It was a particularly pleasant morning, and the students of VJN University were quiet cheerful, thanks to a joyful few days that marked the end of the chaotic elections.
Most of the students were hogging the college grounds, while the studious ones were absolutely thrilled to get quieter classrooms. However, the "social" and the "gossiper" section of the college was busy circling around the newest college president.
If Sameer had regretted taking part in the election, or he had regretted his playboy past, it was nothing compared to the regret he was feeling now. The college population had somehow decided that he was their "savior", the one who is destined to free them of the evils of the college, or that's what Sameer thought, because the people literally got their minute and ant-like problems to him. But no, they weren't minute at all, but unchangeable? Yes definitely. No matter how much he thought about it, he had no clue as to how he could reduce the traffic in Ahemdabad or alter the unfairly high bus fare. The memory of having to explain that he couldn't change the principal of the college to a fellow classmate, could literally bring tears in someone's eyes. And yeah, no way he can leak the upcoming exam papers. Those students were sent back with a "Are yaar mil jaaye toh mujhe bhi de dena"
But in a terrible and pathetic situation like this, one might expect his friends to act like a active support system, it was the basic protocol of friendship after all. Any good friend will be more than willing to act as "savior" for the college population's "savior". However, his friends were busy in their own "life threatening" problems. Munna had already handed him a long list of chapters that he had to delete from the curriculum, while Pandit had started giving him emotional blackmail calls to make him his deputy (turns out his brand new crush has a thing for college presidents). But the list never ends. Preeti was hammering him to make a beauty parlour in college, Swati was asking him for a tiny free period, which by the way should be at least 2 hour long.
Sunaina had developed this uncontrollable habit of batting her eyelashes at him, while Mitali was over-interested in Rohan's history these days. Maybe he should arrange a psychologist for them first. But they weren't the only ones who needed a good psychological therapy. Arjun acted too distant and uninterested-in-cricket these days, which made Sameer even more worried for his mental health. Rohan was developing a habit to stare into the open spaces and listen to romantic songs, which was extremely unlike his usual time-table-mahoday-self. On the other hand, Naina had somehow contracted a weird speech impairment where she looks like she want to speak something, but stops when she looks into his eyes. As if his eyes were red traffic lights. So Sameer had no option but to prepare a long to-do list.
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Extremely Urgent Matters
1. Fix Munna's meeting with the principal
2. Get rid of all the phones in his house as soon as possible.
3. Ship off Swati and Preeti to a distant island which has beauty parlours and infinite free periods.
4. Murder Sunaina
5. Hand over Rohan's portfolio and his wig clad dadi's number to Mitali
6. Fix Arjun's meeting with a good psychologist or get him admitted in a mental hospital
7. Ask Rohan if any weird and unique Ahemdabadi insect had bitten him.
8. Stop staring at Naina's lips when she wishes to convey something important.
9. Ignore the entire college population in general
Immediate action- Leave this college. No. leave Ahemdabad.
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After successfully shortlisting the "Immediate action" in his mind, Sameer's life had become somewhat easier, or that's what he wanted to think. But leaving the city he lived in, definitely wasn't an easy task whatsoever.
However, fighting the elections and putting up with the non-sensical demands of the students wasn't that wasteful, because it truly made his Nanu very happy. It wasn't that his Nanu had immediately given away all his wealth to him, or he had written the Maheshwari Sadan in his name, or somehow he had decided to organise a feast for the poor.
The moment he had conveyed the news to him, the old man had beamed at him proudly, patted his shoulders affectionately and had handed him over a sum of eleven rupees. Though these actions meant nothing to this world, Sameer had been waiting for this very moment his entire life. The tiny pat on his shoulder might be a small gesture for everyone, but it was a signal for Sameer that he had indeed grown up, because his Nanu no longer saw him as a child who needed to be patted on the head, but a man who was ready to take the responsibility he was about to be entrusted with. The money he had been given as reward was nothing compared to his monthly pocket money, but it was the shagun of growing up and making his Nanu Nani proud.
On their V-day, Nanu had asked him to invite the entire gang for dinner. But obviously, Sameer had refused, citing that all of them were pretty tired because of how hard they worked and cheered for him, if one considers Munna and Pandit's case. Nanu had agreed grudgingly, but had asked him to invite them this week positively. The "positively" seemed pretty dangerous though.
