Sister Act

The phone rang ten times before she could run and answer it.

"Hello?"

"Is it 3654125?"

"Yes?"

"Uh, this is Anurag here. Can I please speak with Malini?"

"She's not at home right now. Can I take a message?"

There was a pause on the other side. She could hear some muffled
sounds, a paper folding.

"Hello, can I take a message please?"

"Who are you?"

What cheek.

"I'm?I'm her sister."

"What's your name?"

"Look mister, if you have a message, give it."

"Hi. I'm Anurag."

"You told me. The message or I'm hanging up."

Who the hell did he think he was anyway?

"Uh, sorry?I...no, no message. Just tell her Anurag called."

The line went dead.

Some guy.

****

In the evening, at the supper table, the two sisters fought endlessly
about the phone call. Ma and Pa knew better than to intervene.

"I think he is sick."

Malini was livid. "You have no right to speak about my friends that
way."

"Ha! Friends." She turned to Pa. "Pa, can you believe it, this guy
calls up for her and says 'Hi, I'm Anurag?I'm sure he'd have started
romancing me right there, had my reply been sweeter."

Pa ignored her. A skill he had perfected over the years.

"He was just trying to be nice." Malini pushed her plate away, her eyes
already filling up.

"Yeah I know you are full. Go." Pa could almost hear her laugh.

Malini shot her sister a bloodied look and disappeared from the dining
hall.
The rest of the evening was mostly silent, except for the familiar
jingles from the TV.

****

It was almost one when she woke up. The computer monitor was glowing,
Malini at the desk. She raised herself on her elbow. "Malu, what are
you doing?"

"Shut up and sleep."

She shrugged and plopped back. Oh well, another week of sulking. She
smiled and closed her eyes.

****

Malini barged into class the next day and headed straight to the last
bench. The group of boys that was laughing over a joke suddenly fell
silent.

"Anurag, can I have a minute? Now."

Anurag smiled nervously, "sure Shalini." He shrugged at the guys and
followed the storm out.

"Just what the hell do you think you are doing?"

"What Malu?I?"

"Don't call me Malu."

"Ok?Malini. What's the matter?"

"You called yesterday?"

"Me? No."

Now it was her turn to be flummoxed. "You didn't call home yesterday
when I was out and speak to my sister."

"No. I was away at Mysore. Weekend, remember?" That was Anurag's weekly
trip, which he didn't miss for the world. His parents lived there and
he lived here with his uncle.

****

This was not funny. Anurag didn't call her. But her sister said it was
Anurag. She didn't know any other Anurag. Was some one trying to break
them up? She had feelings for him but wasn't quite ready to express
them yet. As far as she knew, Anurag had the same feelings for her, but
they were both waiting for the right time to break the news. Maybe on
Valentine's day, which was just a month away. And now this. She didn't
want the boat to rock. She had some questions to ask her sister at
night.

****

The canteen was unusually empty. Seema balanced the tray gently, trying
to keep the plates of hot samosas and the tea cups intact on it.

"Phew."

She looked around. "Don't tell me the entire college is out, buying
Valentine cards." They laughed. The next day was Valentine's day.

"So, could you finally sort out the phone thing with Anurag?" Seema
asked, placing the tray on the table.

Malini shook her head. The call never came again and she forgave
Anurag, the fault not his, obviously. Someone had tried playing a nasty
game, that's all.

"Excited?"

"Hmm," Malini said. It was almost sure now that Anurag would ask her
out the next day. Everyone knew about them.
They sipped their tea and remained quiet for a while, savoring the
taste. The tea in the canteen was the best. Malini was about to bite
into her samosa when a familiar figure walked into the canteen. He
smiled at her and headed in her direction. Malini smiled back. Seema,
who had her back to the entrance turned to look.

"Hi Deepak," she said. They shook hands. Deepak shook Malini's hand and
sat down beside her.

"How come here?"

