Besotted

Lochan was driving his bike fast through the traffic, humming his favorite tune with a smile on his face, he was going to met his friend Pulak. He had made up his mind after so many long discussions and thoughts, his feelings for Tarana has to be told. But before that Lochan decided to meet Pulak, three of them knew each other right from their school days. They are now studying in same engineering college but Tarana was in different department, Pulak and Lochan had managed to get into same department and luck was with them as they were in the same section too.

Lochan still remembered his first encounter with Tarana, it was during their seventh standard. The new class teacher being a radical lady came up with an idea of mixing up bright and average students. Hence Lochan, the class bottom most was made to sit with the class topper, Tarana. Lochan despised Tarana from the first moment, he never liked studious people, Tarana being topper made it to the top of Lochan's hate list. The first mid term mark sheets were given, Lochan and Pulak spectacularly managed to score single digits in all of the subjects, they both beamed at each other when found teachers could actually give mark for what they wrote. On the other hand, as expected, Tarana came first on all subjects. Lochan never uttered a word, in fact he didn't turn to her side.

Their next term exam was getting closer, the bell was about to ring for lunch, just then:
Tarana: "Hello...!"
Lochan didn't even realize that she could speak to him, so he didn't even turn his head, went back to sincerely finishing the doodle he started during the class.
Tarana: "Hello Lochan...!"
Lochan was shocked, "She can speak...! she knows my name!!! how!! May be I should get back to my doodle! she has nothing to do with me!"
Tarana saw his reaction, it was as though somebody stole his money, his mouth half open in surprise, she started thinking if she had said his name right. "Er... Lochan.. right?"
Lochan, only nodded his head... "She was talking to him... Oh god...why? why can't she see I am busy with my work!!"
Tarana: "Are you planning on passing this time at least?"
Lochan's reaction changed instantly, no body can question him, only his parents can scold him about his marks, he was least bothered about what others thought about his mark. what's wrong with this girl? "Hey Listen.. If I want,  I can beat you in all subjects.. ok? go and play with your girl pals..! I don't have time to talk with you!"
Tarana's reaction didn't change one bit, she kept looking at him, Lochan found it strange, he knew he had touched her nerve, but her face didn't show anything... "oh god... is she going to complaint to the class teacher or worst the head master?"
Tarana: "Don't worry small boy! I'm not going to complain to class teacher or head master!" saying this she left for her lunch.
Lochan mouth fell open, literally, he was astonished how she mouthed the exact same words, he made a mental note to be be careful with this girl.

Rest of the day went with out much eye contact, when the final bell rang, Lochan hurriedly picked up his bag and was about to leave, just then again he heard her voice, it sent shivers up his spine.
Tarana: "why do you fail?"
Lochan: why does she have to talk? why can't see just mind her own job!.. "cause i don't like studying"
Tarana: " You don't like studying anything or you  don't understand English" saying this she giggled.
Lochan was furious, he may be weak in studies but he proud-ed himself in his English, he picked up his English watching so many English movies in TV. He didn't want to reply to her, he had nothing to prove to her, he picked up his bag and was moving out.
Tarana: "So English is your problem!"
Lochan was so angry that he could throw a punch, he bit his teeth hard, it was not manners to hit a girl, but he knew he can threaten her: "Listen smarty pants, I don't have to reply to you, if you ever speak to me again then make sure to wear a helmet, next time my hand will be talking, I can't stand your stupid voice!" , he stormed out saying that.
Pulak: "Throw ink on her dress if she speaks to you again!"
Lochan smiled, happy that his friend shared the same feeling, "Haa Haa good idea... but she will start crying like a baby.. haa haa... I threatened her enough, she won't talk again."

