Chapter Three
Kripa smiled as she entered her new home. She was so glad she got the job. Although it seemed a little tough she was always up for a challenge. She was happy with the arrangement and Dadi seemed like a really nice person. She didn't particularly enjoy the first few minutes in the academy but maybe she would never meet the man again. At least she hoped.
"Kripa, your back" Roshini smiled and got up "How was your day? Did you get anywhere?"
Kripa smiled widely and hugged her mother "I got the job Mama" she squealed "I'm starting from tomorrow"
"But you were going to Anjali's house tomorrow"
"Mama, I promised I'll go. Don't worry about it. I'll just visit in the evening instead"
"Kripa" her mother frowned
"Mama please" Kripa pouted "I'm really hungry. What's cooked?"
Roshini sighed "I made aloo ke parathe. Go freshen up" She turned around "Kavya, I'll get you some too. You must be hungry" Roshini said walking into the kitchen
Feeling embarrassed at her behavior Kripa smiled awkwardly "Sorry got a little excited" she mumbled
Kavya smiled looking up from his lap "it's okay"
Kripa sat down waiting for her mother. Her eyes wondered here and there feeling bored and rather uncomfortable. Kavya noticed her fidgeting and sighed. It was feeling very awkward at the moment and sooner or later they would have to get out of that phase. Taking a deep breath he put his laptop aside and joined his hands "Where did you get a job?" Kavya asked. Kripa looked towards him then behind herself in confusion. Kavya laughed at her puzzlement "I'm talking to you Kripa"
"Oh" Kripa murmured embarrassed "Uhh, sorry. I'm a little spaced out today"
Kavya lips lifted to a side "That's okay? So, where did you get a job?"
"Creative infants Academy"
"That's cool" Kavya exclaimed "Anjali's brother, Angad works there" he informed "he's a really nice guy"
Kripa's interest perked at once "Really, what does he do?"
"He's actually a singer. He's really talented but he loves kids. So he teaches younger kids his musical knowledge"
Kripa smiled "that's sweet; I'll probably meet him soon"
"What are you doing over there?" Kavya asked
"Dance, I love dancing, it's just so amazing how you can lose yourself so deeply. You don't see or remember anything except that great feeling of peace and passion flow through you" her smile drooped a little at his amused expression "of course you may not feel that way" she mumbled discomfited
Kavya's smile softened "not really. I don't feel that way about dancing but at the same time I don't expect you to feel passionate about organs in the body"
She looked up, confusion clouding her eyes "I don't understand"
"I'm a brain surgeon" he told her "not a fancy job if you're not interested in it" he winked
She chuckled then smiled widely starting the conversation with another topic. The two didn't realize how long they sat there bonding, talking about everything and anything. They also realized their opinions were not a reality of a person. Both had formed a personal of the each other not really knowing the other.
They both formed a lovely bond of a brother and sister. Kripa found a protective older brother and Kavya found a sister he never had.
Soham walked around the school a little nervously. He wasn't very happy with their move from Masoori to Mumbai. Sure the people he had met were nice but he had always preferred the quiet peaceful atmosphere of Masoori.
He was also scared inside. He knew his family worried for the same reason. He was of a quiet nature. He dint know how to mix in with people. He found it really difficult unlike his elder brother and sister. He felt very jealous of Sagar at times. He knew it was wrong but he couldn't help it. Sagar made friends easily while he could hardly get a sentence past his lips and everyone would be laughing at the geeky shy boy.
He looked back one last time to see his mother waving at him then turned and walked to his first class.
Kripa reported to Maya sharp at ten the next morning. She was feeling much better than yesterday. Her mother had sent her off with a smile and she had become a little more comfortable with her new family. She was feeling rather cheerful.
Maya smiled at her fresh mood. The poor soul seemed really disturbed after her jumbled fiasco with Angad. She had of course had a quick word with Angad who had apologized for his goofy behavior but left the conversation hanging coming back to his flirtatious tracked mind.
"Come on, Kripa" Maya said taking her hand "I'll introduce you to the staff here. Most of them will probably be teaching but let's see who's in the staff room" she raised her brows "I'm pretty sure you'll get to know the rest at lunch break"
Maya led her to a dark wooden door which had 'STAFF ONLY' written in bold silver writing. The Staff room was a rather fancy room with fresh flowers spread around in different styled vases. There was a feature wall as soon as you walked in with striped variations in colour and size. A huge HD TV hung on the wall screening the latest news for the day. A kitchen was built onto one side, with a sink, microwave, kettle and fridge freezer accommodating staff members.
