Sugarcane Juice: Episode 02

Chapter 3 

Next day, the lunch group gathered in the canteen as usual. They were discussing something, some topic or gossiping about somebody.

It all did not matter to Pritam! He was preoccupied with that thought. That question which he was unable to solve yesterday! He eagerly waited for that ‘different’ girl who disturbed his routine lunch time.

‘What could be different about her?’ he kept looking at the entrance of food court, every now and then.

Moments must have passed, a gang of girls entered laughing out loud. Two of the girls were seen sharing a hi-five, celebrating a joke or something. A group of very senior employees, sitting near the entrance, stared at them to display the annoyance at all those noises.

However, Pritam did not mind that a bit! Not because his buddies were better than them in making noise. But because in that group he clearly noticed the ‘special one’ pushing her flicks back and fixing it behind her ears!

The group of girls directly approached an empty table to occupy. Most of them carried their tiffin-boxes that day.

‘But where is she now?’ in between complementing Bindu for the tasty Sabji that she had just offered, he had missed the sight on that girl!

It’s not that his friends did not get annoyed by his strange behavior, but they just decided to leave him alone and continued the discussion they were having.

‘Ah, there she is!’ sighed Pritam on seeing that girl re-joining her own group with that plate of ‘Health Menu’ in her hand. Never mind! She sat there and how! A few tables away and facing his group!

This can’t get better than this!

‘Eureka!’ he did not shout that but noticed the uniqueness about her!

It’s the eyes! Those grey eyes! So special and so unique, they seemed to dramatically improve the cuteness of her already endearing face!

He continued to stare at her! Looking at her, being an amateur photographer, he was feeling the real-life ‘Bokeh Effect’! In photography, bokeh means –effect of concentrating only on the subject and blurring out details in background.

Ditto! Unknowingly, he was focusing only on her. The surroundings seemed to be a fading mixture of various colors. She appeared to be talking in slow motion. While being in his own dream world, one of the friends in the ‘special one’s group noticed that somebody was getting attention!

That girl lightly poked grey-eyed one and said something. Then suddenly, the whole group turned to look at Pritam and started giggling! She could not hide the blushing, even though she tried her best to ignore her friends’ comment. 

‘Oops!’ he felt guilty as he fell down from his day-dreaming world, ‘Did I do something wrong?’ he wondered. He remained silent throughout lunch time that day, not even trying to look at her, and left the place with his group!

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