4: The First Fight
"What the – " Arnav was cut off by Naniji.
"Aare Azmih bitya! Aap itni jaldi kaha chali gayie the?" Nani had just walked into the hall, and stopped when she took in the sight of a panting HP. (Oh Azmih! Where had you gone so early in the morning?) Turning to her grandsons, she looked at both of them and said, "Anjali bitya aap dono ko pooja ke liya bula rahi hai." Akash dragged a visibly angry Arnav to the pooja room. Then, shifting her attention back to the girl, she told her to take a bath and come downstairs.
Azmih came back downstairs, to find all the Raizadas, except one, head towards the deity statue. When Anjaliji saw her, she said lovingly, "Azmih! Why are you standing there? Come here besides me, we all do the pooja together. You can join us too."
Azmih smiled and said, "I don't believe in God and doing poojas."
Everyone looked up at her when she said it. "Laad Governer ki tarah," Arnav heard Khushi whisper under her breath, and rolled his eyes at her remark. He was still not sure who she was, but let it go as a relative that Nani might have invited over. Nani asked, "But why?" She had liked Azmih very much because she had retained a lot of Indian culture and because of her friendly nature and chirpiness.
Azmih shrugged and replied, "There's no evidence of Gods, and I see no reason to waste money on some statue made out of clay. I'd much rather pay my respects to my parents, who have raised me, who have been by my side every time I needed them, and who get happiness by seeing me happy. Unlike Gods, my parents are available whenever I want them to be. I don't have to starve myself to please them. Instead of donating money to temples in the name of Gods, I'd spend it by giving food, shelter, and education to someone breathing, not some object."
Anjali, the advocate of God, said, "You shouldn't say that about Gods! They always help you and are looking out for you. And think, isn't it God who created your parents, who created you? Who made all these things happen in your life?"
Azmih had an instantaneous response. "God didn't create my parents. My grandma's egg and my grandpa's sperm did; the 46 sets of chromosomes did. And God didn't create me. My mom's egg and my dad's sperm did. And everything I have accomplished in life is not because of God. It's because of my hard work, my skills, my sweat, and my parents' support. I don't believe in giving fake credit to a non-existent God." Her reply was a bit strong, and everyone – except Akash and Arnav – was shocked to see the transformation from the jovial girl of yesterday to the atheist today. Arnav decided he liked her. Akash decided he didn't want a debate, and asked Anjali to start the pooja. Both Azmih and Arnav stood away from the temple and watched the others. To say that Arnav was watching others was incorrect, for he had eyes only for his wife who looked so beautiful in a purple and green anarkali. He realized what he had been staring at, got angry at himself, and went to the dining table to get a head start on breakfast. Time should not be wasted – that was one of his principles.
However, he saw that the girl had beaten him to it. She was sitting on the table with a bowl of milk and a box of cereals – Coco Krispy – besides her. She was talking on a Bluetooth, he noticed.
"Bye mummy!" She cut the call and looked up to see a furious face of ASR looking at her.
"That's my chair you are sitting on! And who are you?" he barked.
"Chill maro!" she said, unaffected by ASR, and slid over to the chair on the right. "People call me Azmih." She continued eating her cereals.
"I don't care about your name! What are you doing here? In this house?"
"Akash Singh Raizada invited me here. And right now, I'm eating."
"Why did Akash invite you here?" He was frustrated by her answers.
"I am not Akash. Why are you asking me?" She frowned at him, before resuming her meal.
Arnav would have shouted at her, not that he wasn't already, if Aman hadn't called to inform that Ms. Jivvy and her team did not set up meetings on weekends, so the earliest possible for the week was that afternoon. By the time Arnav had ended his call, the Raizadas were seated on their respective chairs. Arnav looked at Akash, sitting on the far left, smitten by his wife who sat opposite to him.
"Akash!" ASR yelled.
"Yes bhai?" Akash mentally cursed his brother for ruining the moment.
"We have a meeting with Ms. Jivvy and her team today in the afternoon – at 2 P.M. sharp." Arnav delivered the message to his brother before eating his toast and sugarless tea. A few seconds later, both the Raizada brothers looked up at each other, with one question in their mind – Where was Ms. Jivvy?
"Mamaji," Arnav spoke. "Did you meet Ms. Jivvy yesterday? You were at home, right?"
Mamaji nodded, unable to speak between the bites of chapatti he was gobbling down.
"Where is she then?" Akash asked.
"Hello hi bye bye!" Mami intercepted. "Do you need new glasses or something? She's sitting right there and you can't see her?" Mami pointed to the girl sitting on Arnav's right, eating oblivious to her surroundings.
"What the?" Arnav was shocked. Akash, who was drinking tea, opened his mouth unconsciously, and the tea poured out, marking his blue shirt.
"YOU are Ms. Jivvy? But you told me that people call you Azmih?" Arnav asked the girl besides him.
"Yeah, so what if the people call me Azmih? Don't people call you Chote and Laad Governor? Does that mean that you are not ASR? And I was going to tell you my real name, but you said 'I don't care about your name!'" Azmih snapped back.
"But you aren't a legal adult. How can you have a business?" Arnav feared the girl before him, but he would never admit it.
"Is there a rule that says you have to be an adult to have a business? And I follow rules – I refused to stay at a hotel since I couldn't book a room by myself."
"I still don't believe you. Show me your proof of identity!" Arnav asked. He was still suspicious of this being one of Khushi's pranks.
Azmih glared at Arnav before saying, "You have Ms. Jivvy's phone number, right? Then why don't you call the number and check!" Arnav did just that, and Azmih's phone rang – the song Chikne Chamilie played as a ringtone.
Now that Akash was sure that the girl was Ms. Jivvy, he decided to step in before the girl refused to sign the contract due to ill treatment. "We are so sorry, Ms. Jivvy. We were not aware of how you looked, and we apologize sincerely."
Azmih curtly nodded before saying, "Make sure that my age never comes as a question again." After that, she left the kitchen, leaving a flabbergasted family behind.
Edited by ipkknd_gbdfan - 12 years ago
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