Chapter 8 A Kiss

• She lay down on the grass. She wore a white-and-maroon salwar-
• kameez and a black cashmere cardigan, which she had removed and placed on the grass next to her.
• She scrunched her eyes to avoid the sun. I shifted and sat in front of her, so my shadow would cover her face.
• ‘Ah, that’s nice.Tall shady tree, thank you.’
• ‘People in college talk about us. How we are always together,’ I said.
• ‘So? Let them. As long as we know there is nothing between us.’
• I tilted my body sideways in protest. The sun was back on her face. ‘What?’she said and cohered her eyes with her hand.‘Where did
• my tree go?’
• ‘The tree is not feeling appreciated.’
• 'What do you mean?’
• ‘Why is there nothing between us?’ I said, my upper body still bent
• to the side.
• ‘Should there be? First, can you sit like you were sitting before, so
• people don’t think you are weird and my delicate skin can be protected from the sun?’
• I sat up straight once again.
• ‘Better,’ she said. ‘I need a pillow. Move forward please, tree.’ She put her head in my lap.
• ‘Nice. Now, what do you want, pillow-tree?’
• I’d had many such arguments with her over the past month. She
• had become an expert at dodging the issue, always getting away with some nonsense, like now.
• ‘Give me your cardigan,’ I said.
• Why? Are you cold? It’s a girl’s sweater, pillow-tree,’ she said and giggled.
• I placed the sweater over my head. It hid my face. ‘What?’ she said.
• I said nothing.
• ‘Are you sulking, my tall tree?’ she said.
• I didn’t respond. She pulled the sweater towards her so that both our faces came under it.
• 'Yes? Sulky man, what’s the issue?’ she said, her face upside-down and huge, given that it was so close to mine.
• I did not respond. She blew on my face but I did not react.
• 'Everyone here must be finding this so creepy,’ she said,‘our faces under the sweater.’
• 'Nobody cares,’ I said.
• 'I thought you said everyone talks about us.’
• I let out a grunt of protest. She laughed. I took aim and bent. In a
• second I managed to place my lips on hers, despite her face being upside-down. Spiderman kisses like that. It isn’t easy. I wouldn’t advise it ifvou’re kissing someone for the first time.
• She sprang up. As she rose, her forehead hit my chin. I bit my tongue.
• 'Hey,’ she said, ‘not fair.’
• I held my mouth in pain. Her forehead had hurt me badly. Still, the pain paled in comparison to the joy I felt from landing my first kiss.
• ‘Are you hurt?’ she said.
• I made a face.
• 'Listen, I’m sorry. But what was that?’ she said.
• 'A kiss.’
• 'I know. What for?’
• 'I felt like it.’
• She stood up, collected her tiffin box and walked away. I ran
• behind her. She ignored me and walked faster.
• I held her arm. She stopped and glared at me until I let go. She
• started to walk away again.
• 'I am sorry, okay?’ I said and blocked her way.‘I thought you like
• me.
• ‘Madhav, please understand, I’m not comfortable with all this,’ ‘I really like you, Riya. You mean so much to me. You are the
• reason I’ve survived in this place.’
• ‘So appreciate what we have. Don’t spoil it.’
• ‘What do we have? What am I to you?’
• 'If we kiss, we have something; if we don’t, then nothing?’ she
• said.
• I kept quiet.
• She looked at me for a few seconds. She shook her head in disappointment, turned and walked off. I saw her reach the main gate and get inside her blue car, Only then did I realise I still held her cardigan in my hand.
• *
• I didn't know if she would come to play basketball with me after
• the cardigan incident. To my surprise, she did, all svelte in a new Nike top and white shorts. We played without much conversation. Usually, we would stop to chat every five minutes. Today, she focused on the ball like a soldier does in combat with an enemy/.
• 'I am sorry, okay?’ I said, Playing with her wasn't as much fun as before.
• ‘It's fine,' she said,‘Let's not talk about it again,’ I put on a sorry face for the next twenty minutes. Finally, I held my ears and stood in the centre of the court.
• It did the trick. She smiled.
• 'Sorry, I also overreacted,' she said, 'Friends?' she said.
• Ban this word, I tell you. ‘Yes, friends,’ I said.
• She came forward to hug me. I gently pushed her away, ‘What are
• you doing?' she said.
• 'I'm not comfortable with this. Please don't spoil what we have,' I
• said, mocking her high-strung tone. I stomped my feet and walked off the court. She followed me.
• Ignore girls and they can’t leave you alone. Strange. I didn't look at. her.
• She spoke from behind me.
• 'Okay, I get it. I'm a girl. I’m allowed some drama sometimes.’ ‘Really?'
• ‘Well, I said sorry, too.'
• ‘Whatever. By the way, your cardigan is still with me at the
• residence.'
• 'Oh, please get it to college tomorrow. It's my favourite.'
• 'You want to come pick it up? You wanted to see my room, right?’ I
• said She raised an eyebrow.
• 'Really? But how?’
• There's a system, it involves me making the guards happy while
• you rush Inside,'
• 'You'll sneak me in?' she said, her eyes opening wide. 'You won't be
• the first girl to some to the residences,’
• We walked towards the briek-lined path to Rudra-North. She
• stopped a few steps before I reached Rudra.
• 'What if we get caught?' she said.
• 'I’ll be expelled, but they’ll spare you. You're a girl and your father
• will have enough contacts,’ 'So?’
• 'Let's do it,’ I said.
• l went up to the guard. I followed the code; told him to cheek out a problem in the bathroom, and slipped him fifty rupees. He had done it for others before so he quiekly understood. He saw Riya in the distance.
• ‘Is she from outside or a student?' the guard said. ‘What do you care?' I said.
• 'Just in ease there’s any trouble later.'
• 'Will there be trouble?'
• 'No, Make sure she leaves in thirty minutes. No guarantee with the new guard.'