Hey people! I know I'm late. But I can't help it. I was busy with lot of things. This is a long chapter and something interesting is coming up. Thanks a lot for all the wonderful comments. And I've replied to all of them.
I've a few dedications to make. Firstly, my bestie, Srimukhi for cross reading the whole chapter.
Next, Sanu (PheliNazar), recover soon buddy.
Next, Nikki (nikki028), she helped me revive all the magical MN moments by her beautiful thread, MN Magic – Immortal and Evergreen.
And last but not the least, Deepu (deepikavasudeva) for asking me to update every now and then.
UNTIL THE LAST MOMENT
Chapter – 3
Later that day, after the school, Nupur, Suhani and Adhiraj were walking towards the parking lot when they bumped into two boys.
Nupur exclaimed "Hey Karan! Hey Kiran!"
"Hey Nups!" said both the boys in unison.
Karan and Kiran are twin brothers. Karan is elder to Kiran just by two minutes. The only way people recognize them is by their houses. Karan belonged to Emerald while Kiran belonged to Ruby. Kiran was Samrat's classmate and his best friend. Karan is also a good friend of Samrat but he studied in different section.
"Hey guys! How come you are here? Where is Bro?" Nupur asked.
"Well, he's gone home!" said Karan looking at Kiran.
"What?" Nupur asked.
"Yes Nupur! He's indeed gone home!" said Kiran looking everywhere except Nupur.
"But he never leaves for home without informing me! Today also in during lunch, he asked me to go home without waiting for him. I know that you guys don't have English today but you guys definitely have the practice sessions for the upcoming Cricket tournament. Isn't he supposed to practice?" she asked bewildered at her brother's sudden change.
"Well, you are right! We don't have English today but the practice session is on. Sam took permission from Mr. Rohan to go home. He said he wasn't in a mood to practice" said Karan.
"Alright! I'm leaving for home. See you guys tomorrow" she said and moved towards the parking lot. Suhani followed suit. She was also confused as to why Samrat all of a sudden skipped his practice session.
They reached the parking lot in no time and waited for Adhiraj to join them. Adhiraj had excused himself to meet his brother before leaving for home when Nupur was busy talking with Karan and Kiran.
After a while, Adhiraj joined them. He sensed tension and asked Suhani what the problem was and she explained the whole situation to him. He too very well knew how much Samrat loved Cricket but he just couldn't think of a reason behind his unusual behavior.
They all mounted their bicycles and moved out of the school premises. Once out, Nupur started driving like a maniac. And the other two had a tough time in riding. After ten minutes of driving, she stopped by a lane. She and Suhani bid goodbye to Adhiraj and both the girls moved towards their houses. They again drove for another ten minutes and reached their houses. Nupur bid goodbye to Suhani and quickly moved inside. (Remember, Nupur and Suhani are neighbors)
As soon as she went inside, the sight in front of her was too surprising for her. Samrat was on the couch happily watching WWF on the television. This made her even more annoyed. She cleared her throat to catch his attention.
"Ahem Ahem" she said.
"Hey little sissy! You back from school? What got you so late?" he asked smiling at her.
"Why did you skip your practice session today?" she asked glaring at him.
"Oops! How did you get to know that I missed it?" he asked looking everywhere except her.
"First answer the question!" she demanded.
"Well, I wasn't in a mood" he said looking back at the television.
"BRO! I'm asking you something. And why on earth are you not in a mood today? Do you actually realize how important these practice sessions are for you and the school?" she asked. When she didn't get any reply from him, she continued "You are given detentions for unknown reasons which affect your practice sessions and when the detentions aren't given, you are not in a mood to attend! GREAT!" she yelled exasperating.
"Nupur, even I want to attend the practice sessions but today, I wasn't in a mood" he said holding her by her shoulder.
"Fine! Do as you wish!" she said moving towards the bedroom.
