Chapter-3
Cooking Up A Disaster.
Jodha
"This is a bad
idea.." Erica mumbled, trying another unsuccessful attempt to make her friends
back out. "I mean, vandalism? Jo, that's illegal, I'm not letting you do that." She huffed at the end of her tirade, unfortunately aware of the difference-or
lack of- it made to the group.
"Are you guys even
listening? Hello?" she snapped her fingers in front of them, shaking her head.
Having fun is one thing, committing a crime- totally another.
"You can go to
jail for this, Jo, why do you think it's a good-" before she could complete her
sentence, a hand coiled around her waist, pulling her on the couch and on
Christie.
"ouch.." Christie
groaned, smacking Augustus, who merely snickered.
"What do you think
you're doing?" Erica sighed, punching him. "You're her friend, you're supposed
to make her understand why this is will be a disaster."
"You're right.." Augustus nodded, feigning seriousness. "Jo, that's illegal, I'm not letting you
do that." He shrieked in a high pitched voice, before losing it and bursting
into peals of laughter.
Jerk. Erica thought, annoyed. A person can only change so much, she
realized, and underneath all that charm- he's still a devil.
"That was
awesome..." Jodha chuckled, high-fiving Augustus.
"You guys suck." Whined Erica, turning to Anne for support, who seemed to be fighting a smile of
her own.
Quickly catching
hold of a pillow, she aimed it at Anne- hitting her squarely in the face.
"Not so funny now,
is it?" She smirked, ducking when the pillow returned.
"You missed." Teasing, she did a rather childish move, sticking her tongue out before running
away into one of the other rooms.
"I'll get her.." Anne hid a devious smile, breaking into a sprint to catch her.
"So..." Jodha
began, quirking up an eyebrow. "We're going to do this, right?"
"Sure we are." Augustus agreed, looking up to Christie who gave them an apprehensive look. "Look," Christie began, " it's not that I don't trust you two, I mean, well I
don't" Augustus pinched her, "but mum asked someone" she glared at her brother, "to stay out of trouble."
"We won't get
caught, Chris." Jodha said, rolling her eyes. Seriously, why did none of her
friends believe her criminal skills?
"Well, what if we
do get caught? What's the master-plan, then?" she prodded, thinking if she were
to agree, she should at least know what she's getting into.
"Well, on his
birthday, which is today, in case you forgot.. we go there, surprise him with a
little birthday bash, take our spray cans out and paint." Jodha grinned, quite
proud of herself at the seemingly perfect plan, before having her assumptions
shattered.
"How do we get in?
And if he'll still be inside, as you said, then how will we vandalise it?"
That got her
thinking. She hadn't really thought about it. "I haven't thought that far,
Augustus can help me." She shrugged, looking at Augustus for help.
"We can use the
simple pick-the-lock technique." He said casually, like breaking the law didn't
matter to him.
"And if he's
inside, what then, genius?" Taunting her brother, she busied herself with her
phone- when he snatched it from her.
"My Baby sister
has a point.." he pondered, waving the phone over his head so she couldn't
reach it. "What do you say, Jo?"
"Well, we'll have
to get him out, right?" She suggested, but fell silent after that.
A short spell
later, an idea finally hit her, causing a grin to light her face up. "Oh, I
know this!" She shrieked, throwing another pillow up in the air.
"Enlighten me." Christie said, sarcasm dripping from her tone. Catching the pillow Jodha threw
at her, she placed it on her lap, before waiting for her to continue with her
idea.
"We'll do this the
old fashioned way." Jodha revealed, grinning so wide Christie wondered if her
jaw would be sore.
"Elaborate?" Augustus asked, too interested in this plan to back out now.
"Well, a few of us
distract him while the others get in through the backdoor."
"And how will we
get in through the backdoor?" Christie asked absent mindedly, her mind still
stuck on her phone that hung in the air.
"Huh?"
"It will be locked
from inside, dumbo." It was her turn to laugh, while Jodha scrunched her nose
up. This was going to be a lot trickier.
~~~
Jalal
"No, Mirza, I'm
not going anywhere near the kitchen." Rejecting his brother's rather absurd suggestion
of cooking up a feast for their mother, Jalal slumped down on the couch.
Adjusting- or trying to, at least- had proved to be quite stressful. Having
lived a life of late-night parties and days of hangovers, it was definitely
hard to play the role of the 'good guy.'
