-up.
With an undoubted belief that she was not in love with anyone, my smile from a few minutes before her runaway, now returned magnified a hundred folds.
I still couldn’t believe I had felt even for a moment that Zidaan was backstabbing me. That he has feelings for Sani, after I had felt he was not helping. Yet I was all for stepping back if he really did like her. Anything for his friendship...
I could not have been happier when Zidaan had called me the minute Sani was out of earshot to inform that he had done the job. He had found out the answer to my recurring doubt of Sani's relationship status. To my utter jealousy, Zidaan had found she apparently was in a relationship with a guy named Sahil. I was quick to let him know, he was none other than her classmate...My student. The jackass who thought he was a God's gift to the sports world. Other than whatever charm she might have seen in him, he had nuts for brains.
We easily deduced he was no good for Sani. Because from the thorough eye I had been keeping on her since day one, it had been clear to me that she was least bit interested in Sahil. In fact, she hardly was friends with any of the guys. And as far as Sahil went, I had seen him around her, but she never looked twice at him. Also, the first time I had seen him talking to her in the cafeteria, it looked like she did not even knew his name. That was enough evidence for us; we were not doing any harm by not counting her nonexistent boyfriend. I considered her single. And even if she wasn’t, I wanted to make sure she does not remain in any close proximity of that douche bag.
Sani
All I heard was,
'My love'.
It left me stunned. I couldn’t understand why my Professor was calling me so lovingly.
Aariz had no idea how his slip of tongue was creating havoc in my heart.
What the hell had happened to him?! Why was he talking that way with such warmth and insisting so much for lunch and all! This sudden change in his behaviour was really wierd. I just couldn’t understand it.
I walked about two blocks surrounded in these terrifying thoughts, when suddenly a sleek black, Saab convertible, stopped at my side.
“Sani, c'mon in, I’ll drop you home.” said Aariz, getting down from his car.
“Thanks, but I take the train every day. I’ll manage.” I answered hurriedly and turned to go when he spoke in a gentle voice,
“We are friends Sani. I can drop you home. Anyway, it looks like it’s going to rain heavily. C'mon.”
“It’s monsoon season and even if it wasn’t, it’s Seattle, so obviously it’s going to rain. Big deal!” I rolled my eyes, rejecting his offer and started to move.
Aariz demanded in exasperation,
“Give me one reason, why can't I drop you home when it’s warned that a storm is about to erupt? Just sit in the car Sani. What’s the point of this argument?”
Finally, giving up I got in hurriedly as in the next moment rain came down horrendously heavy along with roaring thunder. Not that Aariz or anything intimated me.
Radio was on in the car...
Breaking the silence Aariz cleared his throat, “Sani which is your favourite song?”
Unable to meet his eyes, I murmured softly the name of my favourite romantic number,
“Love story by Barcelona.”
