The Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious Adventures of Manik Malhotra's Cell Phone

1B. Locked Away!

"Cabir, mujhe kuch samajh mein nahi aa raha hai..." Mukti huffs in frustration.

You said it, sister!

I swear! It was just ten minutes ago. I heard Harshad talking to some creep about going after Manik and telling him something, right outside the door.

Ugh! My microphone has taken a serious bashing off late! Couldn't even hear Harshad's exact instructions! It's a serious hindrance to my hobby of eavesdropping.

But guys, you should really go and look for Manik! I don't know what tricks that idiot has planned!

"Koi song hi mind mein nahi aa raha!" Mukti exclaims.

Ah...she was talking about their performance. I thought she was speaking of life in general.

Mukti immediately suggests that they play the same song they'd decided on last year. Cabir seems to have a different opinion, however...

"Guys...Why don't you ask Raghav Sir to postpone the test aur Cabir... tu bolega toh woh obviously maan jaayega." Rose interjects.

Yes! She's started to make sense! Postpone the rehearsal...go and look for Manik instead!

"That's not funny. And I think you should leave now..." Cabir replies, clearly upset.

This raises everyone's eyebrows including mine, of course. Cabir never gets upset. And when I say 'never', I mean never.

"Kyun? Why? Babe, I'm just kidding!" Rose assures.

Cabir is soon to apologise for his behavior. He attributes his temper to the stress of Harshad's irritating antics, which I relate to for sure, as well as their 'song selection' dilemma.

And after a bit of awkward coochie-coo couple stuff between them, everything seems to be rosy.

"Cabir, yeh kya tha? Us bechari par kyun gussa nikaal raha hai?" Mukti reprimands Cabir immediately after Rose's departure.

In the midst of his response, Alya finally returns from wherever she'd floated off to.

"...Please let's start now." Mukti screams, relieved .

"Manik toh aaya hi nahi..." Dhruv whispers in the background.

Yes! Someone's finally noticed!

"Where is Manik?" Alya asks, puzzled.

My thoughts exactly, Alya. My thoughts, exactly.

~*~

"Dhruv!" I hear Alya squeal outside the door.

She's been trying to ring me continuously.

Sorry hon. Your boyfriend ditched me. I can't help you locate him!

"Location- a particular place or position. Could also refer to an area where black South African..." Siri blabbers on, much to my annoyance.

Now the bitch decides to speak!

"Shut up, Siri! I was speaking to Alya. I'll never call you 'hon' in a million years!" I scream at the pointless squatter in my operating system.

"Manik?" Alya asks Dhruv.

I can so imagine Dhruv shaking his head right now.

"Chalo us side dekhte hai." He says.

"Dhruv, tumhe lagta hai ki woh Nandini ke saath hai...varna aise kahaan ja sakta hai woh?" Alya asks.

Good thinking, Alya! Perhaps Harshad's plan involves Nandini too!

"Yahi kahin hoga...use call karo..." He advises.