Raglak Few Shots by Bela: Cocktail (Shot 2)

Bela is back. Again. With the second shot. Thank you everyone for your comments. Please do keep advising whether there are any grammatical or structural errors because I am preparing for my English Board exam. And if anyone has any suggestions for me, regarding the plot, you are welcome to discuss it. A reader told me to include Tashan in Raglak’s relationship. I am obliging her. It would be fun, actually. So, yeah. Suggestions welcome.

Link to the previous parts, if anyone missed it:

Prologue

shot 1

Let us start the part……….

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“Yes. Gosh, I am SO excited. Finally, my Ragini has found a good boy to settle down with. He is very rich and comes from a very good family. Haan. A Maheshwari! And if she is taking so long, he must be good-natured too. I trust my daughter’s choice……..”

I looked at my mother with a frown. I had just entered the house when I saw my mother sitting regally on a sofa, chatting pleasantly on the phone with who I could guess was my aunt. But why was she so excited? And why was she talking as if I had accepted Lakshya, unless……………………

“She is home. Okay, Priya, I will talk to you later. Bye. Haan, I will inform you what happened. Details. Yes. Okay. Yes, precisely and accurately. Haan. FOR GOD’S SAKE WOMAN, KEEP THE DAMNED PHONE DOWN!” Mom screamed. I chuckled as I saw her red face. Papa rushed into the hall hearing the voice with a concerned and scared face shouting,”What happened? Any sales boy? Troubling you? Blank call? Stalker? Harassment?” I started laughing harder as Maa glared at Papa who promptly shut his mouth. Maa took a few deep breaths and then turned to me with a sweet smile.

“So, how was it?” She asked me with an expectant look. I smiled and replied, “Great.”

The next moment, I was being hugged and smothered by kisses from my mother who was muttering something about how I had made her so happy. I struggled a little and saw Papa smiling widely at me, stroking my hair affectionately. Maa pulled back and pinched my cheek.

“I am so glad that you have agreed for this marriage!” She said happily. I widened my eyes in shock.

“My daughter is going to be a Maheshwari. She is going to be my best friend’s daughter in law. My happiness knows no bounds today.” Papa said emotionally. I escaped from Maa’s grasp and looked at them both in shock.

“I am not marrying him Maa.”

The smiles on their faces vanished. They both looked at each other in confusion then looked at me.

“What?”
“Why?”
“Is he ugly?”
“Is he rude?”
“Is he fat?”
“Is he committed?”
“Is he gay?”
“Is he a drug addict?”
“Is he impotent?”

I looked on incredulously as my parents shot me these ridiculous questions one by one. The more sensible were from my Dad. Gay? Impotent? Where did Mom come up with THAT?

“Hold on, peeps, just a sec. What are you both asking? I am not getting married to him not because of any of his shortcomings, we just didn’t click in the way a couple should.” I explained to them.

Maa’s face fell. I felt a little bad seeing her and Papa disappointed. Dad gave me a gentle smile and shook his head. “No problem beta. You can’t expect everything to go perfectly on your first date. It is just the beginning. There are many men out there. Don’t worry.” He said. I smiled and hugged him.

“What took you so long if you guys didn’t click?” Maa asked me as we sat down on the sofa.

“We, we felt connected. Maa, you know, it felt like I was meeting a friend after a long time. Which is technically true, but Lakshya and I never had that sort of a bonding when we were young. But today, after we established that we didn’t want to marry each other, we hit it off easily. We spent our time talking about our lives, our crushes, our work and our memories of our childhood together. It was so much fun Maa. It was as if I was talking to my best friend, rather than a stranger.” I replied to her, sighing happily.

Maa smiled fondly. “Was he handsome?” Maa asked conspiratorially with a wink. I closed my eyes and Lakshya’s face appeared. His dark black eyes, shaggy soft black hair, his long nose, his lips and his s*xy stubble. I opened my eyes and made an okay-okay face to Maa and she heaved a sigh of relief. “Chalo, it is fine then that you rejected him. I want a very handsome son in law. Otherwise, Mrs. Dayal would make fun of me, taunting me that her son in law Prahlad is better looking than my son in law. Imagine the horror!” Maa said with widened eyes. Papa and I burst out laughing while Mom gave us a lopsided grin. I gave side hugs to my parents who hugged me back.

