Ariya FF The lucky charm - Page 19

Originally posted by: KaziRume

Nice part.

Ariya moments were beautiful. But didn't expected Ariya will be so close this soon.

The contract was awful. Good that Riya & her father opposed it.

Thanks for the PM.

Continue Soon.

thank you dear

glad you loved it

Originally posted by: ariyabestfan

Part on page 16:-

Awesome update

Love it..

Wah ab toh lucky charm public ko BHI pata chal Gaya..

Plz continue soon

Thanks for pm

N sorry for late comments

i never mind for the late but have it a read whenever possible

thanks again

Originally posted by: SamhithaWRIER

So so good one

Loved riya and arjun's pairing

Riya’s father was so supportive

And what is the e hell with that board numbers

Continue soon

Thanks for pm

thank you pilla

Dad drove up to the gate a few days later, the car loadedwith goodies from the farm. Eppa had just finished watering the lawn, so it wascool and fragrant outside. I carried our evening tea out onto the veranda andwe sat down to acup of gud-sweetened tea with Meeku sniffing about hopefully atour feet. I sipped my tea, and listened to my dad as he gave me all Dadaji'swords from there. Apparently, my grandfather had managed to set up an Internetconnection in the village and was addicted to a Friends Reunited website. Ithought that was rather sweet to connectand unite.

Dad: There are just seven ungarlanded faces left on thatphotograph, of a class strength of fifty-three. Pitaji says three out of thoseseven have some kind of cancer so they don't really count. He's convinced he'sgoing to outlive the bunch of them.

My grandfather retired from the army as a lieutenantcolonel, the same rank my dad held when he took premature retirement a fewyears ago. Deciding to attempt some thing myself, I put my cup down, and in acarefully casual voice asked,

Riya: Dad, did Arjun Rawthe call you by any chance?

Dad: Yes, actually, he did.

Riya: Oh? (Little taken aback.) And what did he say?

dad (grunted) : Wahi,ki Riya ko Australia bhejo. We will pay for everything and take good care ofher.

Riya: What did you say to him?

I asked, feeling seriously weirded out. Things like thisjust didn't happen. An Indian skipper, no matter how many matches he'd lost,didn't just call up your dad and have long chats with him. I mean, he lived ina different world. The fact that Arjun Rawthe and my dad had a talk over thephone seemed way more bizarre to me, somehow, than the fact that Arjun Rawthehad said he wanted to kiss me.

Dad: I told him ki listen, young man, Riya will not sign anycontract. It will have to be a no-conditions arrangement. And I also told him,that I was surprised, or rather amazed that a new-generation fellow like him shouldbelieve in all this luck-shuck.

I winced. Poor Arjun. That must've hurt.

Riya: What did he say to that?

Dad: He said he was really calling on behalf of the IBCCchief Jogpal Lohia. That taking you along was Lohia's idea and that he was justa go-between because you and he are

Dad paused and looked up at me through beetling brows

Dad: friends.

I went pink. Couldn't help it.

Riya: Yes, that's true, actually,( trying to appear cool.) Notthat we're friends, That's an overstatement. He was just being polite. But it'strue that Arjun is not at all superstitious. It's Shree and the younger boysreally.

Dad (snorted) : One trip to Dhaka and it's Arjun and Shree.And you want me to let you go to Australia?

Dad: I don't really need your permission to go,

Dad: I just...''Oh, I know, I know, You're twenty-sevenyears old, you'll do exactly what you please. But don't get too carried away.One match lost and these fellows will drop you faster than they drop catches.

Riya: I know, Dad, And I have no illusions on that score.But if there are no conditions, and if I can help India win, why not?

Dad: It's all a bunch of rubbish. What is this countrycoming to? Anyway, it's your decision and let me tell you that your friendArjun also said that if there's no contract, the Board can't pay you anything.

Hello! This was news! How come Arjun hadn't mentioned thatwhen we were talking tenderly under the madhumalati?

Dad: What they will do though is put you and two of yourfriends or family members up in style infive-star hotels everywhere. And payfor your tickets and all your expenses, of course.

Riya: But the IBCC's loaded! How cheap! Why can't they payme? Especially because Sandy will never give me twenty-eight days' paid leave!

Dad: Just because somebody's rich doesn't mean they can't becheap, In fact, the two very often go together. But your friend, the captain,did imply that he would see that you were remunerated somehow. He said that hegot the feeling that it was important to you.

Riya: You seemed to have really bonded with him,

Dad picked up Meeku and tickled him behind the ears.

Dad: He seems to be a sensible enough fellow. Let's hopehisteam does well. Now you be a sensible girl too, Riya, and don't go giving yourself& start believing that it's all your fault if they lose.

The next two months went by in a total circle. The Shah Rukhfilm had finally broken and was doing amazingly well. The jingle especially wasa super-hit and you couldn't go out anywhere without hearing it playing onsomebody's cellphone. The openers' promowith Sam and Shivnath did all right. The HotCrust promo was a real cracker andI spent a lot of time with Shree, travelling with him in a car from place toplace delivering pizzas to deliriously excited aunties. it wasn't the pizza they were after, but thehunk who was delivering it. He'd looked a little embarrassed, of course, but hehadn't blushed like he used to earlier.

