The Secret wish List (6 page)

I am too terrified to even open it.

Finally I do and I read it.

There is an open auditorium at the back of the school. Look around when we arrive and you will find it. Meet me there at 12.30 am. I will be waiting. Do not disappoint. Please.

I quickly crumple that note too and stuff it in my bag. I wish there was a way to calm my racing heart. Even though one part of me is too frightened and too terrified of this audacious plan, the other part of me knows with certainty that I will definitely meet him.

It is at that moment I realise that I truly cannot say no to Ankit.

Six

W
E REACH THE SCHOOL ONLY BY FOUR THIRTY PM
.
We are greeted by the student committee and teachers of the Air Force School. We all fall in love with the lush green campus.

‘It is beautiful, Diksha! Tanu exclaims. ‘How lucky these kids are to be studying here!’

I glance around at the natural surroundings, the rather modern-looking interiors and nicely done-up classrooms. This school is no doubt much better than ours which has old walls with peeling paint. Two students are assigned to show us around. We are first taken to a classroom which has been converted into a dormitory with neatly made beds—just like the ones in hotels—clean white sheets tucked in neatly, a pillow and a blanket. The room has turquoise-blue curtains!

‘Our school has hired these beds specially for the event. Hope you have a comfortable stay with us,’ says our student-guide proudly.

‘The arrangements look very nice,’ I respond. ‘Do you really have these curtains in the classroom?’ I ask

‘No,’ she laughs. ‘These were also hired for the event,’ she says.

Tanu and I look at each other and are very impressed. I didn’t expect the staying arrangements to be this nice.

She then takes us around to see the school grounds. They have been attractively landscaped with trees, bushes and flowering plants. They even have vast green lawns. I think of our school which has a concrete entrance with a cycle-shed right in front and no greenery whatsoever. This school has a music room, an audio-visual room, a large library, auditoriums and very well-equipped laboratories. Tanu and I feel like poor cousins visiting a rich relative’s house.

Our guide takes us to see the basketball, volleyball, tennis and badminton courts as well as the football ground. It is a huge campus indeed. Finally, she takes us to the outdoor amphitheatre. The beauty of it makes me inhale sharply. There are very large circular steps in gradient slopes, carpeted with carefully manicured grass. Right at the centre is a raised wooden stage. The whole arena is surrounded by softwood trees and eucalyptus whose branches seem to be doing a slow dance in the gentle breeze. It looks more like something that belongs in a luxury resort rather than at a school.

‘Oh, wow! Look at this!’ exclaims Tanu.

Our student-guide is clearly used to such reactions.

‘Yes, it is nice, isn’t it? This is where all the graduation ceremonies and informal functions are held,’ she says a matter-of-fact voice.

So this is where Ankit wants me to meet him and he couldn’t have chosen a lovelier spot, I think to myself. I make a mental note of how to reach here from our dormitory.

We are escorted back to our dorm and told that dinner will be served at eight pm. Our student-guide asks us if we need anything else. We don’t. Girls from other schools have arrived by now. Three dorms have been assigned to the girls. The boys’ dormitories are located on the first floor of the building.

The school is soon bustling with about two hundred and fifty participants from various schools. There is a buzz of activity as groups are shown to their dorms. Tanu and I go and sit on the school lawns and watch them arrive. The other girls from our school are all seniors and hang out with each other, leaving Tanu and me by ourselves.

My eyes scan the school grounds quickly to see if Ankit is around. Then we spot him. Rohan, Ankit and their gang are walking towards us. I pretend to not see them and make inane conversation with Tanu. Tanu spots them and tells me that my brother is heading towards me along with Ankit and the others.

Seeing the senior boys walk towards us, the group of senior girls joins us and soon there is a small little conference of students from our school.

‘Hey, Diksha, how are your sleeping arrangements? All comfy? Are we all good?’ asks Rohan, assuming the typical elder brother role.

‘Yeah, it’s very nice. How are yours? And by the way, where are the teachers being put up?’

‘Bindu Ma’am and Mrs Rao have a room on your floor. Paul Sir has a room to himself on our floor. And their rooms are really like hotel rooms,’ answers Alok, one of the senior boys.

‘Awesome. Their school is much better than ours, isn’t it?’ says Anusha, the school vice-captain.