“So you and he are okay na? Otherwise it could get awkward when we go to Durga’s house………..” Papa asked worriedly. I put a hand on his arm to assure him. “Papa, Lakshya himself has said that he is getting the feeling that we will be best friends in the future. We bonded well Pa. Don’t worry. This failed proposal is not going to hamper your relationship with DP uncle. Anyways, this was just a try. Lakshya is already in an on-off relationship with someone.” I said.

I noticed my parents glancing at each other. I ignored it. I turned to Maa. “Maa I am hungry! When is the dinner going to be laid?” I asked her. “Five minutes baby.” She replied. I smiled and after giving my parents sloppy kisses on their cheeks, I went upstairs to my room to get fresh before dinner. As I looked back, I saw them whispering something amongst themselves. They looked worried. I was tempted to ask them what it was but decided not to prod them. If it needs to be discussed, it would be done. Till then, it was none of my business.

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“WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU DOING FOR THREE HOURS WITH HER WHEN IN THE END YOU HAD TO REJECT HER?” Papa bellowed at me. I was being interrogated by my excited turned angry parents.

Maa was looking disappointed. I looked at Papa and gave another sigh. My twentieth since the past ten minutes. Which is an average of two sighs per minute. Which meant that I was sighing a lot……………….

“Lakshya, ANSWER ME GODDAMIT! I refuse to believe that all you both could do was talk. I am ashamed of you Lakshya. What kind of a behaviour is this? She is my friend’s daughter. What would I answer him if something happens?” Papa asked me. I frowned in confusion.

“Dekhiye Ji…………” Maa tried to intervene.

“What should I see Annapurna? Haan? They were alone for three hours. God knows what must happened behind those closed doors. I know Ragini is a good child but this son of mine! God knows what he was up to!”

I got even more confused. What was Papa talking about?

Papa sat on the sofa and raised his hand to pass them through his hair. Then he remembered that he didn’t have any hair, in the first place. He turned to me in frustration as I controlled my laughter. “At least tell me that you used protection.” Papa said in defeat.

Oh Shit! Now I understood what he was talking about. I should have been angry that my parents were doubting me but the situation was so funny that I ended up clutching my sides, wiping my eyes as I laughed hard.

“This is NOT funny Lakshya.”

“It is Dad. You………you actually…….think that Ragini and I were………….bringing it on in your study in that cafe?” I asked as I laughed. Papa sniffed in hurt. I felt pity on him and kissed his bald head fondly.

“Papa, Ragini and I were talking. Even though we both were not that close when we were kids, when we met and started talking, one thing led to another and we kept on talking about ourselves that we lost track of time. I never wanted to go on this date in the first place, I did it solely because of your request and because you had already talked to Shekhar Uncle and I didn’t want you to feel ashamed in front of them. I wasn’t interested but I can never regret this date. Because even though we rejected each other, we ended up becoming friends. She is an amazing friend Papa. We connected in a totally different way than how you all wanted us to but I am very happy. Just like Shekhar Uncle is your best friend, Ragini is on the verge of becoming MY best friend. That too, in the first meeting itself!” I said happily. Maa looked at me with a smile and stroked my hair while Papa gaped at me in confusion.

“So you both weren’t romancing?”

“Nope Papa.”

“Hein? So all you did for three hours was talk, eat and drink till the stock in the café got over and then reject each other and come back?”

“If you put it that way, I guess yes.”

“Idiot! Couldn’t you tell this to me before? Here, I was having a high BP thinking that you were seducing that poor girl. I would have died of shame. You could have spared me the effort and yourself the scolding. Useless boy!” Papa screamed in anger. I was tempted to point out that it was because of HIM that I wasn’t able to say anything as he didn’t allow me to talk. However, I kept my mouth shut wisely.

Papa calmed down after a few minutes. He turned to me with a smile. “I am sorry son.” He said with a face full of guilt. I smiled at him and hugged him tightly. Maa came and hugged me from my back too.

As we sat down for dinner, Maa asked me, “Was she pretty?”

I recalled Ragini’s long black hair, her deep brown eyes, her soft red pout, her flawless skin and her beautiful smile. “She was okay looking. Like nothing out of the ordinary.” I replied. Maa nodded and we continued dinner. I noticed both of them looking worried throughout but I ignored it. Maybe it was something related to work. Not my business.

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I was washing my face to remove the day’s impurities when my phone beeped. Wiping my face by my towel, I picked it up and smiled. It was Lakshy……..FFL.

FFL: Hey ya! U there?