Next day, the math teacher conducted a surprise test, both Lochan and Pulak submitted  blank papers, the teacher instantly found took out their sheets and was furious.
Teacher: "Both of you are good for nothing, even the animals can understand math, I feel sorry for your parents, wasting their money on you, instead they could have got a cattle. You both won't even help your parents with his kind of attitude, after growing up you will only end up as burden to your parents...." the scolding went on and on.. the whole period was dedicated to them, when the assault ended the whole class was laughing at both of them. when the teach walked out of period, she let a lethal blow: " Both of you sit and have your lunch... at least for that you won't be needing your parents help, but for everything else in your life you both will be needing your parents."
Pulak walked out of class almost in tears, Lochan sat on his seat, his eyes closed tight, he didn't want tear to roll out, the class was empty, when he heard the voice:
Tarana: "Why don't you study?"
Lochan: "Listen Tarana, now is not good time, i don't need any provocation to punch you.. please leave me alone!" he thought to himself, I don't need this stupid girl's sympathy.
Tarana: " I am not showing you any sympathy, Lochan. I am only trying to help you pass... if only you could pass, then you don't have to be embarrassed like this...! Fine, I am leaving...!"
Lochan, again, half shocked and astonished on how she could read his mind...  "I don't like to study a lot, I can hardly study for an hour, I can't by heart or remember all the big essays" .. he wasn't sure if it was her mind reading ability or his embarrassed situation which made him talk to her.
Surprised Tarana turned to him, so he is not that dumb after all : "If you problem is studying for long hours or long answers why not study short ones?"
Lochan: "What do you mean?"
Tarana: "Have you ever fully studied the question paper?"
Lochan glared at her, Tarana continued: "We have 15 two mark questions and two 10 mark questions, why don't you study 2 marks, that is more than enough to get you past the half way mark!"
Lochan kept looking at her, is she really that smart or is she making this up? "So for the coming term exam, i'll pass if i just study all two marks alone?"
Tarana, nodded : "Yes, we will have exam on two chapters, if you can study say 20 two mark questions, you should be easily able to pass."
Lochan eyes narrowed: "Why doesn't everyone pass easily then? why are you trying to help me? are you trying to make me a fool?"
Tarana rolled her eyes "Hello Mister, I don't care if you pass or fail, everyone tries to study the essay the first and lose half their time, two chapters will easily have ten essay questions, which doesn't fetch full marks either."
Lochan: "Then how do you score first mark?"
Tarana eyes narrowed: "Why are you bothered how i get my marks? this is about you alone.. try to pass" saying this she left.

Lochan, stuck to this simple plan, he wrote almost all the two marks in exams, when results came, to everyone's surprise, Lochan and Pulak had just passed in all the papers, first time this has happened.
Tarana with a sarcastic smile on her face: "So you ain't that dumb!"
Lochan, was not angry, but he didn't smile either, in a very feeble voice he said "Thank you!"
Tarana: "You studied you passed, why thank me for it?! good thing you made Pulak study, else he is hopeless!"
Lochan smiled, she wasn't bad after all, Tarana: "Oh! you can smile too ah?"
Lochan lips widened into a grin. From then on, both the boys took Tarana's help, she would mark them all the two marks, they would study that sincerely and pass the exam. It was surprising that in higher class, Lochan and Pulak answered many simple questions asked by teacher when most of the class failed, many concepts and formula's needed in higher classes were from two marks of lower classes, this helped the boys to study better.

Today, Lochan knew his way around exam, he was a decent scorer now. But his feelings for Tarana grew immensely from school days. Lochan reached Pulak's home and both went upstairs.
Pulak: "I saw your SMS, are you really going to?"
Lochan only smiled and nodded.
Pulak slapped on his shoulders: "Super! so when are you going to tell her?"
Lochan: "when she comes back from her tuition...! Do you remember the empty lane next to market, where we used to play during school days, she crosses that road to get to her home, i'll corner her there and tell her."
Pulak: "Shaaabhaash!! when will she be coming back?"
Lochan looked at his watch : "Her class gets over in ten minutes, it will take another twenty minutes for her to get there...! dude, I am very nervous!"
Pulak: "Stop it! She likes you from day one, I have been telling you this all along, just go and tell her, she will accept surely!! After all it was she who spoke to you first in class remember?"
Lochan lips spread out wide, "OK, I am leaving, i'll call you after the meet, pick up the call!" saying this he ran out of his house.

Lochan reached the place in fifteen min, he still had solid fifteen minutes before Tarana reached the place, he was nervous even though he knew her for long, he wanted to make sure he chose the right words to express his feelings. The deserted lane were full of empty wooden cartons from the near by market, Lochan sat on carton and started thinking what he should say to her exactly when he heard a deep crisp slow voice of a stranger.