She freshened up and came to the living room where her mother was busy chatting on the phone. She was super hungry. She was very tired after the basket ball practice she had right after the lunch hour. She gathered all her strength to get up from the couch when a bowl of Maggi was presented in front of her. She looked at the person who held it and gave one dark to him and took the bowl and started having it.
Her mother who was faking a talk with her aunt put the receiver down and smiled looking at her kids.
"Why are you so angry Nupur?" asked their mother.
"What else do you want me to do Maa? Should I hug him out of happiness?" she asked annoyed as her mother also took Samrat's side and concentrated on her Maggi.
"Why are you so short tempered Nupur? When will you learn to control your temper and keep cool?" asked her mother while Samrat just enjoyed the whole scene.
"Maa, you are diverting from the topic. Why don't you understand? He has done a mistake and you are supporting him. He skipped his practice session! For God sake, please understand!" she said.
"I know that! But do you know that today's practice session was called off and that's the reason he is at home at this hour" she said shocking Nupur while Samrat just smirked.
"What?" asked Nupur.
"Yes! There is no practice session today!!" said Samrat and their mother in unison.
"Then why did Karan and Kiran tell me that you skipped it?" she asked still confused.
"Because I asked them to tell you so!" said Samrat smiling widely.
"But why?" she asked.
"Because I haven't seen you annoyed at me since a couple of days!" said he.
"You are insane! I hate you!" she declared flatly.
"What can anyone say apart from those words when they have made fools out of themselves?" he said laughing at her.
"Stop laughing you jerk! I won't leave you today!" she said and ran towards him.
Both of them ran, Samrat trying to save himself from his dear sister and Nupur with an intention to kill him. They ran through all of the rooms and finally Samrat came out of the house and was in the garden. Nupur sensing that this was her opportunity to take revenge opened the water tap. She took the water pipe which was lying on the ground in her hand and splashed water at him.
Samrat hated it when he got drenched. He loathed it when his clothes got wet.
"NUPUR! What have you done? You very well know that I hate wet clothes. I just got freshened up and you drenched my whole self! I WON'T LEAVE YOU!" he shouted and grabbed the water pipe from her hands.
Suhani was taking care of her dog, Scissor when she heard Nupur and Samrat shouting at each other. She moved towards the compound which separated both their houses when the phone rang. She immediately went inside and brought her cordless along with her. It was Adhiraj who was on the other side. He asked her about Nupur and Samrat.
And she started her commentary session as to how Nupur drenched Samrat and now how Samrat was chasing Nupur.
Now it was Nupur's turn to run and Samrat's turn to chase! After running around the whole garden, she was tired but Samrat was in no mood to give up. He almost approached and targeted the water pipe on her when she hid behind a man who just walked into the scene. This made the man get totally wet and Nupur saved herself but unfortunately Samrat couldn't!
"I'm sorry Dad!" Samrat said trembling with fear while Nupur laughed whole heartedly.
Their mother who had been watching the whole scenario from a distance also had a tough time in controlling her laughter. Their father wasn't a very strict man. He was called the best father in the whole world. He would never get annoyed at anyone! He was the coolest Dad and the calmest being on earth.
"It's absolutely all right, Beta! I anyway have to take a bath and I'm glad that you helped me in it" he said smiling at him.
Samrat was too embarrassed to talk.
"Come, let's go inside" he said walking into the house while Samrat and Nupur followed suit.
After a while, Samrat changed his clothes and their father freshened up. All were sitting in the living room while their mother was busy preparing the dinner.
"How was school today?" their father asked them.
"It was awesome Dad! I had lots of fun. I had my basket ball practice in the afternoon and I'm tired" replied happily.
"Same here Dad! The Cricket practice session was called off and thankfully I didn't have an English period today" Samrat said cheerfully.
"That sounds good" said their father.
"Dad, I forgot to tell you something" he said.
"What is it son?" he asked listening carefully to Samrat.
"We had the Investiture Ceremony today" said Samrat gleefully.
