"Akka function shuru hone me abhi time hai na. Chalo tab tak ek ek coffe ho jaye?" Mihika suggested.
"Good idea Miku. Mai bhi wait karte karte thak gayi. Upar se ye attire. Coffee peeke I will be fresh" Ishita agreed.
"Chalo phir" said Mihika while dragging Ishita to her scooty and then zoomed off in full speed.
"Miku tu ye kahan le ayi?" Ishita screamed staring at the Starbucks logo.
"Starbucks Akka" Mihika replied carelessly.
"I know that. Mujhe padna ata hai. But yahan kyun?"
"Kyunki mera dil kar raha hai Iced Caffe Latte peene ka" Mihika stated.
"I understand. But mai in kapdon me yahan?" Ishita voiced out her doubt.
"In kapdon me kya burayi hai Akka. Achhi to lag rahi ho aap" Mihika replied.
"Koi burayi nahi hai in kapdon me par is jagah keliye ye kapde suitable nahi hai. This dress is not meant for Latte or Cappuccino. Filter coffee keliye fit hai" Ishita grunted.
"Kya Akka aap bhi na. Kuch bhi bolti ho. Yahan ane keliye uniform thodi na lagta hai. Yahan ane keliye sirf paise lagte hain. Big money. Jo filhaal mere wallet me kafi sare pade hain. So stop thinking and just get in"Mihika rubbished her doubts.
"No Miku. I am still not comfortable" Ishita voiced her apprehension but Mihika would not listen.
She just steered Ishita into the cafe and grabbed the first table in sight asking Ishita to sit down while she proceeded to place an order.
Ishita self-consciously checked around every now and then to see if anybody was staring at her.
Normally Ishita was a very confident girl.
But the dress she was wearing and the style she had adorned was making her conscious.
She was dressed almost like a South Indian bride in traditional Silk Saree with flowers and heavy jewellery.
She was dressed like this for a purpose and the purpose was the function they were attending.
It was a Tamil association function where there was going to be a play in which she was playing the role of a to-be bride.
Mihika was there to support her backstage.
As usual she was there way before the schedule and hence she had to wait for long.
They had still more than an hour to go. Hence she agreed for Mihika's offer of a coffee.
But now she regretted for doing that.
Mihika is always unpredictable but this naive sister of hers ignored the warning signals her mind was giving when she was accepting the offer.
While she was cursing herself for listening to Mihika, Mihika came back to the table after placing the order.
"Kya soch rahi thi Akka?" Mihika asked casually.
"Tujhe man hi man daant rahi thi" Ishita replied with gritted teeth.
"Kyun? Maine kya kiya?" mihika was taken aback.
"Tune kya kiya? Yahan kyun layi mujhe? Do you even realise how embarassing it is for me?" Ishita blamed.
"Oh come on Akka. Aap abhi tak wahin atke hue ho? Why is it embarassing? It's not like you have done some great blunder" Mihika argued.
"IDK. Mujhe ajeeb sa lag raha hai. Sab kya soch rahe honge mujhe aise dekh ke"
"Why do you care Akka? Sochne do jo sochna hai. Waise bhi aaj ki duniya me kise padi hai doosron ki? Sab apni duniya me mast hote hain. Khud hi dekh lo aas paas. Friends to gossips me busy hain, couples PDA me aur jo akele aye hain wo apne apne phones me busy hain. So you don't have to worry" Mihika comforted her.
"I know. Phir bhi mujhe kuch ajeeb sa lag raha hai"
"Seriously Akka! Aap to aise behave kar rahi ho jaise ki koi apki video banake youtube pe upload kar dega with the caption ALIEN IN STARBUCKS" Mihika laughed at her own joke.
"Badmash" Ishita cursed while slapping Mihika's upper arm "Tu mujhe samjha rahi hai ya dara rahi hai?"
"Samjha ke dekh liya. Uska kuch asar nahi hua. Isliye darane ka trick istemal kiya" she shrugged proudly and continued laughing.
"Mihikaaa" Ishita glared at her. "Pehle hi mera namoona lagna kam hai jo tu ab has haske sabki attention grab kar rahi hai? Stop it please" she warned.
"Sorry Akka" Mihika apologised pausing her laughter.
"It's alright" Ishita said and diverted her attention to her phone to get rid off the embarrassing feel.
"Oh no" Mihika said staring behind Ishita's back with a shocked face.
"Kya hua?" Ishita asked immediately looking at Mihika.
"Akka...Aap ka dar sahi nikla" she said blankly
"What are you speaking Miku?" Ishita asked nervously.
"Wo apka video le raha hai" Mihika exclaimed.
Ishita's breath hitched and she turned to the direction Mihika was pointing out of fear, to find no one there.Mihika began to laugh out loudly and Ishita it was a prank.
"OMG Akka. Aapke expressions dekhne layak the. I wish I could have captured them" She stated in between her laugh.
