A framed Lover!!!

It was ten in the morning and Raghav could feel the hustle and bustle in the college as he hurried his way towards the classroom. The podium was surrounded by people in uniform, two of them were standing covering the corners at the back and rest two were standing at the front corners keeping an eye on the activities that were happening.  

‘What’s the matter today, is everything alright?’ he asked Sonal.

Sonal was his classmate and friend, not a close friend though. She was proud of herself and was said to be suffering from attitude problem and was regarded as selfish by some of her classmates. She was small, beautiful, exquisitely made. Raghav had met her a week after joining the college.

She was very selective when it came to making friends. They had been regarded as a couple many times but she had fought hysterically with them. At that time she only wanted to focus on her career and she didn’t want anything or anyone to come in between.

Sonal swallowed and looked away self consciously. He excused himself and went to meet Rajeev sitting at the front corner seat.

Rajeev, who was his close friend after Sameer, who usually greeted him like close buddies was preoccupied and distant. He gave him a friendly nod but kept his eyes averted.  

Busy with assignments, Raghav supposed. Usually they chat about stuff here and there but today he seemed to be ignoring him. He didn’t give it a much thought and started moving towards the benches at the back and placed his bag beside Himani.  

Himani was warm and bright. A down to earth and lively girl in class, she could brighten the day of anybody with her smile. She wasn’t smiling today. Her brown hair was pushed back. She was gazing at him with her dark brown eyes. She had never done this before. The moment he sat beside her, she stood up with her bag and left.

What’s the matter with everyone today? Raghav thought. Every other person he met was behaving with him like a stranger and soon he realised that he was surrounded by people who were his friends but acting awkwardly and unfortunately against him and suddenly he realised that the class was full of them, he could sense each and every bit of it.

He paved his way out of the class but there was an impediment in his way. He saw Mr. Pradeep, dean of the college. That was not so much of an issue, the point of astonishment was that he was not alone, he entered the class with two policemen. Everybody jumped out of their seats and were gazing them.

‘Who is Raghav Sharma?’ He asked with an angry voice that sent shivers in each and every student that stood in that room. Raghav was nervous, he looked at every nook and corner but all he could find was people gazing at him like predator looking at its prey before taking it down.  ‘What have I done?’ he thought. He felt like a victim and was helpless. There was a silence for a while in the room.

As he stepped forward one of the policemen grabbed his hand and took him to the dean’s office. Pradeep made the rest of them calm down. ‘Your classes are suspended for today’ he said and left in a hurry towards his office.

‘What’s the matter officer?’ his voice trembled as he entered the dean’s office. It was located on the third floor of building. He could see two more officers waiting for him in there. One was dark, about five feet nine, must have been in his middle forties. The other one was slightly younger than his partner, in his late thirties. With deep set brown eyes he was staring at Raghav constantly. Raghav’s eye stood still at his badge with his name imprinted in bold letters, Ravi Singh. A sudden question distracted his attention.

‘You know Priyanka?’ asked the inspector in a heavy tone.

‘Y-ya, but what’s the matter?’ Raghav’s voice was shaky. He could feel chills down his spine.

He nodded to the other inspector who sat beside him. He slid his hand into a file kept on the table and took out a photograph and revealed it to him.

‘Priyanka, what has happened to her?’ he jumped out of fear and snatched the photograph from the inspector.

What he was seeing was not able to believe it. He had spent entire previous day with her. She was so happy. He had left her house in the morning only to find that he will never see her in his life. he was crying, tears rolling down his cheeks, the room was filled with the sadness and cries that were increasing every single minute. Mr. Pradeep offered him a glass of water and made him sit quietly on the slightly risen black couch placed at the far right corner of the room.

‘What relation you shared with her?’ asked Ravi in a harsh tone.

‘She was my girlfriend’ Raghav grunted. He was still not able to believe his very own eyes that Priyanka has gone, forever. He sank in the couch sobbing.

‘Alright, you come with us to the police station.’ Ravi stood up from the chair nodding towards the ‘hawaldar’ who held Raghav again by his arm. Pradeep was not willing as the reputation of the institution was at stake and he had pleaded Ravi to settle it there even if the investigation takes entire night. After two hours of strong reasoning, Ravi had agreed reluctantly not to take him to the police station.
To be continued.........:) Do share your feedback by commenting below :)