Another Chance at Life

Prabhu Jindal Shreya

Description

Should you move on if life gives you a second chance? Aditya Arora spent the last years of high school watching his first love, Neela, die of cancer. College, he hopes, will be a fresh start. But when the past comes back to haunt him in the form of his late girlfriend s father, Professor Krishnan, the year soon turns out to be harder than his worst nightmare. Thankfully, Aditya s not so far gone that he can t make friends. With the help of Kaveri, Justin and Mausammi, he slowly begins building resistance to Krishnan s spitefulness and anger. As relationships change equations and academic pressures reach inhuman levels, Aditya learns some important lessons in trust, acceptance and, of course, moving on. Hopefully, he won t be the only one learning them!

Informations

• Publié par: Penguin Books Ltd
• Date de parution: 15 janvier 2013
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9788184758757
• Langue: English

Extrait

SHREYA PRABHU JINDAL
Another Chance at Life
Contents
About the Author
Dedication
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-one
Chapter Twenty-two
Chapter Twenty-three
Chapter Twenty-four
Epilogue
Copyright Page
PENGUIN METRO READS
ANOTHER CHANCE AT LIFE
An English honours graduate from St Stephen s College, Shreya Prabhu Jindal currently teaches English in Vasant Valley School, Delhi.
She started writing in 2003, when, at age thirteen, she discovered the existence of fan fiction. She has continued to read and write fan fiction since, and enjoys it immensely.
Shreya has also dabbled in scriptwriting. In 2009 she co-scripted a short film, Kuch Spice to Make It Meetha , for MadMidaas Films. The film, which stars Purab Kohli and Nauheed Cyrusi, was an instant hit on YouTube when it was uploaded in February 2012.
Another Chance at Life is her first book.
You can contact Shreya at [e-mail] .
For Mama and Papa
Prologue
Get up.
Aditya jerked awake. Krishnan s face, splotchy, tear-stained and twisted with loathing, loomed over him. Awareness flooded into him. He was at the hospital. When had he fallen asleep? He felt a wave of panic as he suddenly realized what his ears weren t hearing-the steady beeping of the heart monitor. It was gone. The only sound left in the room was Krishnan s harsh breathing, and his own.
No, he thought numbly. We were supposed to have days. She can t be-she can t
But Neela was lying on his left arm, a dead weight. Dead.
Get out, Krishnan said, his voice trembling with grief and hate. I never want to see your face again.
I He choked, shaking like a leaf. He couldn t move, even if he had remembered how to. Neela was still lying on his arm.
Get out! The words came in an angry shout. Haven t you done enough?
Aditya couldn t move. Krishnan grabbed his arm and pulled him roughly out of the bed, wrenching him away from Neelakshi. A tingling sensation of pins and needles shot through his arm. The world tilted as his body was forced upright, hospital chairs and pristine white floors swam before his eyes-Krishnan was shoving him out of the room and into the corridor. The door slammed in his face.
Aditya stumbled back against a wall and slid to the floor. He buried his face in his folded knees, wrapped his arms around himself, and fell apart completely.
On the other side of the door, Krishnan kicked a chair in fury. Pain shot through his foot, but he barely noticed. With a scream of anguish, he crumpled to the floor.
One
Sujay let out a grunt as he helped Aditya heave his brand new mattress and pillows into the dickey of the Maruti. Do you need anything else?
Aditya thought for a few seconds. An extension cord. I think there s only, like, one plug point in the whole room.
Sujay gave him a disgusted look as he slammed the dickey shut. You know you could have just moved in with me. DU hostels are freaking primitive man! Why would you want to swelter in the Delhi heat when you could live in luxury with ACs and clean loos? And multiple plug points in each room?
It s more convenient living on campus, Aditya replied; although, if he was honest with himself, that was only part of the reason he didn t want to live with his big brother. Ever since Neelakshi s death Sujay had become ridiculously overprotective, and Aditya knew he d be mother-henned to distraction if he had to live with him 24/7.
I know Matthew s is the best of the best, but the hostel still sucks, Sujay warned, getting into the car. All the freaking DU hostels suck.
Aditya sighed as he slid into the passenger seat. He was really not in the mood for a replay of this conversation. Are you gonna get me the extension cord or not?
Yeah, yeah, fine, Sujay said, conceding defeat. There s an electrical place right around the corner.
They made their purchases and drove the short distance from Kingsway Camp to St Matthew s College in silence, listening to music on the radio. Once there, it took a single trip from the car to the hostel to get Aditya s meagre furnishings into his small, bare room. His roommate had yet to move in.
He ll probably be here in an hour or two, Aditya told his brother, correctly interpreting the conflicted look on his face. You really don t have to stay and keep me company. Besides, don t you have work? You only get two days off each month. Don t waste more than a half-day on me.
