ArHi FF: If I were you-link to Ch20 pg 145 - Page 9

LOL.! i love it.! it was interesting reading it..😆

Eee *jumping in excitemnt*
Wow! This is freakin awsum! Very very dffrnt n d first of its kind..gosh, m already in love wid it! U hv to cntinue..m loving dis role reversal n all d commotion..its a pleasure to c arnav in khushi's situation..

This is quintessential M...it is Arhi, with role reversal that sounds verrry promising, and it also promises to be a lot more than that.

What bey no update yet?

Loved the concept! I really like the role switch; khushi couldn't get to her sister's wedding and arnav couldn't get to his sister's anniversary

Superb start !!!!!!
Arnav and Khushi as opposites !!!!!! Very intrrsting !!!
It's soo different !!!!!!! Can't wait to read what happens next !!!
Thnx for the pm !!!!

Vidhs...this looks a smasher:-)

Thanks for all the comments. Glad you all liked it. Setting the stage wala chapter hai. GIve it a read.

Chapter 2: We all have our exits and entrances

"Khushi bitiya, come sit down," said Buaji opening the door to a tired looking niece.

"Where the hell is Jai Prakash? Why are you opening the door?" barked Khushi. "Jai Prakash! Jai Prakash!" she yelled. A tiny little man with a perpetually startled expression on his face scuttled out of the kitchen.

"Ji Khushi Madam?" he asked, looking afraid. She held her laptop bag out to him silently. He took it and was about to head to her room with it when she called to him again.

"Where were you?" she asked.

"In the, in the kitchen Khushi Madam. Helping your mother make the.." before he could finish, she interrupted. "You're fired. You may leave tomorrow. I don't tolerate inefficiency in my home." She strode away to the living room, heedless of his pleas. Buaji threw him a sympathetic look and motioned him away.

Khushi sat on the sofa and kicked her heels off. She leaned back in to the soft cushions and smiled at her Buaji who removed the pins from her tight bun, releasing her long hair from its confines. Buaji combed through her hair lovingly. "We heard what happened at the office today. How bad is it Khushi bitiya?"

"Later Jiji. Let her drink her chai first," said a smiling Garima who held out a cup of steaming tea to Khushi. Khushi sipped her tea quickly. Khushi did everything quickly. It was her way. If the hot tea scalded her tongue, nobody ever knew it. She drank her tea quickly, ate quickly, showered in 3 minutes flat, speed read The Economic Times in 7 minutes, and ran 5 miles on the treadmill in 30 minutes daily. Clothes were decided based on weather and work schedule and her wardrobe was divvied up into bright, hot, cool, rainy, and winter sections, with each section comprising of 'clients', 'board of directors, 'office staff', 'easy work day' and 'casual'. Payal joked that one day Khushi wore her "board of directors" clothes to a "office staff" meeting and the whole of the office spent the entire meeting wondering if Madam was OK today.

"Some idiots broke into the animal facility today and released all the animals," said Khushi after she put the empty cup down.

"What now? Are any of the studies salvageable?" asked Buaji. Khushi nodded in the affirmative. "2 of the three are being repeated in our other labs. 1 is lost, I think. I'll have to speak with the Chief Scientists tomorrow to find out exactly where we stand. I think we have been set back a few years at the very least, not to mention the loss of money."

"What will you do Khushi bitiya?" asked Garima. Khushi smiled wanly at her Mom. Much as she loved her mother, she annoyed her on most days. The general air of helplessness that Garima cultivated, coupled with her graceful beauty made her appear like the quintessential 'damsel in distress'. A persona she strived to maintain. Garima Gupta was a good cook and a loving mother. For the rest, she knew nothing. And she really didn't want to know anything. She liked doors to be opened where she went. And bills to be paid at the end of the month. She had no idea where the money came from and she didn't care. Her older sister who lived them was the more efficient one. She pretty much ran the house while Garima pretty much did nothing but look pretty.

"It'll be OK Mom. We'll be fine," said Khushi reassuringly. "I'm going to my room." She said, running up the stairs.

The conference room was in shambles. Arnav Singh Raizada had broken every chair in the room. The table had been flung to one side and stood on its flank awkwardly. His hair hung over his forehead, wet with sweat. He'd flung his shirt off, and wore only his pants, that hung low on his hips. He'd done 200 push ups to release the pent up energy. It still wasn't enough. He couldn't stand to think of what his Di must be going through. He wished he had his cell phone. But the security guards had usurped it. His friends knew where he was, and would let her know. But she would still be worried. And her anniversary had been ruined. And Jijaji would be upset too. Not to mention Naniji and Mamiji. He punched the wall in frustration and then yelped with pain. He examined his scratched fist. "Damn you Khushi Gupta!" he whispered.

Anjali Raizada Jha cried for 2 hours after she heard the news. And she didn't cut the cake her family had bought for her wedding anniversary. And she didn't let them take down the decorations her brother had put up either. She didn't eat any dinner, though her husband begged her to eat. As a result, the entire family stayed hungry that night. Mamaji did complain to Mamiji about it that night. "Arnav bitwa's save the world crusades don't accomplish anything except leaving us all wanting our dinner once every month or so while Anjali bitiya gets unnecessarily upset over her paapad ka tukda's latest antics!"

