My Valentine Day

It was that month of the year, when everyone starts feeling as if the air is full of love and as if the cupid is hiding in every nook and corner just waiting with his love dipped arrows, waiting to fire them at people’s heart and make them all mushy and senti. Ah, yes, no points for guessing, it was the month of February 2006. Everywhere one looked, there were those heart shaped balloons, and the radio stations were playing all the love soaked songs.That’s when I recollected a rather funny incident that happened to me during my graduation days.I was in my 3rd year of engineering and our semester exams were fast approaching, but as luck would have it the lawyers went on strike (they were asking the government to set up a high court bench at Dharwad (my home town)). Our exams got postponed indefinitely because of this strike. It gave all us guys a breather and allowing us a chance to stop burning the midnight lamp, rushing through our last moment ‘selective’ studying. Now that the exam tension was pushed to back of our minds, we started thinking about other things. Thats when it struck me that V-day was fast approaching and many V-day dance parties were being organized in town. I thought of trying my luck and asking a girl out to be my valentine for the V-day party. Now, well, ahem…My luck with girls is, how do I put it… not very good, Having done away with that, I always end up being their ‘BEST’ friend, rather than their BF  I am so familiar with the dialogue the girls keep using with me, it seems to be their favorite dialogue “Rohan you are a very sweet guy, I am sure you will find a very sweet girl” And I used the tactic of ‘grin and bear’ and of course curse in my mind, If I am such a ‘sweet’ guy why cant u be that ‘sweet’ girl in my life?!?
But that never stopped me from being optimistic. So this time I gathered all my courage and went out and asked a beautiful girl to be my valentine and for the V-day party. Imagine the shock when she agreed and asked me to pick her up at 7:30 at her place. Wow, I was on cloud 9 and felt so happy as if I had achieved something very kool in life. So I got busy getting ready for the red letter day of my life. Borrowed my friends modified bike which looked all kool with the extra fittings and the funky colors, borrowed some cash from my other friends, and even had to pull a lot of strings in order to get 2 free passes to a happening party in town. Even took some 2 hours ball room dancing lessons from my sister. So I was all set and ready as ready as I could be. Then the D-day finally arrived, with a song on my lips, I got dressed, applied the expensive, after shave lotion which I had sneaked out from my brother’s closet, and the extra spray of the deodorant.I was about to set out, my dad was sitting and watching the evening news telecast, and as my BAD luck would have it, as I was just passing through the TV hall, the news reported came up and announced the latest breaking news, and, so coolly announced with a bloody smile on her face, that the strike was called off and that the engineering exams will be as per schedule i.e. starting on 16th February. When those words fell on my ears, my instant knee jerk reaction was to sprint out of home and run away before my dad calls out to me and asks me to sit and study. But I was damn shocked with the news, that I just stood there and was staring at the smiling news reader as to double check as to what she said was actually true or was I hearing things.Then the reality struck me and I realized that what she said was reality and I felt as if the love in the air was choking me up making me thing of all the studying I had to still do for the exams. That’s when my dad’s voice shook me and started telling me not to go anywhere and sit and prepare for my exams. I was like, “God, this cant be happening to me”. I had this gorgeous girl all dressed up and waiting or me, me all dressed up and having these free passes to the happening party in town.I still recollect, me almost going on my knees and asking my dad to allow me to go to the party for just a few hours and I was like promising him that I will score good marks in the exams, as if striking a deal for allowing me to attend the party. Don’t remember what exactly happened next, but my dad finally agreed but on one condition that I would be back home in 3 hours and would sit and study the whole night. 3 Hours and that’s all the time I had, to pick up the girl from her place, go to the party, dance for all those mushy songs and then kiss the girl goodnight and drop her back home. With that on the back of my mind, I drove so fast to the girls place, and there as if I had less things to worry about, the girl was not even ready and wanted me to help her select which color dress she should wear for the party. I was like “damn, wats this”, but then I couldn’t upset my date and so with a big smile helped her select her dress and we both rushed to the party. Then after dancing to all the latest numbers, the slow dancing numbers started and only couples were allowed on the dance floor, that was the time to put my recently learnt dancing classes into use, so we were romantically dancing on the floor, but damn I had that 3 hour curfew on the back of my mind, and I just couldn’t concentrate on the dancing and used to end up stepping on my date’s feet. Damn those were some embarrassing moments . I was feeling as I am cinderella who is worried about the clock ticking away and scared of time turning to midnight.Some how with so much stepping on her feet and me constantly checking my watch for time, the allotted 3 hours were almost over and I had to wind up my partying and return home. But how do I tell the girl about my curfew and how do I drive all the way and drop her home without crossing the curfew limits. Just as I was thinking of different innovative ways of making excuses, the girls sister and her husband came to the party and they offered to drive her back home. I was like “thank you God for such small mercies”. So saying the sweet things that the girls want to hear, I kissed her goodnite and drove back home and made it well within my curfew limits and spent the rest of the nite studying and every now and then thinking about what a whirlwind of an event the V-day was for me.