So on a particularly pleasant evening and four days after the elections, Sameer and Rohan found themselves preparing the house for the feast and he ought to admit, the meal looked exceptionally good, especially because Ramdhari wasn't asked to prepare it. But he got the surprise of his life when Mr. Parekh and Sunaina entered through the front door, and she was properly covered in a blue salwar kameez . He was hell annoyed because he had made sure not to invite Sunaina and Mitali, but somehow they always found a way to barge in his precious moments.
Nanu then came from inside and hugged Mr. Parekh warmly, while Sunaina folded her hands and muttered what she considered as a "sweet" Namaste. Sameer rolled his eyes at her fake antics, but remembering his social etiquettes, he came forward and touched Mr. Parekh's feet. The man smiled and surveyed him closely, giving a secret look to his daughter at last, which made her blush. None of this was noticed by the other occupants of the room.
While Rohan conversed with the new guests and Ramdhari bought some snacks from the kitchen, Sameer casted a questioning glance at his Nanaji who shifted a bit closer to him and muttered, "Are beta humara bahut dinon se plan tha ki Parekh ghar ayega apni beti ke saath. Kal woh do hafto ke liye tour par jaa raha hai, toh maine socha ki aaj hi bula leta hoon. Waise bhi uski beti tumhare college mein hi padhti hai, toh usse pata hoga elections ke baare mein. Aur dekh... " Nanu smiled at Sunaina, "... kitni pyaari bacchi hai" Sameer looked mockingly at Nanu and muttered under his breath, "ha pata hai kitni pyaari hai."
"Uncle thank you so much humein invite karne ke liye. Aapka ghar bahut sundar hai. Waise toh main aur Sameer college mein milte rehte hai, lekin aaj baahar bhi mil liye. Kyu Sameer" Sunaina finished and looked Sameer. The latter was quiet nervous due to the four pairs of eyes that suddenly went to him, so he lowered his gaze and muttered a small, "Ha bilkul." Mr. Parekh and his Nanu smiled good naturedly while Sunaina sent a flirtatious smile in his direction.
"Accha hua ki tum donon aa gaye. Main toh kabse ise keh raha tha ki kabhi ghar aaye aur mujhe apni beti se milvaye, lekin maanta hi nahi hai yeh. Aaj mauka mil hi gaya." Nana ji spoke and smiled warmly at Sunaina. The latter glanced at Sameer and replied with "Are uncle aap bhi na. Ab toh aana jaana laga hi rahega." Nanaji coughed at her words, her father joined the conversation with "Aur nahi toh kya" while Sameer and Rohan exchanged some confused glances.
Ten minutes later, the three third years were positively bored since Mr. Parekh and Nanaji had already started conversing about the sales of their respective products and their demand in the international market. Sunaina even found herself dozing off a bit, when Munna and Pandit came crashing from the front door. Sameer's face immediately brightened and he went off to hug both of them, while Mr. Parekh glared at the duo's loud, boastful and middle-class personality. However, seeing that even his oldest client and Rohan welcomed them warmly, he kept quiet and put on a forced smile. Munna and Pandit were positively shocked to see Sunaina and what looked like her father sitting on the couch, but they kept quiet after getting a baadmein-batata-hoon look from Sameer.
The duo and Mr. Parekh exchanged some pleasantries and Munna Pandit chose to ignore Sunaina, not that she seemed too eager for a conversation anyway. On the other hand, she seemed equally surprised to see them anyway. She turned to Nanaji and asked, "Uncle mujhe nahi pata tha ki Munna aur Pandit bhi ayenge....." seeing how Sameer's face hardened and the other occupants' smile dropped, she hurriedly covered her past words, "...... mera matlab mujhe laga ki papa aur aapke clients hi ayenge. Lekin accha hua na Munna Pandit bhi aa gaye. Election ke baad pure group ka milna hua hi nahi. I was missing all those meetings yaar." Sameer rolled his eyes and muttered a "yeh kabse humare group mein aa gayi" to Rohan who shook his head. Munna muttered "ha pata hai humein kitna miss kar rahi thi" under his breath, while Pandit looked at her mockingly.
