The 45 minutes journey back home that day was nothing less than a torture for Raj as the girls kept attacking him verbally. Questions were asked to him like how could he leave Sapna behind? What's she gonna think about him etc etc. The other girl said confidently that Sapna would definitely reprimand Raj for what he had done and advised him to begin looking for some another girl. With a great deal of effort only he could maintain his composure and silently bore their comments till he reached his stop.
More than those girls' nagging, the fear of getting rebuked by Sapna kept Raj disturbed the whole day. He was unhappy with himself too. He should have asked the driver once more, in more pressing words. But nothing could be done now. The seniors had some exam next day so Raj was spared any more verbal attacks and he spent the time in bus thinking about what he would say to Sapna? Will she talk with him or not?
But his all doubts vanished when he saw Sapna in the same jubiliant mood like any other day. She didn't even once mention last day's events. Raj was surprised a bit but was happy too. He had spent past 16 hours under the clouds of doubts, guilty and worries for no reason at all. In fact, she was much more excited that day, even cracking jokes which she usually didn't do. Only at the end of the day did Raj come to know that she had been transferred back to her old bus. That was the reason behind the 'added happiness' to her everyday mood. Raj was sad a bit but then recollecting the past few terrible days his sadness diminished. He needn't worry anymore about the senior girls of his bus.
The days post Diwali vacations went away very quickly and soon the students were staring at the next mid term exams. Raj's 1st mid term results were a mixed bag and he wanted to improve his performance. More than anything else he wanted to impress Maitri. Sometimes he would wonder how he fell for a girl whom he hated in the initial months. Then he realised that his dislike never had any sort of substantial ground. It was more on the basis of what he had heard about her and the certain prejudices that guys have about a bold girl.
Maitri came from a reputed co-ed school and it was visible in her personality. She was smart, flamboyant and assertive. She had a big group of friends involving a no. of boys. Initailly Raj thought of her like any other bold girls with no brains visible on TV channels. But slowly his perception changed. She had performed well in 1st mid terms and was one of the topppers. What added fuel to Raj's admiration for Maitri was the praise she had received for her performance in the subject of which she had bunked the most no. of classes, by none other than but the subject teacher himself.
Raj knew he didn't have the kind of charisma to attract her and Maitri being in the other group denied any opportunitis of conversation too. Only a good show at mid terms could do something for him. He had told about his crush to a couple of guys who were his good friends. He wanted to tell Sapna too but then thought against it after a friend's advice. But this was not the only reason.
6 months into the college and the world had expanded for all of them. Beginning with just a couple of friends and a usual hi-hello with others the students had progressed to having a much bigger friend base and good bonding with the other guys of the groups as well as those from the other sections too. Raj and Sapna too had created a good friend base and Sapna had befriended all the other girls of the class (The number stood at 14). That meant their usual talk time had reduced. Most of the time they were immersed in their own groups. Also Raj's half time was spent in just thinking about Maitri. The warmth in their relation had diminished a bit. Possibly this was a reason why he didn't feel like telling Sapna about his crush. And after his friend's advice he totally abandoned the idea for a while.
She would know when the apropos time comes. Before that let the things come in motion. Let Maitri know who in the world is Raj?
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