Right From The Start . . . She Stole His Heart

By Prachi Gupta and Sanchit Garg

Who says best friends can' t be cruel, they are angels with horns. Radhika Gupta has always lived a peaceful life. Until she enters college and befriends a few crazy people. Nishi, the short and confident girl who soon becomes her best friend; Siddharth, the crazy, happy-go-lucky guy, always desperate for a girlfriend; Sameer, the college hunk; and Manas, who is simple, shy, and secretive. While Siddharth has challenged Nishi that he would find a girlfriend for himself before she can find a boyfriend, Radhika' s life is turned upside down by Sameer' s proposal. For he is the guy she never wants to go out with, while he is determined to date her. Following a series of amusing events, endless proposals, and accidental cupids, who will end up with whom? Will the love stories have a happy ending or will they be doomed? Witty and riveting, Right From the Start . . . She Stole His Heart is a pacy romantic comedy. It will make you believe in the fact that opposites attract each other.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Fingerprint Publishing
• Release date: Feb 14, 2018
• ISBN: 9789388369312

Book preview

CHAPTER 1

The Unplanned Surprise

I open my door and find Nishi with her six-month-old baby boy, Aayush.

Hi, baby! I smile and wave at him.

Since our friendship of six years, my house has been her favourite spot. Back in college, our houses were ten kilometres apart. Now, after her marriage, though they are further apart, she still hasn’t got tired of travelling and turns up whenever she likes. I have got used to her untimely arrivals by now.

What’s it this time? I ask her at the entrance.

She ignores my question. I’m in a very bad mood today. One should never fall in love. All love marriages are useless.

She enters with the kangaroo baby carrier and lands straight on the couch in the living room.

I close my door and go to sit beside her.

Once you get married and have children, all the love just disappears, she adds.

Looks like you had a fight with him again. I smile.

Nishi snorts in anger, He forgot my birthday. I’m going to kill him.

Laughing on the inside, I try my best to maintain a serious demeanour. Before I can utter anything else, my doorbell rings again.

Wait, I’ll be back in a minute, I say and rush to the door. I don’t want her to wait for long as she doesn’t like waiting, and when angry, she always turns into a mini monster. I open the door and there he is, the man she is furiously angry at—her husband.

He peeps inside the door and whispers, Is she here?

Yes! I hiss. And in a very bad mood. You’ll probably be dead today.

Please help me. I cannot think of anything right now, he pleads.

I shake my head. Nope. You’ve made a mistake.

A deep sigh emanates from him. I didn’t forget her birthday!

Really?!

Yes! He looks at me helplessly.

She wanted me to be the first one to wish her and it was you who called first. Then when I wished her after you did, she just assumed that your call reminded me and got really angry, he whines.

Oops! Sorry! I bite my lower lip. Don’t worry, I will do something. Wait outside; and when I message you, ring the doorbell again. I close the door and quickly walk back to Nishi.

What took you so long? she enquires.

Nothing, dear, someone was asking for an address. I sit down again.

Sweetie, I shouldn’t have told you but I guess it’s the right time to tell, I start making up a story. Actually he didn’t forget your birthday. I had received a call from him yesterday evening inviting me to your birthday party.

She looks at me suspiciously and asks raising a brow, So, why didn’t he tell me about the party? What’s the venue? You are not saving him, are you?

Stop acting like Sherlock Holmes, I scold her. It’s a surprise, you silly. Why would he tell you and spoil the fun? And about the venue, I don’t know where the party is. He said he would message the address today.

He better have something planned or else he’s dead, Nishi says firmly.

Seeing her cool down, I quickly message him, Mission accomplished. A few seconds later, the doorbell rings again. I go and open the door.

Is the territory safe now? Has she cooled down? he whispers.

I smile. Don’t worry, everything is under control. Come in. I close the door behind him.

He goes and sits on the couch beside Nishi. I think I should shift to Radhika’s house permanently, he comments sarcastically.

Nishi shoots him a sideways glance. May I ask why?

Because more than half of the time my wife is found here. Shifting will save my time. He laughs.

No one can bear you except me, scoffs Nishi.

That’s true! I giggle.

After a while, Nishi looks at him. I think we should leave now. She stands up to leave.