Nanaji looked quiet confused and said, "Beta tum Munna Pandit ko jaanti ho? Aur Sameer ke group mein hi ho. Mujhe toh pata hi nahi tha. Sameer shayad tumhara mention karna bhool gaya hoga..." he looked at Sameer questioningly, but the latter kept quiet ".... Lekin koi baat nahi. Thodi der mein Arjun bhi aa jayega apni beheno ko lekar. Phir tum sab bore bhi nahi hoge, aur sabka milna wagera bhi ho jayega." As if trying to assert her importance, Sunaina grinned at the four boys and turned to Nanaji, "Are Nanaji hum log toh bahut acche friends hai. Infact Maine aur meri best friend Mitali ne bahut help bhi karwayi posters banane mein aur campaigning mein...." the boys controlled their urge to contradict her, and kept on conversing amongst themselves about some matter in the college, ignoring her and Nanaji's conversation completely ".....waise Arjun aur uski sisters bhi aa rahi hai, matlab yeh koi party thi kya?" she asked Nanaji, who nodded and said, "Ha beta mera hi mann tha sabse milne ka. Sameer bahut baatein karta tha elections ke baare mein. Toh maine socha ki ek baar sabse milna julna ho jaye."
Mr. Parekh sighed and voiced,"Are toh main kisi aur din aa jata. Aaj baccho ko enjoy karne dete aap." Nanaji just laughed, "Taaki tujhe mana karne ka ek aur mauka mil jaaye. Aur chinta mat kar abhi Munshi bhi aata hi hoga. Bacche apne mazein kar lenge, aur hum log apne." Mr. Parekh gave an unwilling nod, while Sunaina's eye brows furrowed in confusion, "Sameer lekin tumne mujhe aur Mitali ko toh iss baare mein nahi bataya" Before Sameer could respond, Munna loudly asserted that "Hamein laga shaam ka time hai toh tum dono busy hoge." Before Sunaina could contradict him, a loud "hum aa gaye" from the gate interrupted her.
Everyone turned their heads to see Arjun, Preeti, Naina and Swati on the gate, and all the boys along with Nanaji stood up to welcome them. It was a miracle that the girls were allowed to come at this hour, but Sameer had skillfully convinced taiji about how Nanaji wanted them to come. The Aggarwal family didn't want to refuse the most influential man of Ahemdabad, so they not only sent their own daughters to his house, but even convinced Swati's parents to let her come. It was a quiet historic moment actually.
Sameer then surveyed the Naina's appearance carefully, her's being very much better than Sunaina's joke of an Indian wear. She was wearing a light pink salwar kameez, her hair enclosed in a pretty twisted halo. Her face devoid of any make up as always, but a cute pink bindi was adoring her forehead and beautiful silver earrings doing the same to her ears.
The four boys hugged Arjun tightly while the girls smiled at them proudly. Arjun broke the hug and took blessings from Nanaji, who patted his head affectionately. "Are bhai ab inn pyaari bacchiyo se bhi milwao." Arjun smiled at Nanaji and pointed at Preeti, "Jee Nanaji. Yeh Chacha ji ki beti Preeti hai....." Preeti joined her hands and greeted the old man with a warm Namaste ".... yeh Swati hai...." he pointed at Swati who did the same "...... aur yeh meri behen Naina hai." Nanaji surveyed her quiet carefully for obvious reasons, while the young first year came forward and touched his feet. An automatic smile appeared on the old man's face and Naina stood up, folding her hands and muttering "Namaste Nanaji" Jaiprakash Maheshwari smiled widely, probably the widest he had smiled that day, and placed a warm hand on her head "Jeeti raho beta"
He immediately ushered all of them inside and introduced them to Mr. Parekh, but the recent guests' smiles had already dropped after catching a glimpse of Sunaina. They chose to ignore her just like Munna Pandit, and the gang became busy in conversing among themselves. Naina and Preeti were laughing at Munna Pandit's jokes, Arjun was looking at his sisters affectionately, Swati and Rohan were excitedly recalling the result day of elections, while Sameer was juggling between listening to Nanaji's conversation with the guests and staring at Naina. Though he was more inclined towards the latter task.
Jaiprakash Maheshwari checked the time, "a little past eight", he observed. Time passes so quickly! "Chal Parekh chalke khana kha lete hai. Aa jao baccho bahut derr ho gayi hai." Munna and Pandit stood up extra-excitedly while the others followed rather quietly, trying their best not to laugh at the duo.
