Prithvi... [Vol 1] (Ongoing) (Winner of Wattpad India Awards 2019)

Chapter 24

Nandini straightened from the floor in the kitchen and winced at the pain in her back. She had been on her knees for too long, sweeping and mopping the rooms in Ayodhya. Sumer uncle would be coming tomorrow and Prithvi would also move back to his room. The rooms had to be cleaned thoroughly before then, and the maid had said she would only start coming after two days. 

She hadn't had time to rest at all after coming from college. After returning from the temple, her tuition children had arrived and after that she helped her mother clean Ayodhya's kitchen and ensure that it had all required supplies. Her mother had now gone to the market to buy groceries, leaving her to tidy up the rest of the house.

Broom in one hand, and water-filled bucket in the other, Nandini ascended the steps to the first storey. She was done with the rooms on the ground floor. Next on the agenda were Sumer uncle and Prithvi's rooms. Her thick black hair had been twisted into a large knot at the back of her head and was being held together with an old plastic clip, and her dupatta had been tied around her waist securely.

She put down the bucket outside Prithvi's room, pushed open the doors and began sweeping it, beginning with the corners. 

"I suppose I should just give up the hope that you'll learn some manners and stop walking into people's rooms uninvited." 

Taken aback, she turned to see Prithvi striding hurriedly from the bed towards the table with his laptop in hand. 

How long had he been here? Ayodhya's door had been open for some time now as she and her mother had been walking in and out for various tasks. He must have returned after his walk and come straight here, instead of Vrindavan. And, as the books and laptop proved, he had already begun shifting his belongings back to his room. 

"When did you come here?" she asked, bewildered. 

"I've been here for an hour. I suppose those pumpkin-sized eyes on your face are just for decoration," he retorted, still not turning to face her. 

So he had been here all this while. If she had not been so preoccupied with her thoughts she would have seen him. And if he had been sitting on the bed, he must have seen her walk into the room.

And then, out of nowhere came the realization that her duppata was still tied tightly around her waist. Extremely conscious, the pink-cheeked girl dropped the broom and turned her back to him, fumbled with the knot and quickly removed it and draped it gracefully around her shoulders. And with greater confidence, she swung towards him again.

"I didn't know you were inside," she said indignantly, responding to his earlier charge. "I would have knocked otherwise. In fact, I wouldn't have come inside at all, because I wouldn't want to disturb the greatest thinker of all time in his work," she concluded angrily.

Apparently gauging that it would be prudent to look at her now, he turned around, looking unforgivably entertained. "Uh-oh, looks like someone is in a bad mood," he murmured.

"Is that against the law? Or are you are the only one with the right to behave badly with anyone anytime you like?" she snapped, a furious red invading her face. And picking up the broom again, she went down on her knees and began to sweep the area under the bed vigorously.

"I guess that's fair. Now what I can do to compensate for my earlier behaviour," he said thoughtfully, turning the chair around to face her. He sank into the chair, and idly rested his feet on the bed.

"Would it help if I said you look like a natural at this kind of work? I think you should quit college and take this up full-time."

Nandini looked up and glowered at him, her beautiful face framed by sweat-dampened tendrils of hair that had escaped the knot.  

"I don't know how to thank you for that," she said frigidly, "Now if you don't mind, could you move out of the chair. I need to sweep that side."

"Its fine the way it is," he returned. "You didn't have to clean the house in the first place. And whatever you've done is enough. Go home now."

"That's so kind of you," she said angrily, getting to her feet. "Why should the house be cleaned at all? It's a pigsty in any case....that's what you called it...I should have remembered."

"I hadn't meant it like that and you know it!' Prithvi snapped, leaning forward and seizing her wrist to stop her from scrambling up. 

"No, I don't," Nandini said angrily, trying to twist her hand out of his. "I think you only said what has been in your mind all this time. You hate this house and everyone else here. I'll make sure the next person who comes to stay here isn't as bad-tempered and arrogant as you."

"A better idea would be that you made sure you were less of an interfering nuisance," he replied harshly, not even discerning her efforts to free her hand. "That by itself would be enough for anyone who lives here to have some peace."

"I'll keep that in mind while I wait happily for you to move to another house," Nandini retorted, ceasing her struggle for a moment. A quick blaze of rage and some other elusive emotion flashed across Prithvi's eyes at her words and a vicious tug at her arm reduced the already small gap in-between them. Nandini felt a tiny thread of fear mingle with her rising anger, but she was far too incensed to back away.

"You can't be as eager as I am to get away from here," Prithvi muttered in a voice laced with fury, staring down at her lovely face, which was so close to his, with something bordering on hate, while she glared up at him in silence from her kneeling position. Then all of a sudden, his hold on her slackened and he thrust her away from himself and got to his feet. 

Nandini sat inert on the floor on her knees, feeling curiously drained and miserable. Why had she said those things....she really shouldn't have. He would be going away in a few days....she should be able to overlook everything he says and be friendly at least until he was here. After that, she knew for certain she wouldn't have any place in his life. She would apologise and make it up to him.

Prithvi stepped around her and began to walk towards the door, and then spun around and contemplated the slender form of the girl who was still on her knees with her back turned to him. 

Nandini was just rising to her feet with the broom in hand when she felt a small tug at her hair and the luxuriant black mass unravelled from the knot and tumbled down her back to lie heavily at her waist. Astonished, she immediately felt her hair to find the clip while simultaneously turning to see Prithvi walking in the direction of the door. But the clip had vanished and a quick look showed that it hadn't fallen off to the ground either. 

That left only one - highly absurd - possibility....

"Prithvi," she called out, impatiently brushing aside some silky strands from her face.