Rentry....

First you do something and then think about it....then you try to undo it....then you think abt redoing it ...... forget it...i m destined to put this here again with little changes here n there....

here goes...let the thuppal begin!

One of those things.....

“I cannot live without you! You are the world to me, I love you…” – a deep voice, bound to kindle a rage of passion – not quite in Neha. She managed to blush though, an instinctive reaction, but for all the wrong reasons – she couldn’t fancy anyone being so hopelessly in love with her. Something in his tone, made her flinch and she silently prayed that he wouldn’t notice her discomfort. Neha decided to confide her feelings to Keerthi, her soul-mate. “Tomorrow”, she told herself, “and Keerthi will put some sense and logic into my biased head”.

“Late!” exclaimed Keerthi; “as always” they chorused and exchanged hi-fives causing a few heads in deep conversation to turn towards them with a mixture of annoyance and intrigue. They chatted and nibbled on the onion rings, alternating between the silliest of the gossips to Neha’s feelings (or the lack of it) for Tapan, while sipping on steaming cappuccinos.

“Let’s face it. It’s a form of commitment-o-phobia” – Keerthi declared with an air of finality and was now checking out her nail polish, catching Neha completely unawares. “DUH! Now where did that come from? For once, why don’t you give me some credit and say what I want to hear?” “Which would be?” inquired K in a monotone that infuriated a visibly annoyed N. “Like, all this talk about undying love and till-death-do-us-apart crap is thoroughly juvenile….that ‘love’ is an illusion; it is …it is…for people who are incapable of being on their own and have a dependency-problem?; that I would prefer someone who doesn’t make me uncomfortable with all those mushy talk? …” her tone now rose by several decibels and many ears from nearby tables strained to hear more of the conversation, causing K to shush N. “Oh what do I care?!” snorted N, though she did bring her voice down.

K was now looking at N with an amused glint in her eyes but patiently waited for the outburst to subside. N rattled on, taking short breaks to sip on the cappuccino but it did nothing to hinder the thought flow of her cribbing exercise. The girl in the next booth barely in her teens was snuggling closer to the guy next to her (possibly her boyfriend thought K) as the other guy captured the moment on his mobile. After a rather obvious glance at her watch for the umpteenth time, and in an even matter-of-fact tone, K announced “Tapan should be here any time now”, causing N to choke with quite some emotion over her coffee.

Before N could do so much as to recover from the shock, Tapan made his appearance, the trademark sheepish grin in place, as though unsure of what his next move should be. N forced a smile at T and glowered at K, who welcomed T with a warm hug. T seemed visibly relieved and posed the question to no one in particular “what’s the verdict?” N who had been busy trying to find K’s feet under the table, stopped in her tracks as she held her breath. She was not sure she had heard him right. It was T’s turn to look surprised now – “Isn’t this meeting about what I think it is?” – He was looking pointedly at K now.

“N, am sorry I didn’t tell you I asked T to join us, but I honestly feel that this is the only way! The 3 of us have known each other long enough to feel comfortable to talk it out - right here, right now! For god’s sake, N please don’t make things difficult for the both of you!” – K was almost screaming in exasperation for N was now sulking and seemed rather sour. “Why do I end up in such situations” K was thinking.

She regained her composure and shifted to what was popularly known in the sets as the directorial tone - “Neha I will greatly appreciate it if you would stop whining about Tapan’s emoting abilities and your inability to accept such a character in real life …and Tapan as for you – I’d be grateful if you would just stick to the lines and not make your character more melodramatic than it already is!”