All of them then settled on the dining table, carefully avoiding the people they wanted to. Sameer sat as far as he could from Sunaina and her father, Arjun sat between Preeti and Munna so that he could avoid sitting with Sameer. On the other hand, Naina was on her mission to avoid Preeti at all costs, thanks to the awkward conversation they had a few nights before. "Main abhi Preeti ko bataane ke liye taiyaar nahi hoon. Bas thoda waqt aur.", she kept repeating these lines again and again, just like a mantra. She wanted to tell her sister everything about her and Sameer, share her doubts, share her insecurities, share her fears and most importantly, share her pain. But life isn't that easy is it. She didn't know how was she supposed to tell her sister about her and Sameer, there was no sort of commitment after all.
Does he love her?......... No
Does he want to marry?....... No
Is he serious about this relationship or God forbid, fling? ........... Definitely Not
What makes her any different from the others?
As all these thoughts came rushing to her mind yet again, she lost track of what was happening around her, and she failed to notice when Munshi kaka joined them for the dinner, or when Ramdhari placed all the dishes on the table or when Sameer and Pandit sat on her either sides. However, she was soon pulled out of her guiltful reverie when the loud statement from Munshi kaka interrupted all of them, ".... are Jaiprakash ji ko toh ab bas ek pyaari si bahu ki zaroorat hai Parekh bhai. Phir na iss Ramdhari ke haath ka bekaar khana khana padega, aur na hi ghar ki chinta karni padegi."
Naina didn't know that how on earth the conversation started, but she was definitely too interested in hearing Nanaji's side. The old man was chuckling at Munshi kaka's words, while Mr. Parekh had a strange glint in his eyes, "Ek dum theek kaha aapne. Bas ab toh ek apne status ki sundar bahu mil jaye Jaiprakash ji ko, jo ghar aur baaki cheezein dekh le. Phir toh jeevan mein ek dum araam aur shanti mil jayegi unhein." He smiled at and glanced at Sameer, who looked a bit embarrassed.
"Waise Sunaina beta tum khana wagera bana leti ho." Munshi kaka asked, and Sunaina just grinned in response, "Jee uncle. Main Indian, Italian, Chinese sab kuch bana leti hoon. Aur papa se poochiye, rozz khane ka menu aur ghar ki decorations, sab main hi dekhti hoon." As if this wasn't enough, Mr Parekh also joined the conversation, "Are poocho mat. Ek dum maa ki tarah meri seva karti hai....." he kept a hand on Sunaina's head, "...... aisi beti Bhagwan sabko de." Munna pretended to gag at these words, while Rohan raised a mocking eyebrow. Pandit mimicked Mr. Parekh's gestures on Naina, while Sameer just laughed quietly.
As the elders broke in praise for Sunaina, Pandit turned to Sameer and joyfully aserted that, "Aaj toh tum dono ka rishta pakka karke hi rahenge yeh log." Sameer chuckled in response, Munna pretended to vomit "matlab yeh humari bhabhi" and Rohan just looked at Naina worriedly. A lone tear escaped the latter's eye and the familiar piercing words echoed in her mind yet again, tum uske status ki nahi ho. Uske Nanaji uski shaadi karwaate huye business mein faayda dekhenge aur mere papa unke puraane client hai. Toh college ke baad toh mujhe aur Sameer ko saath hona hi hai. Nothing could make her feel better now, no one could give her any hope. Maybe now she should just look forward to Sameer and Sunaina's wedding invitation.
"Waise tum teeno bacchiyo ki padhai kaisi chal rahi hai?" Nanaji asked the three first years. Preeti soon gave a heart wrenching speech on how she found economics too difficult and how her life got ruined, while Swati was trying her best to not to repeat the same. Nanaji chuckled at the duo and thought, "Ek dum chanchal swabhaav ki hai dono. Bilkul jaise Sameer ne bataya tha." The old man couldn't miss how Rohan was staring at Preeti, and he definitely wasn't looking forward to missing the chance to tease him about it. The conversation then landed on Naina, who Nanaji observed, looked a bit disturbed. Before she could reply, Munna interrupted the conversation. "Are Nanaji aap bhi kisse pooch rahe hai. Yeh toh topper thi poore school ki. Har baar first aati thi." Preeti gazed at her sister proudly and said, "Ha Nanaji. Aur har baar aapse prize bhi toh leti thi na."
