A/N
Thank you so much for your response on last chap. I was not supposed to write this by Saturday but your response really motivated me. So this chapter is more like a gift for you all. You would have not gotten this build-up for trouble at all if it wasn't for the motivation I got for last chapter.
So yeah! Enjoy this. The next chapter will be updated by Saturday or Sunday.
DISCLAIMER: Your author does not support or encourage any of the practices mentioned in the chapter. Rather, I am very much against it. Feel free to skip the underlined part if any form of unfairness triggers you.
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"Meher!" Rudra shouted startling Meher.
"Kya hua?" Meher asked tensed.
"Hii!" he said and laughed at her expressions.
She threw him a dirty look and marched away trying to escape his irritating company but no such luck.
Rudra"Aree ruk ja! Sun toh yaar."
Meher irritated-"What?"
Rudra- "Dekh Aaj chemistry test hai."
Meher- "Thanks for the reminder."
Rudra- "Mannu Aaj nahi aayega."
Meher already knew that. He has not been coming since past few days. His sugar levels had spiked up abnormally and he was on complete bedrest for two weeks.
Meher gave him a tired look. "Kya chahiye tujhe?"
Rudra- "Please meri help kar dena test me."
Meher- "In your dreams, buddy!"
Mannu often helped Rudy cheat in Science while Rudy helped him in maths.It might be a common thing for the boys but it was a big no no for her.
In her previous schools, she had never once been involved in such activities. The sole reason being that everytime she did something wrong, the teachers and other students looked down at her as if blaming her for being an orphan on the face of her mistakes.
Rudy- "Think Meher Think! I'll owe you for an entire lifetime. I won't trouble you ever again. Plus I can help you in Social Science tests as well!"
Meher incredulously- "Help as in helping me cheat?"
Rudy sighed. Perhaps he'll just have to stand outside his Bhaiya's study after the test results.
"Not a bad option." Meher said and smirked.
Rudy's eyes glinted. "Really? Wicked!"
Meher completed her paper and looked at it. She was confident about getting a perfect score. She looked at the clock. Half an hour was still left. She glanced towards her left only to find Rudy giving her a 'Are you done' look?
She looked at the teacher who was busy looking into the attendance register and gave him a slight nod. She was damn nervous about all this. Her palms were already sweating and she was feeling quite uneasy.
She looked at his finger moments just as he taught her and started giving him the answer of the first ten MCQs. Then came the True/False type questions. She scratched her forehead for true and rubbed her eyes for false.
And then came the most difficult part. She took a deep breath and kept her eyes on the teacher. She slightly tilted her answersheet giving Rudy a good view of it.
Shanaya who was sitting beside her shook her head in disapproval.
"Meher." she whispered. "Kya kar Rahi hai? This is wrong!" she scolded her.
"Shh. I know what I am doing."
Shanaya rolled her eyes. Her gut feeling told her that this would not end well. Meher just ignored her warning. She was finally getting comfortable. Cheating was easy!
"What's going on here?" the teacher said in a sharp voice startling both Rudy and Meher. Both of them flinched and then their eyes widened.
They found themselves accompanying the teacher to the principal's office. While Rudy knew what was bound to happen next, Meher was clueless. She was sure that she was in for a long scolding session but that wasn't something she wasn't accustomed to. What feared her more was the teacher's threat about failing both of them in the test. She can't afford to lie about another test, can she?
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Arjun drove in the campus with a scowl on his face. That was definitely some phenomenal way to spend his day off!
"Ah! Sweet nostalgia Arjun. Kitne saalo baad aaj ek saath complain sunane aa rahe hai yaar!" Mahir said as he they walked towards the office.
Arjun- "Sweet? Like really Mahi?"
Mahir shook his head. In all honesty, if had become a routine for him to come to Rudy's school atleast twice a month. The only difference being that he always had Abhi's company instead of Arjun's.
Mr. Awasthi looked up from her desk to find Arjun and Mahir standing there. She was so done with the brat but she definitely had better expectations from the new girl. She looked decent. However, today she had gotten a first hand experience of how looks could be deceiving. She just hoped that this was not another Rishi in making.
Mrs. Awasthi- "Take a seat Mr. Raichand and Mr. Malhotra. We are due for a long discussion."
