MS was bugged. There were two people in the house who were injured and couldn't stay confined in the bed for two consecutive minutes. MS glared at his mother and his brother, who were sitting on the opposite sides of the table, smiling at each other, ignoring his glare.
"Maine bola tha na aap dono ko mai dinner aapke room mein leke aa jaunga, kyu aaye aap yahaan? " MS asked.
Virat was about to speak when Meera winked at him and stopped him, "Family saath baithkar dinner karti hai toh pyaar badhta hai Mahi"
"Agree mumma, dinner hamesha sabko sath mein hi karna chahiye" Virat said on cue. Mahi looked at their exchange, so the two were teaming up? Nice.
"I can see, kuchh logo mein bohot pyaar badh rha hai" Rishabh teased on purpose. Virat glared at him, but Rishabh had come far too long to get scared by his glares, not that he was ever scared of him. Rishabh just hi-fied with Sakshi, who shared the same thoughts as Rishabh.
Virat reached out to Rishabh to whack him but Rishabh just stood up and ran towards MS. Virat was left with no option but to sit back and glare. MS pulled Rishabh in front of him, "Din-ba-din shaitaan hota ja rha hai tu rishu"
" Hai na bhai? Isko lagao meri taraf se ek" Virat uttered.
"Bhaiya mujhe nahi baithna waha, marenge cheeku bhaiya " Rishabh muttered.
"Tu aa beta idhar, sara cheeku bhaiya nikalta hoon tera aaj" Virat said, getting up.
MS immediately put an arm around Rishabh, glaring at Virat. Virat immediately sat down. "Ja baith apni jagah, mai hu na yahi pe, nahi marega wo"
Rishabh went and sat down in his seat, giving sly smiles to Virat. Off-late he enjoyed teasing Virat quite too much, more now because MS had confiscated his phone and PlayStation and he had his exams coming up, he was looking to find entertainment through Virat. He would tease him endlessly, until Virat has enough of him and whacks him.
"Bhaiya yar playstation dedo na waapas. Virat bhai bhi free hain ab, bore ho gaye wo bhi, hai na bhaiyu?" Risabh whined after dinner.
MS raised his eyebrows, "exams mein kitna time bacha hai beta tere? "
"Ek din ke liye bas bhaiya, bhaiyu aap bolo na" Rishabh whined again, coaxing Virat to join him.
"Bhai ek din ke liye hi bol rha hai wo" Virat pleaded.
"Grounded ka matlab samajhte ho dono? " MS asked, his voice sharper now. Virat sat back, it was futile to talk to Mahi bhai and he knew that, he was just trying for the sake of Rishabh. Mahi bhai wouldn't back down from a punishment, not when there were exams coming up.
"Par bhaiyaaa I'm getting bored" Rishabh muttered.
"Syllabus ho gya tera? Your subjects are quite interesting bachcha, study them a little, you won't be bored anymore" MS countered.
Rishabh rolled his eyes, his subjects were nothing sort of interesting, economics and accounts were plain boring, while maths screwed the hell out of his brain.
"How are your studies going on Rishu? Everything is okay? Kahi koi problem hai? " MS asked.
Rishabh shook his head. There was no problem as such. It was just that he didn't like to study. He was not a bad student per se, but he wasn't a topper either. His mom always said that if he wanted to do well in studies, he could, but that just wasn't his interest. And now that he was actually devoted to his cricket training, studies were taking a backfoot.
"Kitna ho gya syllabus? "MS asked.
Rishabh shook his head, "these are just mid-term exams bhaiya" . Virat coughed as he heard this, why was this kid hell bent on getting into trouble?
"Just mid-term exams taaki tumhare finals mein bhi same haal na rahein" MS replied, "Syllabus kitna hua Rishabh? "
"Jyada nahi bacha hai bhaiya" Rishabh staggered, why was Mahi bhai asking about studies? He was hating this conversation. He looked at Virat for support who just shrugged, 'you have called upon the problem, jhel ab'
"Take your notes, notebook whatever there is and come to the study" MS said.
Rishabh gulped. Study? He despised that place. "Study mein kyu bhaiya? "
"Padhne ke liye bachcha" MS replied coolly.
"Par padhai room pe bhi ho sakti hai na, wahaan kyu? " Rishabh hated the idea. It was like he was being called for a punishment, punishment, that he would surely be getting when Mahi bhai comes to know about the state of his preparation.
"Beta wo padhai ke liye hi hai, jo tum log sochte ho us purpose ke liye wo room nahi banaya gaya tha" MS taunted, making both Rishabh and Virat roll their eyes.
"Rishu, meet me there in half-an-hour okay?" MS said getting up.
