Saatvik squirmed at the chair awkwardly. He was looking at the inspector in front of him and then at his hands, which were sweating furiously. He was here in this police station again, which seems like his tenth time so far, and the inspector was just looking at him as if he was trying to solve something. Inspector Anil Deshpande was an honest police officer and also a family friend of Sardesai's family.

A boy came who kept a small glass of tea in front of Saatvik and that broke the awkward silence that has been there so far. Anil cleared his throat and asked. "So, you are here to bail your father again? I have lost the count. How many times have you done this so far?"

Saatvik gulped the tea in a go and he felt his tongue burn. He looked at Inspector Anil Deshpande and said, "Tenth time." It came more like a whisper.

Anil Deshpande, who has known about Saatvik and his family because of their family relation, looked at him and then at the jail where his friend or a person who was his friend before while saying, "I know ‌you don't enjoy coming to this police station so many times, even I don't like it seeing one of my old friends like this but please do something about his addiction. It was a good thing that he got arrested in the area which was under my control, but what would have happened if he would have done some more damage?"

He looked back at Saatvik and added. "I know your mom must be stressed now with all the work she has as the CEO of Sardesai company, but I think it's time now for your father to get his addiction under control, and only you are the one who could do it."

"But I told him so many times to go to the Rehab, but he never listens to me," Saatvik replied and Anil nodded his head as he knew how stubborn his friend is.

"I think you should convince him to go to the Rehab because if he doesn't then next time, the case would leave out of our hands." Anil sighs and asks the constable to release Sanjay Sardesai.

Anil then gives a form to Saatvik, and he signs where he was supposed to sign for the bail of his father. Once his father came out, he looked at him in disappointment and then at his family friend. If it weren't for him, his father would have been treated ‌badly with the number of arrests he had gotten for drinking and driving. He thanked his stars that nothing extreme had happened to his father so far, but this was the last straw. He will have to take his father to rehab with all his might.

Anil gave Saatvik a nod before leaving and Saatvik grabbed his father's hand while dragging him towards his car. Once he was strapped with the seat belt of the car, Saatvik went to the other side of the car and sat in the driver's seat.

Saatvik drove the car towards his apartment complex when his father said, "Stop the car. I don't want to stay at your house. I can take care of myself."

"And how you were going to do may I ask? Driving while you were drunk?" Saatvik asked while his gaze was still on the road.

He heard his father scoff at him while saying, "You don't need to babysit me. I will manage on my own. And tell your mom, not to fake worry about me, she is not my wife anymore."

Saatvik grabbed the steering wheel hard and when he was in the parking lot of his apartment complex, he turned his head towards his father while mocking him. "And whose fault is that huh? Weren't you the one who wanted to divorce her since she was the one handling the company that was mainly supposed to be yours, but after seeing your health, she had to do it? I am not taking sides or anything, but you are as much at fault as she is. So stop acting like a child and stay at my place tonight."

Sanjay kept his mouth shut and obeyed his son. He got out of the car while Saatvik kept a one-hand distance from him. Once they were on his floor, Saatvik opened the door and told his father. "You sleep in the guest room today. I have a match in a few hours, so I will come a bit late today. I will tell Kaku to make some food for you and please behave nicely with her. She has been taking care of me for a year now and I don't want you to do anything stupid while I am gone. Is that clear?"

Saatvik went towards his room and got his broken phone while looking in the drawer for the other phone he kept with him. It was a gift from his mom, but he didn't want to use it because it was from her.

Being a person from almost late 90s, he had the habit of remembering phone numbers for emergencies; he had remembered numbers of the important people in his life, such as his friend Sachit's landline number, the aunty who takes care of his health who is also the cook of his house and some numbers of his team members along with his coach from his team, He didn't think to save the numbers in this phone. He called his coach on the phone and told him ‌he will be there on the ground in half an hour and went to check on his father.

Once he was in the guest room, he heard ‌the water running from the bathroom, which was a sign that his father was there. He went to the almirah and got some clothes for his father. He put them on the bed while writing a note for his father about when he will be back.

As he was still not sure that his father will not leave him behind his back, he called Susheela Kaku on his phone and told her about her dad's arrival. He told her to monitor him until he comes back from the match and she agreed to it. Before leaving the house, He got his cricket bag kit and his car keys. He locked his father in his home and kept it in the hiding spot where he usually hides his keys.

Once he was inside the elevator, his mind kept wandering about what happened in the morning. If only he could see her face properly, his mind wouldn't have kept wandering about her thoughts. If he remembers it perfectly, she had long wavy hair who had had a dusky skin tone, and she seemed like someone who was under six feet in height.

