In She Stood By Me, Tarun Vikash captures the chaos and charm of young love—long-distance calls, meddling friends, and the bittersweet journey of two people trying to hold on to each other when life keeps pulling them apart.
Wake up you fool, we are getting late,’ I yelled out but to no avail; Manish stayed sleeping. And why wouldn’t he? I have no doubt he had spent the entire night on the phone, trying
to convince his ex-girlfriend to accept him again.
There is nothing like self-respect in his life. He loves being around girls. Girls flatter him, he flatters girls and the cycle goes on. I hate it. Why? Because unlike him, I have no options. I am terrified of speaking to girls, not that there is anything wrong with that. Not all guys are extroverts. I had issues talking to girls in the past and I have issues even today.
I hate myself for being like this but I hate Manish too. Last night, he spoke to the only girl I ever liked as if he had known her forever.
‘Manish, get up, for god’s sake? Look at your watch,
damn it,’ I shouted and kicked him hard enough to jolt him
out of bed.
‘Early morning and you’ve gone mad or what, Abhi?’ he
said, scratching his bum.
‘Look at your watch, you fool. We need to leave now to be on time.’
‘Oh please. I know why you are in such a hurry. You have to meet her. Isn’t it?’ ‘Shut up and get ready.’
‘And don’t you dare look at her the way you were looking
last night,’ I added. If I warn him, he might not do it but if I don’t,
he will definitely do it.
‘Now, don’t start again. I was just admiring her.’
‘Excuse me! Did you say admiring? Manish, you stare at
every girl like a jerk.’
‘Abhi, is that how you talk to your best friend?’
‘And is that how you look at the girl I like?’
‘Come on, Abhi. She is beautiful. Do you expect me to
keep my eyes closed and sit like a monk?’
‘Not monk, monkey, you must say. You barely behave like
a human when you see girls around you.’
‘What can I do if Aparna is beautiful? I just can’t
control myself.’
I felt like slapping him.
‘Whatever, but don’t talk shit when she comes today,’ I said.
‘It’s called being funny, damn it. You won’t understand.’
‘She is not your type and honestly, I have no idea why she
was even talking to you last night.’
‘Girls just feel comfortable around me and you are jealous
of that. Accept it.’
‘Oh, please. You and your dumb thesis on girls, I don’t
want to hear it. I beg of you. And listen, don’t make a mess
of things this time.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘After leaving the IIT centre, you are going to the station
to check for the return tickets.’
‘Why can’t you go?’
‘Because I have to drop her back home. I can’t leave her
alone with a jerk like you.’
‘Abhi,’ he growled.
‘Shut up.’
‘My Dad is her Dad’s best friend. You chose Dhanbad as our IIT centre because I told you. You should thank me for that at least.”
‘In your dreams,’ I said.
‘Don’t you dare ask me for any help now.’
‘Okay, fine. Thanks for everything and thanks again for making me choose Dhanbad as my IIT centre. But we are going back tonight and I only had last night to talk to her.
And you didn’t even allow me to do that.’
‘You guys did speak. Don’t forget.’
‘Yes, if saying “Hi” means speaking to a girl, then I did speak.’
‘Stop overreacting. You both are at the same IIT centre now. You can speak to her over there.’
‘You know, I can’t speak to her when I am alone.’
‘Be a man. Talk to her like I talk to girls. Look at me and learn something,’ he said.
I looked at him, feeling disgusted.
‘It’s okay. I will see what to do,’ I said.
‘I can help you if you want.’
‘You have already helped me a lot, Manish. So, please stay away from her.’
‘Okay, fine. I will try.’ ‘What the hell do you mean you will try?’
‘What do you want me to do, Abhi? You know me. Beautiful girls are my weakness.’
‘Manish, I am begging you.’
‘Okay, all right. I will not speak to her.’
‘She is coming soon. You know what you have to do.’
‘Yes, I have to sit in the front seat and you both will sit in the back seat,’ he said, pulling his blanket over him and going back to sleep.
***
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