Arshi: Story 2 Part I Completed! - Page 9

wonderful update

fabulous update... and the much needed dose for Arnav..

wow..arnav is no match for jivvy kiddo's wrath...pls update soon dear.

hey dear hope you are coming back with this soon
cant wait to know what happens next

13: Operation Dabba Service!

"Khushi didi, is this true?" Azmih asked Khushi at the restaurant.

Khushi nodded, trying to compress the memories from coming out. Then she looked at Nanheji and Azmih, both of whom had their hand on hers, as if indicating that they were their allies and would help her now.

Azmih wasn't confused when NK told her about what he saw in the marriage video, and Khushi's acceptance only cleared any doubts. She didn't like Shaym and found something fishy with his behavior; she had realized this on the day she met him and questioned him about laws and legal proceedings. His answers, she found out after searching on the Internet, were inaccurate. She hadn't liked Anjali either – she thought of her as a dependent, shallow, and uninteresting woman; Azmih would agree that she was nice, but everyone in the Raizada house was. Her anger towards Arnav only increased after learning that he married her didi for Anjali's sake, without verifying the facts. The earlier fiasco didn't put Arnav in a good light either.

"But Khushi didi, where were you today? I didn't see you from the morning."

Khushi involuntarily smiled as she told them about what she had done that day. Khushi realized that after the two months were over, she would need a source of income to support her, and if possible, her family. She thought that she could use her free time to make her Dabba service an actual business and not just a means to annoy Arnavji. She had gone to the library to learn about how to start it. After that, she had gone to various restaurants and looked at their menus, the pricing, etc. to gather some ideas. She finally went shopping and analyzed all the vendors there, keeping in mind the ones with a good quality and price.

NK recognized this happiness in Khushi's eyes, because he had seen it before too – in Azi's eyes when she told him about her start up business. He couldn't help but feel happy at Khushi's delightful expression, and thanked no one in particular for it.

"Didi, you know English?" Azmih recognized the glint in her Didi's eyes as well, and was only too ready to help her.

"Not a lot, but with a dictionary, I can understand what is written in some pages of the book." Khushi replied, still in her trance.

"Okay, then me and Niku will help you in your Dabba service." Azmih proclaimed for both her and NK. "You cannot say no because you are my didi and I am helping you, capishe?" She took out her iPhone and began making a list. "First of all, we need to teach you fluent English. I am not good at teaching that, so Niku will do that. But you can always ask me for help and practice with me, kay?"

Khushi and NK both nodded and saluted the commanding girl.

"While NK is teaching you English when I'm at work, I'll teach you about computers after I come back." Pause. "Then, we'll come up with a business plan and take off from there!" Pause. "Oh, and I'll make the jalabies for the client. Didi can clean up after me."

"Azmih that is not fair! It's my business and I get to make the jalabies," Khushi quickly protested.

"But I'm your younger sister, can't you do that much for me?" Azmih pouted, causing NK to chuckle and Khushi to roll her eyes.

As they were leaving, Azmih turned to Khushi and said, "You know, when I started my business, I was really excited. It is a feeling that you should never underestimate, because that is what will keep you motivated in getting up after numerous falls. In the end, you'll remember that feeling more than the profit or loss."

NK continued, "Yes Khushiji, when she got her first client and her first paycheck, she used to smile everywhere. One time, I caught her grinning like a fool while having breakfast, and another time, I saw her smiling in her sleep. It was really creepy!"

Khushi laughed at that while Azmih said, "Niku!"

Operation Dabba Service was on.

* * *

NK's peaceful sleep had gone when he learnt about Khushi's marriage deal, but tonight, he slept well. He couldn't help but feel angry with Nannav – even if Khushi had been with Shyam, was it fair to ruin her love life for Di's? The fact that Khushi was innocent in this only made Arnav's crime worse, and NK knew for a fact that he would never ever forgive his cousin for that.

When he realized that Arnav had feelings for Khushi, and that his presence near Khushiji made Nannav insecure, he had been delighted. He thought that Khushi and Arnav would live happily ever after. But now, he realized that Nannav could never love anyone else besides Di.

14: Training

Arnav woke up to the sound of someone loudly knocking on the door. He looked around, hoping to find Khushi, but heard the shower in the bathroom and realized that she was taking a bath. Annoyed, he got up to open the door.