Okay, let’s go. He stands up, too, and we follow Nishi to the door.

At the main exit, he whispers to me in amazement, Thanks! Did you hypnotise her?

No. I smile. I just told her that you have a surprise party planned for her.

WHAT?! His face turns pale with shock.

It’s already late. You better get going fast, I whisper with a wink.

Oh no! Her remaining angry was better than this, he murmurs.

Turning back, Nishi asks, What are you two whispering?

Nothing, sweetheart, just discussing work. Let’s go fast. He hurries to the car.

I close the door and reach for the fridge. I am about to sip water from the bottle when the doorbell rings again. I now seriously doubt my decision of getting myself transferred from Pune to my native city.

Argh! Not again. I should change my house. No, city, I murmur to myself.

Leaving the bottle, I speed walk to the door. It is my cousin, Varsha, who has just returned from an interview. She walks in and I close the door.

How was your interview? I ask her.

Good. She picks up the bottle I left on the kitchen counter.

I have to go for a birthday party in the evening. Do you want to tag along? I ask her.

If it’s fun, then sure. She takes a few sips and leaves the bottle on the counter. Whose birthday is it?

My best friend Nishi’s.

Okay.

At 5:00 p.m., a message pops: Royal hotel at 7:00 p.m.

We reach the hotel gate at around 8:00 p.m. I am astonished to see the arrangements. He has done a splendid job, and that too in hardly any time. Going further in, I see Nishi dressed in a beautiful blue gown; she is on cloud nine. Her eyes are glowing with pride. But her husband looks just the same, as tense as he was in the morning. Maybe he is worried about the heavy bill which is about to leave him bankrupt. The party is great but Varsha doesn’t seem entertained. And after meeting Nishi and her husband, she looks completely baffled.

Exhausted, we reach home by midnight. After changing into our pyjamas we get into bed. Though it has only been two days since my parents went out of station, I’m missing them already. I slip under my blanket beside Varsha who is busy staring at the ceiling, as if counting the invisible stars.

You didn’t like the party? I ask her.

No, it was great.

Then?

She diverts her gaze from the ceiling to me. I’m a little confused. Your friend Nishi and her husband . . .

What about them?

They are sort of . . . the most mismatched couple I have ever seen. She pauses and then continues, They had a love marriage or arranged?

Before I can reply, she adds, I’m sure it was arranged.

Love marriage, I smile.

What? You’ve got to be kidding, she says, sitting up in one fluid motion.

I shake my head, Not at all.

But how can love even happen? They seem to be poles apart.

I smile and say, You must have studied physics. One law says that OPPOSITES ATTRACT. It is the law of attraction of opposites. It applies perfectly here.

Okay. That’s quite interesting, she says, her eyes shining. Tell me everything about them, from the beginning. I insist, she says and lies down on her stomach.

I turn my back towards her and pull my blanket up to my ear. It’s a very long story. Will tell you in the morning.

She nudges me, No! I’m not letting you sleep till you tell me.

Okay, relax. I’m telling. I turn towards her.

Start from the very beginning without missing a single detail. I don’t wanna miss any part, she says, overjoyed.

I laugh. It’s the first time that I’ve seen Varsha more interested in listening than sleeping.

CHAPTER 2

Meeting the Stranger

This story began on a beautiful, sunny September morning at my new college. One of the best engineering colleges, that’s what people called it. But honestly, there was nothing so great about it apart from its canteen. The campus was big but not as lavish as I had hoped. Seriously, I wanted to take a drop and find a better place to study, but it would have taken one more year so there was no backing off.

Our batch was a special one, not because there were any extraordinary students but because it was the only batch which started one month later than usual. All thanks to the university, which kept on rescheduling its counselling.

The whole campus was filled with a flock of new students and parents. Stoked, I headed straight towards the reception to enquire. It was extremely crowded. Amidst all the chaos, nothing was audible. Disheartened, I started to retreat. Just when I was about to step out, a firm voice from behind stopped me, Excuse me, are you searching for something?

I turned back and saw this boy of medium height, dressed in a white shirt and black trousers. He had a flawless, pale skin and deep, captivating eyes. He looked like a perfect gentleman with that appearance and voice.

I just wanted to know about my class, I replied calmly.

Fresher?

