Pandya Store - Shiva Raavi (ShiVi) FF- My North Star

Chapter 4

"UH-OH"

"Too Late Shiva. Gaumbi, Di, its not perfect, it includes lots of raw footage and small clips, snapchat stories, photos... you get the idea" said Hetal. She logged in to her Cloud storage found what she was looking for and pressed OK.

The screen sprang to life, and started with a picture of Hetal and Raavi standing back-to-back, arms crossed, dressed in PJs, wearing hot pink feather boas, big shades with a banner below "THIS IS GRADE 9"

Dhara and Rishita laughed. Glancing at the now adult Raavi by his side looking mortified, Shiva cracked a smile. He had to admit Raavi looked cute, albeit extremely stupid.

Dhara Bhabhi leaned into Shiva and whispered, "Dekh Shiva, agar teri aur Raavi ki beti hui, aise hi harkatein hogi uski bhi."

Shiva smiled uneasily and stared ahead without a comment. What could he say when his Bhabhi spoke of his deepest desire, yet he had set events in motion to get rid of said person from his life forever?

The video on the projector screen continued. Raavi and Hetal were lying stomach down on her bed, in their school uniforms, and speaking into the camera.

"Dear Camera, this is Hetal, and this my best friend Raavi. Raavi... look here! We are planning to prank Shiva, who is currently at the Pandya Store. He says he is 'working' – ", "but he is just eating all the chocolate," Raavi interjected.

"Ooh don't forget to put it on speaker: Operation Chocolate begins." said Hetal into the camera, simultaneously watching teenage Raavi call the Pandya Store.

"Helllooo, this is Mrs. Wonka from... Goa. You have been selected to participate in a survey. If you answer all the questions, you maybe be eligible to win an all-inclusive trip to Goa." said Raavi in an exaggerated high-pitched voice attempting a British accent.

"Sir, please tell me, if you were presented a choice between Kit Kat and Cadbury, which one would you share with your friends, say a gentle soul who is kind-hearted and very lovable?"

"NONE. I WOULD NEVER SHARE." Shiva's point blank, direct response could be heard from the speaker phone.

"What?! Beta you should always share. Sharing is caring."

"Aunty, aap se matlab - main share karoon ya sab khud kha jaaon?"

"AUNTYYY?" Raavi huffed, outraged. Taking a deep breath "That's ok, next ques-"

"Hold on one sec."

"Hey Dev, sun na, tu baath kar na - koi buddhi, Mrs. Wonka phone pe paka rahi hain bilkul uss Chipkali Raavi ki tarah. Le, baat kar, mujhe chocolate chain se khana hai, aur uske baad..."

"Hello?" said Dev's deep voice

"EEK, Raavi, phone raak" said Hetal. Raavi immediately cut the phone call, fanned herself, turned back to the camera, and said in disbelief "Hetal, what if we spoke to THE Dev Pandya?"

Hetal giggled, "NO WAY", and looked directly into the camera and said "So, that was a flop."

"No No, Hetal, I am going to the store and give that Shiva a piece of my mind." said Raavi and stormed out of the room.

The screen transitioned to another video: "Dear Camera, I am no longer friends with Raavi. She was such a witch to me today, I don't want to even look at her face anymore." said teenaged Hetal tearfully into the camera sitting on her bed.

Just then the bedroom door opened, and Hetal jumped, dropping the camera as the screen became wobbly and lopsided. It seemed, Shiva came in dragging a teenaged Raavi because the next thing one heard was-,

"TALK" barked Shiva.

"DUFFER! what was that!! Why did you tell the History teacher that Shiva copied your assignment? He wasn't able to go on the group trip because of you." screamed fifteen-year-old Raavi

"How did you know Shiva didn't cheat? Did he tell you?" said Hetal suspiciously.

"I know Shiva and so do you - he would never do that, pagal" hollered Raavi, pushing Hetal back.

"At least you could have come with rest of the class, and we could have had a great day. Why did you argue with the teacher and get yourself kicked out?"

"Ya, because Shiva didn't cheat, you freak show. I was standing up for him. WHY did you LIE? Wait a sec, are you being blackmailed to say this to Shiva?" gasped Raavi

"No dumbo" said Hetal rolling her eyes at Raavi's theatrics. At the same time, Shiva's voice floated "I wish I was being blackmailed."

Ignoring him, Hetal continued "I-I guess I wanted just one day with you. Kind of girls day, without Shiva, and his loser friends Arjun and Vasu."

"Oh."

"Mere friends ko LOSER bola? Iss Chipkali ko dekha? Pura din Pandya Store main mera saar kha ke dimag kharab karke rakha hai" moaned fifteen-year-old Shiva

Hetal said contritely "Sorry Shiva, I will go to the teacher and tell the truth tomorrow."

"Haan theek hai theek hai" muttered Shiva, begrudgingly.

A few moments of silence later, "GET OFF ME! No more group hugs and listen to me carefully. Pura din, iss chipkali ko jhela hai. I don't want to see or hear the both of you near Pandya Store. Specially, Raavi. If I see you, I will tell Dev you have acne... ALL OVER YOUR BODY" threatened Shiva and storming off Hetal's room.

The voices of Raavi and Hetal continued, "Dekh Hetal, Shiva jaisa bhi hai, he will never cheat, never act in less than honorable way. Plus, he is too egotistical and prideful to cheat in life." said Raavi.

"Ok ok. I am sorry Daily Soap ki Sanskaari Bahu. I get Raavi ke friendship ke saath Shiva muft muft muft" mimicking the iconic character Geet from Jab We Met. "Fill me in on what you did at Pandya Store all day." excited Hetal said picking up her camera and facing it to back to them, their fight forgotten.

"Well...I helped Dhara di around the store, which Shiva HATED and complained about it to Gaumbi the whole time. After lunch Dhara di took me into the house. She let me stay beside her as she was cooking and then she took me to her room to show all her clothes and makeup. She taught me how to do a smoky eye. I love love Dhara Di." said Raavi excitedly.

"LUCKY" exclaimed Hetal before her camera blacked out.

In the present, Dhara looked at Raavi with tears in her eyes and blew her a kiss. What had she done to deserve this girl's adoration?

The screen then panned to PowerPoint style photos with various transitions. Many of the phots were of Raavi and Hetal around the school, or with other girls posing at the mall, seaside, in roadside shops. There were few pictures of Raavi and Shiva. It was clear 15-year-old Shiva had no interest in posing or being camera friendly. He was often standing against a wall with his face averted but Raavi resting her arm on his shoulder and doing the peace sign. There were group pics of Raavi, Hetal, Vasu and Arjun attacking Shiva with group hugs right after class, or after school.