Jaiprakash smiled at the fond memory and looked at Naina, who blushed at the praise half-heartedly. But the happiness still refused to reach her pretty eyes. Then, a voice from Parekh interrupted their conversation, "Beta phir toh khana wagera banana acche se kaha aata hoga tumhein. Matlab agar time padhaai par jaa raha hai, toh baaki kaam thodi na aate hoge." Naina still didn't need to answer the question, because Pandit answered it for her, "Are uncle khana toh bahut accha banati hai yeh. Ek baar pakode lekar aayi thi college mein, kya mast bane the. Haina Sameer?" The latter nodded vigorously and asserted, "Aur phir pehle school mein bhi Arjun ghar se lunch lekar aata tha, toh Naina ke haath ke parathe, gulab jamun aur kheer wagera bhi khaane ko milte thi hamein." Munna laughed at the memory and joyfully said, "Unn dinon toh canteen ka khana bhi pheeka lagta tha."
"Beta phir toh tum mujhe time manage karna sikhao." Munshi kaka spoke, and all laughed in unison. "Are bhai ab sab khana bhi kha lo. Baatein toh hoti rahegi." With that instruction from Nanaji, all occupants finally started loading their plates.
The young occupants became lost in their own world, not really noticing that it wasn't the college canteen anymore. Munna was stealing malai kofta from Arjun's plate, while the latter was scowling at him. Rohan was busy passing every single container to Preeti, who looked absolutely harassed as to what she should eat. Apparently, she had forgotten that she needn't do the "tedious" task of looking up the menu and ordering the food. Preeti simply passed these containers to Swati, who handed them over to the safe hands of Pandit. The latter had no problem "looking after" the food filled bowls. On the other hand, Sameer was loading Naina's plate with lots of rice, while she was busy stopping him. Maybe he hadn't notice that he wasn't serving food to Munna and Pandit. They failed to pay attention to the conversation of the other four occupants. But one could say that Sunaina was feeling extremely lonely.
Swati then turned to Naina and whispered sneakily, such that only the gang minus Arjun and Rohan (who were busy conversing) could hear her, "Naina waise dessert mein shahi tukda hai. Matlab "s" se start hone wali cheez. Toh teri toh favourite hai na?"
Sameer choked on his water and stared at Naina in horror, debating if she told their secret to Swati or not. The others looked at Swati questioningly, who refused to elaborate further. Preeti sighed and finally spoke up,
"Are kuch nahi hum dono Naina ko Sanjay Tibrewal ke naam se chidha rahe the....." as the questioning gaze intensified and Naina glared at her, "...... are usne na, Eleventh mein Naina ko love letter likha tha. Lekin Naina ne uss bechaare ko mana kar diya tha."
Sameer's hand balled into fist imagining the things this Sanjay could have written to his fragile Naina, while Munna looked a bit confused, "Toh iss baat par abhi tak isse chidha rahe ho?"
"Are woh na actually humari hi class mein hai..... " Swati answered,"aur ab toh uski aur Naina ki baatein bhi shuru ho chuki hai. Pehle toh Naina usse dekhte hi raasta badal leti thi." Naina threw a napkin at Swati and muttered, "Aisa kuch nahi hai. Yeh dono toh paagal ho gaye hai. Woh bas mujhse notes leta hai"
Toh mujhe batana chahiye tha na. Aise kaise apne haath ke bane notes kisi bhi aire gaire ko de sakti hai, Sameer thought angrily. It was bad enough that she had read "extremely vulgar" words written by some jerk, and here she was handing off her notes to him too. What should his poor heart do?
"Naina tu chup kar. Hamesha tujhe ghoorta rehta hai aur zyada hi observe karta hai teri movements ko. Aaj bhi poora lattoo hai yaar." Swati sighed dreamily, and Sameer controlled the urge to murder someone. His eyes were red with anger, and blood was rushing to his veins. He was about to crash into the conversation, but unluckily for him (and luckily for everyone else), Arjun finished his conversation with Rohan and got back to eating his meal.
On the other hand, Nanaji was observing and chuckling at the group's cute antics, mentally praising his decision of inviting them over. His grandson was busy passing rotis to his friends, a free smile adoring his handsome features. Suddenly, the loud shriek from Naina rang through the dining table.