"Nannav!" a chirpy NK called out. "Is Khushiji there?"

Arnav narrowed his eyes at his cousin and said, "Khushi is not here. And call her Bhabhi!"

"But before being my Bhabhi, she is my friend, so I will call her Khushiji. Where is she?"

"Nanheji? I'll get ready in ten minutes." Khushi went up to the door, besides Arnav, with the towel on her head. NK nodded and left, while Khushi went back inside the room, both leaving a confused, angry, and frustrated Arnav behind.

* * *

Khushi was learning with Nanheji in his room when Azmih came there. The trio was in NK's room since Azmih's meetings were over, and although the other constituents noticed it, none of them said anything. To be honest, all of them were scared to question Azmih, even though she had made it absolutely clear that she was only angry with Arnav, and not the remaining Raizadas.

Khushi, NK found, was a quick learner. She had practiced with Azmih, after which NK left the two girls alone and went to take videos of India – after all, he had to finish his project. Azmih began to teach Khushi the basics of laptops – how to turn it on, how to operate it, and how it will be useful in business. Khushi enjoyed the lesson, although Azmih goofed up in Hindi multiple times and had to explain in a rather amusing manner. Then, Azmih began by teaching her the basics of Microsoft Word – what it is used for and a few common functions on it. After that, Azmih gave Khushi some printed material, that she had used in her business before, and asked her to reproduce it on the computer. Khushi realized that Azmih was more of a guider than a teacher – she didn't spoon feed, and Khushi liked it that way.

They had settled into a peaceful silence – Khushi was on NK's laptop, learning Word, while Azmih was on her MacBook Air, finishing her class assignments. After two hours or so, Azmih realized that Khushi needs her own laptop, and decided to place an order for it. Khushi protested, but Azmih convinced her that she could pay back later – with interest.

By the time NK came back, he was shocked to see the work Khushi had done. It seemed as if she had learnt Microsoft Word in a few hours. He praised her and encouraged her, and then the trio settled down to watch an English movie – Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. Khushi asked them questions throughout the movie, but she mostly received replies from NK…Azmih was too busy saying the dialogues with the actors.

This pattern continued for the entire week, and Arnav's frustration only grew. He wanted to see his wife, and he wanted to have Jivvy talk to him again – not as a professional but rather the amusing girl who sent the Prakashs into hiding. He had considered apologizing, but then realized that it wasn't in his cup of tea – sugarless tea. He was now jealous of NK, who was mingling perfectly well with the two ladies. He was also aware that the trio met in NK's room and had often times thought of barging in there to see what they were doing, but his ego interfered.

15: Ravan's…I mean Arnav's Rival

"HARI PRAKASH!!!!!!!"

"Coming Arnav Bhaiya!" came HP's automated reply. It was a regular thing for him – Arnav would always yell in the morning when he was in a bad mood, an occurrence that happened more than not. So, HP didn't seem to realize that the voice was different this time.

"What the –" Arnav was sitting on the dining table with the rest of the Raizadas who were also shocked, and had also thought that Arnav was the one yelling before they remembered that he was sitting in front of them.

"Arnav bhaiya? If you are here, then who is yelling?" HP asked.

"HARI PRAKASH!!!!!!!!!" Everyone recognized the voice now – Azmih.

Surprised, since Azmih had never yelled like that, HP began climbing the stairs to her room. NK stopped him, put a helmet on his head, and said, "HP, now go! And don't worry, I have the ambulance waiting outside." Somehow, that did not calm HP.

"Why would HP need a helmet to go to Jivvy?" Arnav asked.

"Azi is doing her English homework." NK replied simply and went back to eating. He realized that everyone was looking at him to elaborate, and so he continued, "Oh! Azi doesn't like English class. When she has to write essays for the class, she gets angry and frustrated. And then she lets it out by throwing things and yelling at other people. Just like Nanav!"

Arnav opened his mouth to protest, but realized that NK was right – he was an angry young man.

HP came running down the stairs, sweating, and with scratches on the helmet. "Om! Get some Sprite from a nearby store. Jay! Get mango juice!" HP was scared if Azmih didn't get her drink soon. Catching his breath, he ran into the kitchen, took out one large glass cup – which NK took from his hands, and replaced it with a plastic cup (safety purposes) – filled it two-thirds with mango juice that Jay got, and filled it with one-thirds sprite. Then he rushed back up the stairs and prayed to God.