He wasn't
complaining, though, as hard as it was, it felt nice to be with his family
again. Family, he let that sink in-
this absolute joker of a brother- whose one liners made him cringe more often
that it made him laugh, and the mother who was too understanding of everything.
It was weird, he thought, that he'd already taken a liking to this weird
family.
But he let all
those thoughts go, thinking later, because
he was home now. This was his home,
and he quite liked being here, and he decided he wouldn't go anywhere soon.
Although, that
might change, he added as an afterthought, fed up with his brother's relentless
persuasion.
"Why?" Mirza
quizzed, clueless.
"Because, I can't
cook and I don't think you can, either." He retorted, giving him a cynical
glare.
"So?" He prodded,
before earning another Are You Crazy? Look
from his elder brother.
"We can't cook,
Mirza." Jalal continued, though he'd begun to comprehend the rare chance of his
brother understanding it.
"But we can try!" There was a glint of mischief in his eyes, and a flash of blur, before Jalal
was pulled into the kitchen.
"Mirza.." He
threatened, warning his brother.
"Stop acting like
you don't want to do this." His laugh added to his words.
"This might
surprise you, Mirza," Jalal said, aiming a packet of biscuits at his brother, "but I actually don't want to do this."
Catching the
packet effortlessly, he began devouring it. Jalal looked at him with wide eyes,
before realizing that any expectation of normalcy was quite impossible, as far
as his brother was concerned.
"Come on, do this
for mom, she'll love this, you know that.." said Mirza, showing a rare mature
tone in his voice, before immediately shaking his head. "can't believe I got
serious for once." He muttered under his breath.
Shaking his head
at his brother's antics, he mumbled "might as well" before joining his brother.
"So, what are we
making?" He asked, his expression giving away his doubt of this plan.
Surprised he'd
given in so easily, Mirza held back a smirk.
"Okay.. so we
might have made a tiny mistake.." Mirza sighed dramatically, struck with shock
as he saw his plan crumble. Granted that they didn't know a thing about
cooking, but to face an epic failure like this- it was humiliating.
"Ouch." He whined
as a drop of boiling oil fell on his hand. "F**king hell.." Jalal uttered,
before reaching out to dab his brother's hand with a wet cloth.
"This is what you
get for being an idiot." He remarked dryly.
"What do we do
now?" Mirza groaned, before giving up entirely, sitting on the floor with his
knees crossed.
"We failed for the
5th time, you idiot." Another packet thrown towards Mirza, who was
distracted with the burn on his hand, and as a result- got hit.
Jalal couldn't
help but laugh at the sight, the flour packet was open- to Jalal's pleasant
shock- and did its magic on Mirza's hair. His black, shiny hair- now completely
covered in white, remnants falling on his face.
The next moment,
Jalal was cracking up, while Mirza blew flour out of his mouth, flabbergasted.
"MY HAIR" He gaped
in shock, running out in search of a mirror.
A minute later,
Jalal, who'd barely recovered from his laughter, ended up in another fit of
chuckles as he heard Mirza's horrified scream.
He could get used
to this, he thought, a smile tugging on his lips.
~~~
Jodha
"I mean, the idea
isn't so bad, Chris, but I really don't want to call him.." Jodha said, trying
to get out of the insane idea Christie had suggested. Not that it wasn't good,
but it was simply not something she was willing to do.
"Jo, this is
perfect." Augustus piped up, "You call him, ask him to meet you, and then when
he's out, we all go."
The evil smirk
just wouldn't leave his lips, Erica noted.
"I don't know,
guys.." Jodha reiterated, "I mean, do I have to?" She groaned at the thought of
having to talk to him. But even she knew this idea was genius, it would
definitely work. She just had to subside her ego for a bit.
Met with a couple
of stares that clearly screamed This Was
Your Plan, Not Ours, the irritated lady gave up, frowning.
"Fine, fine. God,
I will do it." Erica couldn't bite back her giggle at the admission, and was
smacked on the head, before being asked to pass Jodha's phone to her.
She dialled the
number with reluctance, knowing fully well what she was getting into.
Muttering, "stop staring.." to make the group steer their eyes away from her,
she waited impatiently for him to pick up, while hoping he wouldn't.
But of course, he
did.
"Oh, um.. hey..
Frederik.." she smiled uneasily, before rolling her eyes.
"Jodha, hey.."
