Keeping the Promises Page 4

  “What happened man?” Shilpan blurted in anger.

  “Ask him! What have you guys done?” Aakash growled, exceeding his anger.

  “Sorry Aakash, but the three of us doesn’t remember a single thing about what happened,” Ansh said trying to calm him.

  “Drunk bastards! See for yourself what you have done,” Aakash said, pointing towards the trashes.

  “You mean, we did all this?” Shilpan asked in scepticism.

  “Every single thing – along with all the other boys in the hostel. You instigated them to do this stuff – especially you,” he said and snapped at Dhruv who was still standing with his hand on his cheek.

  “But why are you so angry with me man?” Dhruv asked, finally.

  “Come with me,” he said and took us to his room; without uttering a word, they followed. As they entered, they saw a broken chair with a white thick rope near the bed.

  “See this broken chair and rope? When you four went crazy, I tried to stop you, but this bastard tied me with these ropes and everything which occurred after that is history.” Everyone was struggling to restrain their laughter, but no one could hide a smile.

  “Sorry bro!” Gajju said with a smirk.

  “Fuck you asshole! I couldn’t sleep all night because of you motherfuckers!” Fuming Aakash groaned.

  “But where is everyone else?” Shilpan came to our rescue to change the topic.

  “Most of them have left the hostel and others are in their respective rooms.”

  “Why are you here then?” Dhruv asked. Aakash stared at him.

  “Because of you fuckers! Where the hell have you been?”

  “I don’t know! The only thing I remember is that when I woke up, I found myself in the football net and Gajju on the cricket pitch,” Ansh joined.

  “And I woke up in the central water tank. I opened my eyes when they started filling the empty tank,” Shilpan muttered.

  “What? Water tank? How the hell did you all reach there?” Aakash asked, completely astonished by the answers.

  “By the way, where is Harsh? Did he come here?” Shilpan looked around, being the first one to notice his absence.

  “I thought he was with you guys!” Aakash replied.

  “No man. He was not with us. But where the hell is he?” Ansh almost screamed in worry.

  “Don’t panic guys, just call him,” Dhruv suggested.

  “How smart Gajju! But you all smartly dropped your phones in this drawer last night,” Aakash said, pulled out their phones from the drawer and gave them back.

  Ansh looked at the screen and there were about thirty missed calls from Angie. He called her back.

  “Thank god you finally called!”

  “Angie, last night….”

  “I know. Actually the whole campus knows.”

  “What? How?”

  “You don’t remember what you have done?”

  “Sorry to say Angie, but no. I just found myself in the football ground and that’s all I know.”

  “Ansh, you…”

  “You can save your miff for later, Angie! Right now help us find Harsh if you can. He is missing.”

  “Just call him!”

  “He is the missing one Angie, not his phone.”

  “Shit. Okay, I’ll call you if I get to know anything.”

  “Okay bye!”

  Ansh ended his call and turned around and saw Shilpan waiting for him.

  “Got any information, Ansh?” Shilpan asked in worry.

  “No! I think this time, it went over the head Shilpan!” Ansh said with consternation.

  “Yeah! But right now we should focus on finding Harsh,” Shilpan said, trying his best to stay optimistic.

  They started their quest, knowing that it was necessary to find him before the warden and other officials would show up. They had about thirty minutes. They all washed their faces, changed their clothes, gargled with Listerine and went out.

  They all were on a conference call, mission objective, “Find HARSH BHAVSAR.”

  “Gajju, anything on ground floor?”

  “Negative. Just trashes allegedly created by us.”

  “Shilpan, on first floor?”

  “Negative.”

  “Aakash, second floor?”

  “Negative.”

  “Ansh, Third floor?”

  “Negative – just seeing every one laughing at me.”

  “Same here dude!”

  “I think we rocked it last night, what say Aakash?”

  “Fuck you, Gajju!”

  “Come and do it by yourself.”

  “Stop this cat fight guys and concentrate on finding him.”

  “Guys, I have to disconnect. Angie’s call is intervening continuously. I think she has got something,” Ansh disconnected himself from the conference call and called her.

