Frenemies

“Oh no, I am late today.” Kanak sighs while walking through the corridors of the college. She is hurrying up to reach her classroom as soon as possible. She didn’t want to miss anything. But in such a rush, huffing and puffing, she finally reached her class. The teacher had just started taking the roll calls. “Sir?” she knocked and asked timidly. She was naturally shy and timid. She wasn’t outgoing like other girls her age. She was sincere and studious. Mr. Agarwal raised his head when he heard her, he had an instant scowl on his aged face. “Kanak, I never expected such a behavior from you. I hope this never repeats” he replied sternly. Kanak apologized and with her head bowed down she walked in the class. She had again read an entire novel before sleeping and couldn’t wake up on time in the morning. And that’s the reason she was late today. But it was her first time being so late and she was already admonishing herself in her mind. ‘I am not going to sleep late again, not again, never again’. As she was the topper of the class with excellent grades and in good graces of the teacher she never got punished severely. She looked around the class and the only seat that was empty was near the college’s most famed guy and her ex best friend Vihaan. But with no option left, she gulped and sat down near him. There was a cold war brewing between them. The intensity of hate coming from him was just too huge and impossible for her to handle. How could their fates turn this bad? Her closest friend and her only confidant had turned against her. Why God? Its been a year now and yet they have never talked since that fateful day. She felt a tug at her heart when she remembered the circumstances they were in now. “Roll no 31?” roared a voice and that woke her from her daydreaming of the good old days she had spent with the person sitting next to her. She answered her roll call, sitting there and clumsily tried to make herself small. She was already embarrassed enough but this was like adding salt to her injuries. She just focused on her lecture ahead. She never let her social life affect her studies and she wanted to keep it that way till the end. The whole lecture she ignored the person beside her with a heavy heart. As soon as the bell rang and the teacher left the classroom, Vihaan stood up abruptly and left the classroom pretty roughly. The whole college knew that there was something up with these two, but no one ever dared to say anything to them. Vihaan was the top basketball player, a typical jock. He was an all rounder student. Kanak let all the students leave the classroom and sat there with self-pitying herself. She let the tears that she had fought to keep it in. it will never be easy, she could never forget him. She could never ignore him and also accept his betrayal. It was just too much for her. She just couldn’t take it. Not today. She wiped her tears and packed her things and left. She could always borrow notes from her friends, so she didn’t have to worry about missing anything. Almost running she reached her destination out of the college. Their college was in a very secluded area hidden in the world’s most beautiful greeneries. They were surrounded by the forests. She went deeper in the forest, well acquainted with the place she let herself go. After a five minute of walk, she found what she was searching for. It was a small cabin that she and Vihaan had made with their friends, they had the habit of camping and that’s why her dad had suggested for them to have it made. They stored their camping gears here with many other teen stuffs they did. Being the college’s owner’s only child, she had spent many vacations here in this forest and she knew this place like the back of her hand. Completely alone and no one to watch her, she let go her feelings. She sat down near a tree in front of the cabin and cried hard, crying her face in her hands and just crying nonstop. She could imagine her friends, Vihaan all chatting happily and dancing around the fire, playing Dumsheras and laughing. she could envision it as if it was really happening in front of her. She could recall each and every moment she spent with Vihaan. She loved him with whole of her heart. But just a small incident turned heir blissful friendship into a worst nightmare. Vihaan talking with her ow was just a dream she never dared to have. From being so close to each other now suddenly becoming enemies wasn’t an easy fate foe someone like her. She just couldn’t fathom the idea of not having him by her side. Its been a whole year today, today was the day that she lost the only person she ever loved so much after her parents. Yes! She lost Vihaan last year on this same day. The memory afresh and her wounds still wet. She sat there licking her wounds in the beautiful environment but Kanika was upset. Her life held no meaning to her anymore. She was just going on with her life robotically. Just living it for her parent’s sake. She had lost the spark she always had. The once joyful bumbling girl and now become an empty shell with no feelings. The only feeling she had was longing. Longing for him. She longed to hear her name from his mouth, she wanted to feel his arms around her, have the security he provided. He was her rock; he had been since she was 5. How could she digest the bitterness of the bond that took 15 years to form to be broken so easily?