The Wrong Number

Chapter - 11

                                                                                     ‘The dilemma’   

Only Sneha could tell me about that.  I dialed her number, she picked the phone on the third ring.

“Aniket is free now,” I said as soon as she picked the call.

“Okay, I’m coming,” she said and disconnected the call. She didn’t attempt to talk to me any further. It didn’t look like she had any interest in me at all, unlike her that mischievous look which was saying something else. I might get that in a wrong way, I thought. I was still thinking about her when the doorbell rang. I got up to open the door and Aniket started packing his bag. She was at the door, standing there, looking straight into my eyes in the same way she did before, the same spark was there in her eyes. It was like those eyes wanted to see straight through me. When I couldn’t withstand that stare anymore, I took my eyes off. By the time Aniket reached the door.

“Thank you,” he said while going out and joining her sister.

“No problem,” I answered. I was about to close the door when she asked,” When you can take Aniket’s class again?”

“I don’t know but I will let you know whenever it would be possible,” I replied.

“Okay, thanks,” she said and went away with Aniket. I again stood there, staring at her going away. I found her somehow irresistible. There was this aura of her which was quite captivating and at the same time unendurable. I closed the door, came inside, and sat on the sofa. I saved her number on my phone and thought to text her but it didn’t feel right to me. What if she thought I was wooing her? I didn’t want to put any kind of the wrong impression on her; after all, she was my neighbor. To my surprise, I almost forgot about the wrong number for that evening. That was quite strange as her thoughts were not easy to ignore in those days. I remained on the sofa until mom returned from the market. I checked the time; it was showing at half-past seven p.m.

“How was the class?” she asked while putting the grocery on the table.

“Fine, as usual,” I replied.

“Are you hungry?” she asked.

“Not much,” I said.

“Okay,” she said and went to the kitchen to prepare the dinner and I came back into my room. There still were a couple of hours left for ‘her’ to call me and I had to spend that in-between time somehow. I was thinking of my options to pass the time when my phone beeped. It was a text on Watsapp, it was Sneha’s text. I felt like my heart skipped the beat for a second. I didn’t anticipate her text at all and it was not a simple greeting message, those words were surprising too.

“For how long you were going to make me wait for your text?” it was her message. She asked as if we knew each other quite well. I couldn’t think of any answer for some time.

“I’m sorry, who is this?” I tried to pretend to not know her number. Why couldn’t I think of a better line to start a conversation?

“Oh really, as if you haven’t saved my number yet,” she replied cleverly.

“No, I seriously doubt that I know you,” I continued pretending, I was so dim-witted.

“Then I guess I have sent text to a wrong person,” she replied. I couldn’t understand if she genuinely mistook me with someone else or was just baffling with me, but one thing came clear to me, I was defeated. I could either accept my defeat by telling her the truth or could say her goodbye which I didn’t want to say. The effect of those deep-set alluring eyes was still there which was making me excited. I was feeling a very strong urge to talk to her since I had seen those eyes. I wanted to know the truth behind that gaze but at the same time, I didn’t want her to know that she thwarted my plan.

“I was just teasing. Of course, I know who you are,” I tried to act innocently.

“Why didn’t you text me first?” she asked.

“Why should I have to do that, the text?” I asked in return.

“Because you too were interested in me, I sensed that from the way you were looking at me when I was going away. I felt your eyes on me,” she texted. I was amazed by her boldness and she was saying those words in a way that was not making me embarrassed. She used the word ‘too’ in her text. ‘I too were interested in her’, it means she is interested in me too but since how long? I thought. I wanted to talk to her on-call but I didn’t for two reasons. First, I hadn’t had enough courage, and second, it was not appropriate to talk to her when there already was another girl in my life. Even though we were not in any kind of love relationship, still I didn’t want to betray her. So, I decided to do the opposite, not talking to Sneha on call.

“I think you took me in the wrong way. I had no such intentions that can make you feel or think in this way,” I tried to prove her wrong.

“You are lying, my perception couldn’t be wrong. Weren’t you staring at me when I was going away, twice?” she asked.

“Yes I was, but my purpose was not wrong,” I tried to explain but she was stubborn. She didn’t want to accept that I wasn’t interested in her. I think she took that on her pride. After all, she was quite a beauty. Her body was slender yet not thin, her complexion was fair with a fine bloom, and her waist-length hairs played a perfect role to enhance her attractiveness but the most striking part of her body was her eyes. She was well aware of her beauty that might be the reason it was quite hard for her to admit that I had a lack of interest in her when she might be the fantasy of her entire college guys. I thought I made her a bit furious by not being fascinated with her, which made me smile.

“What was your purpose then?” she asked. I didn’t reply for some time and that made her more impatient as she texted again in a few minutes,” Are you there?” Yes, I was there but I didn’t want her to know I was there.

“I’m going to have my dinner,” I replied even when I was just going to stay in my bed. I was enjoying playing with her loftiness.

“Text me when you will be back, I want to talk to you about Aniket’s study,” her text came. That message of her almost made me laugh because I knew she was lying. Her intent was different, she wanted me to prove her right, and I was looking forward to shatter her haughtiness as much as possible. I pretended not to read her text and put my phone aside. Being playful with her was giving me a different kind of pleasure. I was still smiling when my mom called me downstairs for dinner. I took no time to go as I was feeling quite hungry. I sat on the dining chair opposite to my mom. I wanted to ask her about Sneha but I wasn’t sure from where should I start the conversation.

“I didn’t know Aniket has a sister,” I tried to start a talk.

“You should indulge yourself more often in the society around us,” she replied and ended the conversation quite quickly. We finished the rest of our dinner in silence. I came back into my room as soon as I finished eating and picked my phone to text back to Sneha but then thought to do some more delay. I wanted her to wait. I checked the time, only one hour was left for the wrong number to call me. I wanted to talk to her on call and at the same time I wanted to continue my conversation with Sneha too, but I couldn’t do both at the same time. I had to choose. After giving some thought, I chose the wrong number and put my phone aside without texting Sneha. That was a decision I was going to regret afterward.