  “Hello!”

  “Ansh, I’ve found him.”

  “Where?”

  “At the north outer lobby of the second floor.”

  “What? In the girls’ hostel?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Man! Let me inform others. Angie, just keep an eye on him.”

  “Okay.”

  Ansh then called Aakash, who seemed the most responsible guy at that time.

  “Dude, I’ve got some good news and some bad.”

  “Could that bad be worse than what we have right now?”

  “Indeed.”

  “Then don’t tell me Ansh.”

  “Harsh is on the second floor.”

  “That’s great yaar! But I’m on the second floor and I can’t find him.”

  “Because he is on the second floor of the girls’ hostel.”

  Disconnected.

  ‘Responsible guy my ass!’ Ansh shrugged.

  After two minutes, Dhruv called him.

  “Ansh, is it true?”

  “Yes, Gajju! Angie just found him there.”

  “Okay then you go there, I’m on my way.”

  Within five minutes, they all gathered. Angie was standing on the second floor where harsh was lying.

  “Just wake him Angie,” Ansh signalled and she followed.

  Within two minutes, he looked down with his unsteady eyes and looked as ambivalent as the rest of them were when they had woken up.

  “Dude, what are you doing upstairs?” Aakash shouted.

  “No point in asking that Aakash!” Shilpan said.

  “What happened guys? How the hell did I get here?” Harsh said, clearly baffled.

  “We are yet to find out, dude. Were you sober when you arrived here?” Dhruv asked.

  “Not even in my dreams, Dhruv!” he answered.

  “Then how did you climb up asshole?” Aakash yelled. Ansh calmed him by signalling Angie’s presence there.

  Before they could come up with a better idea, Dhruv started climbing through edges and jumped onto the first floor. In an attempt of being spider-man – well he didn’t do it in the signature spider-man way – he surely did it in a monkey way.

  “Oh shit! Warden is coming. Gajju, Harsh hide,” Shilpan yelled as he saw the warden coming.

  “Dude, we can get rusticated if he finds Gajju and Harsh,” Aakash muttered.

  “Shut up man! Be positive. None of this is going to happen.” Ansh tried to calm everyone, but somewhere inside, he knew that optimism was not his forte.

  “What are you doing here, boys? Stalking girls?” Warden suspiciously asked.

  “No, sir! I called my friend to give me some notes,” Ansh said taking the charge.

  “So where is she? And why are you not waiting for her outside the front gate?” Warden asked apprising that he wasn’t dumb at all.

  They all looked up, but no one was there. Ansh tried to call her again, but got no response!

  ‘No man she cannot leave me here like this. She has to help us. Only she can.’ Ansh thought.

  “She will be coming soon sir!” Ansh confidently said.

  “That won’t be needed,” he said
and took out his phone.

  “Hello, girls’ hostel? Have a look at all floors of north wings, and then report to me.” His call scared them as he had already sensed something fishy by their hesitation and unnecessary fear.

  “Who scathed all this college property?” He asked with suspicious eyes.

  “We don’t know, sir!” Shilpan answered.

  “As expected. Everyone in the hostel is saying that. Then who did this? Ghosts? There are reports of some drunken students shouting all night and sleeping on the grounds. If any one of you knows anything about them, I warn you, speak up.” He said in fury; that was the best thing about their hostel life, unity. No one took even a single name.

  ‘If any official didn’t see us there, we are saved.’ Ansh sighed.

  They all stood pale, trying their best to avoid any more conversations and only then they saw Dhruv and Harsh coming out from the front gate of the girls’ hostel along with female wardens.

  ‘Fuck man, what are you guys doing? Are you out of your mind?’ Aakash shuddered.

  They all started sweating and the heat was merely playing any part in that perspiration. They came closer and joined the rest.

  “I’ve called my father. He is on his way. My friends are innocent; please let them go, sir!” Dhruv said.

  “You are not the one to decide that; the committee will decide. Let your father come. Till then you all are prohibited from leaving the hostel and campus. Follow us to my cabin,” he said and started walking; they followed him without sharing a word.

