Chapter 4: A Date on BlackBerry - It Started With a Friend Request
By Sudeep Nagarkar
After a memorable Saturday night, Akash woke up late the next morning. The night before, he had lost his heart to a gorgeous looking girl. Aleesha. He was still half asleep when he felt like someone was hitting him with a hammer. He soon realized that the throbbing headache was a result of the hangover. He had a bad headache, which meant that either he had had an awesome night or that he was going to have the worst day ahead.
Still in bed, he stretched out his hands fumbling the side table for his mobile. He hardly remembered what happened last night. He wished he had slept for one more hour. The headache was getting unbearable. Everything around him seemed blurred. He finally got up from bed, still thinking about the previous evening. He unzipped his pants and was about to take a leak when he realized he was in front of his window and not the washroom.
‘Err!’ he said to himself, ‘Oh God, I hate mornings. It’s the lack of sleep that causes hangover, not drinks.’
He came back to his bed and saw his mobile lying dismantled on the floor. Its battery was in one corner and the cover was under the bed. His body refused to allow him to bend down and pick them. He struggled hard to put his phone together in one piece. He switched on the cell phone and again lied down on the bed covering himself with his blanket when his phone rang.
‘Good morning,’ Akash said, still hungover.
‘You bloody swine… were you sleeping or dead? I called you at least ten times to check if everything was alright at home,’ I yelled at him.
‘Ya bhai, I am okay. I don’t remember much from last night, but the fact that I was about to pee through the window suggests that I had an awesome night,’ he managed to laugh.
‘Just check your messages. We almost landed up in jail because of you yesterday.’
Akash opened WhatsApp to check my message.
Fuck you asshole! I am sure you have gone off to sleep. Do you even remember what you did last night? I kicked you out of the disc after you flirted with that girl in the black dress. I think her name is Aleesha since you kept shouting her name while walking out of the disc. But you ran straight into the small light post and if I wouldn’t have dragged you away quickly, it would have almost landed on your head. You refused to let me drive, got into the car, and took off. From there we went straight down the wrong side of a one-way road. Needless to say, our luck ran out. A cop was waiting for us. When he asked us where we were coming from, you replied that you had killed a girl and her dead body was in the boot space of the car. ‘Laash dikki me hai’ you had said. Then what, I lost 500 rupees for such behaviour courtesy ‘YOU’ and we reached home two hours late.
Akash called me again after reading the message and we just laughed on the phone without speaking a word. I just told him casually to check if he had called or messaged someone to avoid leading to an embarrassing situation. Perhaps, I have this habit of texting and irritating people after gulping down a couple of drinks. Drinking was indeed an emotional gateway for men. Akash disconnected the phone and rechecked all the messages. Suddenly, he jumped out of his bed in panic. Impossible! How could I? I mean how? I mean when? Holy shit I am screwed, Akash wanted to scream aloud.
He saw that he had sent a BBM message to Aleesha before dozing off. He began cursing himself for the blunder. It had hardly been a few minutes since they met and he had already messaged her saying that she was the princess of his life. It could make her think that either Akash was a big flirt or that the guy had lost his mind after gulping down a few pegs of alcohol. Akash stood speechless and numb, not knowing how to react, and all he could think of was ways to disappear like the Genie of Aladdin. He read the message that he had sent.
At the risk of sounding like a flirt, I want to tell you that I could not erase you from my mind. You came into my life when I was least expecting it. It was as if I had hit a jackpot. When I saw you, I don’t know what clicked, but from that moment, I could not get you out of my head. I always knew that love would find me someday, but never did I know it would come like this. Your touch healed this broken heart and you caught me off guard and took me by surprise. I was initially reluctant to send u a BBM at this hour. Is it too late? Should I send you a request on Facebook? Your profile pic again urged me to send you a BBM. And no, I am not being desperate here. Everything seems so right, so perfect. Oh god. I will go crazy. Aleesha, please don’t take me the wrong way. Do reply. I am not so drunk. * * *
Tere golden face ki beauty ne,
Mere komal heart pe attack kiya.
Sabko reject kiya aur tumko select kiya.
