The Wrong Turn

 “No Rohit! Not now, please understand na. This is not good. The guy is seeing.” She untangled herself from Rohit’s embrace and wriggled to one side of the crampy auto. Shalini and Rohit, classmates at AJ College of Engineering, were dating each other. They were both seventeen and in the first year. They stayed in the hostel and had gone for a late night movie in Nagpur, around 40 kms, from their residential campus at Ramtek.

Shalini was five feet seven, dusky, had large eyes, medium hair cut in waves, and a gorgeous figure. Rohit on the other hand was quite handsome, some would call him delectable, could sing like Kishore Kumar (atleast he thought so), and had a way with women. He had had many affairs and Shalini was his nth, well he considered her a contest, whereas she considered him her true lover.

They knew each other since class XII, where Rohit had eyed the Maths teacher’s only daughter with a lot of lust and some love. Shalini had been quite amused with the attention the stylish singer had lavished on her. She had been friends with Murali, her friend since the day she had joined the school, a year ago. Murali, of course was also in love with Shalini, but had never said it. He had wanted to top the class and then propose. Shalini, meanwhile, had fallen completely in love with the preposterously garrulous young singer, Rohit. Shalini topped the class in English, Maths, and Physics, whereas Murali was the overall topper. Murali was so proud to see her get the medal after him. He looked at her with affection and love. Rohit had managed to scare through. The three friends had decided to apply to the same college. Based on their marks, they got admission in AJC, Ramtek. They had got the branch they had requested also, Computer Science.

Rohit had started making his moves when they had shifted to the hostel. He had asked Murali in no uncertain terms to stay away from his latest crush, Shalini. Murali had noticed the way Shalini had exchanged a silent word with Rohit and had withdrawn. He had stopped talking to both of them. If Shalini did not care for him, why should he?

A few months passed. The newcomers went through ragging and some tomfoolery. After that, the college ensured they were put into grueling sessions of practice and labs. That was when Rohit decided to move out of the hostel and stay with his friends just outside the campus. His parents were not very rich but he was not bothered so much. He wanted to get laid and he would anyway get a job based on his skills. He spent his time trying to woo girls and getting them to come over to his flat.

Murali tried to warn Shalini that Rohit was up to no good but by then she was completely immersed in the sexy voice that sang to her at night and the boy who stood outside her hostel window to say goodnight. Unknown to her Rohit would say “goodnight” to several other girls as well.

Finally, when Shalini agreed to go on a date with Rohit, he threw a party. He called all the boys in the class and told them that the coming weekend Shalini, his latest conquest would be in his arms, writhing in passion. The boys, drunk in lust and liquor, lapped up the luscious news. They were all waiting eagerly to hear more from the playboy. When Saturday arrived, after the afternoon class, Rohit sent a note to Shalini through his other girlfriends. The girls giggled and passed the note to Shalini. She opened it and blushed. Her face went red and the boys standing in a corner went berserk. Their excitement knew no bounds, Rohit WAS a lady-killer. Even the shy ones like Shalini could fall prey to his charms. What a stud!

Meanwhile, Shalini read the note, bent her head, and walked away, in the direction of her hostel.  When she reached her room, she locked the door and re read the message, “Meet me at 1:00, near the side gate.”

Shalini felt very conscious when she said bye to her roommate and friend Dolly. The girl urged her to be careful. She hated Rohit. 

Shalini made her way slowly towards the college gates, with trepidation. She was fearing that any moment the principal would spot and berate her. Nothing of the sort happened. When she reached the gate, she sighed in relief to see Rohit at the gate, smiling, and holding a bouquet of roses. He was dressed in a white shirt and blue jeans that hugged his lean, muscular legs. She felt a sliver of excitement when she took in the taut body and the handsome face. She was so lucky that this guy was in love with her!

Rohit meanwhile was checking out the pretty girl walking towards him. His mind was conjuring up images of her, in various states of undress, and he felt himself having an erection. Rohit shook himself out of the reverie and stood still. To calm his mind, he started humming a popular number from a Bollywood film. Shalini came closer to the gates and heard him. She stopped, smiled, and turned towards the security console. She entered the required details and smiled at the guard. The security guard had been bought by Rohit and he allowed Shalini to go off with the boy. Normally, he was supposed to keep an eye on such lovers and shoo them away. If they persisted, they had to be hauled up to the Principal’s office. But the guard had got a neat tip, and a bottle of local alcohol. The boy could go kidnap the girl for all he cared. It was the responsibility of the parents to take care of their pretty daughters, not watchmen like him. He saw the young pair sit on the motorbike and ride off, towards Nagpur. He knew they would end up in bed sooner. He didn’t care.

Rohit had made his plans carefully. Today was the day he would be declared, the stud, of the college. Then he could have any girl he wanted, even the ones from Delhi.

But before that he had to lay this one.

When they reached Nagpur, it was just after 2:00. The movie would start at 3:00 and end at 6:00 p.m. The title was apt, Rohit thought, “Pyaar Kiya Toh Darna Kya.”