Rishabh just shook his head slightly. MS reached out to Virat, putting his hands on his shoulders and kissing the non-bandaged part of his temple, "Good night bachcha. Dawai yaad se le lena"
Virat started giggling as soon as MS left.
"Aapko kyu hasi aa rahi hai? " Rishabh scowled at Virat, who laughed more at Rishabh's screen.
"Kuchh nhi, tu padhai kar, mujhe ek movie dekhni hai aaj" Virat said getting up, stretching his legs a little.
Rishabh looked up offended, how dare he watch a movie when he was stuck with studies with Mahi bhai? "Aapko bhaiya ne rest karne ko bola na, so jao aap, warna bhaiya ko bata dunga"
Virat raised his eyebrows, the little devil was getting more and more notorious. "Aisa hota na, mera phone iPad sab confiscate kar lete wo teri tarah. But he didn't. What does that mean? I can watch movies or whatever I want. Ab ja achhe se padhai kar, bina baat dimag mat dauda" Virat said pinching Rishbah's cheek lightly.
Rishabh looked away, he felt like screaming, crying, throwing up. Why did he have to study and not enjoy like Virat?
Rishabh was hating every moment with MS in study. Even if he was not there for any reprimanding, it felt like one. All three months in school, they had not studied even a bit and that was coming to haunt him now. MS had asked him to complete a chapter today and then solve the questions. He completed the chapter somehow, but the questions were just giving him headache.
"Bhaiya neend aa rahi hai. Kal nahi ho sakta kya ye? " Rishabh asked in a sleepy voice.
"Abhi solve nahi karega toh bhul jayega kal tak kya padha tha" MS spoke.
Rishabh looked away, scowling. Tomorrow was a distant dream, he didn't remember what he studied just now.
"Okay, saare mat kar. But atleast try some. You'll just get an idea on how things work" MS suggested, while himself working on his laptop.
Rishabh again made a face. MS noticed that. "Rishu? Problem hai kuchh? " MS asked to which Rishabh shook his head in no.
"Thik hai, try kar. Nahi hota hai toh mai hoon na, saath mein karenge" MS coaxed again.
Rishabh put his face back in the book when he saw MS was not relenting, he just had to bear it. When MS saw Rishabh was doing nothing but making stupid random drawings, MS got up and sat besides him.
"Tune bataya nahi tujhe painting mein bhi interest hai? " MS spoke startling Rishabh at once. Rishabh just looked at MS with a poker face.
"Read the question aloud" MS said and Rishabh did that with a poker face, "What are the some reasons that CPI might not capture the true rate of inflation? "
"Okay. First, you need to know what is CPI. What is CPI rishu? " MS asked gently.
"Consumer price index" Rishabh told. "Yes, good. What is that? "
"Price of things calculated taking in point of view of consumers" Rishabh told.
"Not exactly, but yes, you are close" MS said. "Let's say you spend 5000 rupees this month on whatever things you buy, next month, the prices increase and you have to spend 6000 rupees on the same things. And next month, let's say you spend 7000,on the same things. Now compare the prices, how will you calculate CPI? "
"I don't know" Rishabh told blankly. He hated how maths always came in between economics, why can't things simply go without formulae and all?
"I don't remember the formula" Rishabh told. Thumping his face on the table.
"You don't need to remember the formula beta" MS told, holding Rishabh's head and making him sit straight. "Let's try it getting simpler" MS coaxed him again. Rishabh groaned, why couldn't he just go and sleep?
"Bhaiya please na kal karte hain na, mujhe sona hai, aur mai kuchh nahi bhulunga kal tak, I promise" Rishabh pleaded.
MS ruffled his hair, it was better to let him go and sleep, atleast for now. The boy was in no mood to listen, he had to wait!
The next evening, Rishabh looked dumbfounded as a beautiful woman entered the Deshmukh mansion. He was the only one sitting in the hall, Rishabh greeted her with a smile as she approached closer, "Hello princess charming! " , Rishabh waved at her.
Anushka laughed as she came closer, was the boy flirting?
"Hello Rishu! " Anushka greeted back, taking him in a side-hug.
"How do you know me? " Rishabh asked. He was sure he had not seen the girl before.
"I am your idiot brother's friend? Anushka. Anushka Sharma. Kahaan hai wo?" Anushka asked.
"Not girlfriend? " Rishabh asked playfully.
"I'm a girl, friend not a, girlfriend" Anushka replied.
"So I can flirt with you, no harm right" Rishabh said, with a fake huff.
"What are you? 15 ? " Anushka asked laughing.
"Nooo. I just turned 16 some days back. Aapko party mein nahi bulaya cheeku bhaiya ne? " Rishabh asked innocently.
"Nahi" Anushka said, faking sadness in her voice, "Your brother is an idiot, a moron I tell you"
"He is not a moron" Rishabh retorted back this time. "So he is an IDIOT? " Anushka asked.
