Sana
I doused light strokes of loose compact powder onto my brother's face. He sneezed in between and then became still again. Akash stood beside me, hands shoved into his pockets as we worked in comfortable silence.
Honestly speaking, Shehbaz would never be caught embracing cosmetics in his whole life because he considered it feminine. But when he noticed Paras casually dousing dollops of concealer, foundation and highlighter onto his skin with practised ease, he decided it was okay.
Of course, he had wanted a more light, natural finish which I was willing to give him.Matlab how much I could with my limited abilities.Hayee, waise toh sab bolte hai ki meri makeup skills achi nahi hai, mujhe laga ki mey makeup artist bhi ban jaungi aur bohot saare paise kamaungi aur phir se Canada jaake--
"Eyebrows pe hai, " Akash spoke from behind me and I half-glared at him. Shehbaz immediately shot out of his seat and moved to glance at his reflection.
"Yaar!"
"Muh tod dungi tera idhar aa, woh adjust kar sakte hai hum," I said, tugging at his sleeve.
Shehbaz kept lamenting while I finished with the ritual and pounded the case of the brush against the compact before plunging it into my makeup box.
Devoleena and Rashmi were already ready in their denim overalls, a perfect outfit for not getting your clothes too sticky and they were in deep discussion with a half-naked Asim Riaz who had a towel wrapped around his shoulders and sporting a pair of briefs. His black microphone sash hung loosely against his bare torso.
"Waha jaake tujhe strategy nahi banaana hai ab?" Shehbaz said and I rolled my eyes.
I informed my teammates that I was going to shower and left it to themselves. One great advantage of our connections coming this week was that Shehbaz had sneaked in my usual skincare products for me. There were only two options in the house, you smell like a Neem and Lemon antibacterial bathing bar or like a bouquet of beauty bathing bar fragrances. We were only allowed to use no more than the sponsored products that we were allotted every month and after all this time I could allow myself the luxury of using my own Citrus scented shower gel.
The bathroom wasn't spacious enough but I somehow fitted myself into the denim overalls, being extra careful not to let any of my clothes hit the slippery tiles.
I was so surprised to see Kashmera, Shehbaz and Kunal in deep discussion. Maybe connections could form alliances with whomever they want. I strolled into the poolside and noticed the leader of the pack, Mr Sidharth Shukla talking in hushed whispers with the rest of his friends. When they heard my footsteps, they immediately turned to glance at me as if I were some spy from a terrorist organization.
I ignored them and stalked over to my minting machine and pulled out the stacks of plain paper. Asim was at my heels, supporting his weight on the tabletop with his forearms.
"Bata, kya hai?" I said, knowing he had something in mind. That was mutual between Sid and himself, the passion to win any task which was what made them lock horns often.
" Kuch bhi nahi, bas fair khelna hai, tujhe jo bhi chunega usko apna game khelne do, bas."
I raised my eyebrows, " Yeh ho kya gaya tujhe?"
"Bas yaar, game bhi khatam hone wala hai, aur kya hai yaha pe.Bas tu pehle chad. That's it."
I shrugged. I will do as they say because they knew to play better than me and I don't have issues accepting that. I wanted nothing but peace now. Nothing else mattered to me as much as they used to.
There were two target boards before us, one labelled mine and the other for Sidharth. It was almost a good distance apart and any connection who was going to play in favour of either would have to throw a shooting dart at one of us to show who they were rooting for.
Of course, the house was divided into two groups but the connections had their own judgements and opinions about the rest of us. And we couldn't force our opinion on them. If Shehbaz wanted to play for even Paras, he was in his own rights to do so.
I stuffed my bag of money into my coat, making me look like Santa Claus but that helped. As soon as the buzzer rang, everyone was reaching for their bags and I'd already planted my feet on the ladder. Mahira was the closest to the ladder and was also about to climb onto it.
"Sorry," I mumbled, shoving past her and climbing as fast as I can. The rules were that we couldn't keep both our feet on the same bar and we shouldn't stay on the ladder for more than a minute. So I fastened my pace, I used to be a sports captain after all. My generous weight had never been a barrier.
I heard Rashami and Vishal hooting behind me as I reached the highest point, streaks of sunlight caressing my skin as I reached for the bag in my coat. I noticed Devoleena and Shefali shoving each other and I emptied my bag in the place where my brother was standing with Himanshi.
The top of the surface bore a bucket of cold water that I could upturn to distract a rival connection.
I peered down and noticed the miniature versions of the connections, hoarding money into their arms as quickly as possible. Akash seemed to be skillfully stuffing his pocket with it which meant he would be having a shitload of money so I pulled the bucket on the lever towards me and upturned it right above him meaning to throw him off guard. Of course, he was a sweet banda and everything but right now he is playing as Mahira's brother.
He gasped as the water slashed over his head and leaving him astounded for a second and he glanced up at the source and I waved. He pushed his wet hair off his shoulder and shook his head, filling his pockets with notes again and the buzzer sounded which means everyone was to stop collecting and choose a locker to fill.
Mine or Sid's.
"Galat kiya aap ne," Akash said, shaking his head with a wry smile.
I laughed aware that everyone was watching from the box-shaped windows on the wall. "Apse koi shikhayat nahi mujhe.Bas game ke liye, sorry."
My distraction didn't work anyway.He had the most number of notes with him.
