CHAPTER 17 HOME VISITS

CHAPTER 17- HOME VISITS
So now that mom had found out about me and Preeti we were very careful not to get caught talking on the phone or anywhere else. For a few days we decided to tell my friends too that we had broken up. The only people who knew the truth were Preeti’s friends Samreen and Shruti and their boyfriends so that we could communicate with each other using them as messengers. We gave up seeing each other in front of people and only spoke on the phone and that too had a process. When one of us was home alone we would give the other one a missed call and that was an indication to call back as quickly as possible. The thrill and excitement of all this kept us on her toes all the time but after a while it became frustrating because when one of us had something urgent or exciting to share we had to wait for the right moment when no one was around and more importantly when you are teenager in a relationship you want to flaunt it not hide it from your peers. Today’s teenagers have it easy with their easy internet access, facebook, cell phones and blackberry messengers but for our generation, the only easy thing was falling in love but as I found out keeping it going was real hard work.
After around a month and a half of these shenanigans something came our way. Samreen’s parents were going to USA for good to earn dollars and live the American Dream and she was going to stay back in the care of her aged grandma so that she could complete her schooling here. So now, whenever I had a chance I would call her and Preeti would come down to her place and we would chat for hours, so much so that now the phone booth from where I usually made the calls recognized me instantly and gave me a stool to sit down and make myself comfortable because my endless, meaningless gibberish and puppy love were good for his business. Our conversations usually fluctuated from important stuff about what had happened in school, and what I was planning to do after the 10th class to silly stuff like how mom had yelled at me, how she had fought with her sister for her favorite nail polish but always interspersed with our grand confessions of how much we loved each other after every three and half complete sentences and a million flying kisses in between. Things were smooth now and mom too had eased her vigilance on my whereabouts and actions but the problem with us teenagers was that whatever we have is never enough. Samreen’s grandma used to go to prayers for a couple of hour’s every evening and Shurti’s boyfriend Ameet came up with the novel idea of using that time for the six of us to meet up at her place and enjoy a delightful rendezvous. I was very reluctant and hesitant initially, not because I wasn’t excited to see Preeti but I was afraid about what would happen if we were to get caught? But Preeti and Rajesh talked me into it and I finally decided to go with the flow. So everything was meticulously planned from how the three guys would be together around that time and how Samreen would call Rajesh as soon as grandma was out of the house. We also planned on saying we were going to Pappu’s house (one of Samreen’s neighbors) if the watchmen asked us where we were heading. We decided to avoid using the elevator too and use the stairs to climb up the six floors to decrease the chances of anyone who knew us or our parents seeing us. Everything went according to plan and the girls ushered us inside. Rajesh and Ameet felt more at home and seemed really relaxed about the whole thing; even the girls were pretty cool about it and I felt like I was the only one who was tense, maybe I wasn’t as brave as them or maybe I wasn’t as stupid not to care. I kept glancing towards the front door and asked Preeti to make sure it was locked properly. We spent a good hour there and I had to literally drag the guys out of there before grandma made her presence felt. Our first attempt had been successful and we were proud of our selves and because it had been so smoothly executed these home visits became a weekly affair and even my nerves were eased a bit now. Life was good for us and we were having a great time and now we decided to inform my gang too about the whole plan of faking the breakup so that they could cover for my absence in tuitions and if my parents asked them anything. But if you ask me what all went on in the house I would tell you what I told Billu and Timmy whenever they got really curious- “I am a gentleman, I don’t kiss and tell.”