Passive Aggressive

9 Deadly Combination

Part 9 Deadly Combination

Arnav came home. Ratna found him disturbed. His face looked restless. She frowned. What would have happened? She slowly followed to his room and peeped through the slight gap in the door. She saw him searching for something on his shelf. He took out a few notes and kept them in his bag.

Ratna moved back silently. What notes were they? Were they the first-year notes that Khushi asked him? Did they patch up? Did he accept Khushi as his friend? Yes, she had the capability of making him smile. She must have made him accept her as his friend. After all, they share the same bench in the class...! Then she thought something. If she became his friend, why did his face have no charms? She was confused.

Night

Ratna called Arnav for dinner. He came and sat silently. He started eating which confused Ratna more. Arnav usually asked her about Arvind if he would be late but that day, he didn't. So, she decided to talk to him about Khushi. She slowly started.

"Chotte, will you take lunch for Khushi tomorrow?"

Arnav stopped eating.

"Poor girl, she has no one but by God's grace, she shares the bench with you in the class...! So, she will not have a problem in eating our food" she read his expression.

He didn't look at Ratna but at the plate.

"Chotte"

"She didn't sit on my bench today," he said not taking his eyes from the plate.

Ratna was bewildered.

"But she said she shares the bench with you..."

"She did... but today..."

"She might not share the bench, but she talks to you, right?"

He nodded no.

"Why?"

He nodded his head from left to right and said,

"I don't know" even though he knew the reason.

Ratna became thoughtful. This was why he took his notes to give to her. When she was behind him, he was not ready to give it to her but when she stopped talking to him, he voluntarily going to give her notes because he could not bear the distance Khushi created that he expected. Ratna connected the dots. She didn't know what to do. She didn't even get Khushi's number when she came to their house. Or else, she could have called Khushi and asked her why she didn't take place on Arnav's bench and stopped talking to him. She sighed helplessly. She waited for Arvind. He came only after Arnav slept.

"Arvindji, my guess is right"

"What guess?"

"Chotte likes Khushi"

"How do you know?"

"He took his old notes and kept them in his bag"

"Is it?"

"Yes because she didn't sit on his bench today"

"Did she sit with him?"

"Until yesterday... but today she didn't"

"Why?"

"Don't know... maybe because of us"

"What do you mean?"

"She might have thought not to trouble him and make us embarrassed"

"But he didn't even welcome her when she came to our home"

"He didn't get irritation either..."

Arvind became thoughtful.

"He was so gloomy when he returned from college. That's why I casually asked him. Then only he admitted that she didn't sit with him on his bench"