The couple had some lunch in the theatre and snuggled up. Rohit tried to hold Shalini’s waist and hug her, but she wriggled out. He tried a few more times and stopped. He had a lot of time.

Shalini was slightly getting perturbed at the persuasion from Rohit. He had been trying to kiss her first, but, when she hissed back saying people were staring, he had become quiet. After a few minutes, a hand came snaking up her skirt. The skirt was also his idea. He had said, “Shalu, please wear that skirt na, you look very cute in it. Please!” And Shalini had agreed. Now, she was beginning to understand the motive behind the suggestion. Was she an ass or what?

Rohit sighed and sat back in his plush seat. He was having a sinking feeling that his two hundred rupees would be a waste and this girl would not even let him touch her. But, after the interval, his doubts cleared, when Shalini, in a romantic mood, rested her head on his shoulder. He sat quietly first, but then the devil inside urged him and he ran a finger on her soft face. She responded with a soft “Hey” but did not move away. Rohit knew enough to understand this as a sign. He moved quickly, took her face in his hands, and kissed her lips. She struggled first, but then gave in. He devoured her luscious lips and bit her lower lip softly. She responded too, first hesitantly, then with a passion that surprised Rohit. He had seen many shy girls, but this one was hot. After planting umpteen kisses, he moved down, slowly, like a hunter on the prowl. He ravaged her soft skin with his lips, planting a kiss wherever he went. She made tiny moaning sounds. He knew she was ready. The theatre was practically empty at that time of the day. He lifted her skirt till her waist and pulled her underwear down. She stopped him and her eyes shot open, wild with shock. He kissed the hand and pushed his hand inside. She sighed and let him have his way. He had come prepared. He quickly lay her on the floor of their row and lay on top. She whispered, “No Rohit, this is not right. Please no.”

“Shalu, you love me no? We will be together our whole lives, baby. Tell me to stop and I will. But you want to hurt me? Say you don’t love me and I will stop.” Rohit delivered smoothly.

Shalini’s mind could not think. She just nodded her head and Rohit, the hunter, swooped on his prey. He had done it in theatres before. The floor would leave a mark on her, never on him. He had to be careful about the people in the front row, though. He had a full hour before the lights came on. He slowly parted her legs and entered her, with a practiced ease. It was Shalini’s first time, and she had not expected this. She opened her mouth to object, but by then Rohit had pinned her down and plunged into her again and again. She tried to move from under his strong hold, but he had her pinned down expertly and with one hand, he had her mouth closed. She struggled but could not do much. Rohit came and sagged down on her.

Shalini was extremely scared; she knew she had done something bad. She should have never come with  him. She tried to wriggle out from under Rohit. He then sat up, and expertly dressed himself. Then he looked at her and said, gruffly, “Come, get up, get dressed fast. Else, we will not reach the college on time.” Shalini nodded and tried to get up. Her legs were paining and she could feel something sticky on her thighs, she touched it and brought her fingers to her nose. It smelt of iron! Blood! Yuck.   

She gave a small yelp and had started to cry when Rohit shut her mouth and hugged her, “Sssh, what has happened is normal between people who love each other. This is how adults express love, baby. Now, you are mine, totally.”

Shalini hugged him fiercely, and said, whimpering, “Rohit, I love you very much. You…you won’t betray me no?”

“Baby, how can you even think of such a thing?” Rohit, asked, with a convincing look. He was already feeling bored. He wanted to go to home and have a neat whisky and smoke some charas. But he had to drop this chick back, he had promised. Oh, these girls, they can be such whiners.  

They clambered out of the theatre and Rohit went to fetch his bike. Meanwhile, Shalini saw a ladies restroom and decided to freshen up. When she saw herself in the mirror, she suppressed a small shriek. Her hair was completely disheveled and her clothes were so messy. It actually looked as if she had been ravaged. With a tiny yelp, Shalini fixed her look. After a few minutes, she inspected herself. She was looking near normal. But not normal, she knew, she no longer was a virgin. She was scared that she would get pregnant. But, her mind said, it’s ok, Rohit will marry her and they could complete their degrees together.

When she came out, Rohit was waiting impatiently outside. He nearly barked at her, “Where the hell were you?” Shalini was slightly taken aback, why was he so tense?

“I…I went to clean up.” Shalini stammered. “Ok ok, come now.” Rohit said.

They had reached halfway when the bike gave up and started stuttering. Rohit cursed loudly and kicked the bike. They were stranded on a deserted road and there was nobody in sight. There were no regular buses also on that route. Only autos plied, that too, if you were lucky. It was certainly a lucky day for them, they saw one lone auto trudging towards them. Rohit waved madly and the auto stopped. The driver was a young fellow and he looked at Shalini with a lot of interest. Rohit was getting stressed as time passed. It was already 5:30 and he had to drop Shalini back before the guards changed duty. He didn’t know the night guard and they could get into trouble if the guard spilled the beans.

He bargained for two hundred rupees and the two got into the auto. Rohit had left the bike in a roadside garage and had promised to come back for it.

