( This is the continued season of story – My Seventeenth Birthday. You can read it individually but to enjoy it from start go to My Seventeenth Birthday)

Life has changed a bit after chemistry assignment incident for me. Nirmala was taking every chance to show her gratitude to me, but Mission Mitali was still in cold water. My conversation with Mitali was limited with just hi and hello. I was not getting chance to talk her and she was also not initiating any major conversation with me. Most of the time Mitali was accompanied by Nirmala at school and whenever I came to them, Nirmala started talking a lot with me and I found Mitali got disconnected from us. Nirmala became very caring for me after that incident and she didn’t hesitate to move any step to come closer me. Sometimes she came to me and offered byte of parathas from her tiffin, sometimes she came and offer her help even if I haven’t asked and sometimes she came and started talking even if I haven’t showed any interest in talking her.  Most important thing, now she joined me full time at square when I was waiting for Manish in morning. This strange change in Nirmala’s behavior was really irritating me but it was very funny for Manish. These all actions were providing him raw material to prepare time pass entertainment on me.

I was no more strangers for Mitali and also not just a batch mate for Nirmala. I had crossed the first level of friendship but still there was confusion. Why Nirmala was too much sticking at me and why Mitali was still showing neutral reaction at me. Was all non-sense of stupid Manish getting true for me… why Mitali haven’t felt such gratitude that Nirmala was showing? One thought came in mind was that it may due to their background and values. After all Mitali is a middle class Indian girl who lives in small town like Nagda since childhood , not like Nirmala who had lived in big cities earlier and became bold and open enough to show such friendly behavior with a boy. Well …There can be several ways to cajole heart but dilemma never dies. I was still in the midst of nowhere … Why is it so difficult to read Girls mind…I mean I was very sure about Manish always…he never be thankful to me and never stopped kicking ass if I helped or cared him …and also he never took it too heavily if I ignored him…but in case of Mitali and Nirmala, I was clueless…was Mitali looking a friend or well-wisher in me …was Nirmala behaving with me in this manner because she behaves in the same way with all friends …only god knows !

All these thoughts were burning inside me and Manish was the only person in the world whom I could share these in spite of the fact that I never got a single sensible reply or suggestion from him. So here I was talking with Manish on the matter one day.

“Hey Manish, Still Mitali is not paying any attention to me yar” I told Manish.

“Why…now black duck Nirmala is full flat on you…it’s became easy for you to enter their club” Manish replied.

“No it’s not the plus point for me…whenever I talked to them…Nirmala used to talk a lot and Mitali mostly maintained silence” I said in disappointed voice.

Manish put his hand on mouth and started making voice of laugh to give me gesture that he didn’t want to smile but laugh leaks out from inside him. “Oh…so now black duck is swimming at your surface…hehe he…huhh…anyway ….so talk her when Nirmala was not there…” Manish said while laughing.

First time in the history, Manish gave me sensible suggestion but my misfortune as it was not working for me. “No yar…I never found Mitali alone…mostly Nirmala was always there around her…and if Nirmala left her that too because she came to talk with me.” I replied.

“Then situation is really very hard for you” Manish said in artificial sympathetic voice.

“Yeah man! It’s really very hard to find her alone…that black duck Nirmala never left her …she came with her at school; they sit together in classroom, eat Tiffin together and even goes to bathroom also together “I expressed all my frustration in front of Manish.

“They go bathroom together….hhhh..hhh..khhkhh…you goes to ladies toilet to catch girls…hhhh…khhh…  so shame” Manish couldn’t stop laughing loud and this time laugh really leaks out from inside.

“I goes till ladies common room not inside the common room…so it’s not a big deal to put nose up by shame….but can you imagine…they always go to common room together…I mean how can two person feel the need of bathroom together…and also they take same time to finish off inside and exit together from there…” I did postmortem of all my observation about them till the date.

Manish couldn’t control himself on it; he lies down at ground, put both hands at stomach and laughed like he heard the best joke of life. He was trying to say something but couldn’t due to laugh. After few minutes somehow he controlled himself but his eyes and face became completely wet till that time due to tear came out while laughing.

“Hey Nityam…now you can solve such kind of math puzzle very easily…if person A finishes off their job at bathroom in fifty seconds and person B is talking one minute for same than how much will it talk if they both goes together” Manish taunted and started laughing again.

