(Warning: This part contains some sensitive words.)
'Oh, hi Jayant. Come in,' Jai said, opening the door.
His house was low-width three storeyed, middle-class-looking.
'How are you, bhai?' I extended my hand to him.
'Doing good, a bit sleepy,' he said while yawning.
His mother was peeking out from the kitchen. I gave her a shy smile.
'Namaste, aunty,' I walked to her and bowed against her.
'God bless you, beta,' she said and then looked toward Jai,'I haven't seen him before,new friend?'
'Han maa, very new. He's poor at maths, so he needed some help in it.'
'Achha, then take him to your room,' she said and gave me a smile.
'Let's go upstairs, Jayant,' he said and patted my back.
'Yep,' I said.
His room was just like mine, untidy and everything placed at any corner of the room. A small bed was placed at the right corner of the room and several books and notebooks were lying on it.
Untidy rooms give me good vibes.
'Sit, sit,' Jai said, pointing to a single seater sofa, just after the bed.
'Thanks,'
I comforted myself on the sofa.
He crossed his legs on the bed. 'Where is that diary?' He asked.
'At home. I still have to read it.' I replied.
'Is it safe from your mother's hands?'
'Very safe, in my school bag.'I said.
He nodded.
'Actually, I was reading it last night, but I fell asleep while reading it.' I added.
'That's OK.'
'Let's start with the story.'
'Wait, first place your maths book here.'
'Oh yea,' I said, understanding the reason behind it.
I kept the one kilogram heavy book on the bed. Just then, the room's door opened in a sudden. It was Jai's mother with juice and snacks.
'Arey aunty, I just had breakfast at home. I am full,' I said. A line necessary to be spoken.
'So what? This is your home too. You wouldn't get fat with this.'
'Err...' I tried to defend, but ended up giving a slight-shy smile.
'You both study with heart and have some snacks,' she said and kept the tray with juice and snacks on the bed.
'Thankyou aunty.'
'Welcome,' she said and left the room.
'So now, can we start,' I said.
'For sure'
'Ok, then.'
'So.......
Jai speaks...
'Oye Jai, where is aunty?' Harkirat said.
I was at my home, sitting at the balcony with five other tution students. My mother is a tuition teacher as well as a housewife. She is famous in the whole street and some other streets in the vicinity as a tuition teacher. People may have twenty or thirty year experiences as a school teacher, but my mother is a tuition specialist. She has given 30 years into the tuitions, starting at the age of just eighteen years, when she passed her twelfth trade. Seeing the economical conditions of her house and her desire to continue with the studies, she started teaching neighbours' students for 1 rupee per student. From then, she never stopped. She completed her graduation with the money she earned from tuitions. After marrying my father, she did a job as a teacher in a well-known local school, but had to end up in between, when she was about to give birth to my eldest brother, Bhavesh. She never continued the job after Bhavesh's birth, and continued with the tuitions.
'Huh? Oh, maa? She's upstairs doing some work,' I said.
I was sitting in between Harkirat and Sourabh, my best friends, more than my tution mates. They even were my classmates in my school. I just once advertised about the tuitions, and these two ended up studying here.
Harkirat nodded.
'Have you done the sums given by aunty?' Sourabh said.
I looked at the Fatso figure, sitting besides me.
'Nope. But I think maa would have forgotten about the sums.' I winked at him.
Sourabh gave me a mocking smile,'Someone's growing more clever day by day, dude.'
'Just because of us,' Harkirat said.
'Wow, what did you just say? Because of you? Leave jt brother.' I said.
'Ofcourse. Our company made you clever, bhaiya.' Sourabh said and patted my back with heavy thuds.
'Ouch, go to hell fatso,' I mumbled while in pain.
Both dumb-brains laughed together.
Whatever they do, I still love them.
'Tanya, have you done the sums?' Sourabh asked.
Tanya, who was drowned I to the world of equations, got startled by Sourabh's question.
She was then girl, we three hated the most. She never left a chance to cause a problem to us. She was the one with completed home works everytime and we, with the uncompleted. My sister, Trisha, who is my twin sister, also did hate her but still, always got mixed up with her in getting us the scold from Maa.
'Hmm, I have done it. Just some doubts in this last-second question. Can you solve it Jai?' She said with a glimpse of attitude in her voice.
See, see. Again!!
'One sec,' Sourabh spoke up,'What did you just say? You have done the sums? Do you want aunty to kill us.'
'Not my problem. Aunty has given the homework and I have to do it and I have done it. Now it's your fault, you haven't done.'
I hate this attitude of her!!
'Not my problem....' Sourabh copied Tanya in a weird way, making me and Harkirat laugh.
'Shut up. Fatso.'
'Oh, you know, I just got scared.' Sourabh said and smirked.
'Seems like the nuts and bolts of your brain have loosened. They need to be tightened.'
'Oh, go to hell, please. That's your place to live.'