I didn't see Arjun after that night back in October. Hehadn't been to Delhi since, to my knowledge, and then they'd been in camp.Neelo shot with him December-end for our cautiously optimistic spirit-of-cricketmusic video and had even been invited to the same New Year party as him.

This big rumour about his engagement came out in the papersin January but then both he and his date denied it and it died down quickly. Iagonized over sending him a text message to congratulate him but then decidedit would be too desperate.

He had messaged me a couple of times. Once, to ask me tosend his pictures from the still shoot to his mom who wanted them for hisgrandmom, who wasn't keeping too well. And one Happy New Year message that Ithink he sent to the whole list of contacts on his phone. That was all. No moreI've-been-wanting-to-kiss-you-all-evening kind of stuff.

It was depressing, of course, and sometimes I wondered if Ihad misheard him or something. I kept dreaming these cheesydreams where ArjunRawthe in his India Blues, showed up with a bouquet of pink tiger lilies at theMother Dairy booth where I stood in the queue with a stainless-steel doodh kadolu on my arm. Really corny stuff. If anyone ever were to find out, the shamewould kill me....

The sixth of January dawned bright and clear. Eppa woke meup at four-thirty in the morning, with a cup of adrak ki chai.

Eppa: Get up, Riya, Rinku Chachi ready hogayi alreddy!

I sat up, reached for the cup blindly and took a large gulp.The flight was at nine and we had to be there by six, so I had to hurry.

Eppa: Your daddy says you have to leave five o' clock sharp,nahoth traffic hogi isliye.

She went out of the room and I pulled on the clothes I'dleft by my bed the night before. Comfy jeans, a short-sleeved turquoise teeshirt and a purple jacket I'd splurged on the previous week. I fluffed out myhair as I looked in the mirror. It was one of my good-looking days.

My dad was walking up and down in the garden with RinkuChachi and Gajju. She was to accompany me on the trip, much to rohan’s chargein.

Dad: I'll be watching every match, Gaalu! We've got it allrigged up. Wave if the camera's on you, okay?

I promised him I would, but I wasn't really anticipating anybig media moments myself. Even the dudes from Jogpal Lohia's office had advisedme to keep a low profile when I went to get mytickets and visas for the trip.

Dad: For your own sake, bete, people there may resent you ifwe play well, you know.

Dad: Still, it's not a bad idea to lie low, Riya Eatbreakfast with them, but otherwise give them a wide berth. Do your own thing.Go sightseeing, learn about a new country; and stick close to your Chachi andRoshini, okay?

Rosh was to be my other companion in Australia. My dad'salways been very impressed with her.

Dad: Such a capable, sensible girl, See how she balances herfamily life and her work! And her husband is so senior in American Express!Beta iski khyaal rakhna.

Of course, Rosh never swears or smokes in front of my dad.No foul Hindi abuses or blowing smoke rings or grumbling about her monsters.

Rosh: Don't worry, Uncle, Riya is just like Armaan and Amanto me.

Hello, armaan was tagging along too, by the way. Roshinithought it was a good idea for him to travel. To which all I could say was good luck.

I walked out onto the veranda and was greeted chirpily bythe family. Even Yogu looked down from his window on the first floor and wavedbenignly. The only part of the house that stayed quiet was Mohindar and AnitaChachi's. She was very upset about the fact that Dad didn't choose her toaccompany me abroad.

A big hug from Eppa, a furry wet embrace from Meeku, and Iwas ready to go. My dad raised one eyebrow and I heard Eppa tch disapprovingly.Anyway, Gajju finally released his wife and she emerged, slightly dishevelledand moist-eyed, He nodded silently and then we both piled into my dad's car andzipped to the airport.

Roshini and Armaan were waiting for us outside theinternational departure terminal. He was perched on her trolley, swathed in herquilted jacket and looking very sleepy. We piled our bags onto the wobbly IGItrolleys while Rosh assured my dad earnestly, for the thousandth time, that shewould take good care of me. And then it was time to say goodbye.

Dad pulled something out of his pocket and pressed it intomy hand. It was a brand new cellphone - a much fancier model than the one Ihad, with Internet and a camera and everything.

Dad: Here, I've got international roaming installed. You cancall me any time you want to talk. And don't worry about the bill, okay

Riya: Thanks, Dad.

And, with one last wave to him, I wheeled my trolleythrough.

My spirits lifted quite quickly once we boarded theaircraft. The air in there was a heady blend of expensive aftershave, crisp airconditioning, Juicy-Fruit chewing gum and aromatic coffee - a bouquet Riravarand I used to call 'abroad smell' when we were kids from aunties. I took a deepintoxicating gulp and settled happily into my seat.

I was going through the list of movies on the first leg ofthe flight, when someone passing through to the rear went

Riya?

It was Karan, looking very sporty in white Dockers and awhite-and-blue cricket sweater.

'Hey!' I beamed up at him. 'You're going for the World Cuptoo?'He nodded, grinning.

'Because of Nike?'

Karan: No, yaar, (waving to Roshini.) Hey Rosh, Hey monster!(This to Armaan who frowned at him sleepily.) B

Riya: No, actually, but why are you going with them?

I learnt that Karan had worked his ass off on the NicedayKhao, World Cup Jao promotion. It had been insane. Apparently, they'd shotthirty-three short films over three days.

Karan: Balaji, Thind and Sam, It was like getting pieces ofwood to emote.

