"Are you saying you don't want to cooperate?!" Disha asked the boy in an angry tone. It was free time hour at Dhingra High School and our probation officers, Aditya, Nikkita, Disha, and Riddhi were all working in the Jungle Jail. And what was bound to happen was already happening. The most aggressive probation officer of the Jungle Jail, Disha Dogra, was questioning her old time client, Raju Sandesh.
"There's no way I'm going to go on trash duty!" Raju exclaimed.
"Oh really?!" Disha asked in an even angrier tone.
"Oh no." Riddhi said.
"He's in for it." said Nikkita.
Disha then grabbed Raju by the collar of his shirt, glaring directly at him as he looked back with a scared look on his face. "Listen, you idiot!" Disha yelled. "When I tell you to do something, you do it! Without question! And without the sassiness!"
"But-"
"NO BUTS! ITS CLIENTS LIKE YOU THAT I WANT TO HAVE CAGED UP AND DEPORTED TO CUBA!"
"Uh, Adi." Nikkita called.
"I'm on it, " Aditya rolled his eyes. "Dish! Fish!"
And in a moment, Disha let go of Raju's collar, turning around as Aditya threw some Swedish Fish into her mouth and she ate it calmly like a well trained dog. "Wow. That never fails," Riddhi said in an impressed tone. "How much of that stuff do you have?"
"My cousin brings us boxes of these every time he visits from America." Aditya replied.
"All right, Raju," Nikkita spoke to Raju. "Now that you witnessed Disha's terror side, perhaps you would like to reconsider your decision to not accept trash duty."
"Fine! Fine! I'll take it!" Raju cried. "Just make sure she doesn't hurt me!"
"Good," Nikkita smiled as she then handed a trash pickup and reach tool to Raju. "You'll start in the canteen. Get to it. And remember, you're going to remain under Disha's probation for the next two weeks. Clear?"
"Yes, ma'am." Raju said.
"Good. You may go now." Nikkita ordered.
With that, Raju scurried out of the Jungle Jail. "So who was that client?" Riddhi asked Nikkita.
"Raju Sandesh," Aditya replied. "He's been classified as a monkey. Last week, he put grafitti all over the main hallway."
"What's wrong with grafitti? Isn't it art?" Riddhi asked.
"Well if spray painting the message 'I married Shakira' in bold letters across the hall is art, then sure." Nikkita replied.
"What?! What an idiot!" Riddhi exclaimed.
"All the monkeys in this school are idiots." Aditya said.
"Hey!" a voice exclaimed.
Riddhi, Nikkita, Aditya, and Disha turned around to see Luv had entered the Jungle Jail, covered in white paint as he held two cans of white paint. "Speaking of monkeys, one comes in." Aditya smirked.
"Oh shut up!" Luv shouted at Aditya.
"You know, as a client, its rude to tell the probation officers here to shut up." Nikkita said.
"Well I wasn't talking to you!" Luv exclaimed.
"Just tell me...did you do the task I assigned you?" Riddhi asked Luv.
"Yeah, yeah! I repainted the main hallway!" Luv rolled his eyes. "Are you happy now, Arrowhead?!"
"Would you quit calling me Arrowhead, you Monkey Boy?!" Riddhi shouted.
"How about you quit calling me Monkey Boy and then we'll talk!" Luv yelled.
"HOW ABOUT YOU BOTH SHUT UP?! I'M TRYING TO EAT HERE!" Disha shouted as she then took out a box of pizza and started stuffing her mouth with a slice.
"Ridz, you know how Dish is like when she can't eat in peace. She's like that lioness that scars anyone who disturbs her from eating her meat." Nikkita said.
"Fine!" Riddhi rolled her eyes. "You know what?! Let's go see your painting job...Monkey Boy."
And so, Riddhi followed Luv into the main hallway. Once they came, Riddhi looked at the painting job of the hall with a disgusted face. The paint looked as if it was simply splattered onto the walls like darts. "You call this a painting job?!" Riddhi asked Luv.
"Do I look like a professional painter to you?!"
"Since when are you ever professional to begin with?!"
"What does that mean?!"
"Last time I checked, monkeys could never do anything with any kind of seriousness! All I asked was for you to paint the walls neatly! And you splatter it onto the wall like this is Holi!"
"Well I'm sorry, Ms. Perfectionist! If you're so unpleased, go do it yourself!"