I laughed out hard, enough hard to reach Maa's ears.
Maa shouted from upstairs,'Jai, can't you sit silently? Do your work. I'm coming in five to ten minutes.'
'Ok maa, sorry,' I said, looking at Sourabh and Harkirat one by one. Both of them smirked.
'Jai, ignore them. Can you please tell me how to do this sum?' Tanya interrupted.
'Please throw away your doubts in the dustbin. I too haven't done my sums. Buddies, let's do the sums, I'm solving them, just copy fast,' I said, pointing at Harkirat and Sourabh.
'Jai, atleast you could be polite.' Tanya stared at me.
I ignored her and concentrated at solving the sums.
The next five minutes, we three were busy in our sums.
'Bzzz...' My phone vibrated, taking off my concentration from the sums.
I looked at the mobile, kept besides me.
A notification from Instagram- RiyaBhalla39 started following you.
'Hey brothers, a girl just followed me on Instragram.' I declared. Harkirat gave me a wicked smile, understanding my intentions.
'Congrats, bhai,' Sourabh said.
'Wait, Riya Bhalla? Umm...maybe I know her. Let me see her ID.' I said.
I clicked on the notification.
'Hey, it says- followed by tarunbhalla61.'
'Hmm, maybe her sister or they know each other. You know, both are Bhallas.'Kirat said.
Tarun Bhalla, one more bestfriend of me, but a level ahead. He was one of my brother-like friends. He had been my classmate since first grade.
'Let me ask Tarun.' I said.
I messaged Tarun-
'Hey, bhai.'
'Do you know this Riya Bhalla? She has followed me recently. And her profile says, you follow her.'
'Jai,' Sourabh said, in a sarcastic tone,' Riya Dhiman.'
'What?' I said, irritated by his words.
Sourabh smiled mockingly.
I got a new notification again.
RiyaBhalla39 liked your post.
'What the hell, she's liking my posts.' I shouted.
'So? You must be happy, rather than being shocked,' Harkirat said.
'She even likes you, I think,' Sourabh added.
'Can't you shut up?' I said.
'Why are you getting g irritated?' Kirat asked.
'Then, why are you blurting out anything?'
'Ok, ok, what did Tarun reply?'
'Hadn't replied yet.'
Kirat nodded.
One more notification from Instagram. This time from Tarun.
'She's my sister.'
'Don't you know that girl who was standing besides my mother when you had come to my house on my b'day.'
'Ohh, okay.' I replied Tarun.
'She's Tarun's sister, even if there's a chance that she likes me, I wouldn't go into any relationship. I don't want to be beaten by Tarun.'
'Are you mad? A girl is coming to you on her own and you are getting away.'
'Come on man, I am not of that type of boys, who run behind girls.'
'Yeah yeah, that's why you were staring the Section-C girl yesterday at the school.' Kirat said.
'Nothing like that.'
'No, no, please tell na.'
'Yea, I found her cute, somewhat cute. So what? Let me do my work.'
'See, someone's changing the topic.' Sourabh said.
'Please, you three dogs, can't you stop barking?' Tanya interfered again.
I thought of killing her but somehow controlled myself. Sourabh felt my anger,'Bro, ignore the bitches.'
'You fatso, don't you dare call me bitch.'
'Then, don't you dare call us dogs, you bitch.'
'Go to hell.' Tanya said.
'I don't fell like going to your house.' Sourabh said.
Kirat and I laughed aloud.
'I'll slap you,' Tanya said.
'Like my hands have mehendi on them,' Sourabh said.
'You can't even touch me,' Tanya said.
'Who wants to? I don't wanna get cursed.'
'You are calling a girl, cursed. Huh?'
'No, I am calling a bitch, cursed.'
'What's happening?' Maa's voice startled everyone, making all of us back to our sums.
'Why were you making so much noise?' She came downstairs and sat on her chair, placed near me.
'Ask that fool,' Tanya said, pointing towards Sourabh.
'Yes, what?' Maa asked Sourabh.
'Nothing aunty, you know na, her habit of barking,' Sourabh said.
'Oye, is this the way to talk to girls?' Maa said, showing h big ground eyes.
'Aunty, they have a very good point of view about girls.'
'Tanya, do your work, you k ow these idiots very well, they are shameless. You should concentrate on your work. I will handle them.'
'Aunty, even I am not interested in these shameless people.' Tanya said and faced towards her notebook.
'Be in your limits, witch.' I shouted out, irritated from all those shits happening there.
'Jai, close your buckle box,' Maa shouted at me with stern eyes.
'But she is a witch,' I said.
'One more word and I'll slap you.'
I sat silent, my brain was heated. 'Bitch,' I mumbled after 5 seconds.
SLAPPPPP!!!
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Here ends the part 4 too, making my fingers numb from typing (Anything for you guys!). Do a vote/comment/share. Signing off for the moment. (My fingers hurt!!)
Jayant Vig,
Author,
Almost Mine.