‘Yep, they do have better infrastructure than us, but watch out, we will win tomorrow and beat them hollow,’ says Ankit sounding confident.

‘Let’s just hope. Let us not be overconfident. You never know what they come up with,’ says Tanu.

‘We had a sneak peak at some of their models. They are just so-so. Ours definitely look better. But anyway, let us not slip up. We have to do a splendid job on the explanations. And for that we need to be fresh and bright tomorrow morning. So, I suggest, all of us go straight to bed. No staying up late and chatting,’ instructs Rohan. He has completely taken charge and I recognise his authoritative school-captain voice.

Everyone agrees.

‘Aye, Aye, Captain,’ says Ankit and salutes smartly clicking his heels.

I am certain if this were a cartoon movie, there would have been hearts in place of my eyes. I gaze at him in fascination. It is as though I adore every single thing he does—the way he speaks, the way he walks and how he just saluted. I cannot stop the tidal wave of admiration I feel for him. He makes me so happy. He makes my heart sing. I know at that moment, he can ask anything of me and I would give it happily.

The dinner arrangements too are very well-taken care of. Fresh food is being cooked on the school premises where a large makeshift kitchen has been set up. There are long rows of tables and chairs. We form queues and everyone chatters excitedly. The atmosphere is one of great camaraderie, but there is also an underlying element of rivalry. Everyone sticks to their own school group and we all sit with ours, eating a sumptuous meal of steaming hot
aloo
,
rotis
, rice,
dal
and salad.

Tanu and I are totally enjoying our first experience of staying away from home along with the school group. This is such fun! Ankit, Rohan and their group sit opposite us and Ankit manages to catch my eye and wink at me. He mouths a ‘meet me’ and I quickly look away guiltily. I do not look at him for the rest of the meal even though I am dying to. I am so afraid of being caught.

‘Okay then, good night, girls. See you tomorrow. Straight to bed now,’ orders Rohan after dinner, and all of us bid a bye to the boys.

My heart starts its customary drum roll again. I wish I could remove the damn thing and throw it away. We all get into bed. There is a light on at the other end where three girls from another school with whom we are sharing the dorm, are chatting, but they do not mind that we want to sleep early. They are cooperative and soon the lights are all off.

Tanu and I lie next to each other, a distance of one foot separating us.

‘Diksha, isn’t this just like the Enid Blyton books?’ Tanu whispers animatedly. ‘I wish we were in a boarding! What fun it would have been! Imagine having this experience every day.’

‘No talking, girls. You heard what Rohan said. Go to bed,’ calls out Anusha.

Tanu is quiet for a while and then whispers again about how excited she is, and how happy she is.

I pretend to sleep and do not answer back. I want everyone to fall asleep quickly. I can’t wait for it to be midnight to creep out and meet Ankit.

I keep looking at my watch. I have to press a button for the light to come on so I can see the time. I have turned my back to Tanu so she cannot see what I am doing. I keep my left arm under the pillow and turn the watch around so it faces me. Each time I want to look at the time, I press the button which lights up the watch. I cover myself with the blanket up to my head so nobody can see the glow of light. I am surprised at how naturally stealth comes to me. It is the first time I am doing anything like this in my life, but the way I do it seems to be with the practised ease of a professional.

‘Hush my beating heart. Calm down. We will meet him together, you and I.’ I change the words of the Emily Dickinson poem that we have learnt at school and smile to myself. I have suddenly begun understanding all the love poetry we have studied. I now comprehend the desperation of Romeo and Juliet as they waited to meet each other. Our English teacher had told us that Juliet was just fourteen and Romeo was probably a few years older. At that time I had giggled and wondered how someone so young could be so desperately in love. But now I know.

At sixteen, a good two years older than Juliet, I know now how she felt. I feel and completely relate to all those emotions that I had so far only read about. If this is love, I am gloriously submerged in it. All I can think of is Ankit.

Thoughts of him swarm around me all the time. I wonder if it is the same for him. I want to ask him.

How can it be that only three months ago he was a peripheral figure in my life, whereas now he is at the centre of it?

I wonder what Ankit is up to. Is he too watching the clock, like me? I listen in silence to the breathing sounds of the girls. They are fast asleep. I glance at Tanu and in the dark I can make out the outline of her chest rising and falling. I am wide awake and alert to the slightest of noises.

