Episode 14: A New Addition
Down in the basement of Dhingra High School, Riddhi, Nikkita, Disha, and Aditya were all at work down in the Jungle Jail with their respective clients. And of course, Riddhi was forced to put up with Luv. "What?!" Luv said, looking at Riddhi, who looked back at him with a displeased look on her face.
"I told you to alphabetize the books in the science fiction section of the library."
"Yeah, so?"
"In what world does R come before O?!"
"Do you know how many books are in that section?! I got tired of it later on!"
"You're never gonna get off probation unless you learn to do as you're told. And I mean that loud and clear!"
"Those two are so cute." Nikkita told Aditya and Disha as Riddhi and Luv continued bickering.
"They're like an old married couple!" Disha exclaimed as she ate from a box of chicken nuggets. "By the time I find someone, I'll be at least seventy."
"Are you still upset about Randy?" Aditya asked Disha.
"No! That douchebag can go to hell! Besides, you don't get chicken nuggets like this in hell!" Disha exclaimed as she continued eating.
"Then why do you talk like that?" Nikkita asked Disha. "So what if things with Randy didn't work out. I'm sure there's someone out there just for you."
"The only thing faithful to me is food," Disha said. "Then what boy can I find within the billions of people in this world!"
Outside of the school's main office, in the hall, a young boy was playing an acoustic guitar right near the door of King Kong's office. He had neat, yet slightly messy black hair that was covered by a navy blue barette hat. He wore a blue plaid shirt with suspenders over it, khaki colored pants, and navy blue dress shoes. He appeared to be a student as he had a backpack of his own sitting right beside him. As he continued to play a melidious tune on the strings of his guitar, a woman, dressed in a simple red saree came walking towards him. "Sukhi!" the woman called out to the boy.
"Yes, mom!"
"Why are you playing now? You want to get in trouble on the first day?"
"I was just tuning it, mom. Are you ready?"
"Yes, let's go in."
Inside King Kong's office, King Kong himself was looking at his watch consistently, seeming quite impatient. From the teacher's lounge, a receptionist entered inside the office. "Sir, the new teacher and student are here," the receptionist said. "Shall I let them in?"
"Edna, how many times do I have to tell you?! Its King Kong! Not, sir!"
"Sorry, sir. I mean King Kong!"
"You know I've been waiting for the past twenty minutes! I have other things to do you know! Tell them to come in."
"Yes, King Kong."
Once the receptionist left, King Kong put his hand to his face. "Some people never catch along with it!" the dean exclaimed. "I will have to say something to that teacher...and that student when they come in! I hate to wait like this!"
Then, Sukhi entered into King Kong's office along with his mother. "Finally!" the dean exclaimed as he then turned around. "You both are-"
Before King Kong could finish talking, he was left speechless as his eyes were drawn right towards Sukhi's mother. Her face was as bright as the moon and she had a lovely smile to top it off with. She had medium length black hair that was curled upon her shoulders. And yes, even the saree got to King Kong as well.
"Hello, sir. I'm so sorry we're late." Sukhi's mother apologized.
"Sorry?! There's nothing to be sorry about!" the dean exclaimed. "You know what they say! In friendship, there's no sorry or thank you!"
"Excuse me, sir?" Sukhi's mother said, confused.
"Oh, nothing! Please sit down!" the dean told Sukhi and his mother.
Sukhi and his mother both sat down before King Kong's desk. "So...you both are coming from London then?" the dean asked.
"Yes, sir. This is my son, Sukhi Arora." Sukhi's mother introduced Sukhi to the dean.
"Son?!" the dean said, disappointed. "You mean...you're married?"
"Oh no, sir. I was," Sukhi's mother replied. "My husband died in a car crash two years ago. Times have been tough since then. So I decided to come back to Mumbai with my son and we're staying with my parents right now."
"Oh, so sorry to hear that." the dean said.
"Its okay," Sukhi's mother replied. "In London I was teaching English for many years. I hope I'll be a good addition to the school."
"Of course! I've looked at your records! We need more sophisticated teachers like yourself!" the dean exclaimed.
"Sir, I wanted to know...by chance is there any music club at this school?" Sukhi asked the dean. "I'm a musician myself."