It s not a waste, Sujay said. Aditya noted the worry in his brother s eyes-something he had become all too familiar with over the past year. Are you sure you don t want to move in with me? It s only been three months, da. There s no need to rush this-
Sujay, stop, Adi interrupted. He paused for a moment, wondering how best to phrase this. He and his brother had only gotten close over the last couple of years, and making any kind of senti speech to him felt very awkward. I get that you and Mom and Dad are all concerned, he said finally, and I know I ve given you reason to be. But honestly da, I m kind of relieved about this. A fresh start, new faces maybe it s just what I need, you know? You ve been amazing this last year. But I need to do this on my own.
Sujay studied him for a long moment and then nodded reluctantly. Okay. But you can move in with me any time you want. No questions asked. And you can call me, any time. Even if I m at work. You should call me.
Aditya was touched by the intensity of his concern. Thanks, he said softly.
Sujay cleared his throat self-consciously, and then glanced at his watch. I have to leave now if I have to make it back to work before two. That s the half-day mark.
I ll walk you to the gate. And hey, thank your friend for the car, will you? It was damn nice of him to lend it to you
His roommate arrived an hour later, lugging a couple of suitcases. Aditya noticed that everything about the guy was massive-he was well over six feet tall, with broad shoulders and muscles that bordered on bulging. Even his hair was freakishly abundant, curly and spiking out in all directions, adding at least an inch to his height. He had a tuft of a beard, and wore a loose grey T-shirt that said Nope, I m not confused. I look this way all the time! in big, black letters. Aditya, who was five feet ten and skinny, felt dwarfed beside him.
Hey. You must be my roommate, the giant said, holding out a huge hand. I m Justin D Souza.
Aditya took it, half afraid he would have a bone-crushing grip, but the handshake was surprisingly gentle. Aditya Arora, he said.
Which course are you in?
English. First year.
So am I! That s great, man. We have the same schedule, so that means you can wake me up in the mornings and I might actually manage to scrape up the required attendance.
Aditya couldn t help but smile at this. You haven t even been to a single lecture and you re already planning to bunk?
Justin shrugged. I can t wake up in the mornings. It s like some kind of disease or something.
They talked a little more, exchanging histories while Justin unpacked. Justin was originally from Goa but he d grown up in Bombay. He d studied science in school and then moved to English, more because it was Matthew s offering the subject and less because he was actually interested in it. His real passion lay in acting and he hoped to join Matthew s Dramatics Society. Aditya only got so far as to tell him he was from Bangalore, when he happened to glance at his watch-it was nearly time for the Freshers Orientation Tea.
Are your parents coming? Aditya asked.
Something in Justin s face seemed to close off. No, they re busy, he said. What about you?
My parents are both doctors so they can t leave home for long, Aditya replied. My mom was here during my applications and stuff. I think she would have come this time too, but I convinced her to just stay in Bangalore and let my brother take care of things. He lives here, works in Connaught Place. He knew Sujay would have come for the orientation if he d known about it. Mom had somehow forgotten to mention it to him, and Aditya hadn t reminded him either, not wanting him to take that much time off work.
They walked down to the main auditorium, asking directions a couple of times from people who looked like they knew where they were going. The place looked very much like any other college in North Campus: spacious, and full of red brick buildings with whitewashed walls. The auditorium was large but not very ornate, with about three hundred wooden chairs arranged in neat rows and columns on a bare stone floor. The aisle down the middle led up to the stage in front.
Aditya and Justin took seats somewhere towards the back of the hall, directly under one of the ceiling fans. When the hall was more or less full, Dean Gabriel came up on stage, followed by an entourage of professors. The orientation was even more boring than Aditya had expected it to be. The dean made a speech welcoming a fresh batch of students to our campus and droned on about the standard of excellence we expect from our students here in this great institution . This was followed by descriptions of the various extracurricular activities and societies available for students to participate in.
In spite of himself, Aditya s mind drifted. He knew he should care about things like these-about joining the discussion groups and the planning committees and the English Literary Society, but he just couldn t bring himself to. After everything that had happened this year, he felt apathetic towards almost everything except academics, and even that was more for his parents sake than his own.
With an effort, he tried to focus on what Dean Gabriel was saying. He was describin