Lying down on my bed on my stomach, I typed back.

Me: Yep. How did the ‘Confrontation’ go?

FFL: It went??????. Like Dad thought I had seduced you and we were actually doing it in his study???

I laughed as I read it. Good to know that there were other parents like mine.

Me: My Mom apparently thought that you were either ugly, or fat or gay or impotent which is why I didn’t agree while my Dad thought that maybe you were rude or already committed which is why I rejected you.??

FFL: Your Mom???. But your Dad basically guessed the reason right.

Me: After that, he asked whether you were a drug addict………..

FFL: ?????

Me: So, yeah.

FFL: Are all parents like this or have we been specially endowed by Him?

Me: No idea man. I just know that mine are crazy.

FFL: Mine too. High five✋✋✋

He sent me a screenshot of our chat and I could see that he had saved my number as PSL. I smirked and sent him a screenshot of my phone.

FFL: ???

Me: I got scared?????

FFL: Any plans for the next week?

Me: Trip to Goa with friends.

FFL: And will your Sanskaar be there too???

Me: Yep?

FFL: Good luck then???. Achha take care. Kavya is calling. Bye. Goodnight.???

Me: Goodnight Majnu. And good luck with your Laila?????

I kept the phone down as I smiled. It was kind of refreshing, talking to him.

I tried to analyse why it was that Lakshya and I had become such good friends in such a short span of time. I realised that it was because we were not judging each other. A person can never talk to another person if he feels that the other person is judging him or her. I know FFL is not judging me for who I am. He was frank and easy to talk to, even if he wasn’t particularly friendly. Once or twice, we did end up arguing because he was honest about what he thought of me. But it was good to know someone else’s critical perception. Once he opened up, even I didn’t comment on his decisions. I pointed out his flaws but didn’t impose myself. We respected the fact that we were in charge of our own lives. It was refreshing.

A beep came again. I looked at my phone and saw that Sanskaar had messaged me.

Sanky: Yo baby? Wassup?
Me: Nothing much. You tell.
Sanky: I met a girl at a party today. Hot as hell! ???

The smile on my face was wiped off with his one single message. My mood darkened. I knew that I had no chance for about a week now.

Sanky: She is a supermodel. Swara Bose. I fell in love at first sight.
Me: Take her number then.
Sanky: Did already babe???. We will be meeting tomorrow at Cubixo.

There. That was it. Cubixo is a reputed nightclub because that place is swarmed by people looking for one night stands. I was sure this Swara would be spending the night with Sanky.

Unbridled tears came to my eyes. I messaged a Goodnight to Sanskaar. I laid my head on my satin pillow as the tears rolled down my cheeks. Why does he have to be such a jerk? Why? Can he not see that I like him? Is he blind?

My phone beeped again. I looked at it and smiled through my tears. It was Lakshya.

He: I don’t know what kind of luck you wished upon me because Kavya and I ended up fighting. And broke up. Yet again. Manhoos PSL?

Me: MPSL?????

He: You go to sleep please. You are drunk.? We will talk sense when you stop your nonsense. Chal bye. And don’t you dare reply back to me after this. We will end up chatting again. Final goodbye.✋✋. Over and out!

I smiled as I read his message. Locking my screen, I laid down my head on the pillow again. I closed my eyes and went into the land of slumber, happy with how the day went.

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“No Papa.”
“Please beta?”
“You will try to fix me up with another girl.”
“No. Your mother and I have decided that we won’t ask you to meet more than one girl per week. That means only four girls a month. See, impressive na?”

I clapped sarcastically. Papa looked very happy and then picked up his collars. I slapped my forehead in irritation.

“So you will go with us to the wedding, right? Please, it is our first appearance in Delhi as residents. We need to stick together as a family.” Papa pleaded. I nodded my head in resignation.

The Agnihotri family had invited all the elite to their daughter Menaka’s wedding. While I would have preferred reading a book at home while eating, my parents insisted that I attend the function. It was our first family appearance in Delhi and since there would be media present, Dad wanted us all present with our best behaviour on display.

As I reached the venue, I looked around me. People were chatting pleasantly while having ‘little bites’ of the starters. Women were praising each each other’s clothes and jewellery in envy while the men were trying to prove themselves cool with a glass of whiskey in one hand, and the other thrust into the pocket of their coats. This was going to be my life in a few years. I would have to socialise like them while my wife would be amongst the ladies, gossiping. And I am not being s*xist, this was exactly what I was seeing, unfiltered and unapologetic. Just thinking of it gave me a headache. How would I live this life?