"Happy birthday!" She suddenly remembered, squeaking, annoyed as she heard him laugh.
"You remember?"
"Well of course I
do, I mean we dated, remember?"
"Of course I do.."
The dreamy voice
he'd used nearly made her throw up, before she pulled herself together,
reminding herself of the plan'.
"Right,
so I have a surprise for you." She lied.
"Woah. That's.. nice.." He uttered on the other line, finding it
weird that she was being so nice to him when she'd got him nearly expelled the
day before. Shaking off his suspicions, he decided on the theory that maybe
Jodha realized her love for him, too.
"I
know, right? So.. can you come over?" She asked, making sure her voice was
convincing.
"What, like right now?"
"NO!" She yelled, before realizing she probably scared him, and took a deep breath
before continuing, "I mean, like in an hour or so?"
"That's fine, I'll meet you
there, then."
"Okay..
goodbye!" She grinned, her excitement taking over. Hurriedly disconnecting the
call, she broke the news to the group. "We have exactly an hour to prepare."
Her
revelation was met with cheers, hoots, apprehensive looks, but most of all, the
addictive rush of adrenaline everyone wanted.
"So
are we ready, ladies and gentlemen?" Jodha questioned, putting up a deep voice,
before breaking out into laughter.
" Spray cans, check. Masks, check. Black clothes, check. Gum, check."
"Why
do we need the masks and the clothes, anyway? It's not like anyone's going to
see us, right?" Christie reasoned, causing Jodha to make a face.
"Whatever
we do, we do it style. That's why." She explained as if it was enough
justification.
"And
the gum? What's that about?" Erica asked. By now, she'd given up on hoping to
be left out of this little fun activity/ potential criminal activity and had
began praying to God that they wouldn't get caught.
It
was only for a bit of fun, after all.
"Because
I like gum, it's nice." She said, giving a sickly sweet smile, which made the
hesitant duo shut up.
"Let's
go, then? We should be out of the complex before he arrives.." Augustus said,
ready for a thrilling evening.
~~~
Jalal
Alisha
Khan was having the time of her life, quite literally.
It
isn't every other day that her two grown up sons (or at least one of them is),
tries to cook up a meal for, and fail so miserably the kitchen looked like it'd
witnessed a war. However, that wasn't the reason why she couldn't help laugh,
but the guilty and horrified looks her sons sported.
Oh, this is hilarious. She thought, but wisely kept it to herself,
knowing it would only add to their misery.
Putting
up a serious front, she asked, "Why on Earth would you two go anywhere near the
kitchen? You can't cook to save your life!"
"We
were only trying to do something for you.." Mirza offered, before Jalal pinched
him.
Biting
her lip to prevent the burst of giggle, she continued, "by renovating the
kitchen for me?"
"It doesn't look that bad!" he argued.
"Yes
it doesn't, it's only covered in flour and ketchup and half burnt vegetables,
which weren't even cut properly, by the way. Spilt milk, butter all over the
floor. It's not bad at all.."
"Well,
when you say it like that.." His head slumped in shame.
Unable
to resist her laugh any longer, she finally gave in, chuckling at her
embarrassed sons.
"Well,
let's go out to eat, shall we?" She offered, to which the hungry sons gave a
quick nod.
~~~
Jodha
"Erica,
for the last time, shut the hell up before I punch you." Jodha threatened, her
head aching with the warnings her best friend couldn't stop offering.
"But
Jo-"
"Yes
I know this is seriously irresponsible, reckless, stupid, a crime, we can get
into loads of trouble and potentially jail time, anything else?"
"Well,if
you know this.." She retorted, angry, "then why are we here?"
"Because, Erica," sighed Jodha, explaining herself for the last time, "this is
fun, okay? I'll maybe hate myself tomorrow for doing this, but I want to do it
anyway. And weren't you the one who wanted me to react about Fred? Well, this
is me reacting about it. Why are you so pissed?"
"Because it's stupid, reckless-" She broke out into another rant of hers, cut
off by an incensed Jodha.
"We're
doing this, Erica. Trust me, you won't die." She gave a sarcastic smile, before
jumping out of the car and in front of her ex boyfriend's house.
"Well,
well.." she grinned.
As
a hesitant Erica followed her, Jodha allowed herself a mental pat on the back. "Let's
begin, should we?"