Request hai tumse ise refuse na karna,
Dosti ke is bulb ko kabhi fuse na karna!
On BBM, there is a way of knowing if the other person has read your message or not. Right next to the delivery tick mark appears ‘D’ for ‘delivered’ and ‘R’ for when the recipient ‘reads’ the message. She had not read the message yet. The R symbol didn’t show above the tick mark. He thought that she was still sleeping. At the same time, he wondered what she would think after reading the message. He badly wanted to somehow get Aleesha’s cell phone and delete the message he had sent or press the undo button on his phone. But all he could do was bite his nails in anticipation of what was going to happen if she were to read it. He kept his cell aside and wanted to run away from the situation. However, after every five minutes, he checked his cell phone hoping that Aleesha had still not read that message. He would have eagerly expected her reply in any other normal situation, but at this moment, he was praying not to receive any message from Aleesha. When he checked the phone for the twentieth time, he saw the R symbol above the tick mark. Aleesha had finally read the message.
Oh, fuck! Oh, shit! He was really nervous.
Aleesha is typing a message, showed the BBM screen. His eyes popped out of his head and before she could send the message, Akash quickly typed a message and sent her.
I am extremely sorry for last night. Ignore the message. It wasn’t intentional. I was just kidding. Don’t take it seriously. I was not in my senses.
He tried to hide his panic. He tried his best to make things sound normal for he knew the intensity of the blunder he had committed.
As soon as he sent the message, Aleesha’s message popped on his screen.
Hey dude, are you insane? Were you out of your senses? From where did you copy paste it? Don’t tell me you were serious! As if it’s love at first sight. Two things I love in men—they never stop trying and they never miss an opportunity. Ha ha!
His confidence grew a little. Akash decided to take a chance with the conversation. His fears had taken a back seat.
Akash: I just tried to make you laugh and I think I succeeded in doing so. I am too good.
Aleesha: Huh? Why do you think I am messaging you? Is it because I care? Or because I miss you? Or because you have become my secret crush? No. It’s because I need someone for time pass. I am getting a little bored here. :D Rofl. I am the best.
Akash: Err… That was rude.
Aleesha: I’m just kidding. Chill!
Akash: Hmm. I know. But trust me, you were looking lovely last night. You were so…
Aleesha: Okay stop.
Akash: Stop what?
Aleesha: Thinking about me and stop flirting. We hardly know each other. We are not even friends. :P Chalo c’ya, I need to freshen up.
Akash: Let’s meet in the evening for a cup of coffee. You know, a lot can happen over coffee. Let’s give it a try. At least for the sake of our new friendship. What say? Think over it, am not that bad. * * *
Aleesha: Nope. Get over it dude.
Akash: Oh come on, I am asking you out just for a coffee. You’re reacting as if am asking you out on a date.
Aleesha: Byeeeee.
Akash: Atleast gimme your number so that I can call you.
Aleesha: I said byeeeee. :D
Akash still tried his best to convince her and continued to chat with her for next couple of hours. He finally managed to convince her for a cup of coffee. He knew she was not going to turn him down and was just being a little difficult like all girls are initially. After all, she knew that Akash would keep on trying until she agreed. It happened exactly the way he wanted. Though they didn’t exchange their numbers, they finally decided to meet at CCD in the evening.
* * *
‘Are you crazy? You mean she really agreed to meet you? Cut the crap. Either she was still hung over from last night, or you are a fool to think she cares. Do you think you’re Salman Khan that she has agreed to meet you in such a short span of time? Or do you think I am a fool with a big C written on my forehead?’ I reacted when he told me the whole story since I felt Akash was bluffing.
‘Aadi, shut up. I am serious. You think I am joking? Not at all, yaar. I managed to convince her to meet me for coffee. That’s it. I have also told her that my friend Aditya will join us,’ Akash said in a very soft tone, as he knew I would burst out in anger after that.
‘Akash have you lost it? Or do you want another beer to regain normalcy? Why do you need me there? What am I going to do? Should I eat ice cream while you give her a smooch?’ I said wanting to almost bang my head on the table.
