The art of proposing

I have been hammered with memories of my teenhood.. hence these posts... its a result of talking to my old pals... and all came back like a fresh spring breeze.. . This part of Jil Chronicles will muse about the art of proposing... Well to be very honest .. being a brash and hot tempered tomboy who was nicknamed 90 degrees Farenheit in the neighborhood.. ... I was pretty sure I put off the guys who were anyways up for just a good time.. and I was happy with stolen glances but that was not for the world to know...tee hee Shillong was a small town and every teen seemed to be under a microscope... we all know who was proposing to whom and like any other teen group we all had our giggly secrets and gossip.. St Edmunds had the smartest guys without doubt and well as for the girls there was always a fight between St Mary's Convent ( where yours truly studied) and Loretto Convent and Pine Mount.. We all vied with each other for the attention of the ever smart Edmundians... LOL.. It was okay if an Edmundian left a St Mary's gal for another St Mary's gal but it was not okay if he went to the enemy ground that was Loretto's. So anyway amidst this war of the schools.. and adoloscent flittergibbies... Jil was discovering a lot of things about herself... when the gang was changing boyfriends which was like totally *Sufi*.. Jil though was a thoroughbred romantic.. and believed in tall dark handsome men.. who would carry her off to a forever land.. where love would be the solution to everything... ( which she chewed on it herself though) She realised that she was attracting all the wrong sort of guys with her I-care-a-damn attitude.. and here goes a list of the wierd adventures of proposing acts to Jil... to such an extent that her mom and aunt was worried that something was wrong with her... LOL Part I The Baker... There was this bakery like the Ayengar bakery where the baker sold some bread and cakes for the localites.. The baker came to the newspapershop in opposite his shop and often used to spend time there.. I was a regular at the newspaper shop since on my way from school I had to pick up stuff for home.. I noticed that they used to whisper when I stepped in for my regular Telegraph paper and magazine.. I had a good rapport with the newspaper wallah a nice gentleman who used to lend me some good books and magazines and I would do anything for that .. :) acting nice was nothing.... One day it so happened that there was only the baker who was there and he was quite a handsome and winsome lad and a tad mature... and too old for wee 'ol me.. I went and asked him for the paper as usual since no one was there and he gave me the paper in a slow motion.. I was like Heloooo ... but did not say anything since ... I did not know him ( Obviously) It seems that was the moment he decided to fall for me ( I got all this update later on from the newspaper shop keeper) Anyway.. so the saga of him waiting for me to come and take newspaper and him making sure that the newspaper was given to me by him started..I definitely suspected something wierd going on but did not bother much.. Then came by birthday... on May 31st. He became eager to bake a cake.. and he by this time had befriended my friend who used to accompany me while coming back from school and was his regular customer for buying breads... By this time I had an inkling of what was going on but I decided to ignore it.. .. and let my mom pick up the newspaper without telling her why I refused to do this... One fine day... The newspaper shop guy told mom that there was a mail for me .. and I had to read it ,.. it was urgent. Mom unsuspectingly told.. me about it.. My aunt who was also there was curious too.. now me and my aunt .. are always partners in crime.. she is more of an elder sis to me.. so we all found a letter inside and excitedly opened it... my aunt and mom were more excited than me which was wierd... hahaha Lo and behold was a love letter .. uniquely composed of all popular songs and hand drawn pigeons... ( man this guy was creative !!) It had all the songs that I loved.. and some more... Started with something like Chaudavi ka Chand... and then went on to Kabootar jaja ..ja... and then Chandni tu meri Chandni... sau bar janam lenge... and it went on and on.. I was again.. thinking how could one waste time like this.. ( my pea brained mind did not comprehend the emotion of love and the creativity with which the letter was written.. as yet) I was affronted and a little but flattered that the guy in question went to so much trouble... LOL.. Then my aunt started teasing me... "good for you Jil.. we will all have free cakes for our lives.. and told her sister to marry me off... and rolled on the floor with mirth... then when she regained normality.. she seriously told me why was it that the guys after me were so wierd and why was there no knight in shining armor falling for me.. To that I was like GAWK... who wanted a knight in shining armor ? She was a young thing too... and a romantic... so she kept teasing me... I felt like tearing my hair apart.... grrrr ... I went and mouthed an earful to the newspaper guy... how dare you and that too to my mom. he was considerably chastised but he put the blame on the said guy who was nowhere to be seen... but I told him to give that guy the message that I WAS NOT INTERESTED... Not to be beaten... The baker decided that on my birthday he would bake a cake and distribute it to the whole neighborhood of shops thus proclaiming his love.. for Pallavi.) I was GAWK..... Luckily this was relayed to me by my friend S who was taking deep pleasure in this... I was horrified and did not know what to do... I was switching between giving him a big WHACK on his head or making a big scene thus giving him an earful for such fancies.. the confused rebellious tom boy teen that I was... I was totally stumped... If I make a scene... I shall be anyway... be grounded by dad and will be in public eye If I give him a whack.. same result ,.. what if he whacks me back If I talked to him nicely... HECK what would I talk ? I plotted with my friends and since my friend S was so maliciously enjoying my dilemma, I called her and told her to go and tell him that if he does anything such as giving cake or something.. I would slowly and surely break each and every part of his shop one by one.. and would raise hell.. Hahahah !! now to think of it .. it was so hilarious.. at that time it was definitely very embarassing.. So my birthday came and went and he made a cake surely but quietly gave it to S with a heartbroken smile.. I told S to give it back.. He distributed it among his friends to show his part in my special day... I secretly thought that was cute of that person.. But then heck.... Anyways... so then after a while when he realised that this would not work.. that while lasted for some 6 frustating months of being stared at... being smiled at... being mooned at... EWWWW.. That was that for me... made me terribly nervous.. So finally he decided to marry a nice girl from HYD and made sure that I knew that he was marrying but only because I was not interested in him but he would love me forever and ever and all that .... BRRRR... He also made sure that he told his wife on the wedding night... that his heart would always be with this girl called Pallavi from Shillong and only his body would be hers... EWWWW.... ( after the newspaper shop guy... grimly told me this story... ) well i did not know what to say.. but was mighty glad that he was married and off my back... Part II - The Stalker... Coming soon