Kripa was impressed with the interior. It was simple but modern. She turned her attention towards the now staring staff members looking at her curiously. Embarrassed, she smiled awkwardly "umm hi" she greeted
"This is Kripa" Maya introduced "she's going to be joining the dance department with me"
"Hi Kripa" they greeted
"Hello" Kripa mumbled, a little shy
A young woman with long pleated hair came forward "it's really nice to have a new member. I'm Geet" she moved forward, pressing her cheek with Kripa's in greeting "I'm also a dance teacher"
Kripa smiled at her talkative nature. Geet pulled her along introducing her to Shreya, a teacher from the arts department, Sanjay and Mukti who came from the English department and Arjun who was the Sports head.
Sagar looked around the college grounds making his way to the reception. Mumbai was very different to Masoori in more than one way. The kids in Masoori seemed like little angels in front of the Mumbai kids. Of course he couldn't say Masoori didn't have its bad points but Mumbai seemed liked the big bad wolf in front of Masoori.
He tripped over a banana peel carelessly thrown on the floor. He muttered, picked the peel up and chucked it in the bin "you okay?" a young girl dressed in a funky t shirt and ripped jeans came into view
"Umm yeah" his hand rubbed his neck feeling a little embarrassed "I'm new here"
"Oh cool" the girl put her hand forward in greeting "I'm Misha"
He took her hand with a smile "Sagar"
"Hey Sagar. So, what happened? Got chucked out of your last college"
Sagar raised his brows "Do I look like that type?"
She scrunched her nose "not really"
He chuckled "I just shifted from Masoori because my dad got a transfer to Mumbai"
"Wicked" she slapped his shoulder "Do you travel a lot because of transfers?"
"No" Sagar shook his head "My dad was offered a promotion with his transfer" he shrugged "it was a good in a way. I got to see a new place"
"Wow man. Is it really different in Masoori?"
"I don't know yet. I'll find out soon" he slung his bag onto his shoulder "now, if you don't mind, show me to the reception. I need to get my schedule"
"Come on. You'll have a lot of fun here. You should check out the canteen and the common room" Misha chatted constantly, babbling on about the cool new technology and gadgets the college used while dragging him along.
Sagar smiled watching Misha chat nonstop. He missed his friends back in Masoori but Misha seemed like a good friend already. He was really looking forward to his journey in Mumbai.
Angad had a smile pasted on his face feeling cheerful. Dadi had scolded him earlier in the morning for harassing the new employee on her interview. Of course he had pacified Dadi with his sweet talks and clever words. He couldn't really promise Dadi to not disturb the new staff member
The woman was beautiful. He had seen many beautiful women but she had this angel like glow on her face which caught his attention. She seemed so pure and innocent yet when she spoke, she was something different.
He had always been a flirt. It was part of his nature but he had felt gratified teasing such a beauty. He took a deep breath knowing she would be in the staffroom and there she was looking like a beautiful rose in the bright red chiffon sari. The sari was wrapped around her curvaceous body, leaving her stomach and waist bare. She had lovely rosy tint to her cheeks which gave her the innocence of an angel.
She was standing towards the kitchen talking animatedly with Geet and Mukti. He smiled wickedly as he approached them. "Miss me Beautiful" he whispered into her ear, holding her around the waist
She gasped at the feel of warm hands then turned and frowned to find the same man she had met yesterday at her interview. She pulled his hand from her waist and smiled uncomfortably.
"Angad" Mukti grimaced "Why are you disturbing Kripa? It's her first day. Spare her for today at least"
Angad grinned "I'm not doing anything am I gorgeous?" he winked looking down at Kripa
Kripa frowned and moved back "I don't feel comfortable" she mumbled not wanting to come accross rude on her first day
"Don't worry sweetheart you'll be comfortable soon enough" he murmured then blew air onto her "See you around Kripa" he winked walking out of the staffroom leaving her dumfounded
Kripa grumbled quietly rubbing her cheek. She had never been treated that way and although she was the centre of attention she didn't like it. She had never been intimate with a man and felt incredibly uncomfortable with Angad's intimate approach.
"Does he treat every new person like this?" Kripa asked with a scowl
Mukti laughed "its in his nature Kripa. He flirts with everyone. He hasn't even left Dadi behind"
"Oh" she pushed her hair back "but doesn't it bother you?"
"It did at the start but once you get to know him, it's a laugh"
"And anyways you were bound to be his next target, you're new and you're the only one who is actually single" Geet said holding her fingers in air quotations.
"Yeah" Mukti agreed giggling.
Kripa smiled slightly hoping his flirting would stop soon
Kripa picked up her bag from the cabinet Dadi had given to her for her things. She had a good day. Dadi had introduced her to the rest of the dance department. Geet taught age seven to ten, Mansi another teacher taught the elder kids from ten to thirteen and Dadi taught the younger kids from age three to seven.