Arjun- "What's wrong, Mrs. Awasthi?"
Mrs. Awasthi- "Well I must say you have quite some variety at your place, Mr. Raichand. Not one of your siblings compels you to visit the school for a repeated offence."
Arjun- "I really value my time, Mrs. Awasthi. So if you could please elaborate without these suggestive pauses, it would be really appreciated."
Meher looked at Arjun wide-eyed. She had never seen this cold and professional side of Arjun before. He was sarcastic at times but never for once acted cold.
Mrs. Awasthi sighed- "Young Mr. Malhotra and Ms. Raichand were caught cheating in their Chemistry tests."
Arjun/Mahir at once- "That's impossible."
Mrs. Awasthi rolled her eyes and gestured with her hands to ask the duo about the matter.
Both Arjun and Mahir directed ferocious glares at their young ones. They both looked down guiltily giving them all the assurance that they were at fault.
Arjun looked at Mrs. Awasthi at once. "We apologise on their behalf, Mrs. Awasthi. Rest assured, this mistake won't be repeated. I'll personally make sure of that."
The underlying threat sent chills down Meher's spine. But what affected her more was Arjun's apology. She felt ashamed about the fact that Arjun had to apologise on her behalf. She felt miserable for disappointing him to such an extent that he wasn't even sparing a glance at her.
Mahir in a monotonous voice- "They would accept any punishment that the school see fits." Rudra had crossed all the lines this time. Cheating was something that he despised with a passion. He would make sure that his little brother too despises the idea of cheating from that day on.
Mrs. Awasthi- "As per the school rules, they would be getting a failing grade in this test and they are suspended for the rest of the day. Mind you, they are being let off the hook this easily because this was the first time. There better not be a next time or else they will be rusticated."
Arjun and Mahir nodded. Arjun looked at the duo and said sternly,
"Would you both like to say something to Mrs. Awasthi?"
Rudra/Meher- "We are sorry, Ma'am."
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In the car
Meher was sitting with her head bowed. She was sure that she would receive the verbal lashing anytime now.
Arjun- "Who signed your history answersheet, Meher?"
Meher looked up startled. That was not a question she expected. There was no way that her Bhaiya got to know about the test paper. So, she came to the conclusion that this was a trick question.
Meher softly- "Kaun si answersheet bhaiya?I told you na ki tea-"
Arjun harshly- "Enough Meher! Cheating Kam thi Jo ab tu jhoot bhi bol rahi hai. Who.signed.your.answersheet!?"
Arjun had had enough at that moment. The audacity of the girl to lie on his face really pressed his buttons. The girl was lucky that he was driving or else she would have seen the actual side of Arjun that so kept his brothers in line.
"Do not test my patience, Meher Raichand. I want an answer NOW!" he snapped making Meher flinch. She has had her fair share of scoldings by now but her bhaiya never yelled at her. That was something she thought was only reserved for her brothers. And even then, he just had to raise his voice to make them obey. He never shouted like that.
"I- I did it." she said with her voice cracking.
Arjun glared ferociously at her and then concentrated back on the road.
Arjun calmly- "What do you know about method of elimination, Meher?"
Meher looked at him shocked. How could he manage to sound fiery stern one moment and sea calm in another? "Huh?"
Arjun- "Jab kisi MCQ ka answer nahi aata toh karti hogi na koi ek guess? Let me give you an example." He smiled at her making Meher gulp. She was getting a first hand experience of why her dadu called Arjun unpredictable.
"Let's take your case. Teri history answersheet Ghar ke hi kisi ne sign ki hogi. Or in other words meri sign 'forge' ki hogi. The obvious 4 options are you, Sakshi, Rishi or Vansh." he said staying a bit longer on Vansh.
Meher immediately looked down giving him all the confirmation he needed. Over the years, he had learnt to read a criminal's body language. Though he was not proud of using this knowledge on his own siblings, yet he relied on it greatly.
Arjun-"I'll eliminate you because of that bird's leg of your handwriting. Sakshi could have herself signed the paper and I know for a fact that Rishi won't ever dream of forging my signature. So my educated guess is Vansh. Am I right or am I right, Meher?"