Akash had done all that he had never done in his life in the last 24 hours. It was the effect of a girl who had hardly met him. I so wanted to straighten his pants so he could stop all this. But according to him, he was ‘in love’.
‘Aadi, be serious. Guess what? I have also decided to express my feelings to her. That’s why I want you to be my moral support there. Please Aadi. Trust me. I am serious. Have you ever seen me talking about any girl in the past few years?’ Akash said trying to change my opinion.
‘Akash, enough! I mean, are you telling me that even though it’s hardly been a few minutes since you met her, you’re in love with her and are planning to propose to her? How could you be such a despo? Think practically for once—you hardly know each other and you expect her to say “I love you too”. What if she doesn’t turn up?’ I screamed in frustration.
I was trying to bring Akash back to the real world. But I failed. Akash had forced me to change my mind and agree with what he was saying. As they say, a person loses himself in love and never thinks about what will happen in the end. He was taking Mother Teresa’s saying ‘If you judge people, you have no time to love them’ way too seriously.
‘Every girl loves it when she is treated like a princess. Why don’t you propose to her in the same way I proposed Riya? I am sure she will love it,’ I winked.
He gave me a not so pleasant smile and warned me to be there on time. His nervousness was so visible by the way he was scripting his proposal. He had planned what to speak and how. All I could do was to keep my fingers crossed and hope for the best outcome that evening.
A lot can happen over a cup of coffee. I wished that ‘lot’ would work out for Akash and Aleesha. But I knew things could go either way. It was 5.30 pm. Akash’s nervousness had made me fear the worst for him. As a friend, I wanted Akash to make a good impression on Aleesha.
‘Aadi, I am so nervous. I don’t think I can do it. Just by uttering her name, my heart starts beating at an abnormal pace’ He was almost shivering.
He had worn a white T-shirt and blue denims. He looked extremely charming in the attire. His gelled hair completed the look, but his nervousness overshadowed everything else.
‘Be brave. Be a man! You are the king of this world. You are just three words away from your dream girl,’ I tried to console him while on the way to the destination in the car.
Neither of us had managed to smoke on the way. We both soon reached the CCD outlet on Marine Drive. We parked the car and walked towards the coffee house. I kept on bugging him to message her on BBM to confirm whether she was coming or not since he did not have her cell number.
‘Have some patience. Here I am extremely nervous and you are fucking my brain out. I have just messaged her on BBM, okay?’ Akash shouted.
We sat in CCD and ordered two sandwiches. I was about to take my first bite when I looked at Akash. He seemed as nervous as I was some years back when I was about to propose to my love, Riya. Back then I didn’t have the guts to speak my heart out and needed someone to push me. Though I was courageous enough to actually bend down on my knees and express my love, I knew how I felt at that time. All the powers from the entire universe had come together to help me express my love. Akash needed the same power today. I had never seen him so cautious and nervous. He had not chased any girl in the last few years and had solely concentrated on his career. It was in these last few hours that he had actually lost himself. His expressions, body language, nervousness, and his eyes expressed everything. I just smiled. I was happy that he really liked someone and wished that even Aleesha liked him as much.
It had been almost an hour but Aleesha had still not turned up. When I asked Akash, he said that the messages hadn’t reached her on BBM yet.
‘Yaar, I had told you to take her cell number. How can you be so foolish, Akash? How could you trust someone so much? Don’t be so innocent bro. I am sorry but I don’t think she will come now.’
‘She can’t do this to me. So what if we met for just a couple of minutes? The spark that I saw in her eyes was real. I could tell by the way she messaged me that she wasn’t faking it. She likes me. Otherwise she would have ignored my messages and would have never agreed to meet me. I can’t be wrong, Aadi. There must be some problem,’ he said in a dejected tone.
I got up from the couch and gave him a tight hug to make him feel better, all the while wishing that Aleesha would message or call him. We waited and then walked to the parking area and drove back to our respective homes.
* * *
Akash was disturbed but somewhere deep down he knew it couldn’t end this way. He had dinner and checked his cell again. He had received three messages. There was one from Aleesha!
