Ronit and I started dating when we were in grade eleven in school. It was all cupcakes and butterflies, with teenage love and raging hormones. We had never been in the same class until we both chose the same stream and ended up being together. Then we somehow managed to be in the same circle of friends and that’s where the love story soon began. We both started talking in class (a bit too much), we exchanged numbers and that was followed by long late night conversations. And then Ronit took the obvious next step – he asked me out. We were the typical “high school sweethearts” and our friends teased us all the time as we strolled in the school grounds together.
Ronit’s parents were very modern and open-minded. They knew that I was his girlfriend and seemed pretty comfortable with the idea. As for my parents, even the slightest mention of the word “boyfriend” was forbidden in my house. So dating or even having guy friends was a taboo in my house – yes even in this day and age. So of course, I kept it a secret. At times, I did get emotional and felt like telling my mom everything honestly. But I knew she wouldn’t take it very well. Instead she would scold me and give me the typical, “focus on your studies, this is not the age to have affairs.” I mean “affair”, seriously? I find this term itself to be so archaic.
Also read: The First Time We Rented A Hotel Room Together…
Soon came our one-month anniversary and we wanted it to be special. So Ronit planned a really fancy dinner date followed by a night stay at his cousin’s apartment. (We would finally get to cuddle and fall asleep beside each other, like in the romcoms I had watched!!) I was extremely excited and happy, but soon sanity kicked in. I realized, as amazing as the plan was, how would I get permission for a night out ever! It seemed impossible. Obviously lying was the only option. The fact that I had never lied to my parents before (not talking about it doesn’t count as lying :P), didn’t help my case.
So I devised a plan to make up a fake story to tell my parents. A week before our anniversary, I told them that I was participating in the upcoming Modern United Nations debate and every day I had been spending a few hours with my team to work on our ideas. I pretended that it meant so much to me and that I was working very hard to win. Then two days before our big day (anniversary), I told my mom and dad that I would be staying over at Sana’s place with the rest of the group: Akanksha, Stuti and Tuhina, to extensively research and rehearse for our final performances. Sana’s house was a safe bet because she lived in the other end of the town and her parents were travelling, so there was literally no way my secret would be let out. Plus my parents had none of their phone numbers, which was a prerequisite for deciding the friends I was going to name. After some initial resistance, my parents agreed. Easier than I had expected. After all, it was about a competition that was so close to my heart! I mean, I did feel guilty and I was a bit surprised by my ace planning skills but that was the only way out. So I told the meek voice in my head shouting – “liar, liar pants on fire” to shut up and just enjoy the ride.
Also read: The First Time I Made Out… In A Classroom!
Finally the day arrived. I snuck a sexy dress, heels and my cutest pjs into my bag, got dressed at a friend’s place and finally went out on my first real date night, I had been oh so excitedly waiting for! And guess what?! The plan worked well and I didn’t get caught! In fact it was totally worth it as I had the best time ever. No the story didn’t end there, six years later, I am happily married to the same man!
* Names changed to protect privacy.
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