Anyway, the films had turned out really well and the contestwas a big success, so the client decided that Karan deserved a World Cup triptoo.

Karan: So, here I am, with the fifty fastest biscuit-eatersin the country for company. But, of course, I don't get to travel in style likeyou, you lucky little shit!

Rinku Chachi curled up and went to sleep after the breakfastservice and Rosh was busy watching cartoons with Armaan.i turned to watch I'dwatched the opening cereroshy of the World Cup and a bit of the first match onTV. The crowd had been massively excited and I had got very nervous looking atthe scale of the event. And even though Dad assured me no team had lost in mypresence, I was still a bundle of nerves.

Riya(m.v): God, how could Rawthe and Shree and the rest ofthem handle this level of stress?

I gloomily reflected that Rawthe probably handled it byworking his way through proudly slavish toinnngg babes, Washington RedskinsCheerleaders, Bollywood heroines and chubby lucky charms, the way Armaan wasworking his way through the packet of airline peanuts behind me.

Armaan: Can I get another packet, please, Auntie?

Flashback:

I had talked to Shree about my anxiety while we'd beendelivering pizza and he had just said,

Shree: Some people say you should try and block out thecrowd.Pretend ki they are not there. But I don't. Kyunki tension can work foryou. You can use it to make you play better. If whole-of-the stadium is booingme also, I just think ki, theek hai, I will prove all these behen-ke-excuse-me-pleasefools wrong.

Which was all very well for him to say, but I'm not going tobe playing, na! Just sitting there and praying to God that my luck holds. Therewas false I could do really, except maybe eat a lot more than usual at thebreakfast table. And though everybody'd advised me to just relax and have agreat holiday and not take this thing too seriously, I was completely stressedabout it. I tell you, it's really weird to put on the TV and hear Charu Sharmaand Imran Khan discussing about me.

…

Anyway, the first India match was a fairly low-profile one,against Zimbabwe, at the Gabba in Brisbane. Our flight was headed there after astopover in Singapore. The Gold Coast is just a two-hour drive away fromBrisbane.Rosh was keen to take Armaan there to ride the roller coasters andstuff, but I was not as keen. My life was a roller coaster.

We landed late in the evening. I think it was 7:30 p.m.,Aussie time. It was a super-smooth landing and the lights over the city lookedreally pretty. I grabbed my bag and complimentary Bvlgari toilette set, badefarewell to the flight crew at the door, and stepped off the plane jauntilyenough. But then the fact that I was in another country, First World countrychock-full of unilingual white people, suddenly hit . White waiters in thecafes. Because, hello, what would they switch to if they started getting pally,or angry, or fell in love? Suddenly, I just wanted to jump back into the planeand head home.But of course, I couldn't.

There were huge signs with the worldcup everywhere, warningus to declare any plant or animal extract items or be fined fifty thousandAussie dollars. There were also big white translites welcoming all thecricket-playing nations to the ICC World Cup 2011. Just like the ones in Dhaka,actually. That made me feel a bit at home, and Rinku Chachi ended up having along conversation with the Immigrations guys, who were all very cocky asAustralia had won the last three World Cups. No other team could boast of suchan achievement. Even the quarantine guys insisted India didn't have a chance.It seemed as if our team was the underdog of thetournament. Most of the fellowsdidn't even know the names of our players.

Rinku Chachi got really hassled when she realized this andstarted giving them all a full who's-who lecture on the Indian cricket team butthen had to pipe down when the burly quarantine guards and their sniffer dogsdiscovered a Lakshmi statue in her bags. The burly guards almost fell down anddied when she told them airily that it was made of mud. They checked all ourbags after that. It was all a bit of nightmare. At last they finally repackedour bags and waved usstadium looked like a carnival.

At the hotel, the guy at Reception handed me a note fromsome IBCC sidekick saying they'd be picking me up for breakfast at seven o'clock sharp, so that put an end to any ideas I had of ventured.

The next day

Breakfast was strange. The car swung me in to the boys'hotel by seven fifteen and they were all sitting down and eating when Wes'ssidekick ushered me in and I entered feeling suddenly over-bright in mypatriotic orange tee shirt. I hunched down into my hair and tried to shuffle inunnoticed but Sam leapt up, screaming,

Sam: Riya!

He rushed forward to pump my hand, thus causing everybody toturn and look at me. I smiled at him and tried to shake hands, but he justleaned down and lifted me off my feet. An extremely undignified little strugglefollowed where I tried to walk to the table and he tried to carry me. Therewere several unfamiliar faces around the table, boys who'd joined this squadafter Dhaka matches. I'd seen it all vaguely in the papers without paying toomuch attention. Now they all looked at me in polite, but barely masked,astonishment.

I smiled back at them brightly, recognizing Laakhi'sfriendly face amid the sea of sky-blue with great relief. Next to him washorrible Rawal, the shoe stealer. I think horrible Rawal rolled his eyes as Itook a chair, as if he couldn't believe I was there for real, and I instantlystarted feeling like a total interloper, instead of an 'honoured' guest.

The mood around the table was........intense. The Men inBlue weren't exactly grim but they seemed withdrawn somehow, even Sam andShree. They weren't laughing half as much as they used to in Dhaka, or even atthe IPL benefit match.

Well, this was the World Cup.

