The Bachelor

Chapter 4: Delinquent Thoughts

"Realised what?" I asked, puzzled at her statement.

Shit! Did she know that I was snooping around when she was speaking to Manik?

"Never mind...point is, I'm sorry!" She said, with a sincere smile on her face.

I wasn't the type of person to hold grudges, so her sweet apology made me forgive her immediately.

"It's alright...we all have bad days..."I replied, smiling at her.

"Thank you! I hope you'll consider me as your friend from now on..." She said in a relieved tone.

"Of course!" I assured her.

Our conversation was interrupted when I heard a spot boy shout my name. "Nandini! It's your turn! Please follow me!"

I nodded to Alya and followed the spot boy to the location.

As soon as I took my seat on the couch, the camerawoman for the day started filming, as Raghav sat opposite me and asked me the required questions.

"So, Nandini, please tell us something about yourself..." Raghav said.

"Hi everyone! I'm Nandini Murthy. I'm a B.Sc student and I currently study at St. Xavier's college, in Mumbai. I'm a science geek and in my free time, I love hanging out with my friends! My hobbies also include singing and playing classical instruments..."

"Oh that's great! So how about you tell us something about your family?" Raghav asked.

"Um...I live with my aunt and uncle, and I have a little brother as well. They are the people whom are the dearest to me in this world! I couldn't have asked for a better family!" I said truthfully.

I was definitely annoyed with Chachi for sending me on this show, but I couldn't ignore the love that she had showered on me over the years. She was like a mother to me in more ways than one!

"And your parents?" Raghav asked, curiously.

Of course! The dreaded question had to be asked!

"My parents passed away when I was a child..." I said formally, without giving further details. I didn't want anyone's sympathy! Nor did I want to broadcast the details of my private life on a national platform!

"Oh, sorry to hear that!" Raghav said in a mock tone of sorrow.

However, I could easily see that he didn't regret asking me the question one bit! Having an orphan on a reality show was a jackpot! It could be exploited in a number of ways to entertain the audience...

"Okay, Nandini, last night, you met Manik for the first time. Tell us, what do you think of him?" He asked cautiously, probably aware of our little squabble last night.

I sniggered at his question. Finally! One I could answer with unabashed honesty!

"I don't know him much, but from what I gathered last night Manik is an unpunctual and arrogant man-child, with a bad temper!" I exclaimed.

The camera stopped rolling immediately.

"What happened? Didn't you record my answer?" I asked, in an annoyed voice.

"Nandini, we can't telecast that...we need you to say something nice about Manik! You can't appear so hostile! This is a show about finding your true love..." Raghav said, wiping the sweat from his brow.

"Really, Raghav? I thought this was supposed to be a reality show...so, I was just being 'real'!" I scoffed.

"Come on, Nandini, don't you want to save yourself from elimination? Just say one positive thing, something we can use..." Raghav said.