"Mikuuu. Tu to mujhe aaj marwake rahegi" Ishita said as she saw others turning their heads towards them.
Ishita tried to hide herself behind her hand and looked here and there to avoid the strange glances people around were throwing at her.
Just then her eyes caught someone who was holding his phone out horizontally and staring at the screen and smiling.
She glanced back at the same spot again to ensure that the camera lens of the person's phone was in her direction.
Within seconds she reached that person and thud she slapped him across his cheek.
"What the hell?" The guy screamed raising from his seat in a reflex and his hand going to his cheek in shock.
The noise of the slap and the man's voice echoed in the cafe and all heads turned towards them.
It happened so quick that Mihika was left wondering what happened as she strode towards her Akka.
"Sharam aani chahye apko aisi harkat karte hue. Pata nahi aise cheap logon ko aisi jagahon par allow kyun karte hain" Ishita yelled.
"Excuse me. Think before you speak. Do you even know who I am?" The man replied.
"Aap jo koi bhi ho Mister I don't care. Aur aap chahe is desh ke president ho ya sabse richest admi ke ek laute heir, aapko koi haq nahi hai ke aap aisi harkat karein" Ishita spat.
"Maine kiya kya hai jo aap mujhe itna sab kuch suna rahi hain?" he asked
"Oh. To ab apko pata bhi nahi ke aap ne kiya kya hai? Great" Ishita threw her hands in air and continued
"Apko sharam nahi athi kisi ladki ki tasveer kheenchte hue?"
"Hold on lady. Maine aisa kab kiya?"
"Ab maine chori pakad li to anjaan maar rahe ho. Koi baat nahi. Abhi doodh ka doodh paani ka paani ho jayega" Ishita exclaimed as she reached for his phone.
"Excuse me that's my phone" The man tried to stop but Ishita glared at him while signalling from her hand to stop.
Everyone around was gossipping and trying to guess what had happened while Ishita scrolled through the man's phone into the picture gallery.
"Kahan gaya?" she mumbled as she could not find any picture of hers.
"Excuse me Ma'am. May I help you? Kya mai jaan sakta hoon ke aap kya dhoond rahi hain?" The man offered sarcastically.
"Wo...pic...jo...abhi...thodi...der...pehle...aap...click...kar...rahe...the"She stuttered nervosuly.
"Oh that? I will help you find it. Please. May I?" he said extending his hand to get his phone.
Ishita stared blankly as he scrolled through his phone and brought the screen in front of her face.
"This!" he said pointing to the picture displayed on the screen "This is what I clicked a while ago"
"Par ye to..." she left it incomplete as she gulped in fear and embarrassment.
"Haan...ye...Selfie janti ho? This is called a selfie. And I was clicking a selfie" he mocked.
"Ayyo" she said clamping the mouth for the blunder she had created.
A roar of laughter could be heard in the background.
"And for your kind information Miss Jhansi Ki Rani, Raman Kumar Bhalla aisi cheap harkatein nahi karta. And yeah agar karna bhi hotha to definitely tumhari pic click nahi karta. Wo kya hai na mujhe antique cheezein kuch khaas pasand nahi hain" he mocked.
"How dare you call me antique?" she scoffed.
"Aur nahi to kya Miss Universe 2015 bulaoon? Shakal dekhi hai apni?" he asked.
In fury Ishita had forgotten what she was wearing and she yelled back"Meri shakal me kya burayi hai?"
"Awww...poor girl...Tumhe pata bhi nahi ke tumhari shakal me kya burayi hai. Chalo koi baat nahi mai help kar deta hoon. Phone to hoga na tumhare paas? To camera on karke selfie mode me jao aur apni shakal dekh lo. Khud hi samajh jaogi" he taunted.
He grabbed his coffee and keys from the table beginning to leave as Ishita stood dumbstruck trying to grasp what he just said.
He paused after two steps came back to where she was standing and added"By the way tumhare phone me selfie mode hai na? Ya phir wo bhi tumhari tarah 1947 ki model hai?" he smirked and went away before she could react.
"Ravan Kumar" she screamed at his back.
"Have a good day Jhansi Ki Rani" he winked turning back and left the cafe.
"Akka chalo" Mihika whispered pulling her away from the crowd that had gathered.
"I will kill him Miku" Ishita exclaimed in rage.
"Kisi aur din kar lena. Ab chalo humein function keliye der ho rahi hai"
Outside the cafe, Raman got into his car and had a self-talk "Kuch zyada nahi bol diya tune? Maana ke usne galat kiya par shakal ke bare me kuch nahi kehna chahye thi. Thi to bahut hi khoobsurat. Kash uski picture click kar leta" he said dreamily and then quickly retorted "Bawla ho gaya hai kya? Picture nahi click ki phir bhi thappad padi. Agar karta to bhagwan jaane kya hotha" he laughed.
"Jhansi Ki Rani" he said and smiled.
-------To be continued---------