All stood up, only to see that Ramdhari had accidentally spilled boiling dal makhni on her wrist. All the college goers rushed to her side, while Sameer immediately pushed back his chair and wiped off the curry from her hand, after which he slowly blew air on the wound. Rohan and Preeti rushed to get ice from the refrigerator, while Pandit sprinkled cold water on her wound. The poor girl had tears in her ears by now. Swati rubbed her other hand and uttered reassuringly, "Naina shaant hoja. Dard jaldi gayab ho jayega"
Preeti rushed back with ice in a matter of seconds and Sameer immediately started massaging it on the wound, while Naina hissed at the cold sensation. He then turned to Ramdhari in pure rage and shouted, "Dhyaan se kaam nahi kar sakta kya. Dekh kitni zorr se lag gayi usse." Poor Ramdhari lowered his eyes in shame. Before Sameer could scold him further, Naina turned to Sameer and spoke softly, "Sameer galti se hua tha. Unhone jaan bhoojke toh kuch nahi kiya na."
"Naina tumhein toh hamesha sab theek hi lagte hai. Kitna haath jal gaya hai tumhara, uske baad bhi uski tarafdaari kar rahi ho." Sameer looked extremely angry, but Pandit kept a hand on his shoulder and calmed him down. Naina then urged the others to resume the dinner and pleaded to Sameer with her eyes, all of which didn't go unnoticed by another pair of black orbs. The rest of the dinner went quiet smoothly after that.
As Sameer, Rohan, Nanaji and Munshi kaka stood at the main gate and watched the others leaving for their respective houses, Munshi kaka shifted a bit closer to the old man and whispered, "Sunaina sachmein bahut sanskaari bacchi hai nahi? Nanaji smiled in response and muttered, "Ha sanskaari toh hai"
Sameer caught only a fleeting bit of this conversation. However, if that night he was concerned about these few words, Sanjay Tibrewal and his interest in Naina, and Naina's burned wrist plus her hiss of pain, it was nothing compared to the conversation he was about to have with Pandit a few days later.
The day was paticularly pleasant and they were in the cricket ground, busy preparing for their upcoming match. Munna was stretching on the grass, Arjun was practising bowling while Sameer was doing some pushups. The girls were in their economics class while Rohan was in the library.
After he had completed his five hundredth pushup, Sameer quickly specified all the fielding positions to the cricket team. Arjun was supposed to bowl, Sameer was among the fielders and only Munna Pandit were left. As he spotted Pandit's new crush in the stands, Sameer grinned to himself and gave a quick shout to Pandit. As the young cricketer came to him, Sameer grinned playfully and spoke, "Bhai jaa wicketkeeping kar le. Munna batting kar lega" Pandit just nodded and sauntered off to the position, but Sameer seemed absolutely shocked. He expected Pandit to speak those familiar words, "Yaar tumhari kya Dushmani hai mujhse. Humesha mujhe wicketkeeper bana dete ho......" No way Pandit wouldn't want to bat in front of his crush, unless the girl had declared that she was somehow in love with wicketkeepers.
But today, Pandit simply nodded and took the spot, not even bothering to complain or protest. From that very moment, Sameer knew that something was seriously off with Pandit. As the latter jogged off to his position, Sameer immediately stopped him and spoke, "Bhai tu theek toh hai na? Aaj kuch pareshaan sa lag raha hai....." Pandit's face hardened even more but Sameer decided to poke him further, "......best friends toh ek dusre ko sab bataate hai na"
Pandit looked at him mockingly and spat,
"Accha. Tune mujhe apne aur Naina ke baare mein bata diya tha kya?"
Shock would be just an understatement.
P.S. AND THE AWARD FOR THE MOST DELAYED UPDATE GOES TO.........
*ME*
P.P.S Guys I know you guys were extremely expectant for a quick update, but please quench your thirst with this super long one. A lot has been happening in my life right now..... some good, some bad. But as they say, life goes on.
P.P.P.S Speaking of stories, if you guys have time, do check out my profile for some one shots. I can't say about the next update, I can just try. But if you guys are too bored, give them a read. Just leave a message if you are looking for some reading material, I will post another one shot or suggest some other stories.