Arnav was angry. Everyone had started fearing Azmih more than him. He was ASR for god's sake! His first name, rearranged, spelled "Ravan", but no – that chit of a girl was feared more. NK had advised them to not cross paths with Azi today – she will come around it and apologize to everyone once her English paper was done.

"Can't she just hire people to write her English essay if she dislikes it that much?" Arnav asked. He wasn't a cheater in school, but Azmih's case was different – she had build an empire as large as his in half the age and only needed to complete her high school as a formality to attend college. So, it wouldn't matter if she didn't do her English assignments.

"Azi never cheats Nanav!" NK defended his chaddi baddi.

A group of men and women walked in the house at that time. Arnav recognized some of them as his employees and others as Jivvy's. Arnav asked them why they were here.

"Sir, we had come with some problems in the project, and would like to alter a new things. We need your approval for that." Aman informed.

"Did Jivvy see this?" Arnav asked. He didn't have the authority to confirm anything from her side.

"No sir, but we cannot contact her today," Jivvy's employee spoke up.

"What the - ?"

"She has an English assignment due. She is unapproachable." It seemed as if even the employees at GBD knew about the tantrums and anger stunts that she threw. Shaking his head at the weirdness, Arnav looked at the new plans, and signed the papers.

16: Playing Hockey

"So, how about it?" Khushi asked the Raizadas at the breakfast table that she had eventually started sitting on (after apologizing for her behavior and forgiving the fiasco with Arnav). NK and she had planned a vacation trip for Christmas that included going from Delhi to Agra to Lucknow to Chandigarh. She wanted to visit the Taj Mahal in Agra, and see Khushi's house in Lucknow, and go to her distant mama's house in Chandigarh.

Arnav, happy to have at least seen his wife in the bedroom that morning, asked, "What about work? Don't you have meetings?" He had gotten over the initial shock of working with a teenager and had started to treat her like he would treat Akash. Except, while Akash silently accepted Arnav's anger fluctuations, Azmih did not tolerate them at all, and always made him watch his tongue.

"It's vacation!" she simply replied, when the doorbell rang and she got up to get it. She had mentioned that her team would be coming to the house in the morning, but Arnav hadn't mended his relation with her, and so he couldn't ask her why.

The entire family was shocked to see a bunch of adults dressed in similar jerseys of two colors with numbers on the back and carrying hockey sticks. Azmih was also wearing a similar jersey, except hers had a smiley face on the back.

"Wait here okay? I was telling them about the vacation plan. Are you sure none of you want to come?" Azmih asked. They shook their heads and sat on the sofa.

"Azmih bitya, what is all this?" Nani asked.

"We are going to play field hockey today!"

"Us too Naniji!" NK replied from the stairs, with Khushi following him. NK was dressed in a blue jersey while Khushi was dressed in a red jersey like Azmih.

"I'm also coming!" Mamaji added from the other side. He was dressed in blue.

"What the?" Arnav didn't know what else to do.

"Manohar?" Nani asked her son for an explanation.

"Mathe! These people" – pointing to the group sitting on the sofa – "are Azmih's employees. Since their vacation begins today, they thought of celebrating it with a game of hockey. Azmih invited Khushi bitya, NK, and me to tag along since she needed a few more members. So we are all going to play hockey! You can come and watch if you want."

Arnav, realizing that his ego was no match for the things that his wife and that girl had, were, or are doing, decided to take up on that offer. And so, the entire family drove to the field.

* * *

"Bhai, Jivvy is a genius." Akash stated. The non-playing Raizadas were seated on the bleachers that surrounded the field, and were watching the game – some were silent, others were cheering on their favorite player.

"Huh?" Arnav was surprised when the silent Akash said that.

"Do you see what Jivvy is doing? She knows that since it is a holiday time, she will not have that many meetings or urgent work. So, she is giving her employees a long vacation and treating them like friends. In doing this, she makes the employees happy – one, because they have a break, and two, their boss knows them on a personal level."

Arnav, beginning to see this, continued, "Oh, and she is indirectly making sure that they stay loyal and faithful to her and her company, and don't think about resigning."

