4. HIS BIRTHDAY AND THE PROPOSAL

I talked to Him the whole day,even between the classes.I was excited to meet him in the evening.

I returned to my hostel at 1:30 and then I took 2 hours to get ready and finally my phone rang.

It was Saras.

"Hey,where are you?"

"I am just below your hostel gate yaar."
"I am just..c-o-m-i-n-g within a sec."
And I ran out with his gifts without even noticing myself once in the mirror.
I was about to hit him when I stopped.

"Hey,sorry. I am a bit late.Happy birthday." And as I shaked hands with him I finally looked into his eyes for the first time and I could see how happy he was when he touched me.
I felt a bit awkward and pulled away my hand.
We went out and I gifted him a love-story book of my choice,a box of heart-shaped chocolates and a yellow rose.
He just loved them.
We moved around together,went to a temple ate lot of chocolates and spent the whole day happily with him.

It was 6p.m. and I had to return to my hostel.He came over to leave me and while we were walking back on the road I could realize that he was constantly staring at me.Unknowing we had held hands.

We were in-front-of my hostel when I smiled at him and came forward but he didn't leave my hands and said ,"Can we talk at night today,please."
I said,"Ohk,now go." and pushed him back.
I came back happily.

3."NOT" LOVE..ACTUALLY

Saras was great.He understood me well and the way he cared it melted me.
I was growing mad on him.
Classes were awesome and I had made a good deal of friends also.I was happy in my new life as I was living my dream-the dream to be a software engineer!But somewhere or the other I was also putting my foot on a different path;a path that I had decided to walk with Saras.
5th October,2012;he had his birthday just the day next.
I planned to do something really special for him.
I sent him 18 messages each telling something about his personality and how I loved his way of talking to me.I knew he would like it and he did.The 19th message was "happy birthday Saras.... will you be my best friend .. forever?" and i sent it just at 12 a.m and called him just after that as he wished someday I would wish him 1st on his birthday.Fortunately,I was there for him.
All his friends wished him and I was still on hold.
And then he came back to me and said, "Sorry,I kept you waiting!".

"Ahh,not a big deal.It's your birthday dude.Don't say all those rubbish.Fine give me my answer!Quick."

"Oh,do you really don't know the answer?I would love to be such an important part of your life Ipsha. And thanks for making it the best birthday ever for me."

"It's not the end Saras.You'll have a lot of surprises tomorrow.You are coming naa?"

"yep,that's for a sure .I am waiting to see you soon.But Papa was..."

"Saras, you don't need to be tensed.Promise me you will allow me to spend all on your birthday.Please yaar, itna to haq banta hai mera."

"No Ipsha,that's not right.Please,I can't."

"Oh!you just come tomorrow.Bye"

"Ipsha..."

"What?"

"Thanks yaar.You understand me so well.You are like an angel to me.You know it very well that I loved you still you cared for me all the time and kept our friendship alive.I have been restricting myself from telling you something since three years,can't bear any more."

My heart skipped a bit and started beating faster.I could hear the bits.I had no courage to hear what he wanted to speak.I was confused and I didn't want to hurt him by saying a NO.He loved me,madly and I just knew 1 thing that I didn't want to lose him.But i didn't know if it was Love.

He took a deep breath and as he was just beginning to speak I interrupted and said,"Saras,it's late yaar.I am sleepy."
"Ohh! ok ok.Fine.It's already 1a.m.You may be tired.Fine then see you tomorrow."

"Ahh,sure.Bye"

"Ipsha,just a request.Never say a bye.Please.Good night.Waiting to see you tomorrow."

"Ha ha ha.Ohk.Good night."

I was confused about what I was feeling but at the end I smiled. I smiled a lot and then took a deep breath and slept.

                                      2.HOSTEL PRAVESH...AWESOME

The moment I stepped out of the car, I smelled something familiar.May be I was trying to get familiar with what I was going to have with me in the next 4 years.The campus was awesome.
There were lawns,trees,ponds and fountains all around.Students,or I better call My Ferocious Seniors,were roaming all around; some with books in their hands and the others with snacks and cold-drinks whereas the rest with cigars and all those bad stuffs.

I went on to the Girl's Hostel no-3. I entered with a smile on my face as the hostel number allotted to me was my lucky number and luckily my room number was also 003.I and Mummy went inside my room and she arranged my bed and then I was left ALONE there with my four new roommates who were the first faces that I had to see every morning.
I arranged my things in my wardrobe and then jumped onto my bed with my mobile and updated my Facebook status :
               //Entered a new lyf out here :)
                    xcited.......... a loooott
                 can't wait 2 c d Tomorrow.... :)
                 my drm journey starts... vrooommm
                 n hostel .... z not dat bad.... :-p //
I was busy chatting with my known-unknown,boring-interesting,serious and flirting friends and when suddenly I took my phone away from my face,I found 3 large faces bumping at me and saying a loud "Hii" in chorus.
I jumped back in surprise,or rather I say I was badly surprised.
We introduced each other. The with big specs was Sony, the one with a fat structure was Milky and the one who was literally suffering from malnutrition was Shona.
I said, "I am Ipsha Nayak, rank-2743,branch-CSE".
As soon as I completed my intro,Milky jumped on me saying,"Hey I am also from CSE. We'll go for our classes together. Ohk".
We all were silently looking at her face and then we all burst out laughing.
Then we all went up to sleep but I had no sleep in my eyes as I was waiting to call someone that I really wanted to talk to-Saras,the one who was mad for me since the 1st day of my 11th class. He loved me madly since 2 years and I didn't even look at him.But then we chatted on Facebook and now we had become great friends.That day we were going to talk for the first time.
I had his number so I called him and he suddenly recognized my voice.We started talking and couldn't end that.It continued till night when my rummies called me for dinner.I had to go and I won't lie I was feeling nyc to talk to him.
I was happy as he was making me feel special at each and every moment.Days were awesome.May be,I was in ..... Love, or may be not!!!

                                  1.PREPARATION FOR THE NEW BEGINNING 

"Please mommy,this will be the only year I'll b staying in hostel.Next year I'll join a mess or will live with Nana but not inside that unhygienic engineering hostel."

"You talk too much.Just lend me those plastic boxes.You need to have one for medicines,one for your favorite arisa pithas,one for your earrings and all your mini fashion stuffs and one..."
"Mommy I was telling you something that really matters to me.Fine but i won't stay in that hostel more than a year and that is final."
I went away angrily throwing away the pink teddy that Papa had gifted me on my birthday.
Being the middle one I was too much pampered by my family. My Nana(elder sister) was and is an Idol to me and my younger sis Jass was my baby as well as my fashion Icon. I was actually taken care of like a Princess.Life was awesome at home and the day I qualified for engineering in Computer Science at one of the top engineering colleges of Odisha, my life changed.
It was while I was thinking about my life at home when I heard something. "Munu, come dear".And this time I had no other options than to go back as papa was calling out for me and I couldn't deny and help mommy and papa to pack my stuffs .
Nobody understood that I was feeling so bad to leave home and set out for a journey to become an engineer, an unknown journey for four long years,may be filled with unexpected twists.But who cared as i just wanted 1 thing "NOT-TO-STAY-IN-HOSTEL".