Chapter 5
Chapter 4:
Raj awoke early, bathed and dressed in his new jeans and shirt. He passed Navin in the hallway as his friend was on the way to the bathroom, still yawning as he tried to wake up.
Raj searched the house but couldn't see anyone, so he stepped out the front door and stopped in surprise. There, wearing quite a traditional looking salwar kameez, was Naina making a rangoli.
She must have heard him come out because she looked up and smiled, gesturing to him to crouch down beside her. "I didn't think you'd wake up so early since you were on holidays." She told him, "I'll just get this finished and then make us all some coffee."
"Where are your parents?" Raj asked her.
"They've gone to the temple already to offer some prayers." Naina replied, "They should be back soon."
Watching her making the patterns, Raj couldn't help a smile of amusement coming to his face.
"What?" Naina asked him, when she turned to see his expression, "What's so funny?"
"I just never thought you'd be the type of girl to do this kind of thing." He said, gesturing to the pattern on the ground. "I thought you were one of those modern types who…"
Naina laughed at that, "What did you think? That a girl has to be either ultra traditional or ultra modern? It's not like I do this type of thing every day, just on special occasions."
"Sorry," Raj said sheepishly, "I guess it was a silly thing to say."
"Not really," Naina replied, giving him a smile to let him know she didn't really mind, "Do you have any sisters?"
"No, I'm an only child." Raj told her "Which is probably why I've got no idea what girls are really like."
Naina laughed at that, "Why? There's girls at the academy, right?"
"Well, yeah… but I never really talk about anything with them other than training."
Shaking her head and grinning, Naina finished off the rangoli and dusting off her hands, headed inside. Raj followed her, sitting down at the kitchen table while she made coffee. Navin soon joined them, followed by Tanisha, who still looked quite tired.
"I can't believe I slept in so late." She commented, "I should've been up hours ago."
"Don't worry, it's your holidays after all." Naina reassured her, "Now after we've finished our breakfasts we'll all be going to the temple."
"Oh really?" Navin asked her with an eyebrow raised, "And who made this decision?"
"I did." Naina told him in a strict tone, "Really Bhaiyya, it won't hurt you to go once in awhile, it's not like I go every day either. It is Diwali after all."
After some more mock complaining from Navin, they all walked down the road to the local temple, passing Navin and Naina's parents since they were on the way back. The prayers didn't take long, and Naina made sure that tikkas were applied to Navin, Raj and Tanu, telling them that it was for their success at the academy.
"That's very sweet of you, Naina, thanks." Raj told her, "Navin you're so lucky to have a sister, I wish I'd had one."
Navin and Tanu exchanged looks of alarm, the last thing they needed was for Raj to decide he wanted Naina to become his sister.
"Uh, it's not that big a deal having a sister." Navin replied, "It's far more important to have a wife." He felt like slapping himself in the head as soon as he'd said it, seeing the annoyed look on Naina's face.
"Thanks a lot, Navin." She told him, "So now that you've met your future wife you've completely forgotten your sister, have you?"
"Oh come on, Naina! I didn't mean it like that!" Navin called out as she walked away angrily.
"Why couldn't he just have agreed with me?" Raj asked Tanu, amazed by Navin's lack of tact.
"No idea at all." Tanu told him, although Raj thought that she seemed to be replying just a little too quickly.
It took awhile for Navin and Naina to make up, and she made him hold his ears before she'd forgive him.
By this stage it was almost lunch time and they went home to eat the meal that Mrs Ahluwalia had created.
"We should show Tanu and Raj around town after lunch." Naina told her brother, "It's not that exciting, but we can at least give them the tour."
"That sounds great!" Navin said, before Tanu kicked him in the leg and he started choking on his rice.
"Is something wrong, Navin?" Raj asked him, concerned about why his friend was coughing so much.
"Uh, no Raj, nothing at all." Navin said, realising that he'd just stuffed up their plan.
After lunch he cornered Naina in the kitchen, trying to set things right. "Uh, Naina, could I ask a favour of you?" he said, trying his best to sound sincere and hopeful.
"Here we go, I knew something was up as soon as you started coughing at the table." Naina told him, "Really Navin, you're just so obvious sometimes."
