CHAPTER 3

"Well, let's go watch a movie this Sunday!" Nitin announced.

"You're right. It's the first day out with Veena. Will you come, Veena?" Akira asked.

"I've to get permission from my parents..." Veena stated.

"It's not a problem. We'll ask for you." Maya told Veena.

"Don't tell me, your parents won't allow you to go out if boys are going too. I know the minds of parents." Vinod said

Veena nodded. "But you came to Maya's house last time. Didn't your parents allow it last time?" Hriday asked her directly.

She said, "Because I said that we're gonna study at school."

"If we go and ask, they will allow you." Maya definitely wanted to go with Veena.

"There is nothing to lose in trying, right? We'll get permission tomorrow morning." Akira declared.

Veena got up early on that Sunday and was excited to watch the movie with her friends. But she wasn't sure if her parents would let her go with them. She had never been out with friends, so she got confused about what to wear. Finally, she got ready and was waiting for her friends to come. "Knock! Knock!" Veena ran to the drawing-room, her mother opened the door. Hriday came in first and the rest behind.

Veena's friends greeted her and her parents. Then Veena's mother asked them to have breakfast at her home.

"No thank you, aunty, we already had food. Today we're here to ask permission." Hriday stated.

"Permission? Why do you need our permission?" Veena's father asked.

"We're going to watch a movie today and we need your permission to allow Veena to go with us..." Nitin said.

Veena's mother and father were perplexed. They looked shocked.

"Dad?" Veena wanted to go with her friends.

"Is it for real?" her mother asked.

"You've never brought any of your friends home nor do you go out with your friends." her dad continued "We were worried about you. We thought that you were lonely without any friends."

"You have our permission Veena. Just have a good time with your friends." her mother was overwhelmed with the happiness that her daughter had got friends.

"Thank you, mom and dad! "

" We'll take care of her Aunty. Don't worry." Maya assured.

Veena and her friends were in Maya's car. They were seven including Maya's driver. Maya was beside the driver's seat, behind her Akira, Veena and Hriday were seated and Nitin and Vinod were behind them.

"Freddy! I'm kinda nervous about today. I really wish that they become my best friends but what if I do something wrong, what if I mess up things and things get bad?" Veena sighed. She couldn't get the image of Freddy there. Veena wondered why.

Finally, they made it to the theatre. There was a huge crowd at the ticket counter. Vinod came forward to get the tickets and Maya Nitin accompanied him. Akira and Maya were busy taking selfies.

"Thanks!" Veena said to Hriday. They were standing there alone. Though it was crowded and noisy, the silence between them was awkward. So Veena decided to say something.

"Hmm?" it was unexpected for Hriday.

"I said Thanks! You came to get permission from my parents. "

"It's nothing. Your parents are so sweet."

Veena smiled at Hriday and he smiled back. Veena noticed that when he smiled, his eyes shrank." Cute.!" she thought but she didn't put it in words. She felt something weird. She was happy seeing him smiling happily and didn't want to take her eyes off.

"Let's go in guys!" Nitin arrived there with six tickets in his hands.

The movie had started. Veena was still thinking about Hriday. She was sitting in the theatre but she didn't watch the whole movie. She was lost in thoughts. She asked herself many times "Why?" and "What is this feeling?" but she couldn't arrive at a conclusion.

"What was with her smile? She was suddenly looking happy. I've never seen her like that before." Hriday thought. "Beautiful!" he said.

"What did you say?" Nitin who was sitting next to him asked.

"The scenery in the movie… It is beautiful!" Hriday managed to lie.

"Yes, that mountain is cool."

Then Hriday searched for Veena. She was sitting two seats away between Akira and Maya. "Is it really love?" he wondered.

The movie ended. Though it was not a great movie, it was fun to be with friends. She then wondered why did she pull her hair up in a ponytail. She usually braided them. When they were leaving the theatre, a few boys were standing out in a gang and were bullying people.

"Hey! Look at those girls, don't you think the one in blue dress is the beauty?" one said to another guy. "Why don't you watch a movie with us?"

Maya wore a blue top and white jeans. Veena got angry. She walked towards those guys and frowned at them. She wanted to say or do something. She bent down to the ground and took hands full of sand and yelled, "Go to hell!" and ran away.

"Run! Run!" Veena said and the six of them ran out of there. Those bad guys ran behind them. So they decided to split up. Maya's dad needed his car suddenly and so the driver would be coming late. They had no idea what to do. Maya, Akira and Hriday went inside the restaurant nearby and Vinod, Nitin and Veena entered a computer showroom.

Freddy appeared all of a sudden. "I did something stupid, Freddy!" she said to Freddy.

Those guys gave up and went back to the theatre.

Maya called Vinod, "I think those guys went back and the car is also back. Come out."

Then they were sitting in the car without uttering a word for a while. Freddy disappeared again. Maya laughed "Why would you do that Veena? It was funny." she said. And everyone started laughing too.

"I was mad."

"We could have just ignored them!" Akira said.

"But they deserve it." Hriday supported Veena.

"Thank you, Veena. Though I laughed at you, it really means a lot to me. You've done something for me."

"It's not a problem. I finally got friends and I don't wanna ruin it." Veena thought but she said, "No problem."

Veena and Hriday were dropped by the convenience store near their house. Akira said that she needed something to drink so Hriday and Vinod went to the store to get some drink for all.

Then again Freddy appeared and he smiled. Veena got shocked. Nitin and Hriday came back with drinks. They had them there in the car.

"Bye! See you tomorrow at school! " Maya, Akira, Nitin and Vinod waved their hands.

From there, they both walked home.

"What would you have done if they had bullied me?" Veena asked.

"What should I do? No one would bully you."

"How do you say so?"

"Who will bully such a violent girl?" Hriday smirked.

"Do I seem to be a violent girl? You're an idiot!" she said.

"Yes. By the way, why do you talk too much when you are with me? Back there, you seemed to have many things to say but you just ended up saying just 'no problem'."

"It's because you're clueless. Bye!" they arrived at Veena's house.

Before asking anything further, Veena entered her house. "She always stops talking when I want to know something." Hriday walked to his house.

"Freddy, you're here, right? You were not there today. Hriday is such a dumb. He makes me get confused and what was about it today? You totally disappeared and then reappeared."

Veena went on thinking. "I noticed something today, that when Hriday wasn't around me, you were there but when he was around me, you disappeared."

"What should I do? It is unusual. When he smiled, he was all I could watch. I was happy that he smiled." Veena said to Freddy as she was setting up her bed. But when she looked up, "Oh my God!" she shouted. She saw Hriday in place of Freddy. Last time, it was just unclear but this time, Freddy looked exactly like Hriday. On top of that, he was smiling. Her heart raced and she couldn't sleep that night with the Freddy who looked like him.