Ashi(P.O.V)
"Ashi, where you have applied?", Shreya called me.
Sidhi snatched the phone from my hand and took the charge of handling her.
" Ahh..Hi! Shreya. This is Sidhi. Where are you planning to go? You know Ashi is too lame to decide anything on her own. In fact, I am sure she hasn't even given a concern to it". she spouted on the call.
I stood there groundless of what she was trying to do when we clearly decided where to apply.
"Ooh!" She sounded discontented with her explanations.
"I am not sure too, di" she stumbled on her words pondering over how to answer the queer attitude of my sister.
I tried to grab ahold of my phone but she dodged off my hands. She eyed me with her let-me-reveal expressions. I could only roll my eyes over her.
"That's great! I will suggest you both to try admission in Standford University." She persuaded her.
"oh yeah, you are right. My cousins suggested me so.", And here she fell for my sister's tricks. She didn't need to, she was not that bad to be tricked that way. I felt pity for Shreya.
" But you can do better in literature, I think you should go for the presidency university." Sidhi winked at me.
"No-no-no. Perhaps, Ashi didn't tell my dislike for literature. I really don't like it and I wanna do something different." Shreya gabbled over the phone.
Sidhi looked in my direction if I knew anything about her dislike which of course I didn't have any idea of, so I shrugged off the claim.
"Aha! nothing could be better my sister", Sidhi sighed in relief and handed over the phone to me.
I grabbed the phone and explained to Shreya that I would rather like to go to The Presidency University.
She was awestruck for a moment as it sounded to me. I didn't understand why would she be.
I asked her finally where she would love to go and she was perplexed as long as I could understand her silence. My sister giggled beside me.
" You are the only one I have Ashi, the only one I can trust and rely on. I will go only with you. let me know when you will go for the applications." She triggered the softest part of me. I didn't dislike her. She was one of my good friends and we should not judge people especially friends based on their flaws.
"Of course, Shreya. Don't worry as long as I am with you." I assured her.
I hung up the call and shot a glance at Sidhi.
"What?" she exclaimed.
"What you were trying to prove?"
"You didn't see. Did you? she is green with envy. Can't you still note?" She almost shrieked at me.
"No, it's because she has always been so close with me, a good friend of mine. Not all people are as crooked as you think. She explained that she wants to be with me. That's all." I tried to sound reasonable.
"Envy is the sincerest form of flattery." She ignored me, entirely focused on her phone now.
I let it sink too.
On next morning, Sidhi woke me up as usual but rather for other errands than going for a morning walk.
"I gotta go to check-in for my college. Come with me, you may also catch up with the forms if they are out yet." She decreed while hustling around the room. I didn't respond to her request which more sounded like a command.
She stopped and waited there for my reaction. Getting no response at all, she came beside me to sit.
"Look! I won't say anything about your matters. I hope you will see it yourself in future only if you keep your eyes and ears open." She looked into my eyes and patted my head. "I love you...Now get up and be ready" She went out of sight.
I knew I was clear of course, about who to trust and who adored me more but the thing of concern was why there had to be one person wrong and the other one right, why we had to always choose between good or bad, why there couldn't be all people reasonable in their perspectives and we didn't have to pick one out of them when we could simply accept and respect the diversity in point of views of people. There were things I could spend a whole life pondering and reasoning over and still would get no clue of what to expect and how to deal with them. Why do people have to be so complex, life is too simple and straight if we are keen enough to see through it briefly. I kicked my thoughts out of my mind and got ready to go.
"I am ripe to go." we headed to her college.
The way to college was full of the hustle-bustle of people on the street and footpaths. It had a distance of two kilometres so we mounted in a cab and headed to it.
Soon we reached and got a clear view of the University's main entrance gate. It was an arched wall which said THE PRESIDENCY COLLEGE. Stepping past the gate, there was a wide lane which subdivided its way to lead into different faculties and colleges.