Pranbir Short Stories

Kuch kuch hota hai: readapted

This chapter is dedicated to Jasminearun.
Hope you will like it, dear...

Like the title said it: 'Readapted': certain scenes have been changed and some have been added.

The crowd roared in excitement, eyes stuck to the hardwood floor of basketball. Countless emotions flew around: anticipation and excitement were the highlighted ones.

You would think that a major basketball championship was going on based on the cheering but nope...
It wasn't even a match... It was only two best friends.
The best friends who had challenged each other.

The spectators watched with bated breath as one of them threw the ball towards the hoop and they all knew it would go in.
Her precision was too good.

Just as the ball reached near the hoop, her best friend jumped and touched the ball to stop it from entering.
The ball went on the other side.

An excited voice echoed in the court: "Yayyyy.... I won... You couldn't get it..."
The crowd went silent as they waited for his opponent's reaction.

The girl glared at him dangerously and approached: "You cheated, Ranbir..."
Ranbir, funnily surprised: "What! No, I didn't do anything, Prachi..."
Prachi: "You cannot touch the ball when it's coming down. Basic rules...."
Ranbir: "You didn't win, that's it... and I am not a cheater."

Prachi, cutely and teasingly: "Ranbir is a cheater..."
Ranbir, annoyed: "Prachi... I am not a cheater."
Prachi, in a singing voice: "Ranbir is a cheater... cheater, cheater, cheater..."
Ranbir, angrily: "Prachi..."
He got an equal angry answer: "Ranbir..."

They both faced each other angrily and their friends pulled them away. The girls dragged Prachi outside while the boys made Ranbir sit on the bleachers.

Ranbir, ranting: "Did you see how she was calling me a cheater? I am not a cheater..."

On the other side, the girls were also trying to de escalate Prachi's anger.
Prachi: "You girls saw it, right? That wasn't allowed as per the rules..."
One of the girl: "You know that we have no idea about basketball, right?"
Another girl: "But Prachi, Ranbir is also your best friend and it wasn't really a match."
Prachi looked at her pensively.

Ranbir's side:
One of the boys: "It was against the rule... the ball was coming down when you touched it."
Ranbir looked away as they were right. He knew it too... he did it purposefully to tease her. But he didn't like being call a cheater.

Ranbir: "I know that but she shouldn't have call me a cheater. I am still angry."
The boy: "She is your best friend, dude... You call each other worst names."
This made Ranbir chuckle.

Both sides prompted the two best friend to talk to each other and as Ranbir stood up, the girls had brought Prachi back to the court.

They walked towards each other with small smiles on their faces.
When they approached each other, Ranbir spoke first.

Ranbir: "Sorry..."
Prachi: "Sorry for calling you a cheater..."
Ranbir, smilingly: "Come here..."
They did their famous handshake of clasping their hands and touched the tips of each other's nose. They finished it with a hug.
As they hugged, they heard loud cheers from everyone.
And just like that, everything was resolved between them: no bitterness or anger.

One of the boys came to them: "Tonight's plan is still on, right?"
Ranbir: "Obviously..."
Prachi also nodded yes...

At night:
Ranbir and his friends parked their bikes in front of a girls' hostel. Ranbir began honking to let Prachi know that he was there.
An elderly woman came there and looked at them disappointedly.