Yes.

Freshman classes are in block A. May I take you there? he suggested.

No thanks, I will manage.

Go straight from here and then take a left turn. The first building is block A, he smiled.

I quickly moved out and walked to block A. I was so nervous that I even forgot to thank the kind boy. The next thing I saw after entering the block was a noticeboard with a list of all the freshers. Irrespective of the branches, the students were divided alphabetically, according to their names. There were twelve classrooms. I got section I, the ninth one in the series. The block wasn’t crowded as most of the students were still at the reception. I located my class, which looked no different from the one back in school, only the faces were new. As I was a studious girl, I quickly grabbed the front row seat. The girl next to me was from a small town and wore an outdated salwar kameez with her hair tied in a high pony. Fully desi in the beginning, she had turned into a sexy chick by the end of the year. The only good thing about her was her lank hair. Tresses as straight as chopsticks.

It was a boring class. None appeared interesting to me. After the last class, I quickly headed to the registrar’s office to deposit my bus fees. There I saw this big-eyed, petite brunette with a serious expression on her glowing walnut-dark skin. Short but with a confidence double her height, she wore a blue top and a black jeans on her lean body. Her waist-length hair was neatly tied in a ponytail.

Sir, I need to change my bus. It’s already full and I can’t travel standing every day, she said in an angry tone.

But that’s the only bus on your route. I can’t do anything, he said.

Sorry, sir, but after paying so much I can’t go like that, she said firmly.

We have no other option, said the registrar, slightly irritated.

What the hell is the management doing, making a fool of us? she said in an angry tone. You have to arrange something, there are other students too. Start a new bus, she added.

I kept staring at her in amazement. Whoa! She’s so small, just like a doll, but somehow there’s this ferocious side to her, as if you would get eaten up if you crossed her. A ‘palmtop tiger’ would be the best name to describe her. Small enough to fit in a palm and furious like a tiger. Totally fit her personality.

Starting a new bus is not possible but I will talk to the bus committee. It will take around two-three days to sort this problem, till then manage in this bus, he retorted.

Excuse me, sir. I interrupted, I need to deposit a cheque.

While I handed over the cheque to him I saw her vigorously searching for something in her backpack.

Sir, I have a cheque too, she said.

He took our cheques and said, You two wait till I bring you your receiving slips.

After the registrar left, that girl smiled at me. Hi, I’m Nishi Verma from IT.

Hey, Radhika Gupta from IT as well. I smiled.

Thanks, said Nishi.

For what? I asked, flustered.

I had totally forgotten about my cheque, yours reminded me.

Oh, I smiled.

If I had missed it, I would have had to see that stupid, bald-headed registrar again. She laughed.

I giggled. Meanwhile, the registrar appeared with the slips and handed them to us.

I should rush now, the buses are about to leave. Nice to meet you. Bye, said Nishi and smiled.

Nice to meet you, too, I waved at her with a smile.

On the third evening, there were two surprise additions in my mini bus no.10. It was the only one which was grey, with more than half occupied by teachers—the reason why none of us were ever ragged in that bus. We used to call it ‘Dolphin’.

I stepped inside.

Hey, Radhika! Nishi stood up and waved at me. Come, sit here, she said, indicating the empty seat next to her.

The bus started and I walked slowly in the narrow aisle and sat next to her.

Hi, Nishi. What a surprise! How are you here? I asked.

There was space in this bus, so they shifted me here.

"They shifted us here," a voice came from the seat behind us.

Okay, Sid, Nishi rolled her eyes. They shifted us here, she reiterated.

I turned to look and saw a silly looking boy with a lingering smile, leaning on the back of our seat.

Thin and dark-complexioned, he wore a red hoodie and blue jeans, and green-rimmed, square glasses. His hair was long.

Hi, I’m Siddharth Malik, he smiled.

I’m Radhika Gupta, I smiled back.

He’s also from IT, said Nishi.

Means she too? his eyes widened. Awesome! Next year we three will be studying together, said the overjoyed Siddharth.

He’s my friend and neighbour, said Nishi.

Which section are you in, Nishi? I asked.

G.

And you, Siddharth?

You can call me Sid, he smiled. It’s J, and yours?

Okay, Sid, I’m in I.

Sid took a deep