By the end of it Meher had tears in her eyes. Her plan had come crashing down. She was in double trouble now but what made her more guilty was the fact that she dragged Vansh in trouble with her. He never wanted to be a part of all this but she had literally forced him to do so.
Meher sat on the couch, biting her nails and continuously glancing at the clock. It was 3. Her Bhaiya was supposed to be back in another couple of hours and she was dreading it. Last time, she scored 19/30 in History and Arjun had warned her about performing better but this time she had literally degraded herself by 2 marks. She was sure that he would be mad. Not because she scored low but because when Arjun asked her if she needed help in the subject, she had hastily refused. Not just to him, but also to Rishi. Both her brothers had given her a last chance.
And now she had lost it. More than the punishment whatever it may be, she was dreading history lessons from either of her brothers. The dose of historical torture she got in school was more than enough!
"Yaha kyun baithi hai, billi?" Vansh asked sitting next to her. Meher just ignored him, surprising Vansh who was never pardoned for using that particular nickname.
Vansh- "Kya hua Mehu? Why do you look like the world is going to collapse in a few hours?"
Meher- "Bhaiya is gonna be back in a few hours..."
Vansh confused- "Koi kaand Kiya kya tune? Kuch tod Diya ya phir--"
Meher- "Nooo. Aaj na... history answersheet mili gayi..."
Vansh rolled his eyes and relaxed. For a moment, he thought she was in some real trouble. "Tune phir se top kar liya na history me?" he asked, teasing her.
Meher pouted. "Aap mazak bana rahe ho mera!" she puffed her cheeks.
Vansh couldn't help but pull her cheeks. She looked so adorable when she pouted.
Vansh- "Tune kabhi situps kiye hai?"
Meher looked at him and frowned. She shook her head. In the worst cases, she had only been sent to the corner or made to write lines, the exception being the one time that her Bhaiyu made her kneel down while teaching her. But that was just 5 minutes.
Vansh laughed at that. "Toh beta Aaj Tera first time experience ho jaayega. It is a rule ki agar weekly test me 20 se Kam marks aate hai toh Bhaiya makes you do 10 situps for every mark you lose. So... according to my ever accurate calculations, you gotta do 30 situps. All the Best, billi!"
Meher eyes widened. That would be so embarrassing! Vansh but his lips at her expressions and teased-
"I say ki tu abhi practice kar le, it would be easier. See that corner is free. Go ahead"
Meher made a crying face at that. "Nahi karna mujhe!" she whined. "Kuch Karo na!"
Vansh- "Mai kya Karu karna toh tujhe tha. Padhna tha! Abhi nahi ki padhai toh punishment toh milegi na. Plus it's not that bad."
Meher pleadingly- "Aap mere acche dadu ho na? Please bacha lo na mujhe. Or else phir Bhaiya Bhaiyu se bolenge ki mujhe history me bhi help kare. Mereko nahi chahiye ye. Please please help Karo na."
Vansh- "What can I do yaar, Meher. It's your call. Do whatever you wanna do."
Meher after a while- "Alright then! Aap Bhaiya ki sign kar do meri answersheet pe!"
Vansh looked at her as if she had lost her mind. "Dimaag thikane pe hai tera? Khud to pitegi aur mujhe bhi pitwayegi? Bhaag yaha se! Mai nahi kar raha ye sab."
Meher pleaded through her eyes. When she saw that it was having no impact, she went down her knees and dramatically joined her hands.
"Oh dadu! Apni iss abhagi behen ki madad kar do. Bohot punya milenge aapko. Dusre ka bhala karne Wale ka bhagwan bhala karta hai, dadu."
Vansh with a duh look on his face- "Get up Meher. I am not falling for this."
Meher sat back on the couch, keeping her leg up and burrying her head in it. She sniffed.
Vansh frowned. He really wanted to help her but didn't want to face his Bhaiya's wrath. He looked at her. Her shoulders were shaking. Against his better judgement, he agreed.
Meher jumped in excitement and gave him a tight hug. "You are the best dadu!"
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Okaayy! That was the chapter. The much needed build up. I am wheezing for the next chap.
How was the chapter?
Rudy-Meher? Do you think they deserve to be in trouble?
And what about our innocent Vanu?
How was Vanu-Meher?
Some ideas on how must Arjun punish Meher and Vanu?
Let me know!
Regards.
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