Don't call me cheater

Chapter-6

The next day I couldn’t wait to see him after those conversations and the first thing that added my happiness was Yosuf. He was sitting at one corner reserving the seat next to him again with hot chocolate in his hand, I immediately went toward him, with a big smile in his face he handed me the cup. ‘How did you knew I would be on the bus?’

‘sixth sense’, he chuckled

I examined his face, looked at him baffled.

‘Have I developed a pimple on my face, why are you looking at me like that’

‘ I was just worried about you, how can you disappear all of a sudden and what happen to your mobile it’s been off for more than 4 days.’

‘I am sorry, I just got a little fever, and I lost my cellphone, just brought one yesterday.’

‘Are you okay now?’

I put my hand on his forehead, his temperature was fine.

‘I am okay, don’t worry about me’

‘ I am sorry’

‘why?’

‘About that day’

We both went silent. I regretted again for pulling that topic

After a while, he opened his mouth

‘Don’t be, it was never your fault. It’s just me I just couldn’t differentiate between friendship and love.’

‘I thought I lost you forever’, my voice cracked. I wanted to tell him how much he means to me.

‘How can you even think that, and there I was thinking how am I going to make you suffer my whole life’

he smiled looking at me I smiled back. ‘Promise me, you will never do that again’

‘do what?’

‘Disappear without words’

‘I don’t like promises but I will make sure it happens.’

I was at peace after so long. I got my best friend back. With a big smile, I went to the class. And there I saw the unexpected.

There were tears on Asma’s eyes. She was hugging everyone in the class and was silent and they weren’t happy it was exposed in their face.

‘What happened?’

I came inside

‘Visa for foreign study got approved for Asma, She is leaving us, she came today to bid us goodbye’

The ground sank for me, the flower which were blooming around me got wilted. Asma came to me ‘You were such a good friend for me, you bore all of my childish behavior and my dramas. I can never forget you.’

She hugged me with tears in her eyes, I just didn’t know what to say,

‘you said we will be together till the end’, I whispered.

Tears rolled down my eyes, more than she leaving I was worried about being alone again, I became selfish but she was the brightest ray of life there.

‘I am sorry’ she whispered to me.

She went for Asif,

‘You are the one I am gonna miss the most out there’, she hugged him and kissed on his cheek. Then she went outside. The one who was most influenced by her leaving us was me. Maybe it was self-pitying, I was confused when she came to us and when she is leaving I am baffled again. May be she came for just 2 months in my life but because of her I came close to my classmate, to Asif, she showed me new ways to see things. She used to dance in the class, sing even though she didn’t know the lyrics, and randomly kiss anyone who comes in the way. I was sitting with Upisa, Angi, Mahma and other two girls on the cafeteria, thinking about Asma

‘I don’t know, why are you so worried about her going, you have us and it don’t mean we can’t be together after this year, even though our class will be different and time will be different, we will be together just as we are now’, shouted Mahma at me

‘It’s nothing like that, I know you people will be there for me always it’s just I am confused about something else, don’t worry about me’

Meanwhile, Asif came toward us with a meal in his hands and sat next to me.

‘What happened to her?’ he asked Mahma pointed at me

‘She is like that from the morning’

‘I am hurt by the way’, said Asif looking at me

‘Why?’

‘You don’t trust me’

‘It’s not like that’

‘it is like that, you have got these girls, Yosuf, punkuj and me. By being sad you are questing every one of us’

‘I know, okay I am not sad anymore don’t worry about me, eat your meals before our class begins’

I was happy Asif came for me, he said he was with me it was more than okay.

While returning home after Upisa stop Yosuf and I were standing next to each other on the bus.

‘Yosuf, Can I request you something?’

‘what made you think you can’t?’

‘Promise me you won’t tell Asif about my crush on him’

‘I wasn’t going too, why would I be a catalyst for the relation which I am against for’, chuckled he.

‘I don’t think my crush will go on anyway’

‘why not? It would be his luck to get you’

‘He is perfect Yosuf, he is good looking, tall, great basketball player, respects everyone and can sing well too and here I am messed up. We don’t even match’

‘You are perfect Kusum, I can see it and I am sure when Asif will see what I see then he will not spare a second to be with you’

‘don’t say such things, I may fall for you’, I smiled looking at him.

‘waiting for that.’

When I reached home, I couldn’t believe my eyes seeing Asma there. I thought I won’t be able to see her again but there was she smiling at me sitting on the sofa in the guest room. I ran for her and hugged her.

‘thank god you are here, thank you for coming to me’

‘I thought hug at morning was just not enough goodbye for these 2 months of friendship. You have been an amazing friend to me. No matter where I go we will still be friends’

‘We will, because no one other than you can understand how uncomfortable I can get at every situation’

I took her to my room. She unpacked her bags and pulled three bottles of wine. We will celebrate goodbye today.

I had never drank before. I was a total virgin of smoking, drinking, kiss, s*x and everything girls of my age do.

‘Not now, we will enjoy after everyone is sound asleep’

After a while the notification ring began to rang continuously, I ignored it at first as I was with Asma but when the call kept on coming, I pulled the mob from my pocket. 5 messages and 6 missed calls. It was from Asif, there was no way I wasn’t going to answer it. I went to the washroom and picked the call

‘Why were you not picking up my calls’, shouted Asif from another side

‘I am sorry, I was a little bit busy today’, I whispered so that Asma couldn’t hear it

‘what were you doing at this hour’

‘Asma is here with me, she came here to enjoy her farewell, so I was talking with her and forgot to answer your call’

‘Asma is there, seriously. It’s okay then I was just worried that you might be depressed of Asma going far away.’

‘I am alright now, don’t worry’. Asma going foreign for the study wasn’t hampering my mind anymore as that thing was pulling me closer to Asif and for Asif, I could have done anything. It sounds selfish but it just healed me.’

After dinner, everyone went for sleep, while for Asma and me it was time for the party. I wasn’t willing to drink the wine, but she forcibly poured a little on the glass, and ordered me to drink it for her, whereas she began to drink it off the bottle. I picked up the glass and dragged my tongue to dip it into the wine. I immediately pulled out my tongue from that then, I wonder how people can drink something so smelly and bitter. I wasn’t going to taste it again, but then what Asma forced my mouth open by clenching my cheeks with her one hand and pouring with others. Wine got over my mouth, my nose and my face, and even on my bed. I freed myself from her grasp and went to the washroom to wash my face, Asma was laughing at me like a psycho. I was angry at first but when Asma started dancing on the bed on random songs like a psycho, I myself started laughing like her before. We danced together, got into a pillow fight, sang the Karaoke disturbing my neighbors and my own family members, at last after I got scolded by my mother for making noises. We slept down peacefully on the bed, Asma was drunk and I was fine except my head was going round and round sometimes.

‘Kusum, you know for the first time I felt the current in my body with someone touch and I wished to spend more and more time with him, but it all went down with my decision for foreign study, I have always put my career in the first place, I can’t abandon it for him.’

‘Asma, is him Asif?’

‘yeah, you knew him from before I knew, how can you not fall for him’

‘How can you say I am not into him’

‘you don’t express it like me, but anyway I envy you, you have got 4 years with him’

‘really’

No answer came from her, she was already asleep.