(..........contd) She did know how to talk but I did most of the yapping. I noticed that she had written S.W. on her knuckles. I asked, "Who is S.W.?" "Someone," she said teasingly. "Your boyfriend?" I asked, a little crestfallen. "No, he is a cricket player. Do you watch cricket?" "Not that much. You know what they say about people who have nothing better to do?" "Yeah, I know all about how only fools watch cricket." "It's fools who play cricket, the maha-fools watch it." "Don't talk about something you don't know." "So is it Shane Wayne, the Australian. I know more than you give me credit for." She laughed. "Yeah, I can tell. His name is Shane Warne, not Wayne!" So she watched the boring game of cricket - that was cool and all - but I was totally floored when I learned that she knew more than me about Nagraj comics. She said she had read all of them. I personnally was a fan of Super Commando Dhruba but anyone who knew Nagraj knew he was cool, shooting those snakes out of his hands and saving the world from those bad guys. It was surprising how similar Sarita and I were. She had high hopes of becoming a Fashion Designer. I for one was stuck on being a commercial photographer. We both had the same disdain for the strict discipline of the school and we liked to make fun of the teachers. Both of us felt strangled by the demands of academic excellence that our family and the teachers placed on us. We talked daily- during the lunch break we would go to the corridor in front of the library and we would look down on the playground and just talk. She liked Salman Khah who I despised but we both thought that "Khamoshi" was a great movie. Once talking about the songs from that movie I was so excited that I blurted out that Manisha looked so pretty on that movie and how "I wouldn't mind doing her." As soon as I said that I was real concerned that I had offended her. She just laughed and said, "You horny beast." Girls were not so different after all and love was just a word. I did not have much close relationship with girls before I started talking with Sarita. My friends and I used to just dismiss them as mere objects of lust. We talked about how hot someone was and how the other one's breasts were so luscious and how we would all like to kiss a girl on the lips. We never thought that it would be cool just to talk with them, share ideas and talk about comics or sports. I could totally see myself sharing a smoke with Sarita in the Status and making naughty jokes. She was cool and she opened my eyes to a different way of looking at half the population. Though I did long for a chance to hold her and whisper tender words on her ears and touch her lips, I was just as happy to be her friend. We talked about our friends and when she passed by my group of friends she said "Hi" to them and made small talk. My fellows gave me all the hardtime for what they said was a lie to myself because I had claimed to them that I did not think about her in sexual terms. But guys would be guys. I still walked with her to her home after school. One day we were ready to part just near her house when she said, "Listen, I like you. You are a great friend. We will always be." "So?" I asked amused. She produced a piece of paper from her bag and handing it to me said, "Would you give it to your friend?" It was folded into a rectangular shape and was stapled on the corner and it was addressed to Mr.P. I acted as if I did not know what it was. "I cannot convince my heart so I want you to make the decision for me. I would not want you hurt," she said looking at me straight in the eye. This was just great. Love a woman, bask on her friendship then be her messenger of love to your best friend. This really was great! Mr.P would need some convincing but I knew how to make him understand that it was all right by me. I knew the strange ways a heart worked. "Will you do it?" Sarita asked. I knew fully well that I would ache for her for the rest of my life. But I was young and life was not a hundred meters dash. I was in for a marathon. "Yes, babe,"I smiled. "Anything for you." *** mG.