Hi Akash. I am extremely sorry. My net pack expired and I didn’t know about it. I thought you didn’t message me and had cancelled the plan. By the time I realized that my net pack had expired, it was too late. Sorry to keep you waiting. I am texting you my cell number. You can call me after an hour or so. Bye. Sorry again.
One message from Aleesha and Akash couldn’t control his excitement. He immediately called and informed me that Aleesha wasn’t bluffing after all.
Akash waited for the clock to strike 11. It was around 10.45 pm and he thought of calling her up. But he again dropped the plan and decided to wait for another fifteen minutes. Those fifteen minutes seemed never-ending. He didn’t want to show how desperately he wanted to talk to her. But he had unknowingly made the mistake by immediately agreeing to call her. He was recollecting all the things he had to say to her. He noted down a few things on his hand so that he wouldn’t forget. He seemed to be more cautious this time around and the reason was obvious. He didn’t want to lose on an opportunity and regret it later. In the pin drop silence of the room, the only sound audible was that of his heartbeat. If anyone had seen how anxious he was at that time, he would have rolled on the floor laughing. Who notes down things to be said to one’s beloved? Akash did. He was just walking in his room repeating the lines in his mind over and over again as if he had a competitive exam to sit for. All the incidents that had happened in the last 24 hours showed that he was in love. Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage. He had gathered all the courage to talk to her for the first time after their short meeting at the disc. It was 11 pm. He dialled her number and Aleesha picked up the call.
‘Just had dinner. What about you?’ Aleesha replied in a whisper.
‘Me too. By the way, your caller tune is really romantic. Should I sing it for you? I hope you don’t mind. Though I am not a good singer, I can sing it for you.’ Akash had completely forgotten what he had penned down and spoke what was in his heart.
‘Shut up, Akash. Thank God you are not angry. I am extremely sorry that I couldn’t meet you in the evening. Really sorry,’ Aleesha apologized.
There’s no need to be sorry. I am happy you trusted me and at least shared your number with me, Akash thought to himself.
‘What happened? Say something.’ Aleesha tried to break the silence.
‘If you are free on Tuesday, can we meet? It’s my weekly off that day,’ Akash said giving it another try.
This time she agreed. Akash was convinced by Aleesha’s seductive voice that she would not ditch him this time. He couldn’t question her anymore. They talked for a few more minutes before eventually hanging up. Akash was on cloud nine and he felt like he was dreaming. Exactly 24 hours back he had met a girl, so beautiful that he instantly lost his heart to her. His heart skipped a beat as soon as he saw her in the disc. He was not the same guy anymore. The brief meeting with her had changed him. Akash had already started planning to make the most of the opportunity and to propose to her. A strong gut feeling was telling him that she liked him too. It was pretty evident in the way she spoke to him. He closed his eyes and fantasized about going out on a date with her. Within a few minutes, he fell asleep after hours of restlessness. He was relaxed and happy at the end of the day as he had talked to his dream girl for the first time on the phone.
Just before going to sleep, he uploaded his status on BBM so that Aleesha could see it.
You should see my smile when you call or text me! Gn Aleesha. Your voice is mesmerizing.
Though Aleesha hardly expressed the way she felt and pretended as if she was not looking for someone in particular, the truth was that she wanted their casual meetings to remain a secret, and not let anybody else get a whiff of it.
She changed her status on BBM to: It started with a friend request. * * *
* * *
Tuesday morning brought along with it a new hope in Akash’s life. It was not that he was not nervous, but he took more time than usual to get ready. I was waiting outside his apartment listening to Radio Mirchi in my car. Once Akash came and sat in the car, my first question to him was whether he had confirmed if Aleesha was coming.
‘Akash, I am not going to enter CCD until she comes today. We wasted 200 rupees the last time for no reason. We could have had beer instead of eating sandwiches, man!’
‘Aadi, I told you the reason why she didn’t come. I also told you that since the past two days we have been continuously in touch with each other. Heck I even know her favourite colour by now. It’s pink. She also sent me a picture of herself in a pink top. She looks so awesome in it. After all this, you are still teasing my love! I don’t expect this from you. And anyway, we are not going to CCD. We are meeting at McDonald’s near CST Station,’ Akash said.