"Oh! That's great news! Did you get elected as the Ruby house Vice-Captain?" he asked.
"Unfortunately no Dad!" he said frowning.
"Better luck next time Bro" Nupur popped in.
"Thanks sissy! I'm not at all feeling sad" he said smiling.
"You always have a second chance, Beta. And as I told you earlier, if we didn't get something, something much better awaits us" he said patting Samrat's back.
"You are right Dad!" he said.
"So, who all have got elected?" he asked.
Samrat said the names of all the people of got selected and also mentioned their biography.
"Dad! Guess who is the Sports Vice-Captain?" asked Samrat.
"I'm sorry, Beta. But I've no idea" he said smiling at his enthusiastic son.
"It's none other than our Chitra Jain a. k. a CJ!" he said grinning while Nupur and their father also smiled.
"That's very good news. Who is the Sports Captain then?" he asked.
"It's Uday Shergill Dad, Raj's brother" said Nupur smiling.
"That's nice, Beta" he said.
"Now it's time to know the head girl and head boy for this year" said Samrat rubbing his palms.
"Who is it?" asked their father with curiosity.
"The Head Girl is Anjali Gupta and she is from Sapphire (Blue) house. She is the daughter of our Biology teacher, Mrs. Padma Gupta. She is the topper of the whole 10th grade and a wonderful singer" said Samrat.
"And I love her" added Nupur.
"That's indeed a very good choice. I've also met her couple of times and she is a wonderful student" their father said smiling remembering Anjali.
"Who is the Head Boy?" he asked.
"It's some Sharma guy Dad!" replied Nupur in an uninterested tone.
"It's not 'some' Sharma guy. His name is Mayank Sharma. He is also a brilliant student. He is from the Emerald (Green) house. He is the best head boy till date and he is a wonderful person with good leadership qualities and he is also one of the toppers of the school. The whole of 10th grade looks at him with awe" he said smiling.
"Whatever! I don't care" said Nupur while Samrat glared at her.
"Hmm… Mayank Sharma. I've never heard about him earlier. But f you say so, I'd definitely like to meet him one day. Do invite him to our house" he said.
"What's the need Dad?" asked Nupur busily solving the Su Do Ku puzzle in that day's newspaper.
"Beta, everyone is born to do something. And if your brother is saying so much about him, I'd like to meet him once. He indeed seems to be like a very good person. As you know, your brother never talks about people so much, but today, he is. So, I think whatever he is saying about Mayank might be right. And there is absolutely no harm in meeting him. So, what's in inviting him to our house?" he asked.
"But seriously, Dad, I'm not interested in this Sharma guy" she said getting back to solving her Su Do Ku.
"Everyone has their own perception and I can't change yours until you meet him once. Sam, why don't you introduce her to Mayank?" he asked.
"That would indeed be a pleasure Dad! Nupur, get ready to meet him tomorrow in the first recess and please don't argue with me about it" he said while Nupur looked shocked at what she had just heard.
"Fine!" she said frustrated and left while Samrat again got indulged in telling his father about Mayank.
Nupur was in her bedroom. She was thinking about what her father and brother told her.
"There is absolutely no problem in meeting this Sharma guy. Bro has never spoke about someone for so long and today, he was speaking as if he knew about this guy from ages and if given a chance, he would be the first one to accept if someone asked to write a book on this guy. Strange! He says that he knows him for the past four years and still he never spoke about him. But how come he didn't speak about him all these years? Why all of sudden? Only because he is the Head Boy of the school or is there any other reason? Whatever it is, I'll definitely find out tomorrow" she thought to herself and smiled.
After a while, her father called her for dinner. All four of them set the table and had their dinner. It was usually Nupur who spoke but today, Samrat wasn't allowing anyone else to speak. He kept on ranting about Mayank. Nupur decided to finish her dinner quickly and revise the lessons taught that day. She finished it, and as she was about to go, Samrat held her hand.