Shalini and Rohit sat huddled inside the auto. In no time they reached the campus without any more incidents and got down a few yards before the campus gates. The change of guards was happening and Shalini had to rush. Rohit urged her to slip into the gates without the guards seeing her. Shalini ran and slipped inside the hostel without any incident.

A few days passed. Shalini and Rohit did not meet or go out after that day. Rohit avoided Shalini even if he saw her after class, or he acted as if he had not seen her. Shalini noticed his behavior and felt hurt. She thought that maybe he was feeling guilty, hence was avoiding meeting her gaze.

Shalini meanwhile had confessed her love to Dolly, her roommate. Dolly had advised her to go slow. She did not want Shalini to get into any problem. However, Shalini was adamant, she knew Rohit, he was not like that. Dolly had her misgivings.

It was time for the semester exams and everybody got busy with it. Shalini was one of the toppers and Rohit did not even figure in any list. He was a backbencher and only scraped through. Murali on the other hand was in competition with Shalini for the top position.

 Shalini breezed through all the papers and was confident that she would top her class and she would beat Murali also. She also thought, ruefully, about Rohit and how he had done. He had avoided her totally. She had begun to feel as if he had used her just to have fun, and was not serious about her. As soon the thought crossed her head, she wanted to confirm it. She decided to get the truth from Rohit. It was a month since she had spoken to him. She left the hostel stealthily and crossed the short distance between the entrance and Rohit’s house within minutes. She could see that his door was open, loud music was pouring out; many voices were discussing something, animatedly. She silently went upto the door and peered in. Rohit and some of her classmates and a few seniors were lying on a bed, far from the door, and were drinking. Several bottles lay around them. Not one of them noticed her standing near the door. Very obviously, they were having an animated discussion about something.  Shalini gasped when she realized that they were discussing, her!

“Cmon yaar, Rohit, I say is THE best stud on campus. Look at his conquests.” Said Jay, a classmate. The rest of the gang roared, when a senior butted in, “Chal, lets count.”

“Alright, so whoever has a greater number, is The Stud.”

“Ok.” Cooed Rohit. Shalini stood rooted to the spot.

“Me, I got only a few from second year yaar, Rakhi, Hema, Jyoti, and Seema.”

“I got only one!” Cried some of the boys. Rohit, how many did you get?” Cried one.

“Me. Aah, let me think. Ummm….Jaya, Radhika, Deepali, Deepa, Roshni, Reshma, Hemangi…and of course, Shalini” Rohit paused. The boys shouted, “abbe, so many, you bloody fucker,”

“Hemangi also?” Asked a visibly upset Rohan. Hemangi and he were a pair. He was looking quite upset. “I am sorry yaar, she was so much in love with me, I could not say no. Sorry buddy. But I can promise I never met her after that, so in that respect she is yours.” Rohit said and winked at Rohan.

Rohan looked very upset. He mumbled something and got up to go. Rohit asked, “abbe, what did you say?”

“Nothing…” Rohan said and turned.

“Abbe, tell.” Rohit urged. The boys laughed boisterously.

Rohan turned and said, “What will you know about true love? You are just a bloody loser, a good for nothing. You guys deserve each other. I love Hemangi and I am sure she loves me too. And everybody thinks you are an asshole to have done what you did with poor Shalini. She is a nice girl, she didn’t deserve that. You are sick, Rohit.”

Rohit got up, thumped him on his back, and said, “I don’t love any girl, my friend. Shalini was also a conquest. She was amazing, but, a tigress, she got me up twice man. What a girl! Bloody bitch, she made me run so much. I have been trying to bed her since school. Finally, I had to make her fall in love with me, I even had to promise to marry her. Only then she let me touch her. Oh, but what a girl man!”

He turned and said to the group, “guys, you surely should try your luck with her man, I promise, she will blow your mind away…”

Smack!

Rohit was too stunned to speak. His alcoholic high had come crashing down, he stood with a smarting cheek and through blurred eyes, he saw a pair of blazing eyes, filled with tears. Shalini had stepped inside the room and had slapped him, hard. The drunk group silently, ran away. Rohan had left long back, having seen Shalini standing near the door.

She then turned and ran blindly outside.

A loud crash sound gave wings to Rohit’s legs and he rushed outside to see a semi crushed Shalini getting dragged with the wheels of a huge truck. People were rushing to help the poor writhing girl. By the time the truck had stopped, Shalini had got crushed under the wheels. Rohit took one look at her, turned his face away, and retched on the grass.

By the time Rohit recovered, Shalini had died. That instant, Rohit’s interest in girls and desire for alcohol also died. The post mortem report showed that Shalini was two months pregnant, with Rohit’s baby. She had died, at eighteen, unloved, and heartbroken. Rohit could not forget the sight and started seeing Shalini everywhere he went. His friends thought he had lost his marbles.  

He eventually left the college and returned to his parents. He went into a shock, and had a nervous breakdown. His parents took him to a psychiatrist who managed to get him back. But, Rohit had changed. Shalini did in death what she could not do in life; she made Rohit her eternal lover. He mourned Shalini’s death every second of his life.