Finally, when it eleven fifty, I cannot wait anymore. I quietly creep out of bed. My eyes have got used to the darkness now. I slip my feet into my rubber-soled sandals and make my way out of the dormitory. I am terrified of waking up someone. In my mind, I already have a story ready, just in case one of them wakes up. I am going to say that I was, of course, going to the restroom and lost my way. Surely that is a perfect excuse.

I walk slowly down the long corridor, feeling like a thief. I know exactly which turn to take as I have made a note of it earlier. But what I missed seeing earlier were the iron shutters at the end of it leading outside. I go closer and see a huge lock on them. I feel so let down. I do not know what to do.

‘Damn, I should have known that they would lock them,’ I think to myself. How will I tell Ankit that I am stuck? I feel terrible when I think of Ankit waiting in vain for me.

Right then, I hear my name being called out in a hushed tone and nearly jump out of my skin.

I am astonished to see Ankit on the other side. ‘Diksha, look outside, it’s me,’ he says.

‘Oh my God! Ankit! How did you get there? Have you been waiting for me?’

‘Of course. I knew you would come and wouldn’t know how to get out. Go upstairs and take the first left. There is a balcony which faces outside. Go there and I will be waiting downstairs. I’ll help you get down,’ he whispers urgently.

‘Okay,’ I manage to respond.

I go upstairs and, in my nervousness, take the right and nearly walk into the boys’ dormitory. I am so frightened that I beat a hasty retreat. My palms are clammy with sweat now. I go back to the stairs and calm myself and then realise that I have to take the left, not the right. I go left and see the balcony that Ankit mentioned. I walk to the edge and, true to his word, Ankit is waiting patiently.

‘You have to climb on to the ledge, Diksha. Once there, lower yourself to the window sill. Hang on the ledge of the window. I will hold you and lower you. Don’t worry,’ he whispers confidently.

I look down and I feel even more terrified that I already am. My hands and legs turn into quivering jelly. I have never ever before climbed on to a window ledge and now not only do I have to climb one, but I also have to hang down it. I am thankful that I am wearing my track pants and not my skirt, else Ankit would have got a nice view of my knickers, when I swung from the window ledge, I think to myself.

I precariously cross over the railings of the balcony and balance on the ledge. This feels exhilarating! The view of the tall trees in the schoolgrounds takes me by surprise. The gentle night breeze hits my face and my hair flies in the wind. It is marvellous to stand in the window ledge unbound by grills or railing. I look at the ground. It must be a drop of twelve feet, and therefore I am certain it is not too dangerous.

‘Oh my God, Ankit, this is amazing!’ I say and I forget for a moment where I am.

‘Shhhh, Diksha, keep your voice low. And get down here. Don’t stand there. Let’s go! This is too close to the boys’ dorm,’ he says.

His warning kind of shakes me out of the spell and I sit on the ledge.

‘How do I get down from here now? What did you do?’ I ask.

‘I jumped down. But I would not recommend you to do that. Look, you just turn around and hang from the ledge like it’s a monkey bar. I will help lower you down.’

I look at the distance and contemplate jumping. But the thing is, if I hurt my limbs or, worse, fracture my hand or feet, I will have a tough time explaining what I was doing jumping from the window ledge. So I decide that the option Ankit is suggesting is indeed the best. I turn around like he says and grip the edge of the ledge tightly with my left hand. Then I place my right hand next to it. It takes a bit of twisting, but I manage to lower my body. I am hanging now from the window ledge and this is a terrifying feeling, though I know the drop isn’t probably steep. Before I can think too much and psyche myself out, Ankit is beside me.

I look down and I see him facing me. He puts his arms around my thighs. His touch feels like a thousand volts. It seems like an electric shock has hit me. He is hugging my thighs tightly now and he says, ‘Okay, let go now. I’ve got you.’

I release my grip and am in Ankit’s arms. He is strong and catches me effortlessly and lowers me to the ground. All the pent-up passion, adrenaline, and weight of the emotions that I was reeling under so far, come in great floods and submerge me completely. I hug Ankit as tightly as I can, half in relief, half in the excitement and happiness of being with him.