The Unexpected Swipe

Chapter 9

(Day 5: As Above, So Below)

"Ready?" Preetika heard one of the staff, as they strapped Lavanya, at the end of the line.

Preetika nodded. Sometimes, Lavanya challenged her, too. She was sure she could do this. She would not scream.

"Hands at the side." The staff tugged at the rope Preetika was tied to. "Let me see you put your weight on it."

Preetika followed the instructions.

"Clear! Three, two, one... Good luck!"

The push jolted Preetika but she remembered the instructions. She kept her body balanced, letting her eyes move without her head. Jodhpur, from the skies, was a wonderful sight!

"You lost!" Preetika heard Payal brag to Lavanya. "Coming through!" Payal screamed in delight behind her.

Khushi stepped beside Lavanya. "If you are the last..."

"I'm going." Lavanya whined. She did not want to lose the other end of the bet. She would have to talk to NK otherwise.

Khushi wondered if Lavanya was stupid enough to think Khushi would let her go without clearing things out with NK, bet or not.

Khushi followed last on the zip line. As the Mehrangarh Fort became more visible, more majestic against the afternoon sky, she sighed. She wished she could fly like this all the time. There should be no worries, no responsibilities that they had to chase and think about. Just the sky and palaces like these.

Khushi knew it was a child's dream. When her face reflected upon a lake in the way, she saw that she was not a child anymore. She was an adult. Adults had responsibilities.

A bit occupied, she disembarked at Rao Jodha Desert Park, to watch her friends renegotiate the terms of their bet. Maybe, they were not adults yet. With Max around, would they ever be? He was their rock.

From letting Payal and Khushi move out before college, to forcing them to stay in hostels, to planning each break at the right time, he had taken over the role of a Godfather for all of them since the quartet had been incepted.

"Okay, we have exactly one hour before sunset." Khushi called everyone's attention. "Let's try to reach Masuriya before that, okay? Lav, I need your phone."

"Why?"

"Don't ask questions you don't want answers to."

"I'm good." Lavanya stepped back.

"Here." Preetika called, showing off a phone.

Lavanya touched her jacket pocket in vain. "Pickpocket!"

"Grow up." Preetika teased, handing the phone to Khushi.

"A pickpocket and a robber. What choices did I make!" Payal wailed dramatically.

Khushi stepped ahead and opened the chats, zooming in on one. "Let's remain sane. Let's remain sane!? That's what he said?"

"So?" Lavanya called from the back of the line.

"Girl, he needs you more than you need him." Khushi said, as Payal spotted their private guide for the nature walk. "Every cloud has a silver lining. And sent!"

"If he blows, you're going to handle it." Lavanya warned.

"And I thought it would be the other way around." Preetika remarked, sending the girls into fits of laughter.

(Silver Lining)

NK had brushed off the encounter with Lavanya over the last few days under the rug. If her friends were like Khushi, what must Lavanya be like herself? He had judged her too fast, he realised.