"The Elevator to Realms" Act 10: Silent Hopes

The Elevator to Realms Act 10: Silent Hopes

Kriti

The soft hum of the car engine filled the quiet Uber ride as I leaned back, my thoughts swirling around like a whirlwind.

"Damn it! I... I don't know what I was doing!", I thought to myself. It had been days since I last saw Vaibhav. We hadn't spoken much either, and the growing silence between us gnawed at me. Yes, I know, and I am pretty sure that he was busy with his cousin's ring ceremony as I had come to know about it from my friends. Also, marriage at home comes with all the family events, but still, I couldn't stop thinking about him.

For a few minutes, I looked around. The traffic passed by through the other side while the cab stood still on the intersection, waiting for the signal to turn green.

"Should I call him?", I wondered, my fingers hovering all over my phone. I had his number open on my contact list. Well, I had trouble finding his number on the call logs because, you all know why. I hadn't called him recently. My thumb hesitated just over the call button. Something held me back. A mix of anxiety and doubt that I couldn't quite shake it off.

"Chhodo...", I whispered to myself, as if trying to convince myself to let it go. I let out a sigh, and shoved the phone back into my jeans pocket.

But no matter how hard I tried, I just couldn't. My thoughts keep drifting back to him. Before I could even know about it, I found myself typing out a message - A simple one though, it was just about exams, nothing too personal. Almost instantly, my phone buzzed with his reply. Everything stood still for a second and my heart jumped a little. I couldn't help but smile. He said he'd just returned from his Nani-ghar.

It Read:

Vaibhav: Hey Kriti! how have you been? Kaisa chal raha sab?
Kriti: Hello Vaibhav, Everything is going fine and well. Tum batao? How was your cousin's marriage at your Nani-ghar?
Vaibhav: It was good. I just returned back and thought I could  look up and revise on some Numericals for my Maths. What about you?

"We should catch up...", I typed, my heart suddenly racing, though I wasn't sure why. Was I just being a good friend? Or... was there something else. Something more. I quickly pushed that thought aside. And I refrained from hitting that send button. "Let it be. I am just friendly.", I told myself, trying to reassure my mind and heart once again.

Then, out of nowhere, he asked, "By the way, tumhara exam center kahan hai? Actually, I never got to know about that. Even when we gathered at the Cafe with Pooja and Kajol."

I paused for a moment before replying to him, "DAV Public School Sector 4, Bokaro."

His response came almost instantly. "What?! Same as mine!"

A flutter of strange but also somewhat familiar excitement stirred in my chest. I tried to play it cool. "Oh wow, coincidence ha?", I replied, keeping my tone casual over text and as normal emojis as possible, though I was secretly thrilled.

As the conversation shifted, we somehow ended up talking about Pooja's exam center. I mentioned she was in Jamshedpur, away during the exams. Vaibhav sounded confused.

"Vaibhav? Pooja didn't tell you about her exam center?", I asked while I was shocked. It was evident from his expression that she hadn't told him about her exam center.

Vaibhav: No... I guess... she might be busy or she might be worried about her exams.
Kriti: Pagal ho kya? You should've asked her about it. Also, Itna mat socho. Koi bhi itna busy nahi rehta hai theek hai? Try to sort things out. Okay?

"Yeah... Maybe. Let's see.", he replied. I felt a familiar pain in Vaibhav's reply, as I had a faint idea of what he might be going through. I told him not to worry about things like this, and everything will be fine.

The Next Day

The morning arrived quicker than I anticipated, and there I was, standing beneath a large tree outside the exam center. The air was thick with the sound of the students chattering, nervous energy crackling in the atmosphere. I kept checking my watch - 9:00 AM, still a few minutes before the gates opened. Everyone seemed to be busy revising the syllabus. All the caca phony reminded me of myself studying late last night. I had bagged just 3-4 hours of sleep and this was making me yawn a lot... I sighed, but my eyes unknowingly scanned the crowd restlessly, hoping to catch a glimpse of him.

I never wanted all of this... I never did. But somehow, here I am. Standing and looking for Vaibhav all around like a fool.

And as I was thinking about this, I saw him  - Vaibhav, walking towards the gate, his eyes scanning the throng of students all around. His admit card and ID on his hand, he looked quite nervous. The moment our gazes locked, I waved at him, feeling a small surge of warmth. But I quickly composed myself, brushing aside any excitement that tried to surface. I just couldn't let him see how much I had been looking forward to this, all of this without knowing even by me.

"Hey!" I greeted him casually as he approached through the nervous faces all around.

"Kaisa lag raha hai?", I asked. My voice is soft yet steady.

He looked a bit nervous, his brows furrowed. "Social Science... I'm not prepared, Kriti."

I offered him a reassuring smile. "Sab theek rahega. You'll do just fine, Vaibhav." By this, a small creak of relieving smile impressed through Vaibhav's lips.

Soon, as the gates opened, we moved forward to check out room numbers. As fate would have it, both of us ended up in the same room - 11 'D'.

"Wahh!", I teased, giving him a playful nudge. "Classroom bhi same haan?... Tum peecha to nahi kar rahe na mera?"

He laughed, a sound that instantly lifted my mood. "Ajeeb hi coincidence hai yaar," he said, his grin still present as we walked together toward the classroom.

As we made our way through the bustling corridor, filled with everyone's anticipation and voices about the oncoming question paper and exams, Vaibhav's gaze drifted to an old elevator at the corner of the building. I noticed how his eyes lingered on it for just as second too long.