As the elevator came to the parking lot, he walked toward his car and put his stuff in the car's backseat. He felt someone behind him. As he turned himself, he saw a journalist that has been following him since people got to know about his selection on the team and also about his family connection.

He sighs in frustration. "Are you here to follow me around all day long?" He asks the guy who seems like the guy older than him.

"It's my job, sir." He replies.

"Don't call me sir, I am younger than you." Saatvik tells him and adds, "Can you please stop following me? I already told you guys not to follow me."

The journalist had a sinister smile on his face and he asks, "Why? Are you afraid of us?"

Saatvik for a moment thought to punch the guy who was invading his personal space, but he threw that thought away from his mind and said, "I am not afraid of you, you are trying to invade my personal space And If I want to, I can call the cops to stop you guys from following me."

With that, he got inside his car and tried to get away from the journalist. It's a good thing that he got selected for the team, but he almost forgot that people have been trying their very best to get to know more about the Sardesai family and maybe after his selection, they thought to follow him more to get to know more about the scandal his father made.

He shakes his head and drove him towards his training ground. He had to practice there before today's match. It was his last match before he leaves for his training for the Indian cricket team, so he had to do his best in this match. It would be his last match as a normal cricketer and he wants to make it memorable.

As he was almost close to his training ground, he halted the car as a girl was standing in front of the car. He got out and looked at the girl. A dupatta hid her face. He could see her eyes, but they weren't looking at him, and then his gaze followed the kid who was crying beneath her. She looked at him and in angrily said, "तुमचे डोळे रस्त्याकडे नाहीत का? तुम्ही इतक्या बेपर्वाईने गाडी कशी चालवू शकता?"

(Aren't your eyes on the road? How can you drive so recklessly?)

She crouched down so that she can talk to the child who had a powerful hold on her. She cupped that small boy's face and asked, "तुला काही झालं नाही ना?"

(Nothing happened to you, right?)

That small boy shakes his head, and she looked back at Saatvik in anger. "तू कुठे बघत होतास? किंवा तुम्ही इतके व्यस्त आहात की तुम्ही तुमच्या कारसमोर पडलेल्या मुलाकडे पाहण्यास विसरलात?" she asks and then he looked at the knee of the boy that got scraped and the blood was oozing out from the wound.

(Where the heck were you looking at? Or were you that busy that you forgot to look at the kid who fell in front of your car?)

Saatvik gulped down and crouched down to look at the boy. He pulled his ears and said, "मी तुला दवाखान्यात घेऊन जातो आणि तुझ्या जखमेवर मलमपट्टी करून देतो. मी खरच माफी मागतो. मी गाडी चालवताना काहीतरी विचार करत होतो, म्हणूनच मी तुला पाहिले नाही."

(Let me take you to the hospital and get your wound to get dressed. I am really sorry. I was thinking about something while driving the car, that's why I didn't see you.)

The girl looked at him for a minute, but then she looked at the watch in her hand and she sighed. She turned her gaze towards the kid and in a cute and quiet voice, talked to the child. "मला आता जायचे आहे, पण जर या काकांनी तुम्हाला हॉस्पिटलमधून योग्य उपचार दिले नाहीत तर मला फोन करा."

(I have to go now, but if this uncle didn't give you proper treatment from the hospital, then call me.)

She scribbles something on paper and then gave it to the boy. She then smiled at the boy and from her bag gave him a bar of chocolate with the paper while saying, "हा माझा फोन नंबर आहे आणि जर या काकांनी हॉस्पिटलमध्ये तुमची काळजी घेतली नाही तर मी या काकांना शिक्षा देईन."

(This is my phone number, and if this uncle didn't take care of you in the hospital, I will give punishment to this uncle.)

That kid smiled at her, and Saatvik looked at her in shock. He then bows his head down in shame and said, "I am really sorry. I will look into this matter now, and I am sorry that you had to stay here till now. I am sure that you are getting late to go somewhere, right?"

That girl looked at him in shock and asked, "How did you know?"

Saatvik chuckled at her reaction and replied, "You looked at your watch, so I knew ‌you were getting late to go somewhere. I hope you won't get late because of me."

She smiled at him and put her hand forward while saying, "I am sorry for being rude to you before. I am ‌attached to so many kids that I usually feel a lot angry whenever something bad happens to them. That's why I was kind of rude to you. So sorry?"

He smiles at her and shakes hands with her. "I am sorry too." He said and laughs again. "We have said sorry a lot of times. So, Let me introduce myself. My name is Saatvik Sardesai, and yours?"

She laughs and said, "My name is Saanvi Meshram." Saatvik stood there in shock and he looked at her in shock.