"Really?" Navin asked, surely she couldn't have figured it out already… "You know I just wanted that…"
"That you could spend some time alone with Tanu, right? Therefore dumping Raj with me?" Naina looked at Navin expectantly, challenging him to deny it.
"Well you wouldn't mind would you?" Navin asked her, "I mean, Tanu and I hardly ever get the chance to be alone when we're at the academy…"
"Fine Bhaiyya, I will show Raj around town while you two go off to romance." Naina said with a sigh, pretending to be more annoyed than she actually was.
"Excellent! You're the best sister in the world, Naina!"
"Yeah well, that wasn't what you were saying this morning."
"Sorry about that." Navin said, trying to sound sincere.
"When are you and Tanu going to get married anyway?" Naina asked him, "I mean, is she the one for you?"
"I really think so." Navin told Naina seriously, "But I don't know when we'll get married."
"Why not?" Naina asked frowning, "If you love her then what's the problem?"
"Well you need to get married first." As soon as he'd said it, Navin began cursing his own stupidity. Why did these things just come out of his mouth whenever he was around Naina.
"Nice try Bhaiyya!" Naina said laughing, "But if you're going to be waiting for me to get married then you'll be waiting for awhile yet! I'm not going to give in until my MBA is finished."
Still laughing, she began to walk out of the kitchen.
"Where are you going?" Navin asked her.
"Where do you think? To take Raj out for a walk so that you two can have some privacy!"
Well no matter how much he had nearly stuffed the whole thing up, at least the next phase of their plan had been accomplished. Navin hurried away to tell Tanu, despite the fact that it was all part of their mission, he really was excited to have some time alone with her this morning.
**
Raj came back into the kitchen to find only Naina sitting there waiting for him.
"Where are Navin and Tanisha?" he asked her.
"Well they've decided to abandon us so that they can go off and romance." Naina told him with a shrug, "So it's just you and me for the grand tour of Nainital, I hope you don't mind!"
"Of course not," Raj told Naina, "I am a bit annoyed at Navin though. First he invites me home for Diwali and then he disappears. It would've been better if he just came with Tanu, at least then you wouldn't be put to so much trouble."
"It's no trouble at all." Naina reassured him, "I've got time off college and nothing better to do, and you're not such a bad guy to hang out with."
Raj smiled, truly he didn't mind Navin abandoning him with Naina. She was a nice girl and he enjoyed spending time with her. He was sure that they would have a good time together today.
For the rest of the afternoon they roamed around town, as Naina showed him the lake, took him up the mountain in the cable car, to the zoo and to the mall area. They had a great time, and were surprised to find out how much they had in common. Both of them had a certain amount of mischievous humour, and they enjoyed making jokes at both Navin and Tanisha's expense.
They were just returning to the house when Naina spotted something in the distance and groaned. "Oh god, not again…" she muttered, and grabbing Raj's arm, turned him in the opposite direction, walking quickly.
"What is it?" Raj asked, looking back over his shoulder.
"Just don't look back!" Naina hissed, "He'll spot us!"
"Who?" Raj asked her, desperately wanting to look back over his shoulder again to find out what she was talking about.
"Who? Some crazy Punjabi boy that's here on holidays and has been making my life hell, that's who!" Naina said angrily, "It was my bad day when I ran into him in the mall, ever since then he's decided we're made for each other and has been following me around."
Amused by this, Raj turned to look back over his shoulder, and sure enough saw a young man hurrying to catch up with them.
"Naina I hate to tell you this, but I think he's gaining on us." Raj whispered, still more amused than anything else at Naina's reactions.
"Let's run for it!" Naina told him, obviously ready to take off as soon as he agreed.
"Don't be ridiculous," Raj told her, "What are you worried about? I'm with you."
An idea seemed to come to Naina even as Raj heard the young man calling out her name as he struggled to catch up with them. "Just follow my lead." She told him, a mischievous look on her face, "Play along with whatever I say."
"Well alright, but…" Raj couldn't say anything else, as the young man had finally caught up with them, breathing heavily from hurrying.
