Manan ff :Be Mine

chapter 32 ( a )

Malhotra Mansion.
8 : 00 am in the morning.
Nandini was busy in the kitchen, preparing the breakfast.
While Manik sat on the sofa, trying really hard to concentrate on the newspaper.
Manik ( pov ) : ghar mein doo chef's hai. ...lekin phir bhi usse kitchen ke andar hi kaam karna hai! !!!!

Nandini rubbed her nose, which was irritating her, since the morning.
Nandini ( pov ) : pataa nehin subha se ek baar bhi Veer se baat hi nehin hua. ....maa bhi phone receive nehin kar rahi. ...I hope waha pein sab kuch theek ho ayyappa! !!!!

Manik ( pov ) : zarur. ...Harshad ke saath jhagra hua hoga! !!!!.....tabhie toh subha se itni irritated or upset laag rahi hai. ...
Breaking Maniks chain of thoughts, the door bell rang.
Angrily, Manik went to open the door.

On seeing Fab4, his face lit up.
Manik ( happily ) : good morning. ...I thought ki tumlog college mein ho !!!!
Mukti : where's Nandini? ???
Getting annoyed, Manik pointed towards the kitchen.
Coming out of the kitchen, Nandini saw Fab5 sitting in the living room.
Nandini : tumlog. ..yaha? ???.....college nehin gaye? ????
Without saying anything, Mukti handed an envelope to Nandini, with a serious look on her face.
Nandini ( confused ) : yeh. ...kya hai? ????
But no one replied.
Nandini opened the letter and read the first line.
Nandini ( chuckled ) : leave application? ???....lekin maine toh koi leave application nehin file kiya? ????
Dhruv ( happily ) : but. ....hum ne toh kiya tha! !!!
Nandini : par kyon? ???....itna saara kaam pending hai. ...ek hafte mein workshops bhi shuru hone wali hai! !!!!
Mukti, without letting Nandini to complete, says "yaar. ...teen saal se kaam hi kar rahi hai. ...now it's your turn to take a break !!!!"
Cabir : yes Nandini. ...take a chill pill! !!!!
Nandini was still not convinced.
Manik stared at her, unable to understand, what had actually happened to his Nandini, for last 3 years.
Listening to their conversation, Manik could make out that, Nandini had changed a lot, rather suffered a lot. But he was unable to understand "why????? "
According to Manik, he left Nandini ,so that she could be happy with Harshad. But now,Manik is doubtful, whether Nandini is happy or not? ????
Maniks thoughts were interrupted, as Cabir said " so we have arranged a road trip for you! !!"
Nandini : inn sab ki kya zarurat hai? ????.....I am fine! !!!!
Aliya : don't be a spoilt sport Nandini! !!!
Mukti : yes. ...aur tumhe kuch karne ki zarurat bhi nehin hai. ....because hum ne already tumhare bags pack kar liye hai! !!!
Nandini just touched her forehead with her hands. Giving in ,she asked "fine. ...par hum jaa kaha rahe hai? ???"
Mukti : well. ..that's a surprise! !!!!....ab jaldi chalo warna hum bus miss kar denge! !!!!

An hour later.
Unknowingly, Manik was standing with Fab4 and Nandini, at the bus stop.
After coming to Mumbai, surprisingly Manik found himself in situations, where he did not have any room to escape.
Getting on the bus, Maniks first instinct was to run away.
The bus was so crowded, that Manik felt like vomiting.
Manik : hum. ...kaha baithenge? ????
Mukti : well. ...Aliya aur Dhruv ek saath baith rahe hai. ...main bus ke upar baithne jaa rahi hu! !!!!
Manik : fine. ...toh main aur Cabir saath baithenge! !!!
Saying this he went and sat beside Cabir.
Without any options left, Nandini went and sat at the back, alone.
Nandini wasn't feeling well. Closing her eyes, she tried to take a short nap.
Sitting beside Manik, Cabir was fast asleep, with the headphones plugged in his ears.
After every 5 minutes, Manik looked at Nandini, who was sleeping peacefully.
Manik ( pov ) : pagal baby. ....kitni shanti se soo rahi hai! !!!
Manik keept on starring at his sleeping baby. He had many questions, floating in his mind. But her face, made him forget everything. Manik realised that, Nandini's face had lost the carefree look. He wanted to ask her why. Unaware of the fact that, he was the sole reason behind Nandini's plight, Manik closed his eyes and tried to relax.
The bus halted at a Punjabi Dhaba.
Coming out of the bus ,Manik streached his arms and looked at the old dhaba.
Fab4 had already seated themselves on a bench, when Manik joined them.
Cabir : yaar. ....jaldi se kuch order karo. .....bhukh ke mare jaan nikal rahi hai! !!!!
Mukti ( irritated ): yeh ladko ki problem kya hai? ????.....kahi bhi jao. ...lekin inn ko sirf aapne pait ki paddi rehti hai! !!!!
Dhruv : iss mein hum ladko ki koi galti nehin hai! !!!.....ab tum girls agar aapne weight ko leke itna obsessed rahogi ....toh hum kya kar sakte hai! !!!
Aliya ( angrily ) : it's nothing like that. ...we are not obsessed with our weight! !!!!
Dhruv ( sarcastically ) : really. ...toh theek hai. ...prove it! !!!
Aliya : kaise? ???
Dhruv : Aloo Paratha Competition! !!!!!!!!
Cabir ( getting excited ): waah mere sher! !!!!.....I am proud of you
Aliya ( annoyed ) : are you mad! !!!......aloo is full of fat. ....aur kitni calories bhi hoti hai uss mein. ....no ways! !!!!
Dhruv ( laughing ) : rehne doo Aliya. ...tum girls ka kuch nehin ho sakta! !!!!......tumlog bass har type ke khaane ka sirf postmortem hi kar sakti ho! !!!
Aliya : you. ...just stop laughing like a fool!!!!!
Mukti : waise. ...yeh humari moderator kaha hai. ...I mean. ..Nandini? ???