Addicted To You - SUKOR

Part 2

As Chakor and her father settle into their newly remodeled house, unpacking their things, he notices her glumness and guesses that the confessing didn't go well. He tries to cheer her up, and in the unpacking process he finds an old plaque that had been made when she was a baby- it bears the handprint of her parents, as well as her baby hand and footprint.

Imli, Tina, and Vivaan come over and marvel at the spacious digs and the newly built second floor. They sit down for a delicious meal prepared by Chakor's father, who sighs that Chakor didn't take after him in the cooking-skills department. Vivaan takes that as his cue to assure her father not to worry, since he'll take care of the both of them.

The others laugh at Vivaan's over-the-top declaration and tease him, which makes him cry out in an exaggerated gesture and bang his head into the wall. Which sets of a series of creaks...and rumbles...and leads to the house crumbling down.

It's not Vivaan's head-butt that causes the damage, but a small earthquake that shakes up the neighborhood. However, where all the other houses experience no more than mild rocking, Chakor's house has inexplicably caved in on itself.

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That's one more reason for Chakor to become the focus of unwanted attention at school, and as she walks with her friends the next morning, they catch sight of a strange woman snapping photos of her. And for some reason, passing students keep looking at Chakor and whispering.

The reason becomes clear moments later as they here Vivaan on a megaphone, who has taken up a spot at the school's entrance calling for donations for a needy student. He means well, but one hardly wants to be called pathetic and a charity case in front of her peers, so the girls slink away in mortification.

Alas, Vivaan spies Chakor and drags her into the circle, continuing his appeals for donations - just as Suraj walks by. She'd like to ignore him, but misguided chivalry drives Vivaan to engage, and he blames Suraj for being the cause of all of Chakor's troubles.

Suraj points out that it was the earthquake that felled her house, and Vivaan sputters in reply, saying that while that's true, Suraj's guilty of an "earthquake of the heart," and for hurting Chakor.

Suraj shrugs and offers to contribute, then, and pulls out his wallet. He starts to put in 20,000 rupees, which is when Chakor finally speaks up. Indignantly, she tells him to put his money away - she wouldn't accept his help even if she were a beggar under a bridge.

That affects him not at all, and he starts to leave. But now Chakor's really worked up and she bursts out again:

Chakor: "Who are you to look down on people like that? I bet to you, all the kids here just look like idiots, huh? You think you can just mock us. Are you so great? So you have a high IQ? You're a good student? So you have a good-looking face and you're tall!"

Uh, that statement took a turn, and Chakor realizes she's started to lose ground here. So she fumbles for a suitable retort, and insists that she CAN study. It's just that she hasn't bothered to!

Suraj tells her to prove it. What does she propose, and how will she show it?

Gulp. Chakor can't back down now, so she says she'll score high enough in the next exam to score one of those seats in special study hall. Clearly not believing she can do it, Suraj agrees to carry her piggyback for one lap around school if she succeeds.

Internally, Chakor does a little giddy dance at the prospect of being carried on his back, then tamps that down to coolly agree.

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Thanks to the news broadcast about the earthquake wrecking their house, Chakor's father's old friend had seen him on TV and called him to offer his house while the Ohs figure out what to do. Her father is thrilled to be reuniting with his old best friend, with whom he'd lost contact after they'd moved to Delhi.

When they arrive, Chakor marvels at the grand house; his friend must be a rich man.

Her father's friend is Kamal Narayan, who is married to Tejaswini, both of whom are very friendly and give Chakor a warm welcome. When KN notes that she's "even prettier in person," Tejaswini has to fess up that she was so curious about her that she couldn't wait and sought her out at school this morning as Chakor recognizes her as the mysterious photographer outside the school.

Tejaswini offers the services of her son to bring their luggage in, and sends him outside to the car where Chakor is gathering her things.

And really, it's no surprise at all when the two kiddos discover just who they're about to spend the next days, weeks, months, living with.

"You?"

"You?"

******

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-ANGEL SUKOR-