Wes was really sweet though. He walked up and waved a yucky lookingveggies in my face, and went enthusiastically

wes: Here, have some veggies, Riya! It'll put strength onyour heart!

Riya: Thank you , waise where is the skipper?

Otherside: Here,

a deep voice said behind me and I spun around in my chair tosee his lean, dark face smiling lazily down at me.

Riya: Oh, hi,

I said inadequately, face fully hot, mortified that he'doverheard me asking about him.

Arjun: Hey,

he said, his brown eyeswarm as they lingered or mine. Then, very casually, he leaned over me to grab atoast from rack. The collar of his two-buttons-opened, freshly printed Indiatee shirt brushed the top of my hair. He smelt like new newspaper mixed with anice smell of soap.

It was the tiniest of physical contacts, but it made myheart riom. I realized for the first time how totally fixated I had been onthis one moment for the last two months. Still, I covered it up well. I smileddemurely, tucked a lock of hair unnecessarily behind my ear. Rawthe, chewing ondry toast, walked around and dropped down between Wes and Laakhi, and then theyall left me pretty much to my own devices. I took a bite of my toast, myheartbeat slowing down to something vaguely approaching normal.

Oh my God, this Vegie stuff was absolutely foul!

Wes: It's an acquired taste,'

Wes said, laughing at my appalled expression. But I just satthere with my mouth full of the awful goo, too scared to chew. The othersstarted laughing too, even Arjun, and suddenly, I was sure it had been theirlittle scheme to shut me up, which was mean of them because I hadn't planned ontalking much, anyway.I swallowed it down somehow, chucked the rest of thetoast, and then quietly ate some fruit, feeling totally unwelcome while theytalked around me.

A nice, pony-tailed waiter had just asked me if I'd care forcoffee or passion fruit juice when Rawthe stood up and went,

Arjun: Come on, boys, let's get on that bus.

They got up with a general scraping of chairs and chucking downof napkins. There was a little commotion as Navneet Singh hurtled in, very lateand had to leave without eating anything. Everyone said goodbye to me a littleawkwardly except for Shree who smiled gorgeously as always and Sam who doubledback after everyone had left to make a mock-reverential dive for my feet. Ihastily tucked my feet under me and waved him away, saying,

Riya: All the best, play well.

Then I sat back, wondering why I'd done this to myself, andsipped my passion fruit juice.The passion fruit juice was worse. I wished I washome.

The match began at nine so I had time to get back to thehotel and recover from the inexplicable depression . Maybe it was just ananticlimax.

After all, I'd been gearing up for the big team breakfastfor the last sixty days, and it had turned out to be so mundane. Vegemite andjuice and monoologues from Sam about his strained groin. Really, I was startingto think he had a groin obsession. And Arjun...well, after that first 'hey', hehad said nothing to me at all. Life suddenly seemed very flat.

I opened my room door gloomily and saw the three companions.They looked up and smiled happily when they saw me and suddenly I felt thishuge rush of affection for all three of them. These are your family andfriends, I told myself. They should matter much more to you than a bunch ofstupid sports-quota-type cricketers and their I-want-to-kiss-you-but-won'tcaptain!

Riya: I'm so glad you guys are here with me,

I cried, swoopingdown and squeezing them together into a big group hug. Rinku Chachi lookedpleased but Rosh followed me into the loo and frowned down at me as I splashedcold water on my face. 'Is everything okay?' she asked mildly.

Rosh: Everything's fine,( smiling brightly into the mirror.)

She plonked herself onthe pot, lit a cigarette and looked at me expectantly.

Riya: I just feel like such a freeloader, Rosh.'

Really. The whole team was so intense and focused that itmade me feel really inadequate and full of fluff.

I mean, they are all hugely talented boys who've workedimmensely hard to be able to earn a seat around that particular breakfasttable. And then suddenly there is this chubby-cheeked person sitting right nextto them going,

Riya: Pass the butter, chootiye.

No wonder they look so pissed off.Rosh didn't look tooaffected.

Rosh: Don'tbe silly, You're not a freeloader. They've askedyou to come, remember? They're paying through their nose for you, for all ofus! If some of them are acting like jerks, it's because they are jealous that’sit.

Riya: It wasn't them who wanted me, It was just JogpalLohia. They didn't have much choice.

Rosh: Well, none of this is news to you, Why get worked upabout it?

Riya: They don't like me, I could feel the vibes. I thinkthey were laughing at me, I think they hate me, I think

Rosh: Oh shut up, Ri! I'm tired of your stupid insecurities. Quit carping,will you? Now c'mon let'sgo, or we'll miss the start of the match!'

Riya: Huh? We've got to go see the match? Why can't we go tothe malls instead?

We drove along the windingBrisbane River to the Gabba, we heard the radio commentator say that the Indianopeners were coming in to play as Jun had won the toss and chosen to bat.

Rinku: See, Riya, your luck is working already,

She was looking very young and flushed in her blue Zing!India tee shirt, with 'RINKU 10' emblarined across it. Neelo had got oneprinted specially for her. Just then my phone beeped and I looked down and saw a message flash.

Message:: Relax.We'll cream them. Meet me after? Love A.

Instantly the world became a better place.I quickly messagedback. Okay.

It was a medium-sized stadium, with seating for about 42,000people, but it was only half full, January being full-on summer in Australia.Everywhere we looked, hot-looking babes with every-coloured hair sipped beer in bikini tops, their tanned limbs and smooth midriffs gleaming in the sun.

