Hello, Mr. Major General (1)

Chapter 30: Confessing My Heart

“No, no, I came back yesterday. Sana had to go to school today.” Sandeep explained in a rush. “Do you want to see her?”

Sidharth shook his head. “No need; we’ll talk at the base.” The orderly, Harsh Vardhan, parked on the side of the road.

Sidharth, Deepak, and Rohit got on and arrived back at the base shortly afterward.

Sandeep was waiting for Sidharth in his office. Sidharth walked in and threw a backpack at him as soon as he entered. “See if this is useful.”

Sandeep opened the backpack and took out a pencil case. He opened it to find a box of vials. He then opened it and when he saw the liquid filled vials, his heart nearly leapt out of his
throat.

“Boss! What…w-what is this stuff?!”

“The natural viral copy from Oda Masao. See if you can combine it with his data to find the antibody soon and
develop a vaccine.” Sidharth was looking at Sandeep with a seriousness that took him aback for a moment.

“Got it.” Sandeep nodded, then pondered briefly before he assured Sidharth. “Don’t worry about Sana, I’ve kept a close eye on her condition. At the moment, there hasn’t been any sign of deterioration.”

“At the moment? It’s only been a week.” Sidharth would not let his guard down even in the wake of Sandeep’s positive review of her
health. “Can you make a guarantee
for the future?”

Sandeep snuck a look at Sidharth and tried to decipher what had changed in his expression. But, as always, the general had the same aloof
expression. It was hard to tell what the man was thinking.

“I’ll make sure to perform thorough body checks on Sana. Last time, I told her that I had created an antidote for the aphrodisiac, and that she hadn’t needed to do…that… with a man.” Sandeep quietly said this as he put the test tube containing the viral copy Sidharth had brought back into refrigeration, “Also, Sana asked me not to tell you about her being afflicted by an aphrodisiac. So, don’t let it slip.”

Sidharth didn’t answer at first, instead reaching inside his coat for his lighter. He lit a cigarette and inhaled deeply
before he finally grunted in
acknowledgement.

Sandeep returned to sit down at his desk and turned on the computer. He opened up two comparison images for Sidharth. “Don’t worry, Boss. I’ve found that Sana’s condition is much better than the others, so maybe it’s not as bad as we thought.”

Sidharth walked over and stood behind him. He squinted and looked at the monitor, one hand holding a cigarette and another hand crossed behind his back as he listened to Sandeep explain.

“On the left is the image of the data from Oda Masao’s findings. Look here: all the vital stats are at least half of
those of normal people. The data
image on the right is Sana’s results from the past week. See? She’s healthier than ever. Even normal people don’t have such good stats.”

Sidharth’s eyes locked on the monitor for a while before he turned away. He sat before Sandeep on the sofa pushed up against the wall. He had one elbow on the back of the sofa and held the smoldering cigarette in his hand.

After thinking for a while, he finally said, “Develop the vaccine quickly. I’ll come back to check on it in three days.”

He then got up and turned to walk away.

“Three days?!” Sandeep’s voice rose. “Sir, there is no way to set a definite time for developing a vaccine! Do you think this is a military mission for your subordinates? This is scientific research! Scientific research, I say!” Sandeep glared at Sidharth’s receding back and almost screamed out in frustration.

Sidharth left Sandeep’s building and returned to his own quarters in time to see Rohit set down the main phone.

Sidharth glanced at him and Rohit  quickly reported. “Sir, it’s Shehnaaz. She’s going back to school and asked when you’re to come back.”

Sidharth waved his arm and threw the cigarette butt.

It drew an arc in the air before landing in the garbage. “I have to return to the Military Headquarters. Deepak will come with me. Rohit, you stay here. It’s easier if you’re close by, in case Sana needs you.”

Rohit gave a quick “Yes, Sir” in
confirmation and returned to his own desk in the office. He opened the
computer to check his schedule and furrowed his brow.

“What about Sana’s final interview for post-grad admissions?”

“You can take it from here.” Sidharth said and walked out without looking back.

…

Early Monday morning, Shehnaaz had her backpack on and a small rolling suitcase. She had just left the Andheri Precinct to hail a cab when she saw Class Rep Parth in a light grey,
mid-length Burberry trench coat. He was leaning on a Buick parked on the side of the road by the entrance of the precinct and smiling at her as she walked towards him.

“Class Rep?” Shehnaaz was more than a little surprised and looked both ways. “You’re…?”

“Yep, I was waiting for you and wanted to give you a surprise.” Parth walked over and smoothly took the suitcase from her. “You’re even bringing a suitcase back to the dorms? You should’ve called me earlier if you had so much to bring.”

Shehnaaz raised her head to look at Parth. Under the morning sun, his face clearly showed how fair and
handsome he was. His eyes were bright behind the gold-rimmed glasses and his voice was gentle as he said, “Why are you looking at me? What, you don’t recognize me suddenly?”

“That’s not it…” Shehnaaz quickly shook her head. “Class Rep is truly Class Rep. If I have the chance to be in your class again, I would definitely choose you as my Class Rep.”

“Parth laughed out loud, “Sana, I didn’t come pick you up for the vote.” He extended his hand and opened the door for Shehnaaz.
“Get in.”

Shehnaaz had no choice but to sit in the car. She smiled. “Tell me Class Rep, what are your intentions then? I’ll have to see if I can afford it!”

Parth grinned as he seated himself behind the wheel and said, “Sana,
can’t you tell that I’m pursuing you?”

Shehnaaz’s blushed. “Class Rep…you shouldn’t joke about something like that.”

“I’m not joking. I’ve liked you for two years but you never picked up on it. So I decided it was high time that I confessed.” Parth winked at her before he drove, and then glanced at Shehnaaz.

Shehnaaz was not yet 18, making her four to five years younger than the others in their class. Compared to them, she was certainly a late
bloomer. All her classmates knew she was young, and so most of the male students treated her more like a younger sister and took care of her,
but never pursued her as a potential girlfriend.

This feeling was new and exciting. Her fair and delicate face couldn’t help blushing pink, her cheeks as round
and tempting as a ripe peach.

“Why aren’t you speaking? You don’t believe me?” Parth chuckled. “I even confessed with your uncle present
yesterday, and you still don’t believe me?”

Shehnaaz finally blinked, her eyes huge and misty, “Class Rep, I really hadn’t realised that you were pursuing me.”

“You really didn’t know? Whenever there was a good opportunity to intern at a large firm, I would always tell you
first. I would only tell the others in our class if you didn’t want it. You don’t like the morning runs, so I helped you get out of it. You would come back late after studying, so I would always be the last to leave so I could wait for you, and take you back to the dorm entrance before heading back. You like to sleep in and skip breakfast
before class, so I bought milk and
honey cakes for you during the breaks: Shehnaaz, I’m not telling you these things so you can thank me, but it’s because we are about to graduate. If you still didn’t know I like you and am pursuing you, then I’ve totally failed as a man.”

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I hope you enjoy reading it.
Love you all.