The 3 Mistakes of My Life Read online

  ‘There you go. Anyway, life’s best gifts are free,’ she said and pulled her hair back to tie them with a rubber band.

  I nodded. Ok, enough is enough, my inner Mr Logical told me. Time to study.

  I opened the books. She asked the dreaded question. ‘So how come you called?’

  ‘I told you,’ I mumbled.

  ‘Did you really miss me?’ she said and put her palm on my hand.

  I pulled it back in reflex. She looked surprised.

  ‘I am sorry, Vidya. I shouldn’t. I have my business to focus on and this is really not my thing, but…,’ I said and turned away. I couldn’t talk when I looked at her. Or rather, I couldn’t talk when she looked at me.

  ‘It’s ok, you don’t have to be sorry,’ she said.

  ‘It’s not ok. I don’t have time for emotions,’ I said in a firm voice, ‘and this is not the place anyway. My best friend’s sister? What the fuck … oops, sorry.’

  She giggled.

  ‘Be serious, Vidya. This is not right. I am your teacher, your brother trusts me as a friend, I have responsibilities – loans, business and a mother. You are not even eighteen.’

  ‘Two months,’ she wiggled two fingers. ‘Two months and I will turn eighteen. Time to bring me another nice gift. Anyway, please continue.’

  ‘Well, whatever. The point is, significant reasons exist for me not to indulge in illogical emotions. And I want…’

  She stood up and came to my side. She sat on the flimsy armrest of my plastic chair.

  She put her finger on my mouth. She cupped my face in her palms.

  ‘You don’t shave that often eh? Ew,’ she said. She threw a tiny spit ball in the air.

  ‘What?’ I said and looked at her.

  ‘I think a mosquito kissed me,’ she said and spit again, ‘is it still there in my mouth?’

  She opened her mouth and brought it close. Her lips were eight millimetres apart from mine.

  Soon the gap reduced to zero. I don’t know if I came towards her or she came towards me. The tiny distance made it difficult to ascertain who took the initiative. I felt something warm on my lips and realised that we have come too close, or maybe too far.

  We kissed again. The mosquitoes on our respective heads rejoined.

  I’d love to say I saw stars and heard sweet music during my first kiss. But the dominating background sounds were (a) Vidya’s mom’s pressure cooker whistle from downstairs in the kitchen, (b) the campaign sounds from the autos of various parties for the upcoming elections and (c) the constant buzz of the mozzies. But when you are in the middle of a kiss, sound and sight get muted. I checked once to see if the other terraces were empty. Then I closed my eyes.

  ‘Vidya, what are we doing,’ I said, not letting her go. I couldn’t stop. Probability, algebra, trigonometry and calculus – the passion held back in all those classes came blazing out.

  ‘It’s fine, it’s fine,’ she kept reassuring me and kissing me.

  We broke away from each other because even passionate people need oxygen. She looked at me with a big grin.

  I packed my pens and books. No maths tonight.

  ‘Why aren’t you making eye contact?’ She remarked, mischief in her voice.

  I kept silent.

  ‘You are older than me and a hundred times better than me in maths. But, in some ways, I am way more mature than you.’

  ‘Oh, yeah?’ I challenged weakly, collecting the textbooks.

  She pulled my chin up.

  ‘I am turning eighteen. I can do whatever I want,’ she said. The loudspeaker of a campaign auto continued in the background. ‘I can vote in that election,’ she continued, ‘I can have a bank account, I can marry, I can…’

  ‘Study. You can also try to get into a good college,’ I interrupted her.

  She laughed. We stood up and walked over to the watertank on the terrace. We leaned against the tank and saw the sunset. We talked about everything other than maths. I told her about the academy, the dinner with Fred, the blue Australian sky and the foamy water on Bondi beach.

  She listened in excitement. She said she wished she could have a home on the beach and how she would colour the walls inside pink and yellow. It is amazing how specific girls can get about hypothetical scenarios.

  ‘Want coffee?’ she said.

  ‘You’ll have to go down?’ I said as I held her hand on instinct. A voice in me still protested, but now that voice had no volume.

  ‘No, I have a secret stash under the water tank. Come,’ she said and pulled at my hand.

  The five feet cubical cement water tank was raised from the ground on reinforced concrete pillars. Between the tank and the ground, there was a gap of four feet. We could sit on the ground under the tank.

  ‘This is my favourite place since I was a kid,’ she said.

  I bent on my knees and slid inside, following her. She pulled out a picnic basket. It had a thermos flask, red plastic cups and Marie biscuits.

  ‘Welcome to Vidya’s rooftop café sir,’ she said and passed me a cup.

  I looked at her. She is too beautiful to study maths. Maths is for losers like me.

  I took a sip. My lips still felt the sensation of her lips. I rested on my elbow but the concrete surface hurt.

  ‘I’ll get cushions next time,’ she said.

  ‘It’s fine,’ I said.

  We finished our coffee and came out. We switched on the terrace bulb. I flipped through the textbook to forget the kisses and coffee. The symbols of integration looked dull for the first time in my life. At one level, maths does suck.

  ‘Thanks,’ I said.

  ‘For what?’ she said.

  ‘For the coffee and the … you know.’

  She leaned forward and kissed my cheek. ‘Thanks for the gift, the gift of true close friendship.’

  True-close-friendship, another hyphenated tag. It meant progress.

  I came down the steps passed through the living room on the way out.

  ‘What a good, responsible boy. Ish hasn’t learnt anything from him,’ Vidya’s father was saying to his wife as I shut the door behind.

  I could have done my accounts much faster if I didn’t have the parallel SMS conversation. My phone beeped a fifth time.

  ‘Who the hell are you SMSing?’ Omi asked from the counter.

  It was six in the evening, almost time to shut the shop. Ish had gone to one of the KVs and Omi had to leave soon for the evening aarti. Two dozen invoices, notebooks, pens and a calculator surrounded me.

  ‘Nothing, I am bargaining with a supplier,’ I said. I turned the phone to silent mode.

  ‘Call him,’ Omi said.

  ‘I’ll look desperate. I’d rather he calls first.’

  ‘Do the accounts first, Govind. So many unpaid orders, it is a complete mess,’ Omi said, popping a candy from the jar into his mouth. I let it pass. Anything to get his mind off the SMSs.

  My phone flashed again.

  itz my bday.

  i celebr8 my way.

  u’ll get cake or not??

  I had saved Vidya’s number as ‘Supplier Vidyanath’ in my phone, in case anyone picked it up. Also, I deleted her messages as soon as I read them.

  ‘I hope you are staying away from Ish’s sister?’ Omi said. My hands froze as I manipulated the messages. I told myself, It is a coincidence. Omi doesn’t know who I am messaging to. Be cool.

  I replied to the SMS.

  Ok, u win. will get a small 1.

  now let me work. you study 2. ☺

  I kept the phone aside. Smiley faces had entered my life.

  ‘I teach her, Omi. Just a few months for her entrance exams,’ I said. I dug myself deep into the paperwork.

  ‘Does she…,’ Omi began.

  ‘Can I do the accounts or should we gossip about my students?’ I glared at Omi.

  Mama came running to our shop. ‘Switch on the TV fast.’

  ‘Two planes crashed into the World Trade Center Twin Towers located in New