"No, not that either. He must have his reasons" Rishabh replied.
"Tumhe pata hai bade cute ho tum" Anushka said as she pulled his cheeks.
"Aa- leave, I'm not CUTE" Rishabh groaned. He did not like being called cute, not by a beauty at least.
"Anyways agar aap logo ko date pe jaana ho toh mai bata du Cheeku bhaiya is grounded" Rishabh told Anushka. And anushka just burst out laughing, date?
"Hum koi date vate pe nahi ja rahe Rishu, give that a break please. Mujhe bas milna hai usse, ghar ke baaki log kahan hain? " Anushka asked.
"Bhaiya sidhe academy pahunchenge office se, mujhe bhi nikalna hai abhi. Bhabhi office mein hain, mumma apne room pe hain aur aapke dost cheeku bhaiya apne room pe" Rishabh told, "achha mai chalta hoon, aap miliye unse"
Virat jumped from his bed when he heard a screaching loud female voice interruptimg the cold silence in the horror movie he was watching.
Anushka screamed louder when she saw the bandage on his head, why was the idiot jumping when he had an injury?
"Why are you jumping Virat? Are you mad? " Anushka shouted.
"Calm down mad woman. Who screams like that? " Virat countered.
"I returned back after months Virat. I was excited, that's why I screamed, but why the hell would YOU jump like that when you are injured? "
"You scream like a ghost Anushka do you know? Banda uchhlega nahi toh kya karega? "
"You are impossible Virat, give me a hug first" Anushka said as she came closer.
Virat too walked a few steps as he stretched his arms around Anushka, hugging her.
"Kaisa gya photoshoot? " Virat asked. Anushka was in New York for a photoshoot for a famous magazine.
"Amazing" Anushka said, "Tu bata, suna hai fir se Mahi bhai ne ground kar diya. Ab kya kiya? "
"Kuchh nahi yar. Unko mujhe ground karne ke bahane chahiye bas" Virat said. Anushka punched him on his arm. "Tune hi kuchh kiya hoga. Bata kya kiya iss baar"
Virat looked away, if Mahi bhai grounded him, the lady would just hammer him and then crush him. He was better off not telling her anything.
"Chot kaise lagi Virat? " Anushka asked, her voice was taking an edge.
"Kaise lagi ka kya matlab hai? Cricketer hu, lagti rehti hai chot. Bouncer lagi sar pe aur kya? " Virat said, making it sound as casual as possible.
"Does it have something to do with the grounding? " Anushka asked narrowing her eyes.
Virat gulped. She was so close to the truth. "Nushkie yaar abhi aai ho, aate hi mera viva lena hai tumhe? Chai paani lo yar, coffee lo, banau coffee? " Virat said changing the topic.
"I will make the coffee myself. Pahle jo puchha hai wo bata. Ground kyun kiya bhai ne? " Anushka asked.
"Bhai ki galti wo, unhone ground kiya unse puchho" Virat said, almost in a whine.
"Unse hi puchhungi, let me meet him. Tu toh batayega nahi sahi se" Anushka said and Virat sighed in relief. But then he thought better and told himself, "Yar nushkie wo helmet ka strap loose reh gya tha bas. Aur bowl ki speed thodi jyada thi"
Anushka picked up a pillow and hit him with it again and again, "ullu ka pattha"
Virat snatched the pillow from her hold, "waise tujhe kisne bataya is baare mein? "
"Rishu ne" Anushka told, "abhi neeche mila tha, he is cuter than what you told"
"Wo shaitaan bhi boht bada wala hai" Virat added, "hmm, bol rha tha ki aap dono date pe jane wale ho toh batadu cheeku bhaiya grounded hain"
Virat shook his head slowly. "He will have it from me, boht bolne laga hai wo"
"Kuchh nahi kahoge tum use. Kitna toh pyara bachcha hai. Didn't even let me call you an idiot" . Virat smiled, that's my boy. The boy was a brat, an adorable brat.
"Oye aunty se milayega mujhe? " Anushka nudged Virat.
"Chal milwata hu unse. She is just like Rishu, cute and adorable" Virat said. Anushka smiled, Virat had been apprehensive about his relationship with his mother. It was good that slowly taking steps to bond with her.
Meera was on cloud nine when she met Anushka, she already liked the girl. She was keeping her hopes too high but from what she could see, they shared a very good camaraderie, she hoped they fall in love, if they hadn't already.
Hi guys, here is the update finally. My classes schedule came and I just couldn't get my brain on writing! I hate going back to hostel after staying home all these days :(
Updates will be less frequent, sorry guys, busy days ahead :/
Anyways, thanks for reading!