"Why should I?! You're the idiot that's supposed to do whatever task I throw at you! So now you listen real good!"
"What?!"
"Tomorrow, you will redo this painting job properly! Understood?!"
"But-"
"Should I call Disha?!"
Luv pouted in frustration as he then headed back to the basement with Riddhi following him. Down in the Jungle Jail, Luv sat in front of the front desk where Riddhi came and took out Luv's file folder. After writing down some notes in the folder, he opened the folder and said, "Now sign."
"What do you mean sign?!"
"Oh its a new thing we started. Every time you fail a task, you sign the note to make up for it with your fingerprint."
"And whose idea was this?!"
"Mine! Now shut up and stamp it!"
Luv rolled his eyes as he stamped his thumb on the stamp ink on the desk and then stamped his fingerprint onto the note in the folder. After which, Riddhi closed the folder and placed it back in the file cabinet. "Can I go now?!" Luv asked Riddhi in an impatient tone.
Riddhi nodded and Luv dashed off out of the Jungle Jail. "Wow, Ridz!" Nikkita exclaimed. "You're doing really well for a first timer!"
"Well...I'm actually getting used to this." Riddhi said.
"Let's just see how long you can handle Luv." Aditya said.
"Can I get some more barbecue sauce?!" Disha asked as she ate from a box of chicken strips.
"Where does she get all the food from?!" Riddhi asked.
"That itself is a mystery." Nikkita answered.
"Dish, wait till lunch time." Aditya told Disha.
"Which is right now! Come on, let's go!" Nikkita exclaimed.
And so, as the foursome left, Aditya locked the doors of the Jungle Jail and they left the basement up the main staircase. As they walked down the hall, Riddhi heard a squeaking sound coming from the end of the hall. She turned around and walked down to see a pair of double doors. As she was about to enter, Aditya, Nikkita, and Disha came right in front of her and asked, "What are you doing?"
"I was just going to check out these stairs." Riddhi replied.
"You don't want to go up this staircase!" Nikkita exclaimed.
"Yeah! Its pretty much forbidden!" Disha added.
"Forbidden?! Why?" Riddhi asked. "Don't tell me there are other secrets about this school!"
"In this case, its another one," Aditya began. "This staircase goes by one particular name only...the Chimp Cage."
"The Chimp Cage?" Riddhi asked.
"Yes," Aditya continued. "The name comes from the fact that this staircase is almost in the design of an actual cage."
"And this is basically where all the chimps of this school linger around. Hence, you don't want to mess with this." Nikkita added.
"But why is it forbidden?" Riddhi asked.
"Because, its pretty much a chimps only hangout. And since the chimps aren't as bad as the monkeys, we might as well leave them in their own natural habitat." Aditya responded.
"So no one besides the chimps can go in here." Nikkita said.
"If we're done talking, can we go and eat?!" Disha asked. "My chicken strips are getting cold!"
"With you, nothing gets cold!" Nikkita exclaimed. "Come on."
As the foursome began to walk down the hall, Riddhi stopped for a moment. She looked down on the floor and found a wristband that was near the doors of the Chimp Cage. As she looked at the wristband, her eyes beamed as she saw the name 'Luv Malhotra' printed on it.
At lunch, Nikkita, Aditya, and Disha were all seated at a round table among the many students who sat at their respective tables. At the table, while Nikkita and Aditya were both eating regular salads, Disha was feasting on chicken strips with extra barbecue sauce, chicken wings, and a ham and cheese sandwich. "Is there ever a time when you're not hungry?" Nikkita asked Disha.
"You guys should put more meat on your bones!" Disha exclaimed. "Especially you, Adi! How are you gonna get muscles by eating a pile of leaves?!"
"Just because we're classified as lions, doesn't mean we have to eat like them," Aditya said. "Besides, I'm not interested in getting muscles."
"Says the nerd who reads Neurology 101 in gym class." Nikkita chuckled.
Just then, Riddhi had arrived in the canteen and had sat down with Nikkita, Aditya, and Disha. "Where did you go?" Aditya asked Riddhi. "I was just about to call you."
"You didn't go into the Chimp Cage, did you?" Nikkita asked Riddhi.
"No," Riddhi replied. "But I found something near there."
"What?!" Disha asked while she chewed on her chicken wings.
Riddhi reached in the pocket of her bag and took out the wristband to show to the others. "I found this wristband," Riddhi said as she handed it to Aditya. "And guess what?! Monkey Boy's name is printed on it."