"Kya hua?", I asked, curiously.

He shook his head, smiling softly. "Kuch nahi, bas kuch yaad aagya tha... it's nothing." I didn't press further, though I could sense something deeper, something unspoken in his expression. I could notice it all so clearly.

In no time, we reached the classroom. And as we were not allowed to enter the examination room without our bags or any belongings, we both pulled out our Pens and kept our bags over the counter.

The Exam

The exam hall was buzzing with nervous energy as we settled into our seats. The invigilators exclaiming with every other minute for the class to keep the silence. I was at the far end of the classroom, while Vaibhav was seated at the front, diagonally across the room from me. From my vantage point, I could easily see him, and every now and then, I noticed his eyes darting across his paper, his forehead slightly creased with confusion. Every now and then, he would start itching his hair with confusion. It felt kind of cute and I couldn't stop  myself from letting out a silent giggle.

I was no stranger to the stress of exams, but today, my focus kept drifting towards him. And then, a mischievous idea crossed my mind. I coughed lightly, just enough to grab his attention. Vaibhav turned around, and our eyes met. I raised my eyebrows, silently asking, Kya hua?

He gestured toward his paper, his expression almost helpless. I had to stifle a smile. Yeh bhi na, I thought to myself....

I looked around carefully, checking if the invigilators were paying attention. They were pacing the aisles, like hawks watching for prey, ready to swoop in on anyone at any suspicious movement.

But I couldn't just sit there and do nothing. I subtly signaled for him to tell me the question numbers he was struggling with. Vaibhav managed to mouth a couple of them - MCQs. Simple enough. With a quick glance around the room, I scribbled the correct answers on the corner of my paper, folding it slightly so that I could flash it to Vaibhav without attracting too much attention.

We exchanged silent signals, him looking over every so often to catch my hints. But of course, the invigilators weren't oblivious for long. One of them - a tall, stern women with no-nonsense attitude narrowed her eyes at us. My heart skipped a beat. She started walking toward our row, her footsteps echoing through the room.

..
..

Vaibhav quickly turned back to his paper, pretending to be engrossed in his writing. I followed suit, my pulse racing.

The invigilator gave us a hard look, and for a moment, I thought we were busted.

..

"Nahi karna hai ab. Eyes on your paper.", she muttered silently to me. She must have decided against causing a scene. She gave us a warning and moved on to the next row.

I let out a silent breath of relief and shot a glance att Vaibhav. He gave me a sheepish grin, mouthing, Thanks!

The tension in the room only increased as the exam went on. Around me, students were furiously scribbling, some biting their lips in concentration, while otehrs kept stealing nervous glances at the clock. The invigilators, meanwhile, began to hover closer. And then, as if they were synchronized, they started snatching answer sheets from the students, one after the other.

"Time's up!" one of them barked, her voice cutting through the silence like a knife. I watched in horror as a student in the front row tried to plead for just one more minute, but the invigilator practically yanked the paper out of his hands. She wasn't the only one - others followed suit, grabbing papers from reluctant hands with a ruthless efficiency.

I barely finished mine in time, scrawling my last answer just as anothe rinivilator reached my desk. I could feel Vaibhav's eyes on me from across the room as he watched the chaos unfold.

Post-Exam

When the ordeal finally ended, I packed up my things, trying not to laugh at how frenzied the last few minutes had been. I picked up my bag and swirled it around my shoulder. As I stepped out of the classroom, there he was - waiting for me,  with that same grateful smile.

"Thanks, yaar," he said earnestly, his voice soft but full of appreciation. "Tumne sachme bacha liya yaar, I would have been in so much trouble."

My heart did a little somoersault, though I kept my tone light. "Itna bhi mat bolo... warna agle exam mein bhi help karna padega."

Vaibhav chuckled upon hearing this, his usual calm returning. "Haan, kyun nahi! Tum sachme expert ho. You know everything, Kriti..."

We walked toward the school's main entrance, laughing and joking about the paper and the silly coincidence of ending up in same classroom. The atmosphere felt lighter now, the tension of the exam having lifted.

As we reached the gate, Vaibhav turned to me. "Chalo, drop kar doon? Mere paas car hai."

I hesitated for a second, wanting to say yes, but my dad was already on his way to pick me up. "Nahi, my dad is on his way. Wo pick karne aa rahe hai. Thanks though, Vaibhav."

"Hey um. You were kind of lazed out infront of that elevator, is everything okay?...", I blurted out, out of curiosity.

"Ah! The elevator. Right. Um... Bataunga. Not this time. Maybe some other time.", he smiled. We exchanged a quick handshake, Vaibhav grinning as he said, "Ek baar fir se thanks, Kriti. You're the best!"

I smiled, my voice teasing. "Agar tum itne thankful ho to agli baar bhi help kar doon?"

He laughed, shaking his head. "Haan, haan!" He gave me one last wave before turning to leave. "Bye, Kriti!"

I watched as he walked away, got into his car, and drove off. My hand slowly fell to my side, but my eyes stayed fixed on his car until it disappeared from sight.

As I stood there, a strange warmth filled me—a feeling I hadn’t quite figured out yet. There was something about him that made me feel... different. And as his car faded into the distance, I couldn’t help but wonder if this feeling was more than just friendship. Also, I kept thinking about how Vaibhav was lost in thoughts infront of the school elevator. Maybe, he can open up and share whatever he might be feeling... Maybe one day, even I could share my feelings... to him...

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