CASUAL COLORS. Sample Copy. Not for distribution

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2 CASUAL COLORS Sample Copy. Not for distribution i

3 Publishing-in-support-of, EDUCREATION PUBLISHING RZ 94, Sector - 6, Dwarka, New Delhi Shubham Vihar, Mangla, Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh Website: Copyright, Author All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, magnetic, optical, chemical, manual, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written consent of its writer. ISBN: Price: ` The opinions/ contents expressed in this book are solely of the author and do not represent the opinions/ standings/ thoughts of Educreation. Printed in India Sample Copy. Not for distribution ii

4 CASUAL COLORS Shilpa Shahdeo EDUCREATION PUBLISHING (Since 2011) Sample Copy. Not for distribution iii

5 Sample Copy. Not for distribution iv

6 About The Author W Shilpa Shahdeo hails from the small town of Ranchi. She completed her schooling and engineering from her hometown and went on to join the tech industry. She used to love reading short stories and anecdotes and was often inspired to pen down her own creative thoughts. She relished writing since childhood and had collected her own writings into a diary of amateur poetry. Although a person of diversified enthusiasm, her interest has always been towards critical analysis of articles, movie reviews and writing. Following constant coaxing from family, she finally decided to compile multiple hues from her crayons to give her first book. Sample Copy. Not for distribution v

7 About The Book W There have been honest attempts to write books, but I have never been able to hold on; and all the papers or files have either gone to the dustbin or recycle bin. Casual Colors is hence an anthology with each story woven upon observations and plain imagination to come out with a knitted storyline. There have been names and places, but that is simply to gain a reader connect. Nothing else is implied. These are casual strokes from my pen and I must underline is purely a work of fiction and any resemblance at all, must be taken as purely co-incidental. Hope to usher in a colorful experience! Sample Copy. Not for distribution vi

8 For My Family Sample Copy. Not for distribution vii

9 Sample Copy. Not for distribution viii

10 Contents S.No. Story Page 1 ACCIDENTALLY YOURS 1 2 BRANDED 18 3 FAIR CHANCE 39 4 IN WONDERLAND 59 5 SMALL TOWNS, BIG DREAMS 79 Sample Copy. Not for distribution ix

11 Sample Copy. Not for distribution x

12 1 1 ACCIDENTALLY YOURS W She walked through the dim mess hall in her coconut-oiled plaits ornate by two bright red ribbon strips. The ragging at the girls hostel was not even near in competition to that at the boys. Hi! You are Shraddha! Aren t you? As her brows rose in question, C mon, we were at the same interview booth. Didn t you notice my name and serial no.? It was exactly after yours. You have good observation power! responded Shraddha, unconcerned about the enthusiasm depicted from her side. Hi, I m Anjali. Come! Let us chat in our room! Casual Colors

13 2 Shraddha followed Anjali into her room disinterestedly. Denying would be rude. Anjali obviously started the conversation, from introducing herself completely to her admission to the college. So what are your hobbies? I like dancing. However, my family does not like it. They are all very strict. They plan to marry me off as soon as I complete the course. So I have decided to have all the fun before I complete these years, even though it means some dirty fun! she winked. ON! went the speaker, as Shraddha dozed off in the middle of it. The next morning, she found herself neatly covered in a blanket. She smiled. Maybe, she had found a friend for herself. Anjali was a complete contradiction to her personality nevertheless they got along well and ended up chatting daily and eating together at the hostel mess hall. They gradually made a common group of friends in the college campus, which comprised only of guys. Shraddha and Anjali were the only two girls in it. They could not decipher the reason for this co-incidence but they guessed it was due to one common factor which connected both of them: at heart they were adventurous and fearless. They were what the world calls: tomboys! They could jump over walls with ease, play pranks Casual Colors Sample Copy.Not for distribution

14 3 sleekly on anyone, participate in every rebellious gesture; they were just one amongst the group. Monotonous classes, exciting canteen trips, strenuous exams, depressing results; the semester just flew past. Each one realized the essence of their friendship which went beyond semester grades or financial status or even a friend s character for that matter. They would stand by each other under any circumstance. Or to be precise, they were partnersin-crime! Shraddha was on her way to class as usual, when she bumped into someone she already knew. Varun? Hi, what are you doing here? Uh Hi Getting a transfer done to your college! Oh Long time! How have you been? And you didn t tell me about this? You never check your mails. Oh God, I m lazy at that I admit. Neither did I know that you had joined here. It s nice that you still remember me! he taunted. Now, at least I know someone in this college. Casual Colors

15 4 Wow!! She had met with an old friend or so to say a little more than an acquaintance, purely by accident. But, a pleasant one! Pleasant enough to skip the class she was heading to. Varun was her school friend who had moved out of the country following his father s relocation. Shraddha had kept in touch with him through occasional mails and chats; very random and irregular. She dragged him to the canteen, all enthusiastic to introduce him to everyone she knew. His discomfort was very much obvious and she could comprehend that. It would be very difficult to join the college mid-session and then easily settle, as part of the rest of the crowd. There would obviously be a gap in connecting with the rest. Shraddha went all out of her way to help him with notes of the unattended classes, pending project submissions and relevant books. Mundane lectures, moving as slowly as the rotating fans above, occupied the maximum part of the days. This was however concluded with assignment assistance, peppered with interesting talks in the evenings with her long-lost friend. This made the order of the day for many days. Casual Colors Sample Copy.Not for distribution