If you care friends, life will care you. I gave a chance Manish to laugh at that day and life replied me with chance to smile on the same day. Our physics teacher announced batches for practical on the same day. All students of class were distributed in groups of three people for physics practical for entire session.  Generally whenever such grouping happen in our school, there were separate groups formed for girls and boys, but our physics teacher has changed that rule and made groups after sorting all students name alphabetically. Rules are always made to be broken but this broken rule joined my little heart. Mitali and I fell into same group for practical. I found it million dollar opportunity but this million dollar opportunity came with few fake bucks to me. Nirmala was our third partner in the group as our names were written in the list like this – Mitali Kashyap, Nirmala Niranjan and Nityam Rathore.

Though Nirmala was there in our group, I felt happy by thinking that practical batch will bind Mitali also with us. I was hoping that somehow this closeness of two hours during practical will fall down the curtain of silence and shyness between me and Mitali. I was happy but Nirmala was happier than me as she found both her good friend in the group. Well there was one more person who was not in our group but still very happy; teasing me with name of Black duck Nirmala was his birth right and now this physics practical batch had given him assurance of providing continuous drama for such tease treatment. Yes…Manish congratulated me for this wonderful opportunity and said that fate finally sealed frog with both duck in the pond of physics lab; let’s see how long this frog can jump now.

Week starts with Monday but I was eagerly waiting for Friday from day one as that was the only day we had physics practical in week. “You are going for physics practical, not for date” Manish commented once on my eagerness for physics practical. Well, I very well knew that it was physics practical, something very serious matter, but how can I control myself as it was the first time in life I will be working with girls. Wait…wait…It was wrong to say that I was performing task first time with girls as I already worked with girls on few tasks earlier in school life, but this time it’s different feeling. A feeling that I can’t express in words but it looks like a sensation that I felt when Mitali touched my hand while asking for my Chemistry assignment, an eagerness to know a person personally whose presence electrifying me even in thoughts. May be I was a kid earlier and first time in life, feeling like a man.

Finally Friday arrived and I was there in physics lab as the venue of my first date with Mitali. Our first practical was simple pendulum, we have to count oscillations of pendulum and calculate frequency and amplitude of pendulum using oscillation count readings. We have to count oscillations ten times and take average of all these readings. I tied pendulum at hanger and, Nirmala and I sat on each side of pendulum to count oscillations. Mitali sat at the corner by holding notebook and stop watch to note the reading and monitor time. I pushed pendulum softly and it started to-and-fro motion. Nirmala and I both started counting the oscillations. The arrangement was like that I and Nirmala sat in front of each other and we had pendulum oscillating between us. For initial few seconds, I kept my eyes only at pendulum but slowly it shifted from pendulum to Nirmala’s face. Just like the pendulum, my eyes were also started doing to and from motion from pendulum to Nirmala’s face. That was the first time; I was looking Nirmala so closely. I started looking her face start from hair, her hairs were thick black, skin was smooth but dark in shade, eyes were really beautiful like a boat but there were lots of hairs growing randomly at eye-brow, nose was long and good in shape but a bit tilted at the end, lower lip was thick and a bit hanging toward down, but oh! My god…there were some hairs above her upper lip. One could easily recognize a thin black line of hairs above lips. How can hairs grow at this place to her…do girls also has mustaches. Well …I was really surprised after exploring this fact about women but I didn’t try to explore more about Nirmala’s body after this, and started concentrating only on hard, hairless and colorful pendulum.

I found this practical a golden opportunity to see the face closely that coloring my teenage days with the flavor of romance. So after couple of oscillations, I gave suggestion to swap the task; sit Mitali for counting oscillations and Nirmala to note down reading. But Nirmala didn’t pay attention and started oscillations and, we got busy in counting again. After couple of more oscillations, I again repeated my suggestion but this time again Nirmala started oscillation without hearing my comments and we got busy. As the pendulum was moving to and fro, my heart was ticking off Nirmala, why was she not giving chance to Mitali of counting oscillations; it would give me also an opportunity to behold the beautiful face of Mitali. That time, black duck Nirmala was really looking like an eclipse in my life.

After couple of more oscillation, I again offered that suggestion. But this time just for the sake of formality, I offered Mitali to be swapped with my position. To be my goodness, Nirmala hasn’t made any hurry in starting pendulum oscillations and Mitali handed over her work to me. My formality fell down as big tragedy at me as I was there sitting in the corner for note-down the reading and both girls were counting oscillations.