Stranger: "Keep the box inside the scooter seat and make sure to lock the scooter!"
Lochan's held his breath and started listening closely.
Stranger: "After you park the scooter go to the discussed location as quickly as possible and wait, I'll call you again and give you the number to dial, make sure you don't waste any time and dial the number i share immediately from your mobile, it will set off the BOMB!"
Lochan's start skipped a beat, were they planting a bomb? what should he do now? run way? or try catching this fellow?
Stranger continued to speak: "Remember, don't stay very close to the blast radius, we want you to get hurt but not die, if you are dead then no use to us or your family, if you are hurt then even the police will not suspect you and you can be happy with your family! Alright? I'll call you in ten min, now go quickly!"
Lochan heard the sound of call being disconnected, a pile of tall cartons were in between Lochan and the stranger, neither could see each other. Lochan heart beat grew louder, he started to think, if he starts running there is a good chance that he might be caught , no point in screaming as this was empty lane, if only he could attack the stranger and take away his mobile phone, he could stop the bomb attack. Lochan heard footsteps coming towards him, he held a wooden carton tightly in his hand, his plan was to launch a surprise attack on head of the stranger which would make him fall then he can grab the mobile and make a run for it. Lochan waited patiently with a wooden carton. When the foot steps got closer, Lochan swung the wooden carton towards the stranger and hell broke loose. The stranger was well built and above six foot tall, the wooden carton hit him on the chest area which made him stumble back but not fall, Lochan putting his entire weight in the swing, fell to the ground because of the impact with the stranger.

The confused and surprised stranger neatly pulled out a gun from his pocket, Lochan who was on the ground recovered quickly as he noticed what happened and took another swing, this time aimed at the gun. The nails in the wooden carton pierced through the strangers hand, at the same time the stranger pulled the trigger. Both of them fell down this time, Lochan was scared but he knew he will die if he failed to get up quickly, he collected his strength and swung the wooden carton again aiming stranger's head who was still on ground. The carton crashed against stranger's forehead, nails in the carton had cut through vein's in his temple, the stranger went unconscious. Lochan breathed heavily, he wanted to run, he turned around but couldn't run, he saw blood on his hands, he was bleeding, the shot fired by the stranger had hit him on lower right side rib.
The amount of blood loss made him realize he needed medical attention soon else he won't survive. He was scared, his mind kept showing him his parents faces, tears rolled down his cheeks, he couldn't scream cause that will cause even more blood to ooze out. He remembered Tarana, he beautiful face, he knew how deeply he loved and respected her, he didn't want to die, not this day, he wanted to say how much he loved her, he wanted to live with her, he tried to calm down his mind but he was becoming weak. Lochan fell down, he used his free hand to get his mobile, he remember he had kept speed dial number 5 for Pulak and 6 for Tarana, he tried calling Tarana knowing she must be in vicinity. His trembling fingers pressed number 5, he phone at other end rang, his friend Pulak picked up his phone.
Pulak: "Hello...!?! Lochan..? Can you hear me? what happened? did you tell her??"
There was no reply to his questions, irritated Pulak disconnected the call!
Pulak picked up his phone and dialed Lochan's number, he phone was ringing but it was not answered.
Pulak tried again, still no answer, the worried friend kept dialing Lochan's number without a gap.
Lochan's phone kept ringing in the silent lane, bodies of two people on the road with few meters apart. Tarana was on her way back home, she crossed the lane exactly when Lochan's phone was ringing, Lochan's phone had an irritating ring tone, it was surprising for Tarana to hear the same ring tone here, she stopped to look, see saw two men's body on road and a mobile was ringing. She knew something was wrong and alerted the people near the market.

An ambulance carried Lochan to the nearby hospital, Tarana was right next to Lochan, the first aid in ambulance had helped him little, he opened his eyes to see Tarana crying, she held his hand tight. Lochan had imagined many lines and practiced the right set of words to express his love, he looked deeply into Tarana's eyes with all his love, he could only move his finger, he was trying to spell out his feelings, but Tarana's hand moved to his lips and she shook her hand signalling him not to speak. Tears poured profusely in their eyes, Tarana came close to Lochan and slowly spoke in his ears: "I LOVE YOU TOO...!" Lochan smiled feebly, he thought to himself, of course she can read his mind, he knew everything was going to be fine now.