Half Girlfriend (1)

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minus six degrees temperature,my sensible mind scoffed. ‘Don’t think. Don’t listen to sense. Just run,’ I told myself and took off. I ran so fast my surroundings became hazy. Central Park on my right and posh Upper East Side homes on my left whizzed past. My face became numb in the cold air. The jacket began to feel heavy as snow started to seep inside. I had already spent the entire day walking, whether it was for shopping, walking over to Madison Square Garden or back to Shailesh’s home. I had not eaten much all day either. My legs began to hurt. ‘C’mon Madhav,’ I panted, ‘c’mon.’ Sometimes, when nobody is by your side, you have to become your own cheering squad. I faked a dribble. It made me go ahead to catch my imaginary ball. I checked the street sign: 67th Street. Cafe Wha? was near 4th. 'Don’t look at street signs. Just run, Madhav,’ I said aloud. I passed a hotel on my left on 60th Street. It had an Indian flag hanging above the main porch. ‘The Pierre: A Taj Hotel,’ a sign said. The Indian flag unleashed a fresh wave of energy in me. ‘Run,’ I said to myself. ‘You can do this.’ I reached the most famous part of Fifth Avenue, with designer stores on both sides.Tiffany’s was on 57th Street, Louis Vuitton on 51st. Riya’s journals had mentioned these brands. On 50th Street, I developed a nasty cramp in my stomach. I had to stop. I sat down in a squat and took a few deep breaths. Time: 11.44 p.m. ‘Damn. There is no time. Feel the pain later,’ I told myself. I couldn’t move. I scanned the street for cabs. Nothing. I winced in pain. On my right, I saw the NBA store. The store was shut. It had a huge poster of Kobe Bryant outside.‘NBA—where amazing happens,’
it said. ‘C’mon, Madhav. Be amazing.’ I stood up. Without thinking, I started to run again. My legs and abdomen screamed with pain. My nose felt like ice. However, my head felt like fire. I ran, almost jumped with every stride, and looked straight ahead. Snow was in my sneakers, turning my feet cold and wet. ‘Run, run, run,’ I whispered with every breath I reached a dead end at Washington Square Park. ‘I’m close. Right turn from here.’ Time: 11.56 p.m. I wanted to rest for a minute. ‘No rest,’ I scolded myself. I turned right and ran. The noise of music and the crowd outside made me stop. Cafe Wha? The lit-up sign greeted me with its bright yellow letters. I pumped my fists.
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Praise for the author Many writers
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First published by Rupa Publication
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For my mother For rural India For t
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expectations, Love accepts some fla
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‘Half-girlfriend,’ ‘What?’
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possible. ‘She used to like your
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‘I’d like to cancel a ticket on
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1 Where?’ I gasped, trying to cat
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‘Do you speak in full sentences?
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Piyush to translate what I had said
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‘I’ll do my best, sir.’
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passed the ball. The crowd tittered
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the next half. As her team meeting
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even Hindi. He meant: will you play
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‘Yeah. But if they do, then see y
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anymore. I wanted to fit into my ne
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We had played a half-court game; I
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iuinraon, the oldest princely state
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‘They're ditzy. Forget them,' she
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The hands-on-hips pose meant no fur
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is bothering you. And, if something
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Police guards tell you to stop and
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‘Even though you eat all my lunch
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me. ‘Madhav, please understand, I
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6 She entered my room and I slammed
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‘Good observation.’ I looked st
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'No woman has ever meant more to me
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Shailesh said. 'What?’ I said. As
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‘Shut up, fatso,’ Shailesh said
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I stepped inside. A maid gestured f
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‘So thoughtful. This will keep me
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‘It’s okay, uncle,’ Rohan sai
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‘Riya, babe, you only got guy fri
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spring rolls. 'Madhav, so many gues
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Riya raised her eyebrows from the d
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‘You are the new exotic creature
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‘Have you been in love before?’
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I had proposed to her. The least sh
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said in a baby voice. I took that a
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secretary must have asked a hotel i
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11 We had practised for less than t
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I went back to my book. ‘What do
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‘What is your problem? I’m not
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She stood up to change her seat.
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12 Six months later After my break-
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asshole doing here? It's amazing ho
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isk steps away from me. ‘Riya,’
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13 We walked out to her car. She ha
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Our eyes met. Maybe it was my imagi
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‘I’m sorry.’ ‘It’s fine.