Simran: So, Riya, how was breakfast?

Riya: Great, (a little startled)

She looked at me searchingly

Simran: Really?

I pushed my glasses higher up my nose and hoped I lookedenigmatic.

Riya: I can't give you any quotes, you know,

Simran: I know, I know,(smiling)

Riya: No hard feelings?

Simran: None, But only if you let me sit with you.

So, of course I did. I introduced her to our gang of four,who moved up and made room for her.It was a slow match. Slow and steady, whichwas good, according to Simmy .

Simran: Anyway, by the logic of things, this should be aneasy win for India, our team's way ahead of theirs.

She explained that for the World Cup, the system was a littledifferent from say, the mini World Cup or any other event. This was the groupstage, where there were four pools, of two strong and two weak teamsrespectively out of which only half would move on to the next stage.

Rinku chachi: Why don't you sing a song, Armaan? I will giveyou five dollars for singing a song.

Armaan: wow Four hi chahiye.

Riya: Five is more than four.

Rinku chachi: Okay, four, whatever. But sing, na!

Armaan smiled shyly : I know a new Christmas song, Some boysin the hotel taught me.

Rosh smiled, looking pleased. 'See, he's been makingfriends, already, He's learning about other cultures and religions too. Sing usthe nice carol, baby!

He finished the song and chachi gave him 4 dollars.

Then I looked wildly towards the field, but unable to seewhat was happening, I looked at the TV screen instead. Shivnath was looking atthe stumps behind him disbelievingly while the Zimbabwe wicket keeper. Yup,there was no doubt about it. Shivnath Singh was out. Laakhi came in to bat thenand steadied things up a bit. He played a low-key game, just supporting Sam whowas hitting out happily in every direction. And then, when Laakhi got caughtbehind at 33, Rawthe strolled out to play.

My heartbeat accelerated immediately, but, hello, judgingfrom the way the cheering increased, so did the entire stadium's.

Simran: These two are an excellent partnership, Sam andRawthe chatted briefly between overs. Don't you think so?

Riya: I wouldn't know, I'm not really into cricket thatmuch.

She glanced over at me, one hand shading her face from thesun.

Simran: Then what are you into? Cricketers?

Riya: Wow, I thought you were simran of Pitch-side, Not sakshiof sakshi’s Gupshup!'

She threw back her head and laughed, totally unoffended.

Simran: Sorry, I didn't mean to tease , Riya. It's just thatyou're in such a strange situation. I'm curious about what's going on in yourhead. And not just from a story point of view. Though, of course, it would makea great one! I'd just like to know, for myself.

Riya: I'm pretty blank, really, Comfortably numb.

Simran: floyd. Didn'tthink many kids of your generation listened to them. I am a retero personactually.

Riya: Oh, is it a song?

Simran: It's an all-time great, Speaking of which, look outfor Arjun now.... You know I have a good feeling about this particulardelivery...yess!

We watched as Rawthe hooked the ball away and headedsmoothly down the pitch.

Simran: He needn't bother, that's four runs for sure.

I looked at her curiously.

Simran: Is he really such a good player?

She looked away from the screen and back at me.

Simran: The best, He's finally about to come into his own.This World Cup is crucial for him. And he's a nice guy.

Meanwhile, Sameer dhamsingh rathore was blissfully slammingthe ball right around the stadium. Rawthe was giving him 'solid support'according to the commentators.

I finally allowed myself to relax and when Shanta went offto join her press buddies, I pulled out my own phone and scrolled down to themessage Rawthe had sent me this morning. Yes! There it was - I hadn't imaginedit. Just looking at it made me feel a little dizzy.

Relax, we'll cream them. Well, that part of it was comingtrue right in front of my eyes, but what about the really interesting nextbit?Meet me later? What did that mean? Did I have a date withhim? A Friday nightout with Captain Coldheart? And what about the best bit right at the end? LoveN.

Not just plain A. Or, See ya A. Or, Cheers A.

Love A.

Okay, Rosh's told me that in Bollywood everybody ends alltheir text messages with 'love' followed by their initials, but Arjun wasn'tfrom Bollywood! So Love N must have meant something, don't you think?

Rosh and Armaan came back and sat down next to me so I putmy phone away hastily. I felt weird around Rosh, since she'd got it into herhead that she was my 'chaperone'.

I was halfway out when a hot little hand grasped mine and Ilooked down to see Armaan trotting beside me.

Armaan: I have to go to bathroom. Take me.

So I took him to the girl's loo, hauled off his shorts andSpiderman innerwears and sent hm. He looked very confused and asked me. Afterthat he splashed some water on me. And that's how I ended up getting thoroughlysplashed with water at the Gabba, inBrisbane, Australia.I rinsed my ganji and dried it under the hand dryer. After some time we left.

Karan: Hey, Riya! Come sit with us!

burnt my innards andmade my eyes water. As I brought the bottle down, spluttering slightly, thestadium exploded. Arjun had hit a six close to where we were seated &suddenly armaan started shouting

Armaan: Arjun Rawthe dat gaya, Zimbabwe ka phat gaya.

It was awesome. Things got a bit tense when Sam finally gotout at 85, and Navneet Singh got out for duck right after. But it steadiedafter that, and its 310 after some time.