"Go to sleep!" said Mamiji, ignoring the justice of her husband's little speech and blatantly ignoring the impossibility of being able to sleep on an empty stomach.

"What has Saale Saab got himself into this time?" Shyam Jha asked Lavanya "Lavs" Kashyap.

"It's not his fault Jijaji. We had a mission. We accomplished it. That Khushi Gupta handed the rest of us over to the Police, but she locked him up overnight in her office," said Lavanya.

"You guys were supposed to release mice from 5-10 cages. Not wipe out the entire facility," said a quiet voice from across the table. There were 7 people crammed around the dining table in the Raizada home. Lavanya turned to the man who was twirling his moustache now. "It would never have had that impact if we'd just released a few animals from their cages and you know it JayP!" she said scornfully.

"Does Arnav know exactly what you guys did? Because he was only in charge of storming the Gupta CEO's office while the meeting was in progress," asked JayP astutely. Lavanya flushed red and looked away. "I thought not," said JayP, and he released a loud sigh.

"You and your team's excessive enthusiasm may cost us heavily. The publicity from this attack is going to be all negative for the organization and sympathetic towards Gupta Labs," said JayP, his gaze boring a hole into Lavanya's eyes. His voice seemed curiously disconnected from the rage in his eyes. He sounded calm, but looked angry.

"Can we please focus on getting Saale Saab home first. My wife won't eat, sleep, bathe or do anything but perform poojas until her brother comes home safe," said Shyam Jha exasperatedly.

"Nothing I can do," said JayP. "She said she'll let him go in the morning. Wait for the morning. It's barely a few hours away anyway," he said nonchalantly.

"How can you be so uncaring JayP? It's Arnav. He's one of us!" said Lavanya hotly.

"He's your boyfriend, not mine. Your foolishness probably got him there in the first place. Your over-zealousness is partly responsible for this mess Lavanya. You and your friends here," said JayP looking at the others assembled around the table. The 3 young men, and 1 young lady sitting around the table looked shame-faced at this pronouncement.

"Fine. If you won't do anything, I will,"said Lavanya, her eyes spitting fire. "Come on guys, let's go," she said looking at her friends.

"SIT DOWN!" said JayP in a voice that brooked no argument. "You're not going anywhere. Neither is your motley crew here. Unless they want to go home. In which case they are free to do so. Here you, girl..what's your name'do you need a ride?" he asked the plump girl sitting at the opposite end of the table.

"Anasuya. Ana, for short," she replied. "I'll be fine, thanks. I live pretty close by," she said. "I think I WILL head home now. It's late, and I'll have to sneak in as it is. I don't want to be away the whole night and get into more trouble than I am already," Ana stood up.

"I'll walk you home Ana," said a short, bespectacled boy leaping up. Lavanya rolled her eyes as if to say, "Traitors!"

"We'll be going too now. Call us if you need any help JayP, Jijaji," said a deep voice that emanated from a very tall, lanky boy. "Come on Krish," he said turning to his twin brother. The two got up to leave along with Ana and Arjun.

"Fine. Leave, Kabir. All of you leave. I will wait here until Arnav comes back," said Lavanya angrily.

"Actually, Lavanya, it's best you go home too. I'll make sure Arnav calls you first thing when he gets back home," said Shyam, looking apologetic.

"Up you get Lavs! We'll drop you, said Krish. Lavanya got up looking mutinous. All 5 of them trooped out in short order.

Shyam looked at JayP after everyone had left. "So, how much trouble are they in?" he asked.

"No idea. We'll find out tomorrow. But, I fear the cause has been set back rather than helped by this fiasco. Drink?" he asked. Shyam nodded. He poured out some Old Monk into 2 glasses with some soda.

Thus it was that the night ended. Khushi Gupta spent it imagining the worst possible scenarios for her extremely successful Company. Arnav Singh Raizada spent it fuming over the injustice of the world in general and Khushi Gupta in particular. Ditto Jai Prakash. Lavanya spent it mooning over her missing Arnav. Anjali Jha slept a deep sleeping pill induced sleep, filled with dreams about her brother. Naniji spent the night chanting the Hanuman Chalisa for her grandson's welfare. Ana worried over Arnav in her own quiet way. Arjun worried over Ana in his own quiet way. Kabir and Krish slept the sleep of innocent babies or drunks in a stupor.

And Payal Gupta and Akash Raizada spent the night in each other's arms, lost in a world where true love colored everything, including Akash's halitosis issues and Payal's annoying laugh, a very rosy pink.

Tell me your thoughts.

Cheers!

Maxine

Chapter 3

Reserved. I will unreserve both comments today :-)

This is getting more interesting. Is Akash Arnav's brother? If yes then aur bhi mazaa aayega :-D

See stalking finally pays off.