And then I spotted her. Kavya. What was she doing here? She was cozying up to a man of my age who had a drink in one hand and his arm around her waist. I walked closer to them. As I was walking, I heard some ladies gossiping.

“Who is that girl with Shashank? She seems new……..”

“Arrey, she is Kewal and Kaveri’s daughter Kavya. I have heard she is trying to enter films. You know Shashank na, he is best friends with that producer……what was his name? Raunak Shah. Haan. Maybe that is why she is clinging to him.”

“Kewal Kapoor’s daughter? Oh my God! I have heard…………….”

What I heard made me feel disgusted. Weren’t the women ashamed of themselves? How could they demean another woman, being women themselves?

Kavya spotted me as I neared them. As I was about to open my mouth, she signed me to keep quiet. I knitted my brows in confusion.

I felt a strong hand shaking mine and I looked up and saw Shashank smiling slickly at me. I shook back his hand, all the while looking at Kavya.

“Lakshya Maheshwari, right? I was dying to meet you! You are so popular in our social circuit, even though you haven’t formally entered it! I am so happy that we are acquaintances now. See, everyone is so jealous of me…………” Shashank prattled. I raised my eyebrow at Kavya. She indicated to me to meet her behind a tree. I nodded and went away after making polite conversation with the chep Shashank.

“What are you doing here Laksh?” Kavya asked me as she came to me. I raised my eyebrow at her.

“Umm……I relocated to Delhi, remember? I live here now. I should be asking you what YOU are doing here. What are you doing here by the way?”

“I am here with Shashank. Like, we are kind of seeing each other. He is famous producer Raunak Shah’s best buddy. I cannot reach Raunak himself so I decided to use my contact with Shashank. Just see Lucky, I would soon be a Shah Productions heroine.”

“WHAT? You are using that man to get work? Kavya, what is wrong with you? Why are you playing with someone’s feelings……..”

“Shut up Lucky! I am not doing anything wrong. And you seriously think he is taken with me? Shashank doesn’t work that way. He sucks up to people who he benefits from. Like he sucked up to you a little while ago because you are the heir to one of the biggest empires in the country. So he is with me only because he is getting some fun…………”

I felt tears coming to my eyes. I turned around quickly to hide them. How can she? How can she do that? Does my feelings not matter to her? Doesn’t she understand how I feel when she does this? It has hardly been a week since we broke up the night I came to Delhi and she is already sleeping…………………..

I turned to Kavya after wiping my tears and found her gone already. I looked around and saw her in Shahshank’s arms, too close. I felt disgusted. The gossiping ladies were right, after all. Kavya was using him for her benefit. And that made me sick. I decided to ignore her for the rest of the evening like she was ignoring me. I had an image to build, after all.

After a round of pleasantness with the hosts, getting clicked by the paparazzi and having drinks with the important contacts, I slinked away. I went to the lawn to get a breath of fresh air. As I walked out, I saw a middle-aged couple sitting on a setee outside. The man was feeding the lady a piece of kebab while she was giggling sweetly. I smiled seeing them.

“I don’t want to go back inside. They are boring me to death! And I swear, if I have to see once more at Sujata Singhania’s gold, my eyes would start bleeding!” The lady pouted. The man smiled fondly.

“My dear wife, I totally agree. My own eyes started watering when I saw that female Bappi Lahiri! But I am afraid we have to go in. It would create a scandal! We have been here outside for an hour now. People must be wondering where we were………..”

“Is it an hour already? My God, how time flies by! It seems like just a few minutes! Let us go quickly, we anyways have to refill our plates. Let us do so, before a crowd forms in the hall!” The woman said in a hurry. Her husband smiled and stood up. He offered her his hand and she stood up blushing. Snaking his arm across her waist, he led her indoors.

I realise that I was intruding on their privacy but seeing them so much in love at their age felt so amazing. I want a life like THAT. With the woman I love in my life. And the love between us intact even after years of marriage. Like the relationship between my parents. Like the relationship between this couple. But as I tried imagining my life with Kavya, all I could see was darkness. But it figures. I like Kavya, I am not yet in love with her. So where was my love?

“Lakshya?” A feminine voice came from behind me. I turned around and saw Ragini standing behind me in a pretty pink chiffon sari with a gold border and a gold blouse. Her hair was in loose waves on one shoulder. She wore minimal makeup and just a bracelet and jhumkas. She was looking really pretty. I smiled as I saw her.