"Nupsie! Where are you going? Don't you have manners? You aren't supposed to leave until Dad finishes his dinner" he said making her sit.
"Bro, for your kind information, Dad has already finished his dinner" she said pointing at her father and continued "And as far as my manners are concerned, don't you dare talk about them when you yourself lack them. How many times should Dad tell you not to talk while having dinner?" she asked raising her eyebrows.
He just looked down while all the others chuckled. He quickly finished his dinner without further talk and later all of them retired to bed. Samrat and Nupur shared the same bedroom. Samrat was on right and Nupur on left.
Samrat was still ranting about Mayank. Nupur was now annoyed. He had been talking about Mayank for so long, but she didn't dare utter a word against Mayank. But now, he was crossing all his limits. And Nupur's temper was flaring up with every passing second. And finally, when she could no longer listen, she exploded.
"BRO! You had been talking about this Sharma guy since the past 3 hours!!! Do you actually realize that I'm not interested in knowing anything about him? Just shut up!! Eww… I thought you were straight. But you… " he immediately cut her off.
"NUPUR! What made you think that I'm '…'? YUCK! Can't YOU think straight?" he asked emphasizing on the word you and continued "You could easily ask me to stop but you didn't. It was your mistake" he said blaming her.
"BRO! I had enough for today. Will you please let me sleep?" she asked glaring at him.
"Fine! Good night and sleep tight" he said smiling at her and added "Don't forget, you have to meet Mayank tomorrow during the first recess."
* * * * * * * *
Next morning, the Sun rays fell on Samrat's face and woke him up from his deep slumber. He turned the other side to sleep and slowly looked at his sister. She was one girl who never slept well. It doesn't mean she was insomniac, it just means, she always slept in a way unimaginable. Her hands, her legs and her head would be in different directions. He smiled looking at her. He slowly crawled out of his bed and went to freshen up. Later, he left for his IIT coaching classes. He returned after two hours. His dear sister was still in her dreamland and he smiled looking at her. He slowly walked towards her and brushed the hair off her head and kissed her head. And he went to get ready for school. After half an hour, he returned and woke up his sister.
"Nupsie! My sweet little sissy! Wake up angel" he said slowly.
"Sam, she'll definitely not attend school if you wake her up like that" said their mother standing at the door.
"Then why don't you wake her up? I'll dress up for school" he said taking his school uniform out from the wardrobe.
"Beta, Su is here. She is already up and ready to go to school. Don't you want to go along with her?" their mother asked her removing the sheets from her. She just showed two fingers, which meant, two more minutes.
"It's already 7.30 and the school is at 8.30. Don't blame me if you are late" she said warning her and left the room.
She immediately woke up and looked at the time piece on the night stand and immediately went to freshen up. She came out and wore her school uniform and tied her hair neatly into two pony tails and joined Samrat at the breakfast table.
"Good morning!" she said smiling.
"Good morning!" said all the three in unison.
"All set for another day?" asked their father.
"Yes" said both.
"All the best!" he said giving a quick hug to his children while Samrat and Nupur kissed on either side of his cheeks. And then gave peck on his wife's cheek and left.
"Good day Dad!" both wished him and bid goodbye.
Samrat and Nupur took their lunch from their mother and hung their bag on their back. They kissed their mother goodbye and mounted their bicycles. Suhani was already waiting for them. All three set off for their school. They were in a mood to race. But
Samrat strictly restricted them saying that he was taking a short cut since he has some important work at school so he wouldn't be there to take care of them if something happened.
Nupur and Suhani took the long route as it was their routine to go along with Adhiraj to school. Ten minutes later, they reached the school, parked their cycles and moved towards their respective classes.
They settled their bags and came back to the grounds for the daily assembly. The assembly began with the prayer and ended with the school song. After which, they all moved towards their classes.
