Love - Part 1

(I am continuing the tag that I abandoned a month and a half ago.... because 1. I ALWAYS get creative when I am required to focus on something more important, namely studying. 2. I would like to stress that I am anything BUT a quitter. So yea. And this is long, you have been warned. Also, some of these scenes are so dream like and surreal, I am thrilled that it actually happened to me! My friends at the time revered me for how my "perfect" life was unfolding... hahahah!)

Cliched. Love? Really thats the best you can come up with Annie? But considering my teenage and young adult life has been one heck of a roller coaster, I think a full disclosure is due. Mostly because it is healthy for a future 50 and probably boring me to read someday about the 20-something did-you-really-fucking-do-that?! me. 

I was in the 6th grade when I saw the person that is currently still the longest relationship(?) of my life. I had a tiff with a guy from my class (per usual), and was waiting after the home bell to go give him a piece of my mind. So I stomped over to his bus (no. was 17, jesus I have some memory), and demanded that a certain Mr. Rai come meet me. In a couple of seconds I was left stuttering like an idiot,  because instead of Mr. Junior Rai.. Mr. One-Year-Senior Rai came over curiously to see me. 

I kid you people not, this guy firstly... wore pants. (We had half pants till 6th, 7th onwards full pants.. :P). He was an Adonis to my just-turned-teen eyes. He had a voice that had cracked (read, husky as hell), and behind geeky glasses, he had smoldering eyes. I recognised him later as the guy who headed the athletics team. More on that er...fetish later. In short, I was smitten. I was a smitten kitten. ALL THE WAY TILL END OF SCHOOL. This crush on a guy who did not know I existed (because I fled the aforementioned scene in a matter of minutes without saying anything..... faceslap?) lasted a whole FOUR years till end of school (was I lame or was I lame?!).  

~

Moving over. I realised I had a type. Has to be tall (which is funny considering I am myself really short!). Has to play some sort of sport / has to be athletic. (again funny considering I was anything but. I am lazy as lazy can be.) Has to have a great voice. 

All through my school life, my celebrity crush included exclusively this guy.

Tom Cruise, in Top Gun. Remember this, he forms the basis of two VERY dramatic scenes of my life. 

DRAMATIC SCENE 1: 

Since this has already been explained in much detail (and my tendency for SMS language English) previously on the blog archives, I'll just cut it short. 

Summer vacations between 11th & 12th grade, I visited my brother who was living in Hyderabad at that time. I was 17, and yet, again in one of those crazy moments, had decided to take a train journey ALONE. On the train, in true Jab We Met style (I shit you not, I swear the moment the movie came out, my best friends called me and said dude did you sell your life script?!), I met a gorgeous, shy, did I mention ridiculously good looking, sweet guy travelling to Secunderabad. He was 23, AND A PILOT IN THE IAF! Apparently he was supposed to be one of the 6 best (news article was not out yet, came out in May endish). While I was skeptical on the train, the pictures he later sent on email of him standing next to his red-silver jet (holy fuck!!) in full army uniform (OMGOMGOMG) proved otherwise. Tall, nice voice, sporty? Check, check, and a Sukhoi-30 HELL YES.

Anyway, on the train stayed up all night talking. About Top Gun (hehe), aviation, books, life, crushes, careers, families. He was supposed to get off before me, but instead stayed in because I was getting off at last stop. :) Parted ways on the platform and never stayed in touch. Life was crazy. Got too busy with studies. Put him out of my mind when I returned to Mumbai, because lets face it. Fighter pilot and 12th standard super chatty college students aren't exactly the stuff fairytales are made up of. Sigh.

After recounting this story for engineering friends on one of our last college night outs, and after realising what a HUGE mistake it had been to not stay in touch, we did the stalker bit trying to find him on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Plus. Bingo on LinkedIn but dead profile. So yep. That news article of him winning the trophy from May 2005 TOI, remains the only link to him. Sweet nostalgia. 

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DRAMATIC SCENE 2: 

For the 1st floor balcony of my junior college in 12th grade, I spied a guy walking casually across the volleyball court (my college was famous for its state level volleyball team). He looked JUST LIKE TOM CRUISE. I am not even kidding you. If it weren't for the fact that guy in question probably hates me right now, I would have uploaded his picture. Available on request on email? :P 

So what do I do about my blossoming crush? After a royally bombed Physics-1 exam, I handed in my paper 30 minutes before the bell rang, and stepped out into an empty corridor. Something you need to know about my college - we had a circular landing and a spiral staircase leading up. I walked into the empty landing, and saw the current real-life heart throb leaning casually against the railing on the opposite site. This was going to one of my trademark-Annie crazy moments... wherein well, I do something crazy. To this day, I haven't figured out why I did what I did next. 

I walk up to this male body of perfection, and say, 'Hi!'. He looks a little taken aback, and says, '...Er. Hi?' Obviously still under my crazy spell, I ask him his name (at that point, obviously, like all teenage college girls with a crush, I knew everything publicly available to know about him. Including his name.) He smiles, flashing pearly whites that would make K (my dentist best friend) swoon, and introduces himself. The exam final bell rings. He asks for my name. I reply. Then I say, "You know... you look like Tom Cruise. I think you look really cute!!" People start filing into the landing. AND THEN I FLEE THE SCENE. (seems to a recurring theme huh? I actually turn on my heel and walk away without saying anything... I suppose it has a humor factor to it, but god was I nuts or what?!)

My friends come join me, and hysterically laughing at myself with my friends joining in (something I did often back then! I was always the clown of the group, thus never really taking life's many disappointments very seriously... man life was good.) - I tell them the hilarious and embarrassing tale of my flight. We giggle a lot and make our way downstairs. There, a friend of mine joins us to ask me how my exam went (funny story, I do not actually "know" this guy. he joined us in a crowded canteen one day because there was no place to sit, and me being me chatted nonstop. Ending up making friends). He overhears the story, and asks who I was referring to. I supply the name. He says, 'Oh, C?! He's in my Bio class!' And then he excuses himself. He came running back to me in 10 minutes. 

"Here's his number. He's asked you to call him." :) Thus goes the story of how I ended up dating a hot Tom Cruise lookalike in college. :P Long story short, dated for a blissful remainder of college life. First guy to meet my mom. She loved him too much! After 12th grade prelims, I was much too ambitious for him, and so er.. I sort of dumped him. Before state exams. He did NOT take it well. Ouch. I know I acted like a horrible person! I just was very bad with my timings and a bit of a foot in my mouth kind of person.... Anyway, reconnected with him a couple of years ago when I started working, apologised sincerely.

He did not buy it. Still hates me... :P  

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Part 2 - to be continued, with more instances of my insane tryst with the men. Including a story featuring strangers from Blogsville. :P 

Annie. 

P.S.: Dedicated to that close group of friends who has witnessed this all, and have started many a conversation with 'Remember when Annie did/said/was.....) :D

P.P.S.: Popular opinion had dictated that I look for my Pilot guy, but really guys, I did everything a stalker can over that one night out with my gal pals. NOTHING turned up. Short of knowing someone actually in the air force..... there is no way. Also, lets not forget he is probably married with twelve kids by now. Relax. Baith jaiye.