“You are here? What are you doing here? Weren’t you planning a trip with your friends?” I asked her as I helped her down to the ground from the stairs which connected the house to the lawns. She looked around worriedly.

“No. The plan got cancelled as Sanskaar’s new girlfriend Swara cannot come. And about what I am doing here outside, I am looking for my parents. We came together but Maa got a headache and she and Papa came out for fresh air. It has been an hour. Even your parents are asking for them. I am getting this weird feeling that I have been abandoned.” She replied.

So the much-in-love couple I was admiring just now were Ragini’s parents? Now that I think of it, some of Ragini’s features did match with those of the lady while Ragini’s height was almost as that of the man.

“Was your mother in a red sari while your father was in a black achkan?” I asked her. She nodded. “You have seen them?” She asked.

“They were here. They went in just a minute ago. They must be in the hall, eating.” I replied. So they ARE Ragini’s parents. Cool. I liked them. Then I recalled that they had called me ugly, fat, rude, gay, impotent and a drug addict. My feelings diluted faster than I could blink.

Maa had received numerous invitations to dine but she reserved our first meeting for the Gadodias, our longtime family friends. Papa and Shekhar Uncle are already friends and even Maa and Janki Aunty go along like a house on fire. It was obvious and natural that we accepted their invitation first. Unfortunately, I had to go back to Mumbai the day we were supposed to dine at Ragini’s house. So I had not seen her parents till now. And nor had I seen her since a week. But we still chatted regularly.

“So they did not ditch me. Thank God! I am going to go crazy here. This place is so boring!” Ragini whined. I gave her a high five.

“Tell me about it man! I feel like sleeping wherever I go!” I replied. But I don’t think this would continue. Because Ragini was here. And I was getting the feeling that I would be having a lot of fun this evening.

“Lakshya, if you don’t mind, can we go inside? I want to check on my parents once. We will take our dinner and come here outside. There are tables here.” She said. I nodded to her. We went back inside.

I spotted her parents with mine and pointed them out to her. She sighed in relief and went towards them. I followed her.

“Arrey Lucky, we were looking for you! Janki, Shekhar, this is my son Lakshya. Lakshya, they are Ragini’s parents.” Maa said to me as she introduced me to them. They looked at me and smiled. I touched their feet and both of them hugged me warmly. Then Janki Aunty frowned.

“Ragini, you said that he was okay-okay. But he is so handsome!” She said. I raised an eyebrow at Ragini who turned crimson. “Maa!” She pleaded.

“And that reminds me Lakshya, that even you said that Ragini was an ordinary looking girl. Are you blind? She is so beautiful. So lovely!” Maa said to me as she fawned over Ragini. Now, it was my turn to blush and utter “Maa!” Ragini gave me a look which clearly meant “RUN!” and I nodded. We turned around, making excuses and ran outside together with our hands entwined. We collected our plates, piled it up with food and asked a waiter to bring us water outside. Then we went to the lawn to have our dinner.

“So, okay-okay? Seriously PSL, are you blind or are you dumb? Or do you have a really bad choice………”

“Oh hello, Your Highness! Even you called me ordinary and plain.”

“I never called you plain!”

“You called me ordinary!”

“Are you abnormal? Or is there something extraordinary about the way you look? You have two eyes, a nose, a pair of lips, two ears, a bunch of thick hair on your one head, two cheeks, two hands, two legs. You are normal. So isn’t that ordinary?”

“Are you done being cool? Cause you are not cool. You are a fool! Ordinary looking, indeed! Even my ass is not ordinary!”

I looked down behind her to check it out. She gasped and pushed me away, glaring at me. I started laughing hard. Soon, she smiled and joined me. We continued laughing till the waiter came with the glasses of water. We calmed ourselves down and finally sat down to have our dinner.

“So, what are you up to these days Mr. BFFL?” Ragini asked. I raised my eyebrow at her.

“Arrey, see. You named me MPSL na? So I named you BFFL. Busy French Fries Lover! Cause you were so busy, that you couldn’t attend dinner at my house.”

I clapped my hands sarcastically and complimented her on her high IQ. She giggled in amusement while I smiled.

“You guessed it right, I am busy these days. At least I will be till the end of this week. Some of the work needs to be taken care of in Mumbai before we shift it to Delhi. So I will be travelling to and fro between the two cities to see to it. What about you? Goa plan cancelled? Sanskaar got a girlfriend? Gimme the details, quick!” I said in the typical ‘Sharpay’ way.