Karan: It's unbelievable!310 for 4! Riya, you've got to comeeat with me before I do anything important in my life! F**k. Where were youwhen AWB played Grey Worldwide for the Agency Cup, anyway?

They finally finished off with 321 and then came off thepitch, looking sweaty but happy. Rawthe spoke briefly to the anchors, for wichI was smiling shyly. Then Armaan and I wandered back to our VIP box to findChachi and Rosh totally hysterical with joy at how well India was playing.

The second half started while we were still eating and Theyshowed Arjun in close-up on the TV screen, he had the ball in his hand and waschucking it from hand to hand, his eyes narrowed to slits. Then he tossed theball to Shree who caught it.

And then Shree Sen began that powerful run-up the girls all loved so much,his copper curls bouncing, and hurled the ball like a bomb at the poor red andgreen tracks at the other end of the pitch. It was a massacre.

They were all out for 233, thus losing the psychologicaledge even for the matches to come, according to the commentator.

The choice for Man ofthe Match was obviously going to be Sam - he'd made 85 runs in the morning, andhad taken a couple of vital wickets too, when Rawthe had tried somethingunconventional and given him the ball in the slog overs.

Armaan : Zimbabwe ka phat gaya!'

We got back to the hotel in just under half an hour. Theorganizers had warned us about traffic, but Rinku Chachi : What traffic? Thiswhole country and all its cars will fit in our UP state only.

Rosh bounced into our room all ready to party at eight o'clock.

Rosh: C'mon. Let's go,There's a casino aboard the KookaburraQueen at eight-thirty. Let's not miss it.

She was looking really hot in a Goddess-like way, in a blacksleeveless dress, her helmet hair clinging to her exquisite cheekbones. Shesmacked her lips to settle her lipstick, looked me over and nodded approvingly.

Rosh: Nice top, Riya,I've never seen you wear it before.

I tugged at the plunging halter top, trying to pull itcloser to the waistband of my embroidered jeans.

Riya: It's not too nangapanga, na?

Rosh: No way! It rocks. Besides, you can cover up with yourhair if youfeel conscious. But you may want to take a wrap along; it could geta bit chilly on the boat.'

Riya: Uh, actually, I'm not coming with you guys on theboat.

Roshini had been busy fishing out her phone and cigarettesfrom her capacious 'mommy' handbag and stuffing them into her skinny 'party'clutch but at this she looked up at me, an arrested gleam in her dark eyes.

Rosh: (enquiring) Really? So where are you headed? And withwhom? Or (eyes narrowed )is somebody coming here?

In answer, I smugly held up my phone and showed her themessage on it.

She peered down at it short-sightedly and then slowly thishuge grin broke across her face.

Rosh: (smirking naughtily) Uh huh? And who might "A"

I told her sweetly.

Riya: ayushmaan khurana. I'm his greatest fan. I'm in love withhis cute face and god his absolutely lovable shayaris.

Rosh: Okay, Just make sure yourayush pads up before he bats, okay? Condoms use karna(she said smirking)

Riya: tujhe toh mein

Of course it would've been perfectly acceptable behaviourfor me to call and congratulate him Imade a deal with myself. If he didn't call by ten I was going to change into mypajamas and order Room Service. Decision made (more or less), I flicked on theTV and started watching the highlights of the day's match.

The programme was Jay and Beeru ki Show le! a name that madesense to everybody who hailed from the Indian subcontinent and to nobody else.Jay (Jason Plunkett) was a laconic English ex-captain, very dry and precise,and Beeru (Birendra Singh) was a motor-mouthed Indian ex-opening batsmen.

Jay: Well, one batsman who's on his way out of the eleven isNavneet Singh, He'll be lucky if Rawthe plays him again in Sydney. That was analtogether pathetic performance today.

Riya: (m.v)Of course I couldn't help thinking at this pointthat Navneet Singh had missed having breakfast with me this morning. Maybe thathad something to do with his abysmal show today. Okay, I know what Neelo wouldsay. You're becoming a victim of your own hype, Riya.

I waited waited but he never came. I sighed, ripped open apacket of minibar goodies and wondered if there was anything I could do to makemy Luckiness last. I could pray, I suppose, but all of India was prayingeveryday, anyway. And what about theuse-up-all-your-good-luck-on-cricket-and-be-doomed-to-bad-luck-in-your-own-lifetheory? Nothing was going good in my personal life, was it?

I mean, everybody else was at a floating casino having ablast, and I was overeating in a hotel room, waiting for a world-famous personto call me. God, I was such a loser. How much worse was it going to get,anyway? Maybe I was destined to help India win the World Cup and then die or something!

Oh my God! That was it!

I had a sudden, perfect flash into the future. Rawthe wasgoing to clinch the final with a huge six. The ball would fly into the stands,knock me on the head, cause a horrible spurting wound and decapitate me infront of a million viewers. An ugly bat-shaped monument would be erected inShivaji Park in my honour. Rawthe would stand brooding before it, blue cap inhand, crying in the rain, as the credits rolled down on the movie of my life.

I zapped off the TV, collapsed on to the bed and covered myhead with my pillow.

