Prejudice

1. Brother

The small squirrels running errands in the vast gardens, were the point of focus of the young man standing at his balcony.

He sighed and looked at his wristwatch. It was already eight in the morning and Jay was not home.
Pranav stood there for some more time, with his already sweaty body, after an intense workout.

The world was running as smoothly as it ever could, except for the erratic and troubled thoughts of Pranav.
The shook his head in denial as he saw Jay's car entering the premises.
Jay looked up from the window of his car and waved at his brother.

Relieved, Pranav walked inside for a long shower.

Jay stepped down from the car and tossed the keys to the security and swung his jacket on his back. The door opened, even before he could knock or ring the bell.

The young girl, Neetu, smiled at him.

Jay leaned on the door frame and looked at her.
The creamy fair skin of his face was covered with light stubble. His groggy eyes were an evidence of the fact that he had an adventurous encounter the previous night. The top two buttons of his shirt were open and the skin was clearly visible from his crumpled shirt.

Neetu crossed her arms and blinked at him. He smiled sheepishly.

"Bhai?" He asked.

"You are late again." she replied.

He knocked the back of his index finger on her forehead and walked in.

"Set the table. I will come down in five minutes." He said sprinting to his room.

True to his words, he was at the breakfast table, after a quick shower and had changed into a cream colored  T-shirt with dark Blue Jeans. Pranav was reading the newspaper when Neetu was done setting the table.

"Morning Dau." Jay chirped happily.

"Stop buttering me. Why are you so late?" Pranav asked, without looking up.

Jay did not answer for a moment and Pranav folded the newspaper to focus on the food.

"Don't worry. I know my job. Everything will run smoothly." Jay assured him.

Pranav just hummed in response.

"Behave Jay. Dad is coming today. I don't want you to land yourself in any trouble." Pranav said after a moment of silence.

Jay nodded.

He knew, there was always this strange tension around his brother, whenever their father visited. Their father was a strong personality and was not to be messed with. But surprisingly, he could not recall a single moment, when their father raised his voice. At least Jay did not remember any incidence that could make him tense around their father.

It was just the fact that, their father had closed himself, after their mother's death. He lost the glint in his eyes.

Jay left for his college after the breakfast, while Pranav was supposed to be home. They were expecting a few guests, and being the only host, it was his duty to attend them and look for their comfort.

With his instructions, Neetu, along with few other maids, had managed to make arrangements for all the guests.

Jay parked his car and found his group at the regular spot, waiting for him to join.
Being with the most influential person in the college, the group was known to be an ultimate prankster and trouble maker. Thinking of the name - Jay Agarwal, no one had the courage to go and complain about the trouble caused by that group.

Though Jay never actually participated, he never protested in bullying the other kids. He would sit back and concentrate on the the work assigned by his Dau.
Though he addressed his elder brother, as Bhai, he found Dau more appealing.
The reason was, the elderly maid, RaniMaa, who looked after the young kids, after their mother, once told Jay that, Lord Krishna, addressed his elder brother as Dau.