Dadi had tested her ability on a lot of western dances during the afternoon. So far she had been successful. She had felt a little nervous about the test procedure but Dadi had the ability to put anyone at ease with her charming personality.
She walked out of the classroom telling Dadi goodbye and moved towards the school exit when she collided with a strong muscled chest "Ahh" she gasped at the impact closing her eyes tightly. Muscled arms caught her and pulled her up close to the muscular chest
"Clumsy, aren't we?" she heard a familiar voice mumble
She opened her eyes to find two chocolate brown eyes staring at her mischievously. She flushed with embarrassment "Thanks" she mumbled
"No problem" Angad smiled "it's my pleasure to have such a sexy woman in my arms"
Kripa grimaced and stepped back expecting him to let her go then gawked at him in confusion when he didn't "I'm okay now"
"Sure you are" he traced a finger down her cheek like yesterday, with the same sparkle in his eyes "you have soft skin" he murmured
Kripa pulled away abruptly "Listen Mr Angad, I know you may behave this way with everyone but I don't like it" she told him "it makes me uncomfortable and I don't appreciate a man touching me in that way"
"Oh" Angad grinned folding his arms "you want to play hard to get?"
She frowned "are you listening to me? I don't like the way you talk to me. I didn't say anything because I didn't want to be rude. I understand you were in the wrong room yesterday and you found the wrong person but you know who I am today and I'd really appreciate it if you backed off"
"Oh I wasn't in the wrong room yesterday" Angad smirked "I knew I was in the Boss's office, I just saw you and liked what I saw so I messed about a little" he shrugged
"You mean you weren't acting yesterday?" she asked puzzled. He shook his head "Well then I'll put this out as a warning Mr Angad I do not like your behavior and I will not tolerate it happening again"
Angad smiled widely and took her hands "you know what, you need to relax sweetheart. This is just the beginning" he mumbled quietly pressing his lips to her hand
She pulled her hand away, hoisting her bag back onto her shoulder "Oh you really are asking for my anger" she grumbled and walked out of the exit
"Miss me Miss Spitfire" he called across the hallway
"My foot I will miss you" she muttered in anger and looked out for her father. She found him sitting in his rented car across the street. Checking the traffic she rushed towards the car and sat down "Hello Papa"
Her father smiled softly "Hello Kripa how was your day?"
"It was good" she mumbled still angry about the last incident
"That's good" he started the car cruising through the traffic "Someone has died in your Nitya Maasi's family so we're all going to their house. We'll be back in the evening. All the elders are going. You need to get Sagar and Soham dressed and go and visit Anjali's family" he looked down at her "you may not know them but it's good to keep good relations" he explained "they all came to see us last night so the least you can do is go see them"
Kripa nodded silently "okay papa"
"Kavya will be taking you so be ready on time beta. He is a nice person but we don't want to be living as a nuisance"
Kripa smiled "don't worry papa everything will be fine. You lot go. I'll see everything goes smoothly at home" she promised
"Soham, are you ready?" Kripa called
"Coming Di" he answered
It had been half an hour since the elders had left and the boys were being a pain. She pouted, her parents complained she took long to get ready but the boys took so much more time. She heard a bang from upstairs and groaned. She turned towards Kavya who had started to look slightly impatient "I'm sorry Kavya Bhaiya" she mumbled embarrassed
Kavya smiled softly "it's okay. Just not use to waiting" he muttered
"I'll go and see why their taking so long" she murmured walking up the stairs
She walked towards Sagar's room and knocked "Sagar are you dressed?"
"One minute Di" he called. She heard sounds of fumbling "What are you doing?"
Sagar opened his door frowning "nothing. I fell"
Kripa looked him up and down "tie your laces" she said looking down at his trainers "and once you're ready go sit with Kavya Bhai. He's getting irritated"
Sagar swept a hand through his hair and nodded "Okay Di" he muttered kneeling to tie his laces
"Where's Soham?" she asked looking here and there
Sagar looked behind him "he went to the bathroom a while ago" he stood up "I'll be downstairs with Kavya Bhai"
Kripa nodded and walked into his room while he made his way downstairs "Soham" she knocked on the bathroom door "Are you okay?"
"Uhmm"
"Are you dressed? I'm coming in" she sighed and walked into the bathroom. He stood bare feet dressed in shorts and a vest looking confused "What happened? Where are your clothes?" He pointed by the bath where his clothes lay in a heap half drenched "Soham" Kripa groaned. She picked his clothes up, throwing them in the wash basket. Taking his hand she sat him on the bed "Wear these" she said pulling out a pair of dark jeans and a grey t shirt.