  They were sitting outside the warden’s office, waiting for Mr. Kaushik Gajjar, Dhruv’s father.

  “Should we inform our parents too?” Shilpan asked, being concerned.

  “Not needed bro. Let my dad come, he will handle everything for everyone,” Gajju confidently answered.

  “I hope he does, because you are the real culprit, not us,” snapped still agitated Aakash.

  “Stop picking on him man! Bash me instead, we all are here because of me and I don’t even remember how I got up there,” Harsh said, lifting his hand to his brow and rubbing his sweating forehead.

  “None of us do buddy,” Gajju, who managed to keep himself composed, said.

  “I do,” said Aakash.

  “What?” Harsh asked in disguise.

  “Ansh found himself in the football net. Gajju on the cricket pitch and I found myself inside the central water trunk as I woke up. None of us remember how we got there,” Shilpan answered, taking a deep audible sigh.

  “Fucking hell!” Blurted dumbstruck Harsh.

  “Want to see something more interesting?” Gajju simpered.

  “What?”

  “Have a look at the basketball court!” Harsh stood up and walked there.

  “Don’t tell me we did all this.” His eyes went wide open like saucers.

  “All you fuckers were involved,” Aakash said.

  “Except you fatty! Sorry to restrain you from joining the party,” Gajju winked.

  “Gajju, but why did you come out? I was calling Angie and she could’ve saved us,” Ansh intervened, obviously to avoid their collision.

  “I know Ansh! Even Angie offered us to hide in her room, but what after that? The hostel was already on high alert and if anyone would have caught me, Harsh and Angie together, then you can imagine how much trouble it could bring for her. So I sent her back and told her not to respond to you at the moment. I would never risk any girl’s reputation to save my ass, and Angie? She is my beloved ‘Bhabhijan’, so how could I?” He chuckled. Ansh couldn’t manage to respond, however, he wanted Dhruv to keep teasing him, and somehow Dhruv knew it too.

  “But why did you call your father this soon? I mean you played a safe side for us, but you can get rusticated for this. We should have faced the consequences together, not you alone,” Shilpan said apprising his faith in team work.

  “Let him come. You will understand why I called him. He will surely have a word with me, admonish me for not getting involved again, but he will save us for sure. And my passing grades will play agonists in this too,” Gajju’s faith in his father was playing the role of Glucon-D for the rest.

  Meanwhile, Ansh saw Mr. Gajjar coming and poked Dhruv. Dhruv suddenly changed his position and sat quietly – staring at his toes. He saw Ansh and smiled. He too greeted him with his eyes. He ignored Dhruv. As the warden saw him through the glass, he came out to greet him; they shook hands and went inside.

  After about ten minutes, the warden came out and asked Ansh to come inside alone and he followed.

  “So tell me Ansh, what happened? What was Dhruv doing in the girls’ hostel?” Mr. Kaushik asked.

  ‘How do I know uncle! I don’t even know what I was doing on the football ground.’ Ansh thought, but he knew this answer of him would confirm their involvement in property loss.

  “There was a bet between them uncle, for who can climb it! They had no intention to harm any girl, sir!” He looked at the warden and he was smiling too, along with Mr. Gajjar. Ansh too knew that there was no way on earth they would have believed him.

  “I told you, sir! This must be one of his mischiefs. He has been mischievous from childhood. Besides, he means no harm to anyone ever. You can ask Ansh. He is Dhruv’s friend since the day they both marked their first step in school,” Mr. Gajjar defended his son’s actions.

  ‘Are they convinced? Seriously? No way, I bet I would find uncle’s cheque-book in his pocket.’

  “But stepping into the girls’ hostel without permission is a criminal offence, Mr. Gajjar!” the warden said. Ansh thought to increase the amount of his argument.

  “Well, I think that should be settled sir! You want me to call our dean and talk about this? At last he is going to be the one to take a final decision.” Then Ansh began to understand why Gajju called his father. Few more cheques and Dhruv might get a room inside the girls’ hostel. Well, he wouldn’t mind joining him there. No one would.