‘Oh cut the crap, for Christ’s sake. I am joking. Today you are finally going to propose to her. Else, I will kill you,’ I teased him looking at his nervous face.
We reached McD’s in an hour and for a change, Aleesha was waiting for us. Akash waved out to her. Akash was absolutely right, I thought. She looked ravishing.
Aleesha had worn a pink top and blue denim hot pants.
‘Sexy. Hot. Seductive. Freaking beautiful,’ I said with a wicked smile on my face.
‘I told you. This is not the only reason why I liked her, I love her nature too. Our wavelengths match,’ Akash blushed.
He introduced me to her and we took a seat on a vacant table nearby.
‘So what will you both have?’ I asked them.
‘I will have one Mc Aloo Tikki and small French Fries,’ Aleesha said looking at Akash and giving him the sweetest smile.
I got up and went near the counter, which gave them some more time to talk. I took out my mobile phone and sent Akash a message on WhatsApp.
Don’t waste time. I am taking more time here to give you privacy. Tell her your feelings. Don’t be shy or afraid. Go ahead. Yo!
I turned back and looked at him. He read the message and stared back. He slightly nodded his head in nervousness. However, for the next few minutes, he hardly spoke anything.
I was cursing him for his silence and shyness.
Show your balls, you ass. Speak up! Don’t cry in front of me afterwards. Why are you missing this chance, I messaged again.
I am trying. But I don’t know how to start the conversation, Akash replied.
I couldn’t delay my arrival anymore and got back to the table. I sat diagonally opposite to Akash and Aleesha sat beside him. I looked straight into his eyes and gestured for him to initiate the conversation.
‘Should I get ketchup sachets from the counter?’ Akash asked Aleesha. She nodded her head and Akash went to get them.
‘So Aleesha, how is life in Mumbai?’ I broke the silence.
‘It’s different from Kolkata, definitely. Kolkata shows you a different culture while Mumbai is totally different,’ she smiled. I melted looking at her cute smile.
‘And how are the people?’ I continued with my questions. Akash gave me a tough look when he spotted me being comfortable with Aleesha.
‘Nice. Helpful.’ she replied in as little words as possible.
‘And Akash?’ I continued. This was the question I wanted to ask her all evening. The first two questions were just to create a base to reach to this one.
She kept quiet for some time but her silence spoke a thousand words. I repeated my question again and just as she was about to answer, Akash came back.
‘So what were you both talking about?’ he asked us expecting an answer.
‘Does it make you jealous seeing me talk to her?’ I said and laughed.
She looked down shyly taking a bite of the burger while tucking back the strands of hair that had come lose. She looked up at me from the corner of her eyes and saw me looking at her. She smiled in agreement to my question.
I blinked my eyes, an indication that Akash felt the same, and immediately messaged him.
C*****, go ahead tell her. She loves you. Trust me. Don’t waste your time. Show her that you are a man.
Akash looked at me and replied: I don’t understand how some people have the courage to express their love to their crush when I don’t even have the courage to ask her for extra ketchup.
We chitchatted for the next half hour or so and then decided to disperse. I kept on signalling Akash, asking him repeatedly to speak up. But he didn’t.
‘Hey, why don’t you both join me for the freshers party in my college? I can manage to get entry tickets for you. It will be fun,’ Aleesha said just before leaving.
‘Sure. Why not!’ Akash replied and bid a goodbye to her. She left soon after.
We walked back towards our car. No one spoke a word. When you are in love, you dance like no one is watching, sing like no one is listening, and live like it’s heaven on earth. Akash did nothing of that sort. From her smile and her positive reaction it was evident that she too loved Akash. I made him understand the fact that Aleesha won’t take the first step but will wait for him to speak those golden words which every girl wants to hear. Every girl wants her boyfriend to be different and unique when he proposes to her. Aleesha was no different. Even she wanted it to be memorable.
Love is the feeling of cold in summers. Akash was feeling this love but was afraid to express it. Aleesha was waiting for the moment when her love would give her a passionate kiss and transport her in to a different world altogether.