Ragini rolled her eyes. “Let me explain the entire scenario to you. Sanskaar is a stud. Like, a Casanova. He doesn’t commit to one girl for too long. A month is maximum. So this week, he has been with a girl called Swara who is a supermodel. And I think they are…………liking their arrangement.”

“So out of all the men you could have liked, you set your heart on a man who doesn’t even commit? Bad boy types?” I asked her. Ragini nodded sadly. I side hugged her to comfort her.

We chatted amiably as we completed our dinner. Afterwards, we fetched our desserts and went back outside. We were talking and eating when Ragini looked behind me suspiciously. “Lakshya, I have noticed that girl looking at us for the past fifteen minutes. You know her?” She asked as she signed me to look behind. I looked back and saw Kavya. I turned back to Ragini and whispered, “Kavya!”

Ragini looked at me in glee. “Your one?” She asked. “My EX one!” I replied. Ragini winked at me conspiratorially and then took a spoonful of her cake and fed it to me rather lovingly. I ate the piece slowly, wondering what was going on. Then to my surprise, Ragini wrapped her arm across my waist and pulled me closer to her. Her lips were just above my ears.

I have no idea why but my heart started fluttering crazily. I could feel my strong fast heartbeats and a warm sensation gripped my entire body. Then Ragini whispered in my ear, “I ruined it, so I will take care of it. Just see how she comes crawling back to you!”

True to her statement, I heard a voice behind me, calling my name. I turned around and saw Kavya standing there, her eyes trained on Ragini rather contemptuously. Ragini smiled at her sweetly.

“Kavya? What are you doing here?” I asked her. Ragini was still gripping my waist and now she dug her nails into my skin. I looked at her and she signed me to keep quiet and wait and watch.

“Who is she?” Kavya asked me as she looked at Ragini. Ragini smiled pleasantly. I noticed that she gets a faint dimple on her left cheek.

“I am Ragini. Ragini Gadodia. And you are…………?”

Kavya crossed her arms in front of her and replied in full attitude. “Kavya Kapoor. And that is my boyfriend you are clinging to!”

“Didn’t you dump me a week ago Kavya? And aren’t you dating Shashank now?” I asked her. Kavya turned to me. She glared at me fiercely and for a moment, I actually got scared. Ragini let go of me and turned to her.

“Excuse me? I am not CLINGING to him. He is my friend. Aren’t you” she asked me snootily. However, I detected a slight wink. I smirked at her and turned to Kavya. “Yes we are. Best friends.”

Kavya pulled me up by my arm and dragged me away while I turned back to Ragini and gave her flying kisses. Ragini caught them together and made a show of inserting them in her heart. She smiled goofily and gave me a thumbs up. I turned to look at Kavya who was looking straight ahead furiously. Things would be alright.

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As I sat in front of my vanity, removing my makeup, my mind went to Lakshya. A smile crept on my face as I recalled our moments. We are seriously awesome! I surprised myself today by doing what I did. I am bold but I have never involved in PDA. But then, I have never had someone to involve in PDA with. This led me to think of Sanskaar and, as if on cue, his call came.

“Yes Sanky.”

“Listen, Swara is free from the twentieth. How about a week’s trip to Goa? You, me, Swara, Kabir, Nisha, Arjun, Kunj, Twinkle and Radhika. Okay na? Please do come. Everyone is ready.”

I wanted to refuse. What the hell is this? Should I plan my trips with my friends based on whether Swara is free or not? Should I be so flexible. I wanted to scream my head off at him. But the thought of friends together for a much delayed relaxing trip stopped me. Reluctantly, I agreed. But my mood had become off. I was about to throw my phone on my bed when it beeped. It was Lakshya.

Him: You can officially strike down the M from the MPSL. Thanks a lot Ragini???. Goodnight and sweet dreams?

I smiled as I read it. I felt happy for him. It is okay if my own story doesn’t progress. At least someone is happy. I promised to Lakshya that I would help him out whenever I could. And I intended to fulfil it.

I replied: Dosti Ki hai, nibhaani to padegi??. Goodnight Lakshya.?

With that, I went to sleep, smiling as I thought of how happy Lakshya must be right now.

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Right. Second shot over. Please do tell me how you liked it.

Coming Next: GOA???