"There you are Nainaji!" he said happily, "This Amardeep Huda knew that today was going to be a good day, and sure enough I was lucky enough to see your face this morning." Naina's expression instantly turned to a scowl, and Huda turned to face Raj, looking him up and down with an unhappy expression. "And who's this?" he asked.
Raj put his hand out to greet the man, but before he could speak, Naina cut in. "This is Cadet Rajveer Singh Shekawat from Kanchanjunga Military Academy," pausing for extra dramatic effect she added, "My boyfriend."
Huda looked taken aback, but shook Raj's hand anyway, "You can call me Huda, everybody does." He told him, then turned to Naina, "Since when have you had a boyfriend? You didn't mention that to me before."
"I didn't think I needed to mention it considering that we hardly know each other." She told him smugly, "Raj has come to visit me for the holidays, we're very much in love." To prove her point, she put her arms around Raj's waist, hugging him to her. Feeling only slightly uncomfortable with all of this, Raj put an arm around her shoulder, hugging her closer to him.
"And how do you know Naina?" he asked Huda, "I just hope you haven't fallen for her. Although my girlfriend is so beautiful that I wouldn't blame you if you had." He turned to Naina intending to gaze at her with a soppy expression, and she gave him a look that meant she thought he was doing brilliantly.
"Uh, I'm just here on holidays, I met Nainaji in the mall a week ago." Huda told him, "How long have you too been going out now?"
"Oh, about a year now." Naina replied airily, "It's so difficult with Raj being at the academy, but we just have to live with this temporary separation, don't we darling?"
"Of course honey, soon we'll be together forever." Raj said a touch too dramatically and Naina gave him another look, this one saying that she thought he was taking it way too far. Raj thought that maybe he had overdone it, and was worried that this Huda might guess they were only pretending.
"What's he got that I don't?" Huda asked Naina sulkily, looking Raj up and down once again.
"Well let's see, he's better looking than you, smarter than you, more polite than you, and he's in the army. So obviously, he's much better than you are." Naina told Huda a little rudely, but she was sick of being followed for a whole week by a guy who just wouldn't give up.
"And if I challenge him for you? If we have a fight and I win?"
Raj had to give Huda points for that, he couldn't believe how infatuated this guy was.
"Well I don't think that a girl is an object that should be bet in a fight." Raj replied to him, "Naina can make her own mind up about who she wants, but if you still want to fight maybe I can teach you some of the hand to hand combat moves we learn in the army."
Taking a last angry look at Raj and then a last mournful one at Naina, Huda left them both there.
"I feel bad," Raj remarked, "Poor boy."
"Poor boy??? Poor me!" Naina replied, "At least that should give me some peace now, you have no idea what it's been like."
"So did I play my role well?" Raj asked her jokingly.
"You were perfect!" Naina told him, linking her arm through his as they walked towards the house, "Well, there were a few moments where you overdid it slightly…"
By the time they got back to the house, Navin and Tanisha were already there, and they grinned at each other when they saw Naina and Raj walk in the gate with the arms linked, laughing so hard that they were almost falling over each other.
"So what's so funny, you two?" Tanisha asked them.
"Nothing, Tanu, nothing at all." Raj replied, "Just a little bit of masti."
Letting go of Raj's arm, she came to sit next to Tanu, as Raj took a seat next to Navin.
"So how was your day?" Naina asked the two of them, "Did you get enough privacy?" She stressed the last word, waggling her eyebrows up and down at Navin.
"Yes we did," Navin told her, laughing at the expression Naina was making, "What about you two, did you do okay on your own?"
"Raj and I had a wonderful day!" Naina declared, "In fact we didn't miss the two of you at all!"
Looking across the table at Raj, she grinned as if they were sharing a secret, and laughing, Raj raised his hand and met Naina's in a high five.
"I don't get it, what's so funny?" Navin asked, pleased that they were getting on so well but confused about what had happened.
"Trust me, you don't want to know." Raj told him, "But no excuses tomorrow, Navin. We should all be together for the third day of Diwali!"
"Fine," Navin told them, knowing it would be too obvious if he and Tanu disappeared yet again, leaving Naina and Raj alone.
However he was still hoping that the fireworks and crackers wouldn't be the only sparks to happen the next day…
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