"This is the wristband he wears all the time." said Aditya.
"You said you found this near the Chimp Cage?" Nikkita asked Riddhi.
"Yes," Riddhi answered. "And I've come to a conclusion."
"That we should have Luv become a pizza delivery monkey!" Disha exclaimed.
"No!" Riddhi exclaimed. "But then...that's actually not a bad idea."
"Go on with what you were saying." Aditya said.
"I think Monkey Boy is spending time in the Chimp Cage." Riddhi said.
"WHAT?!" Disha shouted as she spit out the water she was drinking from her water bottle.
"Are you sure?" Nikkita asked.
"I think it makes sense," Aditya agreed with Riddhi. "How else would his wristband end up near the Chimp Cage? This would be a very high offense."
"But why would he be hanging around there?" Riddhi asked.
"I say we go see King Kong right now," Nikkita suggested. "We should bring this up to him before we take any action."
"Agreed. We can go now." Aditya said.
"But I'm still eating!" Disha whined as she chewed on her ham and cheese sandwich.
"His office is practically a jungle itself!" Riddhi exclaimed. "I'm sure he wouldn't mind you eating there!"
"We should go now." Aditya said.
And so, Riddhi, Aditya, Nikkita, and Disha got up from the table and headed out of the canteen into the hallway. Well this should be interesting, Riddhi thought to herself. I wonder how the dean's gonna react to this.
"NOOO!" Dean Rahul Kapur screamed to the top of his lungs as he put his hands to his face in shock. The foursome had their ears covered so they couldn't hear the dean's horrifying shriek as they had just came into his office and spilled out their discovery.
"What is this I'm hearing?!" Dean Rahul Kapur cried. "A monkey is hanging around with the chimps in the Chimp Cage! The ordacity is killing me! Someone give me a banana before I assume my ultimate form!"
Aditya and Nikkita's eyes beamed and Nikkita immediately threw a banana to the dean to which he began eating. "What's with you two?" Riddhi asked Aditya and Nikkita.
"You never want King Kong to assume his ultimate form." Aditya told Riddhi.
"Why?" Riddhi asked.
"Have you seen the actual film?" Nikkita asked.
"Oh." Riddhi said.
"You know, even you need more meat on your bones, King Kong!" Disha told the dean as she continued eating her chicken wings. "Want a wing?"
"I'm fine with the banana!" Dean Rahul Kapur exclaimed.
"I don't get it," Riddhi said. "Why go all over dramatic over this? Who cares if he's hanging out with the chimps in the Chimp Cage?"
"Don't you get it, Ridz?" Nikkita asked Riddhi.
"Now I understand the rise in the amount of chimps in this school." Aditya said.
"Okay, someone explain." Riddhi said.
"Here's how it is," Nikkita started. "Ever since the new freshmen have arrived, we've seen a rise in the amount of chimps in this school. And if Luv being in the Chimp Cage is true, then now we know what's behind the increase in the chimp population."
"It can be simplified like this," Aditya continued. "If Luv, being the monkey he is classified as, is hanging around the chimps in the Chimp Cage, his influence could cause more problems by causing more chimps to become monkeys. Do you get it now?"
"Oh...that makes sense," Riddhi responded. "So what do we do now?"
"I got it!" Dean Rahul Kapur beamed. "The four of you shall go on an undercover mission and infiltrate the Chimp Cage!"
"Undercover?" Riddhi asked. "Isn't this much?"
"Just go along with it." Nikkita whispered to Riddhi.
"Now...the chimps are known to mostly hang around after school once classes are over! The four of you will investigate the scene over there! Riddhi, since you are Luv's probation officer, you will have to follow Luv!" Dean Rahul Kapur explained.
"I guess I have no choice," Riddhi sighed. "He is in my chemistry class at the end of the day."
"Then that settles it!" Dean Rahul Kapur exclaimed. "Operation Chimp Intervention is all set!"
At the end of the school day, students began leaving the school for their buses. In the chemistry lab, Luv had just stuffed his things into his Pikachu backpack and began to head out of the class, while Riddhi watched. She peeped out of the door to see Luv walking down the hall. Riddhi quietly tiptoed down the hall, following Luv as he continued to walk, unaware of Riddhi following him. As Riddhi continued to follow Luv, she stopped behind a wall, seeing Luv had turned around for a moment. Luv turned back and opened the doors of the cage with a special key he had, quickly entering in. Riddhi took out her cellphone and dialed Nikkita's number.