Next time, I didn’t give any suggestion and noted down all reading with upset mood. But by the grace of my almighty god, I got finally the golden opportunity for which I was trying from long time. Someone called Nirmala for help from other group so she had gone and I sat at the place of her to count the reading. Mitali started oscillations and we started counting. As per my previous experience, I also started to and fro motion of eyes from pendulum to Mitali’s face. But this time, I gave priority to face over pendulum and spent more time to stay at face. Her hairs were silky and in brown shade, forehead was fair with few hair curls waving, eyes were big like two bowls with a black diamond inside.  Unlike me, she was continuously looking at pendulum only; even I can see the image of pendulum in her eyes.  I was diving inside her eyes and suddenly she lifted her eyes from pendulum and started starring me, our eyes collided first time and I fainted for a minute. In that lucky moment, I was not able to recognize anything and continued with enjoying the pleasure of swimming inside her eye pond. But as my mind senses alerted the eyes that she also starring at me, I jumped out from eyes and pretended to show that I was looking at pendulum only.

After that moment, I tried to pull my eyes again at her face but didn’t get courage to continuously looking and explore her face, as many thoughts arises in mind; what she thought while watching me looking her face so lucratively, is it good to do such escapade in just start of new friendship, what’s the difference between me and road side loafer who made x-ray of every girl by eyes. Rest of the time, I just counted oscillations and remembering the scene of a movie (I think it was Ham Aapke hain Kaun…) where hero and heroine play cushion game, they pass cushion to each other while continuously looking into each other’s eyes and suddenly hero naughtily blink his one eye and heroine lost the game. How fictitious are these movies; in real life, I not even courage to look into eyes of girl, giving naughty gesture was far away from my feet.

I might not look continuously at her face but still I was looking her by stealing eyes. I was not staying at her face for long time but visited face in between for just few seconds. I was also trying to pretend that I was looking at pendulum and it was just an accident that our eyes were collided last time. I don’t know why I was pretending at that time but yes…there was an unknown fear in me at that time. Why this fear came when we expect something from us or others. I mean I was not expecting anything from Nirmala so I was shamelessly looking at her face, but in case of Mitali, a pinch of shyness and fear came inside me and stopped me to do what I wanted badly. I don’t know the answer of these questions but these shy and fear pinches had taken the chance of chasing her face any more in pendulum game.

Well…pendulum had stopped rolling but not my luck. I got opportunity to feel her beauty again with eyes. She picked up the notebook from my side and moved her head to note down the reading and I got side look of her face. This time it was safe to look her as she was busy in making calculation, so here I was again on the way of my real experiment. She turned head down to write in notebook, so her upper hairs hanged a bit at side upper head and it looked very stylish to me. Side look of her eyebrow was looking very graceful as curvy thin and long black line, and it also contrasting with her fair color.  Her cheek was looked very smooth and soft… but oh my goodness! There were some hairs at her cheek, exactly at place where her hairs of head ended. Unlike the Nirmala, her hairs were brown and very small in length just like someone glued few sand particles there. There was sunlight coming at her from window, and in the sunlight her facial hairs were shining exactly like sand at sea shore. Though this fact was also shocking for me that girls do have hairs at cheek, I was enjoying the scenery. That scene was really delighting me and it felt me like I am perambulating at the sea-shore in physics lab. I really wish I can touch those shiny sand particles at soft and smooth sea shore of her face, but at that time I could not do anything except feel it by eyes. And soon my eyes moved from cheek to ear, her ear was normal but she decorated it with beautiful ear-ring…golden shiny…and no need to say that her ear ring was throwing yellow light in the sunrays … but oh shit!…what was this….looked like she had not cleaned her ear properly from a long time. A muddy tower was established inside ear and I can easily measure the hugeness of it as sunlight was brightening her complete ear at me. Can’t she clean her ear properly? This was the most disgusting feature I explored about her. However, I liked everything except ear dirt at her face (including facial hairs!)

Meanwhile, her calculation of reading had completed and I finished my face travelling. We showed our results to teacher and done with the day at physics lab. At that day in physics lab, I indeed got enough chances to keep my eyes rolling closely at her body other than just face, but I don’t why my heart had stopped me to think more about it. I would not call myself very gentle and decent guy but sometimes definition of right and wrong has changed from person to person; and my inner soul was not allowing me to think otherwise for the person whom I want to commit friendship.