ArHi SS: Inertia [Completed] - Page 3

Like this story already! Girlfriend relationships can be sometimes be tested as the girls grow up and their interests differ. Looks like Lavanya is trying to bring in a rift between Khushi and Payal.

nice one

Interesting..
I can definitely relate to Khushi.

02. Summer slumming

She didn't mind spending majority of her pocket money on diesel. With lessening social life, her expenditure was limited to books, DVDs and basic necessities. Her less than stellar fashion choices left her with more money provided by their parents every quarter. She decided to blow it all on diesel and junk food.

Living in a city filled with historical monuments drove throngs of people during summer. To escape the city noise, she drove out without a destination in mind. Her parents would be livid if they were to know she was crossing city borders in her second hand car. She knew there were no logical explanation to her behavior unless one counted being alone. She was positive her parents would forcibly arrange playdates with Payal if they were to know. And that would be absolutely horrible.

She stopped by a road side tea shop after running out of water. It was close to one hour into her supposed long drive and the heat was already making her lull. She drank two warm bottles of Limca and waved her hand when the young boy running the shop tried to give her change. She was probably tipping more than the cost of her purchase but she didn't care too much. The boy's brightened expression after seeing a customer had pretty much made for it.

"Are you also going to digging site?" The boy asked as she tore chips packet. The boy blushed when she offered the opened packet and insisted him to take some.

"What do you mean?" She asked, curious.

The boy swallowed handful of chips he had shoved into his mouth. "People are digging near the fort. There is a lot of old stuff lying around the area so they are digging around the fort to find more old stuff." He shrugged.

That piqued her curiosity. There was an archaeological excavation going on nearby and she damn well would check it out. That academic area had always fascinated her and watching Indiana Jones had cemented the fact that knowing history was cool. Of course the droning nature of her school lectures never corroborated to that fact, she found solace in documentaries.

"Can you show me the way?" She asked, wiping her hands on her jeans and picking couple of bottles of water. The boy nodded vigorously and explained in great detail, the location of the dig.

To say she was disappointed, was an understatement. There were half a dozen people matching her age in wide straw hats and thin shirts, using a paint brush to remove soil layers. A paint brush. She understood the delicate nature of the work but she hadn't anticipated it to move in a snail pace. A dozen or more workers scattered around the area using a shovel to dig along the marked areas.

"Are you looking for a job?" A voice broke her of her reverie. She whipped around to see an elderly man giving her a questioning look.

"I am not an archaeology or history student." She said.

He smiled. "Why is that with every passing generation, the ability to answer a question with a yes or a no is morphing into a game of contrived and convoluted reasoning for a perfectly normal question'?" There was mirth in his eyes. Khushi laughed at his question.

"I honestly don't know what I am doing here." She replied sincerely. The man looked at her mulishly and cocked his head towards a tent erected in the shade.

"Let's sit somewhere cool and discuss your existence," he grinned at her and motioned her to follow him.

Khushi hesitated. It was quite possible that the man could be some sort of shady personality. A serial killer. An eccentric genius trying to find treasure. A man ordered by mafia to find stuff to smuggle and make money out of it. There were several possibilities. She blamed herself for watching shit-ton of cop shows and murder serials that gave her only worst possible scenarios for a given situation. She took out her cellphone and saw that there was pretty strong signal in the area. She saw that there were couple of girls hunched over a mound or a ditch getting workers to follow their instructions.

She followed him deciding to scream loudly if her were to act like a creep. Again, like the theme that her life had become, she was disappointed.

The man turned out to be Dr. Venkat Rao - call me "Venkat", an eminent historian and an archaeologist. She briefly wondered if her life was resigned to be dull and uneventful. She squashed that idea immediately. She would take dull and uneventful over creepy and stressful any day.

"What brings you here then?" He asked after Khushi finished cool buttermilk.

"I was driving around and a boy told me that people were digging around the fort area. Just came to check it out." She shrugged. "It's as fascinating as watching paint dry." She grinned.

Venkat laughed. "Let me guess. Indiana Jones?" He asked, the corner of his eyes crinkling.

She nodded vigorously. "Nothing happened here." She moaned. He laughed.

She had watched the site for all of thirty minutes. The scenery hadn't changed, nothing was found and there were no excitement moments. Her hyperactive brain had struggled to focus anymore.

"You were simply driving around?" He asked, raising a brow.

She nodded. "Its soothing and driving is one thing which I enjoy doing alone. It never feels lonely when am behind the wheel and watch the road consume me. I don't mind the silence, the quietness and rumble of the wind. Driving is when -"

"You are set to free." Venkat interjected softly.

She was startled at his assessment. She wanted to say "Driving is when I am alone and not lonely." But his words made perfect sense.

"Would you like a job as my driver, Khushi?" He asked after a beat of silence.

"What?" Surprised made her raise her voice by several octaves.

"Look, I am overseeing five different excavations around the city's perimeter. I have to visit each site at least once a week to check progress and log the findings. My old bones don't necessarily agree with frequent driving but I do have to drive around at least four days a week. If you wish to, you can drive me to these places and drop me back to the city before night fall. What you think?" He asked eagerly.

She thought for a moment. "I could be someone from local gang who wants to smuggle shit from this excavation. Or I could be a serial killer." She said seriously.

Venkat chuckled. "I'll take my chances." He waved his hands.

Khushi stood up. "Can I think about it for a day?" She asked, holding her hand out. They shook on it.

An hour later she bid goodbye to the team, Venkat's business card tucked in her back pocket and several kilograms of locally grown mangoes. She didn't know if she wanted to take this job that kept her away from her sister for an extended period of time and much farther.

Her gut twisted at the memory of the scene from morning.

She knew what she had to do.

Talk to her father for some badass advice.

Good chapter... I like this doctor...he seems pretty cool...and also this could be a fresh change for khushi... I am sure she will take this up...

that is interesting...why he offered her job ...

very good update..interesting..👍🏼

Interesting chapter...

She is smart. And curious too. How this man offer her job just like that. I am fearing she might not get into any trouble in search of peace.

A different new story!