Sameer patiently waited at home for Riya's arrival. She had promised to take him to Kroger for groceries and other provisions. He was away for almost a month and needless to say, all he could lay his hands on in the refrigerator, were a few packets of frozen food. Having greeted each other, they headed out towards Clifton in Riya's blue sedan. A little ahead, she stopped by to pick Kashish, another classmate and friend, who was trudging along Jefferson Rd. Incidentally, Kashish & Prithesh were one of Riya's first friends at school whom she had helped and taken for shopping in the initial days. The serenity inside the car was suddenly obliterated by a strong aroma which almost ripped apart Sameer's nostrils. Kashish seemed to be drenched in an entire bottle of cologne. Sameer was taken aback when Riya turned around and mentioned to Kashish, "Hey that's smelling so good, what brand is it? I want to get the same for Adarsh". Sameer looked out and giggled away in privy. Although enough reason to exacerbate her with, Sameer decided to wait for an opportune moment.
Riya was very scrupulous of how she went about things, be it her assignments, building strategies to usurp the best grades or buying things from store. This was an added help for Sameer as it evinced that he wouldn't waste money on unwanted things. In school she was the only one who could exercise the liberty of correcting or reprimanding him and she could care less if he felt odious. Somehow, Sameer too felt a sense of one's own, when she took him to task. For him, to bask in the glory of this friendship was truly precious.
True to life, their friendship wasn't devoid of its share of the usual ups and downs. Once there was a misunderstanding between the two and all they would exchange for a couple of days was a mere wry smile. On the fourth day, it culminated in a spat in the basement of their school. What was amusing was the fact that both found it difficult to carry on being ill-at-ease with each other for more than a day. Eyes moistened and their voices broke. In sullen aggression, Riya asked, "Don't you know I don't have many friends here in school other than you and Anamika?" Sameer was only too glad to make amends and Riya suggested a celebration of the 'reunion' at Olives with Adarsh, in the evening. Little did Sameer realize that would be the beginning of a long trail of future visits to this place for the trio. Irrespective of whether to make-up after a spat or catch up on good times, the umpteen number of visits to Olives that Sameer, Riya & Adarsh together had, bore testimony to their lookout for something more than a mere 'olive branch'. Each of their joint visits assured them of a state of euphoria, away from the binding etiquette of school, twining their ephemeral moments to a strong eternal friendship!!!!
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