"Oh yes we do have! You should also consider joining the school band! We need more students invloved with the music department anyway." the dean said.
"Thank you, sir." Sukhi replied.
"Is his class schedule ready?" Sukhi's mother asked.
"Oh yes!" the dean exclaimed. He turned to a folder on his desk and drew out a paper, handing it to Sukhi. "All your classes are listed in order of when you have them. Room numbers are also there. In fact...you still have time till classes start for today. Why don't you go to the basement of the school? I have some students who work down there in the mornings and afternoons. One of them will surely help you get around. Do you know where the basement is?"
"Yeah. I think I saw it on my school map. I should be able to find it." Sukhi said.
"Thank you, sir. We'll be going then," Sukhi's mother said as she and Sukhi got up. "I'll make sure that I'm ready to start tomorrow."
"Oh wait! What is your name?!" the dean asked.
"Oh how silly of me! My name is Kajal. Ms. Kajal Arora," Sukhi's mother said as she shook the dean's hand. "By the way, people in your office say that no one calls you sir. You have a very specific name you're called by?"
"Oh yes! But for you...Rahul. You may have heard the name before." the dean said with a smile.
"Very filmy." Sukhi chuckled softly.
"Okay. Pleasure to meet you, Rahul." Ms. Kajal said.
"Pleasure to meet you as well." the dean said.
With that, Ms. Kajal and Sukhi left the dean's office, leaving him starstruck. He was then in a daydreaming mode. And in his daydreaming mode, there was nothing but simple young men playing violins around him in his office.
Outside the office, Ms. Kajal and Sukhi were walking down the hall. "The principal is quite the character." Ms. Kajal said.
"I think he fell flat for you."
"Oh stop it, Sukhi! Anyways, do you know how to get to the basement?"
"Yes, mom! I'll manage!"
"Do you have your tiffin box?"
"Mom! Don't treat me like a child!"
"You're my only child! My little ray of sunshine! My own talented music boy!"
"That I am."
"Okay. I have to go now. I have to get things ready for my first day tomorrow. But you make sure you enjoy your first day today, okay?"
"I will, mom! Love you!"
"Love you too, son! Bye!"
Ms. Kajal gave Sukhi a big hug before leaving. And with that, Sukhi took out the map of the school and started making his way towards the basement. As he got to the staircase leading to the basement, Disha happened to be walking up the same stairs. And at that moment, the two of them bumped into each other, with Sukhi managing to catch Disha in his arms before either one of them could fall. Disha looked at Sukhi, confused. She then turned to the floor and gasped, pushing his arms off of her. "Look at this! You made me drop my nuggets!" Disha exclaimed, pointing to the chicken nuggets that fell on the floor. "Don't you ever watch where you're going?!"
"I could say the same to you. You made me drop my guitar. But I didn't say anything because I'm a gentleman."
"Oh! So now I have bad manners for calling you out?!"
"A little courtesy would be nice. I'd expect that from someone like you."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean look at you! Black leather jacket! Combat boots! You have style."
"And look at you! French barette hat! Suspenders! And dress shoes that match your shirt! You're definetly not from here!"
"You're smart...just as you are cute."
"Excuse me?!"
"I'd say it again. But I hate repeating myself."
"Can you just tell me who you are?!"
"Hey, Disha," Riddhi said as she, Nikkita, Luv and Aditya came right behind Disha. "What's going on here?"
"Ooh la la! Hello, cute boy over there!" Nikkita exclaimed upon seeing Sukhi.
"I don't think I've seen you around the school. Are you new?" Aditya asked Sukhi.
"Yes," Sukhi replied as he grabbed his guitar from the floor. "I'm Sukhi. Sukhi Arora. I just transferred here from London."
"London! Wow!" Riddhi exclaimed. "Where in London exactly?"
"I studied at St. Albert's Music School." Sukhi replied.
"Oh!" Luv exclaimed. "So you're a musician? You play guitar?"
"Yeah. I know other instruments as well. But guitar's been my favorite," Sukhi said. "This guitar here has been with me since I was six. I could never let it go for a moment."
"That's so cool. What's your first class of the day?" Nikkita asked.
"According to my schedule, I have Physics first." Sukhi replied.
"Really?! Me, Adi, and Nikki have Physics first as well." Riddhi said.