Spraying a simple J on the wall above the bed in his bedroom, a devil smirk
curved on her lips. Augustus frowned, asking, "Do you want to get caught or
something?"
"No. I only want him to know who it was." She shrugged, jumping off the bed.
"Do
you think everyone's done by now?" She questioned, referring to the rest of the group who'd
chosen different rooms to thrash.
"Yeah,
I guess.."
Next,
she watched as Augustus took the gum out, carefully chewing it for a few
minutes before fixing it on the doorknob. "Exactly what I was thinking.." She
said, excited, high-fiving Augustus as it hit her again, he was really her partner-in-crime.
"So,
what next?" he asked, casually leaning against the side table.
"Nothing,
he'll be back in about," she checked her phone, "ten minutes or so.. so now," she smiled wide, "we get the hell out of here."
They
chatted as if they hadn't just committed a crime, walking out merrily to join
the others.
Jodha
couldn't push back the smile that took over her face. For others, it was just
for fun. Nothing else, no hard feelings. But for Jodha, it was revenge, served
cold to her ex-boyfriend.
Reminded
of something, she fished through the side bag that was strapped around her
shoulder. She took out a gift wrapped present, leaving it on the dining table
along with a hastily scribbled note.
Erica
and Chris exchanged curious glances, and Augustus quirked up an eyebrow.
Shrugging, she answered, "Well, it is his birthday after all.."
At
that, the entire group snickered, even the nervous Erica. She really, really
hated Frederik, because no matter how big of a star student he might be, he
messed with her best friend- and you don't mess with the people Erica Jones
loves.
So
she let out a laugh, quite satisfied with her art as her eyes flitted to the
window, where she'd finished her entire spray can. She'd written a string of
spicy, rude words she'd probably never use, but ones Frederik Carter definitely
deserved to be described by.
Augustus
caught her eye, giving her a thumbs-up, signalling to the window
appreciatively. Truth be told, he didn't really think she'd do it. The timid,
goody-two-shoes Erica he'd known would probably faint at the mention of
illegal'. Yet, here she was, being a badass and acing it.
She
did a little bow, running high on the rush of adrenaline, before winking at
him.
Yes,
he would think later, she was definitely acing it.
Their
moment was cut short, however, when they heard the sound of a car being parked.
"Oh fricking hell.." Jodha swore in a hushed whisper, quickly signalling the
group to be silent. They obeyed, panicked, before she pointed towards the
backdoor. Quickly gathering their things, they took off, but Jodha stayed back.
Removing her mask, she smiled mischievously, leaving it with the present,
before running to join her group.
She
left the house just when she heard the jingle of the keys, and snorted
silently. This had been so much fun.
The
group broke out into a sprint, the high of adrenaline pulsing through them,
keeping them going until they reached near the car. Pausing to catch their
breath in the middle of the road, they looked back at the house, revelling in
the distant scream they heard.
"This
was.." Jodha panted, "so great.."
"I
agree."
"Yeah!"
Finally
deciding to call it a day, they walked the short distance to their car. Amidst
their chatter and appreciative hoots, they failed to notice a man walking down
the road.
~~~
Jalal
Having
dropped Alisha and Mirza home, he'd promised to be back by half an hour. It was
quite spontaneous, he thought, for Jalal had never been a fan of late night
strolls. But things can change, and as he continued to walk down a road, he
found it peaceful.
The
silence that was around him, it was beautiful. He'd always preferred silence
over noise. Well, who wouldn't?
However,
the silence didn't last long- broke abruptly by a group of rather excited
youngsters. Jalal frowned, did they not
have anything better to do ?
Deciding
to ignore the noisy bunch, he continued to stroll leisurely, and to his
surprise, he was whistling a low, sweet tune.
Of
course, when he'd decided to ignore them, he hadn't exactly thought he'd bump
into- quite literally- one of them.
Brought
to a pause, he quickly observed that all of them were wearing masks, all of
them- except the one he'd bumped into. He raised his eyebrows at the suspicious
attire, a black hoodie and tight black jeans, hair tamed into a messy ponytail.
That might have surprised him, but it was the eyes- her eyes- that did him in. The blue in them stood out in a bright
contrast to the dark night, flecks of grey swirling around.
The
stranger furrowed her eyebrows, and Jalal supposed he'd stared for too long,
muttering a quick "sorry.." before walking past.
Edited by ...Anushka... - 7 years ago
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