"Come in, Ridz!"
"The monkey is in the cage. I repeat...the monkey is in the cage."
"Roger!"
"Roger?! Who's Roger?!"
"For a scholar student, you really don't know modern slang!"
"Oh whatever. Now what do I do?"
"We're coming in! Stay in your coordinates!"
"This military talk is really not needed!"
As Riddhi waited, Aditya, Nikkita, and Disha made their way down the hall towards the Chimp Cage. "Over here." Riddhi called from behind the wall. The trio made their way to Riddhi. "You saw him go in?" Aditya asked.
"Yes! He's in there!" Riddhi replied.
"Well now we're going in." Nikkita said.
The foursome went towards the doors of the Chimp Cage. Nikkita tried to open the doors, but they wouldn't open. "Since when do these doors not open?!" Nikkita asked.
"I did see Luv had a key that he used to open the door." Riddhi said.
"Well now how do we get in?" Aditya asked.
"I can kick the doors down!" Disha suggested.
"This is supposed to be a secret operation," Riddhi said. "They'll run off before we even get to them."
Suddenly, the four friends heard the sound of walking footsteps towards their way. They quickly made their way behind the wall and saw a young boy walking towards the Chimp Cage. "Look," Riddhi whispered. "That boy must be a chimp."
"He sure looks like one." Nikkita said.
"If we get to him, we can get inside." said Riddhi.
"All right, Dish," Aditya told Disha. "Go ahead and use Attack Plan A."
"We always do Attack Plan A," Disha complained. "Why not try something like XYZ or-"
"Just do as I say!" Aditya interrupted.
And so, Disha ran and tackled the boy to the ground. "Help!" the boy cried.
"Oh shut up, kid!" Disha shouted at the boy as she had the boy down on the floor, while Riddhi, Nikkita, and Aditya came in.
"Tell your friend to get her fifty kilos off of me!" the boy cried.
"Forty five, thank you very much!" Disha exclaimed.
"We'll get her off of you," Aditya smirked. "On one condition."
"What?" the boy asked.
"Give us the key to the Chimp Cage." Aditya ordered.
"What?!" the boy exclaimed. "No way! I'm not doing it!"
"No?" Aditya asked. "Then shall I have my friend here crush you even further?"
The boy gulped, looking at Disha and the wide grin she had on her face. He whimpered as he took out a key from his jacket pocket, and handed it to Aditya. Disha got up and the boy ran off, screaming like a little girl.
"Are you sure he was a chimp?" Nikkita asked. "Looked more like a whimp to me."
"Nevermind that," Aditya said as he then opened the Chimp Cage doors with the key. "Riddhi, you go in."
"Why me?" Riddhi asked.
"Just go in and find out what's going on in there," Aditya explained. "Then you give us a call. After that, we'll take them out."
"For coffee?" Disha asked. "I could use some Starbucks!"
"No, Dish! We'll bust them!" Aditya exclaimed.
"Okay," Riddhi said. "I'm going in."
"Be safe, Riddhi," Nikkita said as she patted Riddhi on her shoulder. "May the force be with you."
"You really need to stop it with those pop culture references!" Riddhi exclaimed.
With that, Riddhi took a deep breath and then entered the Chimp Cage as quietly as she could. While entering the Chimp Cage, Riddhi looked around the surroundings with an astonished look on her face. There were young looking trees everywhere near the stairwell, covered in bananas and vines that hung along the stairs. This school must have a lifetime supply of natural resources, Riddhi rolled her eyes. She tiptoed up the stairwell, leaning against the rails. As she moved up, she stopped upon hearing sounds. She looked upward to see a bunch of boys hanging around on the upper stairs. They lingered around, eating bananas and nuts as threw the food around and tossed paper balls across the walls. "When is he coming out?!" a boy asked impatiently.
Suddenly, a young boy dressed in a jester costume stepped out from the doors, playing the sounds of a trumpet. The other boys in the area turned as the jester boy finished playing the trumpet. "Fellow chimps! It is my honor! To present the one...the one we have all been waiting for! Prepare to bow down!" the jester boy announced. "I present to you...the prince of all monkeys!"