"Well Mr. London...it was nice meeting you! Let's go, guys!" Disha exclaimed.
"Hold it! We can't just leave him here! We have to welcome him to the school!" Riddhi said. "I'm Riddhi by the way. Riddhi Sahay."
"I'm Nikki." Nikkita said as she shook Sukhi's hand.
"Aditya. You can call me Adi." Adity shook Sukhi's hand as well.
"And I'm Luv." Luv waved his hand to Sukhi.
"And you are?" Sukhi asked, turning around to an annoyed Disha.
"That's Disha." Riddhi answered for Disha.
"Disha. Pleasure to meet you." Sukhi said, extending his hand to Disha.
"I would've said the same, Mr. London. But no one messes with my food!" Disha exclaimed. "Anyways, I'm going, guys. I gotta go get more nuggets before class starts."
"Sorry about that. Disha can be a bit much. But you'll get used to her," Riddhi assured Sukhi as Disha left. "Come. Let's get you to class."
As Riddhi, Luv, Aditya, and Nikkita were heading upstairs, Sukhi stood, looking on at Disha as she left down the hall. "I have to say one thing. She's a real firework." Sukhi smiled.
Later that day, Riddhi, Luv, Aditya, Nikkita, Disha, and Sukhi were sitting together at a table during lunch time. "So what do you think of the school so far?" Nikkita asked Sukhi. "Be honest."
"Its an interesting scene. Different people everywhere." Sukhi replied.
"You'll get used to it," Riddhi assured. "When I first came here, I didn't think I would manage. But now I did...especially after meeting these guys."
"I just have one question." Sukhi said.
"Go ahead." said Aditya.
"What kind of work do you guys do in the basement?" Sukhi asked. "The dean mentioned you guys work down there in the mornings, afternoons...even after school."
"Oh...its kinda silly." Nikkita said.
"I like silly stuff! Go on." Sukhi urged.
"Do we have to tell him?!" Disha asked the others, eating a large slice of pizza.
"Just eat your food, Disha." Nikkita said.
"The basement of our school is dedicated to one thing and one thing only. The Jungle Jail," Aditya began. "Basically its like a reform center. Our school has all sorts of students. Many are troublemakers. We work as probation officers and its our job to handle various students and rid them of their troublemaking ways."
"So all of you are probation officers?" Sukhi asked the others.
"Everyone except Luv. He's my client. And he will probably ALWAYS remain my client." Riddhi said.
"Hey!" Luv exclaimed.
"The four of us have been handling this job for a while. And it is worth it. Because as long as we can keep up with the jobs till the end of high school, we'll get full scholarship to any college we want to go to." Nikkita added.
Sukhi had a surpised look on his face. He then turned around, eyeing Disha who was simply eating her food. "Can I join?" Sukhi asked the others.
Disha stopped eating after she heard Sukhi. "Join what?" Nikkita asked.
"The Jungle Jail! As a probation officer!" Sukhi replied.
"You want to join?" Aditya asked.
"Oh come on, guys! He can't just join like that! King Kong is the one who appoints probation officers anyway!" Disha exclaimed.
"Not really. Any good student can join. And from what it looks like...you'd make a nice fit." Riddhi said.
"Why do you even want to join?" Luv questioned.
"You see...my dream is to go to Berklee College of Music in Boston. I want to study music there," Sukhi answered. "The fees are high. And it would defintely ease my mom's troubles if I got full scholarship. After my dad died two years ago, mom's been doing everything to make sure I'm happy. And if she could see me go to such a prestigious music school, she'd be more happy than ever."
"Aww...how sweet!" Nikkita exclaimed.
"You have the same spirit as I did when I got the offer," Riddhi said. "Its settled. Welcome to the Jungle Jail."
"Thank you! Thank you so much!" Sukhi exclaimed as he shook Riddhi's hand and then proceeded to shake the others hands.
He then turned to Disha. "You won't wish me...Disha?" Sukhi asked Disha with a big smile.
Disha looked at his hand and plastered a smile upon her face as she shook Sukhi's hand. "You may in, Mr. London. But don't think its easy to manage in the Jungle Jail." Disha said.
"Nothing in life is easy," Sukhi replied. "I've learned that on my own. I only look at the things worth looking forward to."
