Panchi watched her best friend, her Nonu flirt with the girl in the library. Panchi heard her best friend compare her to 'a teddy bear 'out of all things. She felt sick. Disgusted. She had expected her Nonu to get angry, but he didn't. Instead'he chose to make fun of her too. His moti.
Panchi looked down at the books in her hands and wiped the tears from her eyes that hadn't even begun falling yet. She shook her head in shame, in heartbreak and made her way out of the library as fast as she could.
While she walked down the hallway she could picture all the times that Ranveer had defended her, in front of his friends, in front of Piddi, in front of Bobby, in front of'Kiya and she wanted to cry. He had defended her when she was being called 'Fatso, Moti' but not when she was being called 'a stalker, a teddy bear'. It hurt.
Kiya was right. Panchi had been a fool. Crazy. Mad. She had been insensitive enough to think that she had a chance with Ranveer. That he'd fall in love with her. She had been fool enough to think that she meant something to him. She had been stupid enough to think that Ranveer'her Nonu would fall in love with her'a chubby Fatso. Moti.
That's what she was. Moti. Clingy. A'teddy bear.
Panchi walked out of the school and didn't know when she had started walking towards her home until she could hear Ranveer calling her name from behind. She didn't want to turn around. She didn't want to look at his face.
"Moti!" Ranveer called out to Panchi but she didn't turn around.
Panchi didn't turn around, which was quite unusual since she always turned around whenever he called her name.
"Panchi!" Ranveer exclaimed again, but yet, no answer. Weird. Very weird.
When Panchi refused to turn around, Ranveer sped up his bike to catch up with Panchi.
"Moti! I was calling you for so long, you never turned back to look at me." Ranveer complained.
"Yeah, I was'I was thinking about something." Panchi shadowed Ranveer with a half hearted smile'which he noticed.
When Panchi started to walk away from Ranveer again, Ranveer placed a hand on Panchi's shoulders to keep her from walking away. "Moti, you'you seem sad. Did something happen at school? Did someone say something to you?"
Panchi shook her head. "No. I am just tired. I just need to go home and rest."
Ranveer looked at Panchi thoughtfully and added, "Are you sure?"
Panchi nodded her head. "Yeah, positive."
"I'll walk home with you."
"No, you don't have to Ranveer. I'll walk home by myself."
"Don't joke around. We always walk home Moti."
"No, I am serious Ranveer. I'll walk home by myself."
"Don't be crazy Moti. We always walk home together." Ranveer argued back.
"Fine."
Panchi started walking without saying another word and Ranveer followed.
"Listen, Moti, you know the Freedom Party?"
Panchi didn't want to hear it. Panchi didn't want to hear who he was taking as his date to the Freedom Party.
"I was wondering, would you be interested in going to the Freedom Party with me?"
"I am not going to the Freedom Party."
"What? Why not?"
"I just don't want to. Too much work to do."
"But Moti'."
"Ranveer. I said that I am not going to Freedom Party. I can't." Not after how badly you hurt me, no.
"Moti'"
Panchi opened the door to her home and saw her mom sitting on the couch talking to a person'a stranger who had his back turned away from Ranveer and Panchi.
"Mom'"
"Ah Panchi, look who is here."
The stranger got up from his chair and turned around to look at Panchi and Panchi's eyes lit up like diya's on a Diwali night, like a tree on a Christmas Eve.
"Oh my god! Kabir!" Panchi ran away from Ranveer and gave Kabir'a stranger to Ranveer, but apparently not to Panchi'a tight hug.
"Hey Butterfly! I missed you!"
"I missed you too Superman! I miss you a lot."
While Panchi kept hugging Kabir, Ranveer looked on. Surprised, confused, shocked, his emotions a bit all over the place. He didn't know this unknown feeling that had dawned onto him, but for some reason, he could feel Panchi slipping away. Slipping away from him. And while she kept hugging Kabir, something in Ranveer's chest tightened. Butterfly? Superman? And it was then that he realized that throughout all the conversation home, not once, not even once had Panchi called him 'Nonu'.
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