***

The first thing I saw the next morning was Rawthe's face inthe Sun. He was laughing, brown eyes,they gazed into the dulcet dark ones of some hot-looking babe showing too muchcleavage. Underneath, it read: Indian skipper Arjun Rawthe with localrestaurateur Reita Sing, at the latter's restaurant Sultry South at South Bank,late last night.

Tears sprang to my eyes. I chucked the paper onto the floorand headed for the loo.

When I emerged, a good forty minutes later, Roshini andRinku Chachi told me kindly but firmly that we were all going to the Gold Coastfor a day of sun and have fun. Even I decided to go.

Amusement park:

I looked up, surprised, and sure enough, there was Shree,all Mickey Mouse tee shirt and tousled curls. He was waving out to us, flushedand grinning and seemingly oblivious to the fact that he was being tailed by agaggle of giggly Pakistani girls.

Shree: Hi, Riya!

he said as he bounded up.

Shree: I just did all the wet water rides, it is superb,awesome, too good, matlab ki you will love it! He then started telling me thatI simply had to do a bungee jump. I told him to go do it himself but he saidDieter-sir would kill him if he tried it. Then Roshini chimed in too,whisperingall kinds of corny agony aunt stuff like, C'mon, snap out of it, stopbrooding, do the bungee. Don't let other people take control over yourhappiness....

The two of them hauled me over to a huge crane, fullycovered in graffiti, where a bloodthirsty crowd had gathered to watch all thederanged loons who were paying large sums of money to risk killing themselvesin the flower of their youth.

A guy with tattooed tits, dark glasses and big black jackboots yelled down to us,

Man: You folks wanna swing?

She does!

Shree, yelled back,giving the guy a big thumbs up sign. The crowd cheered happily.

Crowd: Well. Get on up then!

The guy made us shell out two hundred fifty Aussie dollars.(I started multiplying by thirty-seven, but then Shree said it was his treat.He actually used that word - treat, hello, this was a treat?) Then this guywith a videocamera started briefing me about where to look and wave while heshot the video of my jump. Which made me get all worked up about the fact thatmy little cropped top would flip over my head when I fell and my new dressflips. It’s pretty loose.

I tried to explain this to Shree. It took a while for him toget it, but then he nodded, whipped off his shirt, and told me to put it on. Iput it on, and then he tucked the bottom snugly all the way around into myshorts. The next thing I knew, I was walking up the first series of stairs, aweird plummeting feeling in the pit of mystomach, which up till now I'd onlyassociated with encounters with Arjun Rawthe.

I took a deep calming breath.Oh well, I reasoned, as Iwalked off the edge, I'm feeling so suicidal, maybe simulating it will actuallybe kind of cathartic....

***

I strutted happily into the lobby of my hotel that evening,feeling totally at home in Australia, the adrenalin rush from the bungee jumpstill very much with me. The guy at Reception got all excited when they called me.

Receptionist: There's a gentleman waiting to see you. He'sbeen waiting for a long time, two hours or more. He's right over there, behindthat screen.

Riya(m.v): Rawthe. It had to be Rawthe, I thought instantly,my heartbeat rioming. So much for not letting other people take control of yourhappiness.

But it is short liven;

Chotu: Hello, riya ji , Why you are not picking up theephone?

We had a caffeine cup at the poolside coffee shop. Chotu chattedabout this and that and inquired after my family in such a familiar way tinsuch a familiar way that I started to wonder ifhe had a file on me orsomething. He asked about Gajendraji and Riravarji. I was almost surprised he'dmissed out Eppaji and Meekuji.

Basically he had an offer for me. That was why he wasskulking around here.

Chotu: It's all very hush suh You used to be an agency girl,you will understand.'

Riya: (m.v) Hello, used to be? I was still an agency girlunless Sandy had found some other sucker who'd work for less to do my job.

Chotu : I have an offer for you, to endorse a product.

Wow, was he serious?

Riya: Wow, are you serious?

He nodded solemnly.

Chotu: It is a very big brand. It will be coming on TV forthee very first time.

Chotu: What's this product, Chotu?

He gave this long, impressive pause, shelled a particularlyrecalcitrant pista, popped it into his red mouth and said,

Chotu: Sher bidi.

I was irritated and felt low.

Chotu : Not just any bidi, Joyaji, Number One bidi in Indiansubcontinent and Middle East!

Riya: But tobacco products can't be advertised on TV! Andanyway, I won't endorse smoking.

Chotu: It’s like a Proxyads, you mean, Chotu Apple juice instead of whisky, playing cards instead ofbeers, and music CDs instead of white rum. But this is genuine product Otherwisewould I ask you to endorse? I also have my integrity.

I didn't say anything, mainly because I didn't know what to say.An agarbatti ad. It was seriously SEC D minus. Like doing an ad for NavratanTel or something. But hello, Govinda, Amitabh Bachchan and Shah Rukh Khan haveall done that...why not me?

Riya: D'you have the script?

Chotu:Ufff! What script-vript?' he shoot his head. 'Joyaji,start thinking like a celebrity, why you are asking for the script? Ask for themoney first.

He showed his four fingers.

Riya: Four? Four lakhs?

Chotu shook his head gleefully.

Chotu: Forty, That's what I have negotiated. Forty lakhseither way.

Riya: Matlab?

I asked, my headspinning at the thought of so much riches.

Chotu: Matlab, forty lakhs whether they run the ad or no.Whether India win or no. But they'll only sign the contract if India gets tothe semis.