"Exactly bhai. And remember when the Japanese team came over?" Arnav shot Akash an angry glare – how could he forget that? "No bhai, I meant in the meeting. She talked to them and became more personal, and then she started the meeting, and never went off track. In fact, that was our most productive meeting with the Japanese yet, and they also didn't get off track like they usually did with us." Arnav finally realized what was happening in that meeting and mentally applauded the little genius.

"See, now also bhai, her employees are arguing with her about the points." Akash pointed to a quarrel going on between Azmih, NK, and two other employees. Khushi who was the goalie of Azmih's team, was shouting from that distance, saying, "I have perfect eyesight! That was our point!" Arnav smiled at that and turned his attention back on Akash. "Her employees don't think of her as their boss – they think of her as a team mate, and that means that in projects or anything, they will be frank with their opinions and will not be afraid of her."

Arnav nodded. "You are right Akash. I can't believe that I missed this. Her company's structure is loose but yet defined, and its success comes not only from her hard work but from her team's as well."

Akash, the efficient manager, asked, "Bhai, do you think we should also apply some of this to the AR?" Arnav nodded.

17: Intruders in Agra

Silently drinking the sugarless coffee in a five star hotel right opposite to the Taj Mahal in Agra, Arnav looked out the large glass panel to see a very interesting sight. His cousins, wife, nani, and business associate – that is, Akash, NK, Khushi, Nani, and Jivvy – had wanted to go into the restricted garden area right in front of the monument. They saw the board that said "No Entry" of course, but they wouldn't be them if they didn't break a few rules. So, they walked in, ignoring the board, and NK began taking pictures while the others were having an animated conversation that Arnav couldn't make out.

A few minutes later, an old, but strong, security guard with a whistle and stick spotted the intruders. He went in the garden to scold them and penalize them. Arnav, smirking and enjoying himself, saw his crazy family run away from the guard that was now chasing them, but his smirk was soon replaced by confusion as he realized that it was only his FAMILY that was running away. Jivvy made no attempt to run and had instead put her hand out, as if searching for something.

* * *

The security guard, after having called his other guards to capture the intruders that were now running towards the exit, stopped when he saw the young girl turning around in her spot, with her hands held out.

"Didi?" the girl called out loudly, still waving her arms.

Unsure with what was happening, the guard spoke, "You aren't allowed here! Why did you come in this garden?" Azmih turned around slowly and her arms caught hold of the guard.

"Aap kon?" (Who are you?)

"I am a security guard here, and I'm asking you why are you here? Didn't you see the no entry boards all around the perimeter of this garden?"

"Aare Bhaiya! No one would be happier than me if I could see the boards."

The guard realized that the girl was blind, and apologized. He then escorted her out of the garden and helped her find her "family" that was in distorted states. NK and Akash had received severe beatings on various body parts and were rubbing their bruised butts, while Khushi was doing sit ups in front of the police, along with Naniji who had to do them as well. Payal, Mamiji, Mamaji, and Anjali were experiencing a mixture of emotions – amusement and shock were most prominent. Arnav had also walked over to witness this interesting scene, and he was confused at the treatment that Jivvy received – while everyone else was being punished, Jivvy was given a coconut drink by the guard who had also helped her sit down.

The guards left after saying, "Take care of this adorable girl."

As soon as they left, the innocent girl looked up to find everyone else staring at her.

"You can stop staring now, you know," Jivvy said, still drinking the coconut.

"Why were you treated like a VIP while all of us were punished?" Akash asked, still rubbing his back.

"Yes yes, tells tells!" Mami added.

"I pretended to be blind to earn their sympathies, and then they helped me." Jivvy shrugged, leaving everyone else flabbergasted and jealous.

Payal looked at Akash and laughed heartily, and that helped in reducing Akash's pain – just a little bit though.

Arnav was smirking at Khushi, as if saying I warned you, but was disappointed when she did not respond. He had noticed that he had a decreasing affect on Khushi; while his mind said it was a good thing, his heart refused. He missed the way Khushi got lost in his eyes, and kept on staring at him. He missed the emotions that he could put on his wife's face.

Nani saw this exchange between Arnav and Khushi, and also saw the unmasked hurt on her grandson's face when his wife ignored him. Nani immediately realized that something was amiss.