As the jester boy waved his hand towards the door, Luv stepped out from the doors, making a dashing entry as he wore a long red cape. "All hail the prince!" the jester boy exclaimed.
"All hail the prince!" the other boys joined in, raising their arms for Luv in allegiance as they then bowed down to him.
You have got to be kidding me?! Riddhi thought to herself.
Luv then bent down as the young boy placed a golden crown on top of his head. Once he stood tall and high while the chimps pounded their chests with their fists while calling out, "Salute!"
"I request that the prince may share some words of wisdom with us." the jester boy said.
"Fellow chimps! Feel proud to come into this school and be ranked already in the middle of the Jungle Pyramid!" Luv exclaimed, as he tried to speak in an amusingly high and mighty tone. "Becoming a monkey is not easy! It takes hard work, dedication, and the right craft in high level of troublemaking! You all can become monkeys one day! But until then...follow me lead! And I'll lead you to the path of the monkey!"
"All hail the prince!" the group of chimp boys chanted while Luv stood proudly, giving a wide grin on his face.
"That's it. Time to wipe that grin off his face." Riddhi said.
Riddhi stepped out in front of the chimp boys and they shrieked in shock. "There's a girl in here!" one of the boys cried.
"How did a girl get in here?!" another boy asked.
"She has intruded our secret lair!" another boy shrieked.
"Who's there...that dares enter here?!" Luv asked.
The chimp boys got out of the way so Luv can see. Luv's eyes beamed as he found the girl standing to be none other than Riddhi. "Arrowhead?!" Luv exclaimed.
"Shut up! What the heck is all this?!"
"How did you even find me here?!"
"That's not important! Answer my question!"
"And why should I?!"
"Your heighness, who is this girl to you?" the jester boy asked.
"She must be his girlfriend." one of the boys whispered.
"Hey! I heard that!" Luv shouted. "And never in a million years would this girl be my girlfriend!"
"I'll pity the girl who ends up with you one day!" Riddhi shouted. "Thank God I'm only your probation officer!"
"That itself is something to not be happy with!" Luv retorted.
"May I ask what you are doing here?" the jester boy asked Riddhi.
"You're asking me that?!" Riddhi asked. "How old are you boys anyway?!"
"We're all freshmen and sophomores." one of the boys answered.
"So who here would like to explain the purpose of this Chimp Cage?!" Riddhi asked.
"Since you found us out, I shall tell," the jester boy said. "The Chimp Cage allows us fellow chimps to separate ourselves from the other animals of the jungle. And all of us want to become full fledged monkeys! And now that Luv has been crowned prince of all monkeys by us, he will lead us into becoming the next series of monkeys!"
"And you think I'm going to just sit back and let Monkey Boy over here create more evolved devils in this school?!" Riddhi asked.
"So what if you're my probation officer?!" Luv asked. "Is there really anything you can do about it?!"
"PUT YOUR HANDS IN THE AIR WHERE I CAN SEE THEM!" Disha shouted as she came up the stairs, raising two water guns upward at the chimp boys. Immediately, the chimp boys raised their hands up. At this moment, Disha had entered the Chimp Cage along with Aditya and Nikkita. "I didn't even call you guys!" Riddhi exclaimed.
"Dish got tired of waiting." Aditya said.
"So you mean to say you got your entire squad to follow me?!" Luv asked.
"We wouldn't have had to. Until I found this." Riddhi said as she handed Luv his wristband.
"Well then, let's see what we got here," Nikkita said. "You have been entering the Chimp Cage as a non-chimp and polluting the minds of the fellow chimps to become the next monkeys of this school. That is a very high offense."
"And now you're under arrest!" Disha exclaimed as she then took out a pair of handcuffs and handcuffed Luv's hands.
"Will you guys ever give up?!" Luv whined.
"This job wouldn't be twice as fun without having to arrest you every week," Aditya smirked. "And as for the rest of you chimps, your fellow leader isn't allowed to come in here till further notice. That'll be all."
"You can't do this to me!" Luv shouted. In the Jungle Jail, Disha had just locked up Luv in the cellar while Aditya, Nikkita, and Riddhi stood in amusement, seeing Luv look like an idiot. "I'm not some criminal! I'm the prince of all monkeys!"
"This isn't Dragon Ball, you idiot!" Nikkita retorted.
"And the pop culture references continue." Riddhi rolled her eyes.
"Trust me on one thing, Riddhi," Aditya said. "There are other things that continue around here."