EK ANOKHI KAHAANI - Part 9
Aastha got up early to study. She revised some important chapters from the reference books she had. She was glad after reading them. She decided to continue this till she is comfortable to work independently for the project.
Aastha, Shruti and Aakash reached the office. They chatted for a while, wished each other "good day" and went to their respective places.
Aastha reached the event hall. It was locked. Aastha was first to arrive. She had a set of keys. There were total three sets of keys. One was with Aastha ofcourse, one with Shikha and one at the reception.
Aastha opened the door and walked in. She put on the lights and fans. And she put on the exhaust fans too; there were no windows to the hall. She sat on a chair near the table and took out her diary to recall what all they had discussed the day before.
Aastha was engrossed in her work when she was startled by someone's voice...
"Hey Gorgeous...!! What's up?!!"
Aastha missed a beat. She turned to see who it was... It was Avi!
"Aastha, please don't mind!!" said Shikha from behind, "Avi flirts with all the girls here...! Hai na Avi?!!" she said in a teasing tone.
"Ahan!! Correction..." said Avi, "All the 'beautiful' girls...!"
"Whatever...!!" replied Shikha.
Aastha enjoyed this conversation.
"Good Morning Shikha Ma'am, Good Morning Avinash Sir!" wished Aastha with a smile.
"Avinash Sir??!!!!!" cried Avi. "Yeh Sir-wir mut kaho yaar please...!! Either call me 'Avi' or don't talk to me...!!"
Aastha was silent. She was confused what to say.
"So, what's your decision??" asked Avi.
Aastha looked at Shikha. Shikha just nodded with a smile as to say "go ahead!"
"Okay Avi!!" said Aastha finally.
"I like that!!" said Avi.
"Lo... subah subah Majnu ji shuru ho gaye..." said Sonali as she entered.
"Oh hello Sonali...!" Avi turned to her, "how are you my darling?"
Shikha just shook her head. Aastha watched on. Shikha walked towards Aastha.
"Such an entertaining character he is...!!" said Shikha. Aastha smiled.
"Hello peoplez...!!" they heard a shrill voice.
"Ah! Here comes another...!!" said Shikha as Dolly entered.
Aastha was enjoying thoroughly.
Everyone was there soon. And they all began their discussion. Everyone was sincere in their work and very serious while discussing and working on a project.
A few days passed. Everything was going on well.
Aastha was working very hard to cope up with her seniors. She was getting to learn many new things. She had good grasping ability and so did not face any problems as such. She was gradually developing her leadership qualities. She was managing things well and the inputs and suggestions she gave were very crucial and innovative. Now she considered herself an integral part of the team.
They were working on the basic concept and theme of the event.
One morning, Aastha started the computer to update the data and include latest additions.
"Arey, mera folder?? Where is the folder?!!" she thought.
The main folder had a shortcut on the desktop. But it was nowhere now.
Aastha opened the explorer and searched for the folder. Being the event-head, she had taken up the responsibility to keep updating the folder.
The folder had vanished!! Aastha became restless.
"What happened Aastha? Not finding the folder?" asked Dolly who was working on the computer beside.
"The folder is not here...!!" cried Aastha. She was worried.
"You might have deleted it by mistake... Check the recycle bin...!!" suggested Dolly.
Aastha quickly opened the recycle bin. But the recycle bin was empty...!!
"Aise kaise delete ho sakta hai... This can't be!! I am always so careful... How did this happen..?"
"Aastha... Aastha! Relax! We will figure out a way... Don't worry...!" said Shikha.
Aastha got up and almost ran towards the cupboard. She took out her sachel and searched for something. Everyone was confused.
After a few tense moments, she found it!! She sighed in relief.
"Thank you Bappa!!" said Aastha as she connected the pendrive to the computer. "I had saved everything on my pendrive..." she told everyone.
"Waah!! Meri mehbooba!! Tera jawaab nahi...!!" praised Avi. Everyone smiled.
"Good that you had it saved on your pendrive Aastha, else we would have to work on it all over again...!!" said Sonali.
Aastha checked whether everything was there. It was!
"Has anyone else got their pendrive?" she asked her team.
"Yes I have one...!" said Varun.
"I might have mine too," Pranav replied. "I'll just check!"
Aastha saved the data on the other pendrives too. Having a back-up is always good!
The day soon ended and Aastha met Shruti and Aakash at the parking.
"All well Aastha?" asked Aakash.
"I think so..." said Aastha, not so sure.
"What do you mean?" asked Shruti, confused by Aastha's reply.
"A weird incident occurred today... All the data from the computer was gone...!!"
"What?!" cried Aakash. "But how?"
"I don't really know... I am sure I did not delete it...!!"said Aastha. "And I was shocked to see the Recycle bin empty...!!! I had deleted a couple of redundant files yesterday...those should have been in the recycle bin. But it was empty..!!"
"Oh!! That means some one else had deleted it after you left!!" remarked Shruti.
"Exactly!!" cried Aastha. "But who must have done it?!! And why?"
"Do you suspect anyone...?" asked Aakash.
"No... everyone in the team is very nice and sincere about the project. Why would anyone..." and she paused.
"What is it Aastha??" asked Shruti.
"Oh my God!!" cried Aastha. "How did I miss that before!!"
Shruti and Aakash waited curiously for Aastha to speak more.
"Dolly!!! How did she know the folder was missing?!! I am sure I had not mentioned it to anyone before she asked me about the missing folder...!!!" Aastha was excited to realise this.
"Are you sure about it?" asked Aakash.
"We can be sure..." said Aastha. "The first day I met the team, Dolly was curious to know how I got to head this event. I think she is jealous of me being the event-head!!" said Aastha thoughtfully.
"Hmmm... but then, what did you do?" Shruti asked.
"Oh, thankfully I had taken the back-up on my pendrive...!!" Aastha sighed. Aakash and Shruti felt relieved.
"You better be careful Aastha..." warned Aakash.
"Yeah, people here might not be as they seem...!" Shruti added.
Aastha nodded.
The three left for home.
Here, all the team members, except Aastha, were in Shlok's cabin.
"How is everything going?" asked Shlok.
"As we have planned, Sir!" replied Shikha. Others listened silently.
"Usay shak toh nahi hua...??"
"Nahi Sir..."
"She should not get a hint about it...!! Do you understand?"
"Right Sir!"
TO BE CONTINUED...
Hope you all like it... Do give your precious feedback if you want me to continue...!!
All criticism, comments, discussions, suggestions,requests are most welcome.
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