Deepak was a year her senior who was now out, after graduating.

"I landed a job."

"Hey, congrats."

Another round of handshakes.
He told them about the job, the company and when he'd join, promising
them a treat soon. He was a jovial and friendly person who everyone
liked.

"So? Has the dumb ass asked you out yet?"

All three knew they were talking about Anurag. Malini shook her head,
mocking sadness. "Why don't you remind him?"
"He will, don't worry." He patted her head affectionately. "But I came
to see you about something else. Remember that book I was supposed to
return last month?"

Malini nodded.

"I've lost it, Malu, sorry."

"That's ok, Deepak."

"I'll pay for it, don't worry."

"Don't be stupid. That wasn't mine anyway."

They laughed.

"I actually tried calling you last month, but my schedule didn't allow
me. I had asked my brother to leave a message instead."

"I didn't get any message." Malini was puzzled.

"That's ok. Now you know." They smiled.

****
Anurag had asked her out. And oh, he'd been so romantic about it. He'd
called her to the place they'd first met, handed her a rose and asked
her. She smiled thinking about it. She turned to her sister, who she'd
not been speaking to a lot, after that phone call, last month. Suddenly
she felt bad for her. Here she was, about to go out with the boy she
loved and she'd not even bothered to ask her sister if she had a
valentine. Her hand almost reached out to touch her hair, but she held
back. Maybe after tomorrow, she'd try and be nicer to her.

***
They reached the party hall a little late. The guests were already on
the floor, grooving to the soft numbers gently handed out by the DJ
like roses. They joined the group after the preliminary drinks,
Malini's heart racing with anticipation of the hours to come. But she
just wanted to enjoy the moment, happy that at last Anurag had
expressed his feelings for her. She looked around, smiling at a few
familiar faces. Then she froze. So much, even Anurag was a little taken
aback.

"What's it, Malu?"

She shook her head and continued dancing, her eyes moving away to the
distant couple sitting at a corner table, oblivious to the world, lost
in themselves. A tap on her shoulder made her turn. It was
Deepak.

"Hey, what a surprise." He said, hugging her. " Hi handsome." He winked
at Anurag and squeezed his shoulder.

"You're a sly cat, aren't you? Come on, where have you been hiding her
all these days?" She smiled, looked over his shoulder, trying to locate
his Valentine.

"Oh, I'm still a stag," he said, laughing. "Will always be. I just
tagged along with my brother and his valentine. Why don't you join us
for dinner later?"

****
An hour later, as they neared Deepak's table, Malini's heart beat
furiously. Deepak was all smiles and proud about his brother's
beautiful valentine. He pointed at his brother and his valentine.

"Malu, meet Anurag, my brother. His valentine - Shalini. Soon to be my
sis - in- law".

Anurag and Malini froze. Malini stood in front of Shalini for a minute,
then to everyone's shock, broke down, hugging her. "I'm so sorry. So
sorry."

Shalini gently held her and ran her fingers through her hair. "It's
ok?shhh, now. It's ok, Malu."

The guys were speechless. Shalini looked at Deepak and smiled. "It's ok
Deepak."

Deepak's brother was confused. So was the other Anurag.

"Uh, is something wrong?"

Shalini smiled at her Valentine. "Nothing's wrong, Anu."

Deepak looked at Shalini. "You mean?"

Shalini nodded. "Yes Deepak, Malini's my kid sister. My 'mysterious'
sister I told you about. I wanted to surprise you both."

It took a minute to sink in, then they all burst out laughing. Malini
giggled through her tears and threw a loving look at her sister. Shei
squeezed HER Anurag's hand gently and smiled, as he looked
confused.

"Would you mind explaining to me what's happening?"

Malini smiled. They had a lot to talk over dinner and she would
continue the conversation with Shalini into the early hours, at home.
Her sister had a lot of questions to answer. Shalini winked at her, as
if reading her mind.

THE END