Nupur was called by Mr. Rohan, their P. E. T. He was in the Indian Army and was a very strict and disciplined man. He was a warm and sweet too but only with a few people. His temper was uncontrollable. He loved everyone especially Nupur, Samrat, Suhani, Adhiraj and CJ.
Mr. Rohan called her out and said her about the upcoming inter school Basket Ball tournament.
"Nupur, it's in the first week of August. And I want you to choose the team and start practicing form today after the school hours. It's very important for us to win. And as you know, you can choose the team from any house. I'm sure you will take up this responsibility very well" he said patting her back.
"Sure Sir. I won't let you down. I promise. I'll choose the team today and start practicing from tomorrow. Is it okay, Sir?" she asked.
"Of course! Now go back to class" he said and she started walking towards the school building.
She was walking and simultaneously thinking about the tournament. This was a very important tournament and she wanted to make the best use of the given opportunity. She decided who all would be included in the team and also started making strategies for it. She strode aimlessly and took the flight of steps. The steps were wet as they were just washed. She held the railing and walked. On the basement, she passed a boy but she didn't pay any attention to him. She turned around to take the next half stairs when she slipped on the wet floor. She closed her eyes due to the fear of falling, hitting the floor and also breaking a few bones. But to her relief, she fell in safe arms.
His POV
I was appointed to take care of all the students and make sure that all were in their perfect uniform. All the students left for their respective classes and I decided to go to my class which was downstairs. I took a step when I saw a girl coming upstairs. I waited for her to go to her class. She wore her hair into two loose pony tails and a few strands of hair were disturbing her view. But she didn't care to move them aside. She looked as if she preoccupied with something. I decided to wait until she reached her class.
She was taking slow careful steps. And when she about to take the other half of the stairs, she slipped. I didn't have to think much. I immediately held her by her waist and looked at her face. Her facial expressions changed gradually. At first, she closed her eyes in the fear of falling but when I held her, she realized that she was in safe arms and relief flood her face. She slowly opened her eyes. They were dove shaped honey brown eyes. They had a depth in which one can easily drown. She had a sharp pointed nose. I had a huge urge to touch it with mine, but I resisted it. Her lips now curved into the most beautiful smile I had ever seen and I involuntarily smiled back at her. She had long black hair which reached till her waist and was falling on my hand and making tingling sensations. She had the perfect curves and she was neither too fat nor too slim. She was perfect in every way. Although she wasn't standing straight, I could easily tell that she has an optimum height and I bet we would look perfect if we ever stood together.
After taking a look at her whole self, I got back to her angelic face, the face which mesmerized me with its charm. I badly wanted to know her name and hear her melodious voice. The cool breeze caressed her face and a few strands of hair fell on her face disturbing my view of hers. I without thinking much slowly removed them and put them behind her ears. I think she shuddered at my touch. And then, I again concentrated on her eyes, those beautiful big eyes. I wished to drown myself completely.
But unfortunately, the bell rang indicating that it was time to begin the first period for the day. And the magic spell was broken.
The boy made Nupur stand on her feet. They moved apart only to get bumped into each other once again. Their identity cards got entangled with each other. Both held them and started to remove the knots but they couldn't. Nupur looked at the class right opposite to the stair case. That was her class and she saw her Physics teacher, Ms. Surekha entering the class. She didn't want to miss the class. She looked back at the knots and started panicking. She quickly removed the identity card from her neck and shoved it into his hands.
"Look, my teacher is entering my class" she said pointing to her teacher and continued
"Keep this with you. I'll collect it in the recess" and quickly broke into a run.
He looked at the identity card. And softly said "Nupur"
His wishes got fulfilled. He heard her voice and also got to know her name. He looked back at her. At the same time, she looked back at him. He smiled and shook his head at her retreating figure. He came downstairs and went to his class.
* * * * * * * *
That's it for today. I hope you like this part. I tried making it long. Try guessing who the boy is. And do feel free to comment and criticize. I'll try updating it soon.
Till then take care and keep smiling.
Love,
Sindhu.
CID
35