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more dignity than I thought I had.
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14 One year and three months later
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The other interviewers cleared thei
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‘It’s just a way they express l
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ACT II Bihar
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class, rest low class’ bullshit t
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‘Like whom?’ ‘The over-educat
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I folded my hands to wish both men,
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‘SMDC didn’t send anyone,’ he
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The difference between seventy kids
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answers for us.’ ‘I am from her
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treatment,’ I said. ‘Now the vi
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not declined the ticket.’ ‘What
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18 I reached the Raj High School pl
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tray from her. Mrs Ojha touched my
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My mother knew the political game.
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19 I prepared a proposal for Ojha a
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I smiled. I did go to the best Engl
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‘We are a poor school. We don’t
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20 'Speech?’ my mother said. 'In
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‘So what do I do?’ ‘You work
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hotel called Nest, provided I didn'
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‘I’m Madhav,’ I said. ‘All
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22 I returned to Dumraon after my P
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I looked around. I wondered if I sh
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lobby, my eyes fixed on the entranc
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23 We sat at a corner table and had
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‘Nestle. I am in sales, for their
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‘What?’ ‘Ask me things. I wil
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famine. I bought the two-rupee tick
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‘All the time.You should come som
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8. Calling call centres and choosin
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‘All we have for peace in this ci
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choosing my words with care, afraid
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inaugurated her hot plate and utens
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There isn’t much to see in Dumrao
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27 Savitri tai served us daal and s
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‘Sometimes.’ My mother didn’t
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My mother did not respond. Riya too
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28 'I have a confession to make,’
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‘Can we please not do all this ot
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the quality of the kiss, or what di
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29 'So this is the famous Dumraon R
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I moved to class IV and then to cla
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‘You are so sweet. There is no ne
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Riya had not reacted much to her fa
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‘You want to sleep here?’ No an
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indignant. Samantha had called me o
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the royal family,’ Samantha said.
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‘And in this backward Bihar is th
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Students took over the stage again.
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talk later, okay? I need to rush. I
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‘Many people are coming home for
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I asked you to stay back last night
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‘Where is that divorcee friend of
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‘Sure, sir. Sir, I will move her
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notice period.' ‘When did she res
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‘Just take them,’ I said in a f
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the gifts that arrived from London
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‘I am not comparing anything. I w
Page 223 and 224: silence. So I walked up to the beds
Page 225 and 226: 'I don’t want anyone,’ I said.
Page 227 and 228: 35 Chanakya Hotel, Patna Madhav con
Page 229 and 230: from her in years,’ Madhav said.
Page 231 and 232: 36 After Chetan Bhagat left, I rema
Page 233 and 234: urger and a large order of French f
Page 235 and 236: ‘Ah, no wonder Michael said you h
Page 237 and 238: 37 'Name?’ the officer at the imm
Page 239 and 240: done an MBA from Harvard after Step
Page 241 and 242: I reached the southeast corner of t
Page 243 and 244: 38 You bagged a Gates Foundation gr
Page 245 and 246: ‘Everything? You thought she was
Page 247 and 248: singers are?’ ‘Too many, my fri
Page 249 and 250: 39 The Gates Foundation’s head of
Page 251 and 252: Shailesh gasped. He covered his mou
Page 253 and 254: 40 'No Indian singer here. I’m so
Page 255 and 256: vegetables, arrived on our table. I
Page 257 and 258: around Pylos. I used to live here e
Page 259 and 260: 41 'I'm so ashamed, I can’t even
Page 261 and 262: ‘Thank you, Madhav. I look forwar
Page 263 and 264: 42 Of course, my visit to Union Squ
Page 265 and 266: ‘I actually have to go home.’ T
Page 267 and 268: 43 'Surprise!’ A crowd of people
Page 269 and 270: Saturday and Sunday. Each table had
Page 271 and 272: whispered to Shailesh, making up wh
Page 273: Where can I get a cab?’ 'Want one
Page 277 and 278: You're beautiful, it's true.' The b
Page 279 and 280: ‘Sorry, I left because I got scar
Page 281 and 282: She unzipped a side zipper and step
Page 283 and 284: ‘Tourists spend a day with our ki
Page 285: Table of Contents girlfriend My pho
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