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        Hmm…..i’ve got fond memories of this one. One fine day I was playing cricket when my school report card arrived by post. I wondered for a moment whether to bury it somewhere or atleast have a look at it. Anyways…..curiousity I heard somewhere killed the cat and since I didn’t know if it was true for humans or not, I thought I’d atleast have a look at it before I buried it. I opened it tentatively and scanned the entire thing for red marks and when I was finally relieved there were none. I scrutinized the entire card and was shocked to see I had stood second in my class in Second grade. Shaking my head in disbelief, I showed it to my Mom who was obviously overjoyed and said “Get ready, I’ll give you a surprise gift”.

   I thought it would be a cricket bat or a new bicycle, but it turned out to be a library card. I didn’t like my gift much at that time but I went to the library once or twice to get some books for my sister. One day though, I met a nice looking girl who was in the 5th standard who was reading some sort of magazine. She was really pretty, and I had a crush on her almost immediately. So I started frequenting that place. ‘When in rome, do like the romans do.’ So while I was in that library, I picked up my first book. Richie Rich

     Richie Rich Comics—I don’t know how many of you guys have actually ever read even a single book of the Richie Rich series. The series is mainly about a little boy named Richie who is the son of the richest man in the world. He’s so rich that he has a 500 room mansion, and they actually use electric cars to get from one part of the house to another . He’s got a dog named Dollar and likes a girl called Gloria who is from a poor family. Even though he’s submerged in money, he’s not at all conceited or a brag. On the contrary, he shares the amazing facilites at his house with his friends who are not so lucky as he is. He’s got a cousin called Reggie who is constantly trying to outdo Richie. Even though Richie is a reluctant competitor in showing of his money, it is he who invariably wins. All in all….its a wonderful starter of a book….an appetizer…..which leaves inside you, a craving for more books.

      Anyhow……the girl in the library. Once when she was busy reading, I glimpsed at her card number which was 293. So then when the guy at the counter was out, I checked out his register and determined that 293 was registered to Miss Swati Thakur. Then I checked her last renewal which was Archie, so I picked that book up. Incidentally I picked up the exact same book which she had brought back that day, so maybe I could catch her faint scent between the pages.

      Archies—This series is a real popular one. I doubt if there is anybody who’s not read this one. But I’ll just make short work of it. Archie is a normal guy who like me is a klutz and is extremely clumsy. But he’s honest, un-selfish and far from a brag, which incidentally what one of his friends Reggie is. Reggie is a good lookin chap, but he’s mostly on a high roll about himself and is always trying to outdo Archie just like the Reggie in Richie Rich. Jughead is Archies best pal, a girl-hating-glutton with a dog called Hot dog who reminds me of my dog. Veronica and Betty are two of his ‘friends-cum-crushes’ with Veronica being the better looking as well as the richer one of the two. Archies comics are one of the best-ever-series I’ve ever read and still read them if I’m nostalgic or just in mood for some lazy-reading.

     
        So anyways…….one day she finally did what she was supposed to do if it was a hindi movie. She forgot her keys in the library. So I immediately snatched them up, and I guess they were her cycle keys or something because she came back up in like 2 min. Then she started searching around the table frantically. So I spoke my first words to her “hey…..umm…..you searching for something?”. So she’s like “yes…..i dropped my bicycle keys”…. “Gee…” I said “hang on, I’ll help you search for it”. So I made a nice show of searching for it for ten min and then making sure she wasnt looking, I took the keys out of my pocket and exclaimed “here it is…..i found them”. So she came over, took them from me and patted my head like I pat my dogs head. I was so overjoyed and happy she touched me, I went down the library steps……….leaving my keys in the library.

      Nancy Drew Mystery files—This is the third kind of book I picked up one day, after the proprietor, Himmat Uncle as I call him suggested I should upgrade from comics. This is a book for people who are upgrading from the full-of-pics comics. It features Nancy Drew, a teenager and her two friends George who’s the brave and the confident one. and Bess who’s the pretty “is-my-nailpolish-okay” type whose favourite exclamation is “ohh-dear”. The books though are pretty good and a must read for people who are upgrading from picture books for the first time. They’ll find it absolutely ravishing and will yearn for more

     So I started seeing this girl more and more…..I couldn’t ask her for out for coffee cause when I was in fourth standard, I had very limited pocket-money and going out with a girl wasn’t at that time as high a priority in comparision to maybe having two extra rounds in the bumping cars. I mean…..c’mon in fourth grade…..who wants to ‘laga chuna’ of say 50 bucks for a coffee……Gee….i could get 4 rounds of that bumping cars. But then from where I stand today, I find that bumping women is as much fun as bumping cars if not more. So we met over the reading table and I asked her the meaning of some words I didn’t know or would pretend not-to-know. And she would always help me out willingly, looking right into my eyes and explaining the word which, try as I might could not listen because all my concentration was pinned down in her deep-blue eyes.

     Anyhow….thats when I picked up my fourth book……James Hadleys Chase. It had a little bit of everything. American Life. On the cover would be a half-naked-girl holding a gun. And the book wouldn’t disappoint me either as it included everything…… Drugs, Sex, Beer, Mafia, Cops, the vulgar vocabulary…..absolutely everything….” The James Hadleys Chase series is one of the best series I’ve ever read, and I still have a huge collection of those books. This series is definitely one of a kind which can be read by an average audience and can enjoyed to the max with its vivid descriptions, reality-enhancing scenes potrayed before your eyes and unholy language. I had picked up this book a little early for my age, but since I started reading them, I have never ever got bored of them and to this day, you’ll still find a James Hadleys Chase in every single room of my house.

     One day I was sitting with Swati when she told me…..she was leaving for the United Kingdom. I couldn’t say anything….was absolutely choked up. But I finally managed to say goodbye…….and mustering up my last ounce of courage, I blurted out “I just want to tell you that I’ll really miss you and that I sort of had a little crush on you”. She kissed Himat Uncle on the cheek, looked back and before disappearing out of the doors for the last time said. “I know…..i forgot my keys on the reading desk and you found them near the men’s room”