Well, that was reasonable enough. Why shell out money to alucky charm till it's proven itself? Tauji ka logic was sound.

But they'll be booking space on Sony, won't they? Won't theylose a lot of moneey if we lose and they don't have an ad to run?

Chotu: That is risk they are taking, Joyaji, Tauji's pocketsare very deep. There's a five-day gap between thee semi and thee final. Theywill fly you to India for shoot and back.

Riya: Okay, I need to think about it, okay? Let me call youand tell you soon.(my head was actually spinning)

Chotu: Of course, of course, Definitely. Take your time.What's there.

Chotu had certainly given me something to think about. Iwent up to my room, mulling over what he'd said. I'd only get the money if wemade it till the semis, which were still a good ten matches away. Still, it wasall very exciting. And to think I had been moping around last night feelingunwanted.

In this gung-ho spirit I strutted up to my room, fluffing myhair out and looking at myself in every mirror I passed. I was looking reallygood.

Rinku Chachi : Riya, tabse number mila rahi hoon, that fatman has been waiting downstairs for you for hours! Why you are not picking upyour phone?

And Shree had calledon the hotel landline too. Hey, maybe there was something wrong with myphone...and Rawthe, after trying my number a million times had gone out withthat sultry south Indian babe instead and made mad passionate love to her allnight just to get over the trauma of my not returning his calls and was, atthis very moment, having to make an honest woman out of her!

I dug my phone out of my red rucksack frantically and lookedat it.

Rinku Chachi heaved this really long-suffering sigh and tookit from me. She pressed some keys and then looked up disgustedly.

Chachi: Riya, it's working. It was on silent, that's all.'

I grabbed the phone and checked all the missed calls. Therewas one from Sam, one from my dad, two from Chotu and Riravar and tonnes from RinkuChachi. But none from my favourite arjun So much for that theory.

But somehow the whole thing gave me some momentum. Or maybeI was just tired of waiting for him to call.Whatever it was, I put down my bag,scrolled down to Arjun's number, pressed call and, phone in hand, walked rightinto the loo and shut the door.

It rang. Once. Twice. Thrice.

Before it could ring the fourth time - I was going todisconnect on the fifth ring, I'd promised myself - he picked it up.

Arjun: Hello?

Riya: Hi! (all bubbly)

Arjun: Riya? What's up?(surprised)

But I wasn't falling for that. I knew he had my numbersaved, it must have flashed when I rang, who did he think he was kidding withthat surprised Riya?

I shrugged, looked in the loo mirror. I was still lookingreally good. My hair was positively angel-like under the lights. I said airily,

Riya: Lots actually.Sightseeing. Negotiating contracts. Howare you?

Arjun(smiling; I know I could feel it) ; I'm well, ery well,actually. Aren't you going to congratulate me?

Riya: Huh? Oh yes! Congrats, great match,

I said,automatically. Then, telling myself I was a girl who'd gone bungee jumpingtoday, I took my courage in my hands and said casually,

Riya: I thought we were meeting up yesterday, why didn't youcall me?

I thought I had him pinned then, but imagine my surprise whenhe turned around and said,

Arjun: Why didn't you call me, Riya?

Damn, I didn't know how to answer that. I gaped at myself inthe mirror and finally came out with a lame,

Riya: Uh, I forgot?

Arjun: Please, you know, I really don't think I'm thatforgettable.

Riya: No, you're not,(dropping all pretence)and as you're sofamous and unforgettable, don't you think you should've called me, because if Icalled you I'd have felt like some overeager pile on?

I couldn't believe I had said that. It had to be the mostpathetic, needy speech of all time!

But all Rawthe said disbelievingly : Pile on? Riya, all yousent me was an sms saying "okay".

It didn't sound likeyou were very keen to meet me. And you barely spoke at breakfast. What was I tothink? I figured if you wanted to meet me, you could call. God knows a millionpeople called me last night!

Riya: Oh, I'm sure you had a great time last night! There'sa picture of you in the morning paper, with Miss Sultry Mouth!

Arjun: South, Sultry South. It's the name of the restaurant,not the owner's daughter. I always go there fordinner in this city, I co-ownit. And if we're trading damning press clips then there's a photo of you in theafternoon paper with a shirtless Shree. Beat that.

That gave me pause.

Riya: There is?

Arjun: (god god he was jealous) top sounding so excited,

he said sardonically.

Arjun: Sound a little bored with the whole thing or I'llthink you're...what's that word you use so often? Yeah, uncool.

(It’s the jaalan but why is this skipper feeling jealousabout me?)

That made me laugh. I couldn't help it.

Riya: Please can we meet today?

I heard myselfasking, too eagerly.

Arjun: Pick you up in fifteenminutes,

he said instantly and hung up.

Loved it dear

Awesome part

Thanks for the PM

Continue soon 🙂

So nice one

Why cant you keep more ariya meets.. Just asking

Continue soon

Thanks for pm

Hey thank you it is sooo soo good

Arjun's msg was good

Hoping more

Thanks for pm

Continue soon

Awesome one...u hv depicted riya's feeling at the breakfast table beautifully...infact the entire chapter was beautifully depicted....loved every bit of it...do update soon.

Lovely chapter well written if possible plz give more ariya scene eagerly waiting for nxt and thanks for pm

Awesome update

Love it

Continue soon