CHAPTER 11

Arjun, Kavya and Ira headed to a themed restaurant for lunch. The opening of the restaurant resembled a cave. On walking further inside, the tables were arranged and candlelight flickered all around the place. The flaring sun outside felt as though invisible inside that place. The specialty of the restaurant was not only the variety of cuisines available but the robots which served food. The entire place was dark, gloomy and cold.

The three of them sat at a table that was placed at the very end of the cave like room.

“Bloody hell! This place is savage.” Arjun breathed.

“This is my favourite restaurant.” Ira said.

“Great it is, but eerie too.” Kavya stated.

They ordered a dish each from the various cuisines offered. The treat was on Ira that day. With a full stomach, they headed to their next destination which was again Ira’s choice. It was the ‘Lake Park.’

“It’s beautiful as always, this was our customary hang-out spot during my college days.” Kavya said, dealing with the nostalgia.

“What! You’ve been here? Man, I need to start living my life.” Arjun groaned.

“I used to come here frequently with dad, whenever possible.”

They decided to take a round around the lake. They walked side by side to each other, taking up most of the space of the path. Arjun walked between the girls, but as a guy who was a passer-by rubbed off Ira consciously, Arjun gently moved her to the middle and took her place. Neither of them perceived what had happened, but Kavya who had taken notice grinned to herself. In her head, she saw the pair as an old married couple who knew each other’s food orders, understood each other without words and expressed their love through actions rather than words.

“Guys, look, that girl in a tank top is checking me out. Whoa! She’s hot.” Arjun blurted.

“Damn! She needs to work on her taste.” Ira said, in a not so serious tone looking over to the girl.

“Or maybe it’s her eye-sight. She needs to get them checked.” Kavya said, laughing.

“I hate you girls.” Arjun said, mockingly, walking forward as though stroding away from them angrily.

Ira and Kavya tried to catch up to him, but he kept tramping away from them, throwing a tantrum which he did not end until he got both the girls to apologise and also to accept that he was the most handsome guy they had ever met.

After enjoying some roadside chaat and sugarcane juice, they all headed back to their homes. Little did Arjun and his sister know that the spoiler of their ideal day was yet to whip them hard?

Earlier that day, at Arjun’s home.

“Here Rajashekar, the whole box is for you.”

“What’s special Krishna? A whole box of sweets?” Arjun’s dad said.

“My son was working on an American Project, now he’s got transferred to the branch in America.”

“Wow that's great. Even my son was working on some important project.”

“Oh yeah. How is Arjun? What happened to him?”

“What are you talking about? He’s all fine.”

“Oh, I thought he was severely ill. My son told me that Arjun didn’t go to the office for the past couple of weeks. It seems their boss is a little upset with him about that. Anyway, just take care. I’ll see you soon, I need to leave now.”

“ Sure. You too take care. Convey my wishes to your son.”

…………………………………….

Arjun and Kavya reached their home by 7 pm. Both of them were roaring with laughter heartily as they stopped abruptly at the door when they encountered their dad who looked furious.

“Dad is everything okay?” Arjun asked, frowning at his dad and looking over to Kavya who stood beside him.

“Why didn’t you go to the office for the last two weeks? Where have you been?” his dad asked, fuming.

Arjun froze at his place and held his breath as though hoping the suffocation would wake him up and he would realise it was all a dream,that his father never asked him the question he feared for long. But nothing changed, his sister glanced at him just as horrified as he was.

“I’m waiting for your answer.” said the stern voice of his dad.

Arjun met his father's cold eyes for a second and instantly knew it was it.

“Dad, I’m sorry. I genuinely tried but I couldn’t let it slip. I had been training for the badminton tournament I told you about for nearly two months now. I needed extra time to practice so I applied for sick-leave at the office. I got selected for the state level, I played my finals today and won.” Arjun spoke, his voice shivering, looking at the ground.

“Get out of my house. Now!” his father shouted.

Arjun looked at his father, shocked. He saw his dad’s eyes growing darker and darker with seconds passing just like the sky above him. Kavya whimpered next to him.

“Dad, I…”

“I made my point clear. You have no space in this house anymore.”

“Dad you can’t do that.” Kavya said, her voice cracking.

Arjun’s dad strode inside with Kavya tailing behind him. Arjun stood there, hearing his sister quarreling with his father for him. Their voices faded as they moved away from him. Never a moment in his life before, he left alone like now. He saw two figures approaching him, his father threw a bag at Arjun and said, “It’s your choice, either us or Badminton.”

“His choice is not either us or badminton, it is just you or mom. Because dad, I will stand by my brother at all circumstances. And if only you helped mom fulfil her aspiration, neither would she have died longing for it nor Arjun would have stood in front of you like this.” Kavya said, infuriated.

“If I helped your mom to fulfil her ambition, she would have died way before like my sister who lost her life at sixteen because of her madness for basketball. She ran away from home to participate in a tournament and ended up in an accident. I loved your mother, I wouldn’t have risked her for anything.” his dad said, incensed.

“But at least your sister died with the satisfaction of accomplishing her ambition unlike mom.” Kavya said, her lips curling. It was the biggest revelation their dad had ever made but both Arjun and Kavya were least concerned about reacting to it.

Her dad stood speechless, searching for a counter argument.

“We can let the past be in the past. Now if you are not changing your decision of sending Aju out of home, I would like you to know that I will be leaving with my brother as well.”

“If that is the case, I suppose it's better if I leave the home then.” his dad said, his redden face radiating the heat of his anger.

“No dad, you are not. If anyone is leaving, it will be me. Kavi you are staying with dad.” Arjun said, at last overcoming his state of shock.

Without another word, Arjun picked up his bag and walked off the gate. His sister ran behind him, calling for him.

“I’ll be fine. I’ll keep you updated. Go home and don’t be mad at dad. His anger is just.” Arjun said.

Kavya nodded sadly and walked back to their home.

“I’ll be fine.” were mere words. Arjun did not have a clue on what he was going to do next. He called his friends hoping he could spend the night at one of their houses.

…………………………..

Ira, who was fast asleep, was woken up by the echoing cry of her door bell.

“Ah, I swear I’ll kill that Malar Aunty if her face pops up on my door.” Ira whined.

She kicked off her blanket and turned on the lights as she walked up to the door. She barely peeped through the peephole and unlocked the door slothfully. A tall, handsome guy barged into her house and shut the door behind him.

“Aju..” she frowned.

“Ira..” he breathed.

“What on earth do you think you are doing here at midnight?” she asked, aroused, not because he was at her place in an odd time without a prior word but because he destroyed her sleep.

“Long story.”

“Well, here I am fully awake. I can hear you out,”

Arjun narrated everything that had happened and Ira’s eyes widened.

“I’m so sorry. I feel immensely guilty now.”

“Oh, shut up. I thought you were a genius, don’t make me rethink my judgments.”

“Is there anything I could do to help?”

“Yeah...uh..ah..If you could let me stay here tonight. I reached out to my friends, one of them is out of town and the other got caught at his home for having a girlfriend, so the situation at his place was not guest-friendly. I couldn’t think of anyone else but you. I’m sorry, am trob….”

“Enough, enough. I got the required information. And yes you can crash here tonight. Well I’m astonished that you didn’t think of a hostel room to stay.”

“Right, I should've thought of it. Am such a duffer.”

“Duffer, yes but the idea of staying in a hotel, no.” Ira said, chuckling.

This time there was no choice but for Arjun to crash at the couch. Even though the couch was not as comfortable as Ira’s bed, her home was welcoming. He had a heavenly sleep, considering what had happened, it was miraculous.