"Phir bhi galat kiya," he said, glancing up at me shyly and I suddenly felt as if I were Rapunzel on the tower and he was some kind of prince, the way he stalked towards the wall and glanced up at me. I giggled.
"Sach mey koi shikhayat nahi hai aapko ji?"
"Bilkul nahi," I said, reaching down to give an air high five because I was too far above him. I almost didn't notice the flicker of change in his expression and the sun was glaring directly at me.
"Mujhe bhi nahi," he said, picking up the dart and aiming it directly at my board.
"Woahhh!" I cheered clearly not expecting this and as he gave me a flying kiss. I heard Arti awwing behind me as I pretended to catch it and giggled.
He faced us: "Waise mujhe dono pasand hai lekin... Mujhe lagta hai ki Shehnaz dil ki bohot acchi hai, sab ke saath ghul milkaar rehti hai, entertain bhi karti hai saath saath mey game bhi apne hisab se khelti hai toh.... Haan, bas issiliye," he offered one last smile before he turned and emptied his pockets into the locker. Shehbaz immediately glued himself to the locker in the name of defence and Kunal joined him.
Only the next person with the most amount of money could fill the lockers which was the Great Kashmera Shah who made an obvious choice-Sid. I stepped down the ladder, still in disbelief of what Akash had done.
"Tu mere liye aayi hai ya uske liye, ha?" Mahira demanded, a playful smile on her lips.
"Kaptaan ko kitna pyaar mil raha hai connections se," Arti mused and I rolled my eyes.
Mahira and Arti were teasing a blushing Akash from the window and Sidharth was just leaning on the wall, watching their interaction silently.
You could practically see how displeased Sidharth looked from his expression. One out of three deposits and Akash had evened out the game, making my team a strong competition. Of course, he would be displeased. He hated losing.
But I couldn't help him win even if I wanted to. The game was not in any contestant's hands. Under Sidharth's attentive laser glare, I extended a hand to Akash through the window.
"Thank you so much..."
"Ji, koi baat nahi," he greeted meekly.
"Aap mere bhai jaise ban gaye ho ab se, sacchi..." I said, really meaning it. I was touched by this gesture.
"Bhai!" Mahira guffawed into a loud laugh and Akash almost dropped my hand from his grip.
"Kya hua?" I asked, not understanding as everyone began to chuckle.
I didn't get the joke, I was being truthful in my statement, I wasn't teasing him.
I glanced at Paras pointing at a slightly bemused Akash and laughing and my eyes eventually locked with Sid's behind him. He was still maintaining his stance except for the fact that his eyes no longer held the ice-cold hardness anymore.
I adjusted my jacket and turned away to speak to the others in my team Amidst the chatter, I almost forgot what I was going to say.
I informed Rashami to make at least two people stay on the lawn incase the buzzer went off again and they could get on the ladder first.
"Bedroom pe Mahira uski saare makeup wipes, wrappers sab waha aise hi pade hai, what kind of cleanliness do these people have?" Devo muttered shaking her head.
"Woh toh parsoun ka tha na. Bedroom saaf hona chaiye.Captain!"
I offered a glare at Asim, "Agar tujhe itna concern hai toh khud jaake Sidharth ko bol do saaf karne ke liye, Maine sab ke liye duties bhaati this aur aap sab sehmat the.Ab kaam nahi kar rahe ho to mey kya karu?"
Asim threw up his hands in the air, "Mey isme nahi pad raha hun.Mey kuchh bolonga toh sab ko lagega ki mey poke kar raha hu.Chod do mujhe bhai."
"Haa, tu hi captain hai na bol do usko," Devo said and Arti stifled a laugh behind her.
I sharpened my gaze at Arti. She probably thinks I'm a coward and I'm scared of Sidharth Shukla. I'm just trying my best to avoid interaction with him after things got a little ugly before. I didn't want us to cross that level ever. If Sidharth didn't want to work I can't force him but I can inform him as a Captain.
I found him at his usual spot, the green bed. I ignored the fact that his allies Mahira and Paras were with him.
Sidharth immediately quietened down when he noticed me and his eyes held so much intensity as if he were meaning to intimidate me.
I got down to business.
"Aapko bedroom saaf karna hai Sidharth, sab ko takleef ho rahe hai."
There. My job was done.
As I turned away his voice hit me, "Par aapne mere saamne duties discuss hi nahi kiya. Itna gheen agaya mere pe ki merese muh pe baat nahi karna hai?"
"Maine kab bola yeh? Jab duties bhant rahi this, sab the waha pe, aapki yeh dono dost bhi the, aapko waha kya arti utharkar mujhe bulana hai?"
Sidharth turned amused, " Shayad aap aise karte.Aap pyaar se bulaenge toh mey kyu nahi aata?"
I sighed, everything was a joke for him. Nothing was remotely funny to me now. I usually took his insults in good humour but just last week he had dropped comments about me coming to the house to find a boyfriend and that I wouldn't get one made me realise that what I felt meant nothing much to him than assuming that I was deliberately hunting down men to date.
I levelled my gaze flatly and spoke with no emotion.
"Maine aapko apka duty bata diya, phir aapki marzi .Aap kar rahe ho ke nahi," I said flatly.
"Nahi karunga toh dhand milega na?" he asked eagerly.
"Haa, Captain dhand denge, " Mahira confirmed.
"Toh mujhe dhand chaiye aapse, phir kaam karunga jo bole aap," Sidharth replied pleasantly as if he was ordering starters in a restaurant.
Kya pagal hai yeh?