Kismet's Odyssey

-ONE-

The school building looked brighter with new coat of paint. Miloni was surprised by the colour. So far, she had only seen the building in drab shades but this finish looked brighter.

“Mili this is so nice……” her friend gushed looking at the newly painted outer wall.

“What is so new dude? It looks the same to me!” the cynic in the group, Sherry declared.

“For once, be truthful Sherry. The building finally looks friendly,” Ajitha responded.

Miloni, Sherry, Ajitha and Nitya were a gang of four friends who caught the attention of every boy in the school. Senior most in the school, with only six months left for the final exams and graduation, the girls have dated most of the boys.

Except of course Arko and Tuhin! Both were poles apart. If Tuhin loved debates, Arko played football. And if Tuhin emerged first in the class, Arko came last. Tuhin and Arko hated each other and never dated the same girl. The tall and sexy Arko has dated almost every one of the girls in the school, except the gang of four girls. Some of the girls also liked Tuhin but he never asked any girl out on date. The hearsay was that he was head over heels in love with a girl but no one knew the identity of the girl. Miloni, her girl gang, Arko and Tuhin belonged to the same class but in different sections. Tuhin was the nerd and he was studying science to be an aeronautics engineer.  Arko was the son of a business man and he hoped to take over the reins of his father’s business. Miloni loved sports and she hoped to become a national swimming champion.

They resided in a small mining town called Kymore  but the three of them lived in different colonies. Arko lived in the posh locality where the rich, like the head of the school, the mining company’s chief, the district collector and a few others resided. Tuhin lived in the colony of the heads of the management of the mining company and Miloni lived in the lower-income colony where her father, like other workers of that cadre had their quarters. He taught in the training institute. Unlike Tuhin’s or Arko’s house, Miloni’s house was small with two bedrooms. Her two older brothers occupied the second bed room and she was left with a small place for herself in the closed veranda at the back of the house.  Her second brother who was two years older than her had secured an admission in the training institute of the mining company and her eldest brother who was four years her senior, had got a job in the Thermal Power Company that was also part of the town.

Post the incident with the auto rogues on the last day of the vacation, Miloni and her friends had searched for the biker all over the mining town but he was never seen anywhere after he rescued Miloni from the miscreants. A couple of times, Miloni waited on the same road with her friends at the time of the day when he usually sped past her, hoping for a sight of him. But alas! he did not appear. Even during the summer carnival in the town, Miloni looked everywhere for a similar bike, only to be disappointed at the end of the day.

Now, as the school reopened, her brother dropped her to school on his way to the institute.

As the friends walked to their classroom, Nithya exclaimed, “Guys, do you know Arko is dating our history sir’s daughter.”

“What? You mean that tragic aunt?” Sherry whispered the nickname of the girl who never smiled at anyone.

“Yep!”

“Hello bitches!”

Anita, the school captain greeted them with a slap and fist punch. Together, they sauntered inside the building and running their eyes over the notes pinned on the board, they greeted their old friends.

A commotion at the end of the corridor caught the girls’ attention. It was Arko……

Tall with a languid charm, his lean build and sexy voice attracted the girls’ attention. His handsome and brown eyes were often the subject of aspiring artists in the school as well as the town. Having a rich father heightened his popularity. Only Miloni and the other three girls seemed immune to his attraction, although they too secretly wished for his attention.

Some of the younger boys too were either in love or in awe of Arko. He was the captain of the football team, played guitar and sang soulfully. He also changed girlfriends every month. His latest arm candy was the daughter of the History teacher.

Miloni noticed the dainty but serious girl named Bani by his side. She wondered how such two different personalities could date each other. It was probably true that opposites attract each other. Bani and Miloni had studied together since kinder garden and although they were not close friends, they were warm with each other. Bani did not mingle with other friends of Miloni.

Now as she walked beside Arko, she gave a half-hearted smile at Miloni. Arko glanced at all of them and with a self-assured nod, turned away. Making a face at him, the four girls advanced to the hall. The large room had stepped seating arrangement. Many rows of two-seating desks and chairs were arranged. Miloni and Sherry sat along the window in the first row, and Ajitha and Nithya sat in front of them. It was their usual routine to take seats like that. While they placed their bags and settled down, they saw Arko strolling in, followed by Bani. A hush fell on the room and everyone stared at them openly. Arko paused, turned around slightly, took Bani’s hand and walked to the last row in the room. Other students started filing in and everyone took the available seats. Miloni and her gang was quite popular in the school and everyone greeted them, hoping to be in their good books.

While her friends caught up with others, Miloni saw the new boy Tuhin entering with his lazy strides along with his one and only friend Devesh.

Miloni eyed him with interest. Tuhin joined the school that year and six months of the year had passed without any communication between Miloni and Tuhin although they always viewed each other with interest. He was not the best-looking guy but he was attractive and Miloni found his shy demeanour very charming. His glasses added to his charm. Slim and sinewy, his eyes and smile were his best features. Miloni’s friends often tried to arrange dates for them by finding opportunities but Miloni was adamant that she would not go on a date with Tuhin. Somehow, she enjoyed the distant flirting and did not want to end up getting disappointed.

The lecture began and the students turned their attention to their teacher and the presentation monitor. Forty-five minutes flew by and the bell indicated that the class was over. They had to change classrooms for optional subjects for the next class. Miloni was the only one who opted for the subject of citizenship; the study of democracy, justice, rights and responsibilities. While she went in one direction, her friends strode to the other direction. Entering the smaller room, she took a corner seat and chatted with others. Following her, Tuhin entered and he took the seat behind her. They smiled at each other tentatively. Miloni was surprised by his appearance. He had not opted for that subject last term.

“Hi Miloni,” Tuhin greeted and Miloni turned back in surprise.

“Hi, you were not in this class last semester,” she blurted out.

“No, I changed my optional subject. I am hoping to catch up on the missed lectures.”

As soon as the lecturer entered, his attention was drawn to Tuhin, “Tuhin, you have missed six or seven lectures so get the help of someone who had attended these lectures earlier and help yourself.”

“Sure sir!”

The class ended and Milon gathered her books and notes.

“Hey Miloni,” Tuhin’s voice halted her and she looked back at him.

“Will you help me with the earlier notes? I would be thankful if you could help me,” Tuhin’s eyes almost pleaded and Miloni stared at his bespectacled face. A strange excitement gripped her and she nodded.

His face beaming, he said, “Great, I will meet you after the next class in the canteen. I think you too have a break then so I will take it from you.”

And then he was gone….

Miloni blinked as she reflected over his sudden interest in her company.

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