She carefully unwrapped it. It was a letter from Arun inviting her to watch a movie in the evening with him in the local theater. She was thrilled. Arun was still waiting for her reply. Immediately she nodded her assent. Arun smiled and gestured for her to meet him near the college at 6. She nodded once more. Then he smiled and rode away. Reena felt the thrill of anticipation growing inside her. She was going to watch a movie with Arun and then ride back on his bike at night. She felt no less than a film heroine embarking upon an adventure. Happily she went downstairs.
In the evening she made up a lie to her parents that she was going to her friend's house for studies and would be back late. When she reached the end of her lane she quickly opened her purse, took out the lipstick she had hidden inside and put it on. With that bit of make-up on her she confidently felt much more mature than her 16 years and hailed a rickshaw to her college. Arun was waiting there as promised. She slipped onto the bike behind him without saying a word, and they rode away towards the theater at top speed. This was another first for Reena. Previously she had ridden pillion with her father but he rarely went above 40 Kmph. Riding behind Arun, clutching onto him tightly for the fear of falling, her young breasts being crushed against his rock solid back, the cool wind rushing past her face, these things evoked sensations she had never felt before. By the time they reached the theater, Reena only felt her anticipation growing, her mind reeling with the furiously pumping blood in her veins, while her body reacted as if in a daze, moving wherever it was pulled.