  “It is okay, Mr. Gajjar, but there is one problem. I can save them from legal actions, but your son will have to leave the hostel,” Warden said.

  Kaushik uncle looked at Ansh and smiled.

  ‘Yes, it worked uncle. Bingo! No more cheques!’

  “That won’t be a problem sir! I already have an unused property in Vadodara City, which is just ten kilometres away from here. They will shift there, and I’m sure that property damage you are talking about, they are not involved in that.” Ansh lifted his gaze at the warden; he wasn’t happy, wasn’t even smiling. He was sure that warden wasn’t happy with what he had to get settled with; lack of evidence, thank you.

  Three of them came out. All friends were looking at Ansh with a big question mark expression. He just had to smile and wink; it was enough for them to understand they all could sigh in relief.

  “Dhruv and Harsh, you will have to write an apology letter for getting MISPLACED in the girls’ hostel,” the warden said.

  “And you and Ansh are going to shift to our house in the city. Your friends can also join you there if they want. Ansh, don’t worry, I’ll inform your parents about it,” Mr. Gajjar said.

  “Yes, uncle!” He meekly replied.

  “And I’m expecting you two at the parking lot. I want to have a word with you two.” He demanded and walked out.

  “Dude, your dad is really cool! He settled everything in less than thirty minutes!” Shilpan said in joy.

  “You have seen only one side of him bro! Now I’m going to face another.” He was right, so right. As they walked to the parking lot, they saw him standing outside his car waiting for them. His driver was sitting inside.

  “First of all, congratulations to you both for the result!” He was calm. It was the same silence that calms everything before the tornado; the real tornado was waiting to explode.

  “Thanks uncle!” Ansh said and he smiled.

  “Thanks dad!” Gajju said and he didn’t respond.

  “Just answer my question. Are you responsible for that pro
perty damage? And I’m sure you have a good reason to convince my faith in you why you went in girls’ hostel,” he said.

  “May be dad,” he replied looking down.

  ‘Man! Are you nuts? What the fuck do you want to be? An ideal son?’

  “What do you mean by may be?” Mr. Gajjar asked with a confused and angry look. They were sweating by that time and this time too, the heat was merely playing a minor role.

  “Dad, when results came out, we decided to party, and alcohol was also included in it for the first time. After that what happened is still an enigma. I climbed there because my friend was there and no one knows how he reached there.” He answered.

  Mr. Gajjar looked at Ansh, this time not smiling. He knew Dhruv was going to get the piece of his meat. Ansh was thinking about intervening, but before he could come up with something, SLAP!!! A father slapped his son tightly; this was the second time Dhruv was getting slapped on the same day.

  “Ansh, in the past, when he used to get into things like these, you were the one who always pulled him out. But I guess this time you also got carried away with him!!” He was right. Ansh looked down.

  ‘Just don’t slap me man! I’m not your son. Even my father doesn’t slap.’

  “Promise me Dhruv! That this is the last time I’m pulling you out of this mess.”

  “Promise dad,” Dhruv said.

  “Now, you see that new white Volkswagen Vento?” He asked, pointing towards a new white car.

  “Yes, dad!” Dhruv said, barely glanced at it.

  “This is for you, as I promised. You passed the first year with grace marks but you passed, so here it is.” Dhruv got his energy back in no time and hugged Mr.Gajjar in joy. Ansh was just witnessing a great father-son equation.

  “Listen, drive responsibly. When you are holding the steering wheel in your hand, you don’t hold just your life, but you hold the lives of all other people who care for you. If you over speed it and something occurs, it affects their lives more than yours,” Mr.Gajjar instructed, handed the keys to Gajju and sat in his car.

  After he went, they started walking towards the hostel.

  “Dude you almost got us killed,” Ansh said.

  “No buddy, it was an obligation for me to tell him the truth. If you remember a few years back, when I got in some serious trouble, I lied to him, which led me into more trouble. Then he took a promise from me that I won’t tell a lie whenever I would get in any trouble. That’s why…”