16 5 On one such day, she was yelled at by Anjali when she returned back to the hostel. Hello madam can I have an appointment with you? What? responded a baffled Shraddha. We all are planning for an outing to the town tomorrow. Better be a part of it! Of course! Where would I go? Who knows, you could go anywhere with that newly found friend of yours! Shraddha smiled in contradiction and was very much in the college bus with her group the next day. Chattering, playing and pulling each other s leg; Shraddha realized that there was a good amount of time she had lost on their group-fun. They shopped and went impromptu for a movie and then it was a scrumptious meal. It was late evening and they missed upon the last bus to the college campus. They however managed to hire a local Trekker to ferry them, though at an exorbitant rate by their standards. With jokes and laughter and some toasting their cola cans, it was dark already. While others sang in full volume, the trekker suddenly gave up on its way. This was enough to Casual Colors

17 6 knock everyone back to their senses. They were nervous. It was not because of the concern of how they would get back. But, because Anjali and Shraddha were now their undeclared responsibility! We need to get them back to their hostels first. We guys can live on the roads. This was a sensible conclusion. The road was deserted since the college was on the outskirts. You better get us back, yelped Anjali, her concern converting to irritation. I had always asked not to get these girls along. They are always a problem, commented another. In the middle of this chaos, they spotted a distant truck, to their relief. The boys waved to halt it and then negotiated with the truck driver to ferry them to the campus gate. All worrying lines faded as they had huge fun sitting on the sand loaded over the truck. Worry lines were however back when they reached the college. A situation analysis was done by the boys, and they managed to sneak in the girls inside their hostel via the backyard-bushes, just on time. The guys certainly knew the girls-hostel much better than the girls themselves! It took an hour to convince the rotund warden that they had Casual Colors Sample Copy.Not for distribution

18 7 missed upon the evening attendance since they were sleeping in their rooms. Overly exhausted by the entire day, both girls went to sleep, not even waking up for dinner. Ask your lover-boy, what he did yesterday, chimed in Anjali when Shraddha met her at the lunch hour, the next day. Who s my lover-boy? Oh C mon! Varun punched one of the guys who saw us last night. Why? Did he complain to the professor? Are you really that innocent or do you do this to irritate me? He s in love! Shraddha shrugged it off and Anjali went off to her class. But Anjali had already poked her enough. Shraddha walked down the corridor innumerable times waiting for Varun s class to get over. She wanted a first-hand report of what had happened. The class was over and Varun walked past her. Hey, hello! I came to meet you. Casual Colors

19 8 Really? How come you are not hanging around with those cool dudes of yours? As Varun shoved past her, she interjected. Can we talk? It was an accident. Little did she think why she would owe him any explanation? Ok, but I don t want to go into that canteen of yours with all of them hanging around. Library? Each of them chose a thick book on the subject they had no idea upon, as they sat across the table. He narrated the incident where he had retaliated to one of the comments by a guy who had seen their group helping the girls sneak into their hostel, the previous night. But why did you have to react like that? I am least bothered on anyone s comments besides the ones who matter to me! she declared in one breath. Do I matter to you? he asked, looking into her eyes. Of course, you do but... He stood up and walked away even before Shraddha could think how to complete her sentence. Casual Colors Sample Copy.Not for distribution

20 9 She did not dine with Anjali that night. Varun s words were reverberating in her mind and she had a very disturbed sleep. This incident was however forgotten as she was totally unprepared for the test, the next day. She went to the stationery store, where her friends were getting the customized chits photo-copied for all of them. These bits of paper incorporated all the details in the clear, but minimum font and were her savior for the day. She enjoyed with her group at lunch in the canteen. And they all started dissipating for class, soon after. Shraddha too stood up to take leave. Something is not right! Shraddha thought to herself even as she walked along the cobbled path leading to the college building. So you pay least heed to my advice, someone murmured behind her back. Where have you been? I haven t seen you since morning. l am right here provided you have the time to observe. Didn t you over-react yesterday? Casual Colors

21 10 I guess so, and all, for someone who least bothers about me. What do you want? Shraddha was now irritated with Varun s response. I want you to be by my side. She wondered whether she was not being a true friend to him when suddenly what he actually meant flashed in her mind. You want me to even stop interacting with my group? Sorry I am not your property. I guess I can stop interacting with you right away, she spoke in complete frustration as she walked away. Days flew past. All the previous incidents had diluted in her mind and so was everyone s seriousness towards studies. Playing with chalkstubs, drooping behind textbooks and proxying for each other s attendance; all had become a regular activity as much as daily ablutions. Shraddha was very much a part of this crowd and had sincerely earned the title of back-bencher. They were called last-minute-preparation students who had nothing to do with the class preaching and were present in the class just for fulfilling a minimum-compulsoryattendance requirement. The nerdy lot had reserved the first few rows for themselves. Casual Colors Sample Copy.Not for distribution

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