She helped him into his clothes, combed his unkempt hair and helped him into his shoes and socks. After he was dressed she held his hands and looked up "you okay Soham? You've been really quiet since you've come back from school. Did something happen?"
He shook his head "I miss Masoori" he said quietly
"Soham" Kripa got up and hugged him tightly "I miss home too but you'll get use to Mumbai soon enough" she pressed her lips to his head "Be strong. You're my brave big boy" she pulled apart and cupped his cheeks "try to make friends. Honestly it's not hard" she murmured "just don't think about it. The more you think about it the more difficult it will be" she pinched his cheeks "now give me a smile" she smiled widely when his white pearls displayed itself to her dark eyes
"Angad" Gauri shook her head while she hit his head with her palm "I feel sorry for the poor soul. On her first day" she sighed "I don't blame her"
Angad pouted then grinned "But seriously Bhabi, she was sexy"
"Shame on you Angad, I'm still sitting here"
"What?" he shrugged "I've met a lot of women Bhabi but she had a sweet innocence on her face although the innocence disappears as soon as she opens her mouth" he muttered "she seemed really angry and frustrated when she spoke" he spoke aloud
Gauri raised her brows "you really expected her to be calm when you were flirting with her in such a manner?"
Angad blushed then scrunched his nose "Oh well, no one can resist my charms" he winked
"Yeah, yeah. I can tell" She chuckled "Whoever you have hit on seems to get married or engaged rather quickly"
"Bhabi, that was all a joke" he whined
"And this isn't" she grinned
Angad rolled his eyes "okay, you win" he shrugged "I was wrong but that's not going to stop me. It's too hard to change" he said in a cool tone
"Bhai, Bhabi" Anjali called walking into the living room "Kavya's coming over with his cousins" she sulked "Moms not home. Can you help me in the kitchen?" she asked looking with puppy eyes at Gauri
Gauri laughed and stood up "Okay, I'll help you" she pulled her hair together and tied it with an elastic band "and you Angad" she said turning towards him in warning "no flirting with Kavya's cousin. I think ones enough for the day and anyways, they are part of Anjali's in laws so behave"
Angad grimaced "Why do you think I'll flirt with his cousin?"
"Because you're a horrible mean person" Anjali answered sticking her tongue out at him
"Yeah and you still act like a little baby" he retorted
"And this is Gauri Bhabi, Karan Bhai's wife" Anjali said introducing Kripa to her family
Kripa smiled in greeting "it's really nice to meet you all. I'm so sorry about yesterday" she blushed "I shouldn't have been sleeping that long"
"Oh no, don't worry about it" Gauri assured "you came from a long journey so it was expected
Kripa smiled graciously. Anjali's family was lovely. She really liked Aliya on sight. She had this easy comrade attitude which had brought her into a comfort zone, although she seemed a little absent minded at the moment. Her brother and his wife were a beautiful couple. They looked like a couple made in heaven as they sat together smiling whole heartedly, their hands joint.
Sahil had made her the happiest, Soham had literally beamed and rushed to him chatting nonstop. She had never seen Soham talk much. He was a quiet child and it worried her at times. His lack of confidence seemed to eat him up inside. But she was happy he had found a companion in Mumbai. It was rare to see him so confident and joyful.
Unlike Soham, oddly Sagar seemed to be bored looking here and there as if he was searching for someone. Kripa nudged him. He looked up and frowned "stop looking so bored. It's rude" she muttered
"Well if I am then what else to you expect me to show" he grumbled
Kripa sighed "got to hell"
"So Kripa, Kavya was telling us you're a dancer?" Gauri said handing her a cup of coffee
Kripa smiled "Yeah, I teach dance"
"Stupid, isn't it?" Sagar commented
Kripa grimaced "get a life" she mumbled
"It's not stupid" Gauri smiled "My brother in law teachers singing at a local academy"
"Oh, yeah. Kavya Bhaiya told me about him. Actually I started at the same academy today"
"Oh" Gauri uttered surprised then scrunched her nose "well then I guess you really won't be liking him"
Kripa looked at her confused then gasped at hearing a familiar voice "Miss me?" She turned around to find Angad standing behind her grinning "I didn't know you were so eager"
Thank you very much for the comments, sorry for the delay in updating, had a really busy horrible week😭 and have another bad week ahead of me. You can cheer me up with your comments and love. hope you enjoy this chapter. angad and kripa meet yet again twice. Lets see how she reacts to seeing him as anjalis brother😉
Speacial thanks to palika for introducing more people to this ff. Thank you very much
love you all xxx
Faiza
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