He at first thought that he met her again but as he didn't know her name, his little hope got crushed. He was going to ask her something about her when she turned her gaze towards the bus stop and says, "I really have to go or I will miss my bus."

She left his hand and run towards the bus stop. She looked at the bus that was almost coming to the stop and sprinted her way towards it, and when the bus stopped just before her, she had a happy dance in her mind.

When she got onto the bus, she took an empty seat and looked outside the window, and waved her hands towards Saatvik and the kid who was waving her back. She may have not noticed the way Saatvik was still gazing at his right hand, but she felt herself blush for no reason.

Why are you blushing for no reason, Saav? She reminded herself, and then she smiled, remembering the way the boy was asking for her forgiveness.

He looks hot, though. Her inner voice said to her, at which she mentally slapped herself for getting that type of thought in her head.

After her typing class, which was almost one hour tops, Saanvi spent some time at the park that was close to her class. She started playing with some random kids from the park before leaving for her other class. A boy kept asking to play with her. As she couldn't say no to his innocent face, so she stayed with him for a few more minutes when that boy started running towards the other side of the road and somehow he fell but before that boy could stand up, a car was almost in front of her and she stood in front of the kid so that he doesn't get hurt.

Yes, it was foolish of her to stand in front of a car like that, but somehow a part of her felt proud that she could stop that car.

Hopefully, that guy takes good care of that kid. She thought to herself and then her mind wanders over the way his hand felt warm during their handshake.

"I hope we meet again." She says out loud and then stood up as her stop was going to come.

*****

At the hospital, after the boy got his wounds dressed up. Saatvik took him with him and thought to take him towards his practice ground. After a lot of pestering, Saatvik got to know about the kid's parents' number (Thankfully for him, that kid knew his parent's phone number, which saved some time for him). He had called the parents of the boy and told them to pick him up from the ground as he was getting late and after he was sure that they would come to pick their kid from the ground.

That kid was silent throughout their entire ride to the ground, but he started jumping in excitement as that kid saw ‌he could see cricket and people playing cricket.

Once the car stopped, Saatvik looked at the boy and asked, "Are you excited, champ?"

That kid nodded his head in excitement and gave him a toothy smile. Saatvik got out of the car first, he took his cricket kit with him, and then he opened the door of his car for the kid. He then gave that boy his hands for support and made sure that the kid got out of the car carefully.

Saatvik's gaze then followed towards the note Saanvi gave that boy and he smiled at the kid. "Are you going to call that Didi? You should tell her ‌I took good care of you, right?" he asks the kid.

That kid shakes his head and replies. "No, because she said that she was busy, remember uncle?"

"Call me bhaiya, not uncle, I am not that old." Saatvik pouted, and the kid laughed at his reaction.

"Okay, bhaiya. I will call you Bhaiya, don't frown." That kid said and patted Saatvik on his stomach while adding. "Don't be sad, I will share the chocolate that Didi gave me."

He fished out the chocolate Saanvi gave him and broke the chocolate in half. He gave the other half to Saatvik and kept the other half with him. Saatvik smiled at the chocolate piece and mentally prayed that he will meet her again.

*****

"So, can anyone tell me how to solve this equation?" Sir asked and everyone kept their hands up in response.

He looked at everyone from the class and then he says, "Abhay, why don't you answer this question?" Everyone looked at Abhay, who had a smile on his face, and told the answer.

Once he heard that the answer he had given was correct, he proudly sat back and sighed. "Good Job, Abhay! That was indeed the correct answer." He heard Saanvi praise him and he blushed a little.

"Thanks, but I think I should thank you for it. After all, you were the one who gave me the notes for yesterday's lecture." Abhay says to her, and she shakes her head.

"Don't thank me, it was you who prepared it well for the class," Saanvi whispered and went back to solve the other questions that were in her hand.

Abhay may have been an obvious guy as everyone in the class knew about his crush on her instead of her and obviously, he didn't have the gut to tell her from the front about his crush on her.

He looked at her from the side-eye view and saw the way her hair was disturbing her. She tried to keep that away, but it all went in vain. He almost attempted to keep that strand away from her face and put it behind her ear when their teacher announced that the lecture was done. He saw her keeping her books back in her bag when the teacher announced. "As your next lecture professor is not here for today, this was the last class of the day. So you can leave now. Have fun, everyone!"

Saanvi stood up and before she could leave the room, Abhay announces, "Hey, Guy! Why don't we do something fun today? I heard a cricket match is going to be held today. The entry is almost free. Anyone interested?"

Everyone's ear perked up after hearing about going to see a cricket match except for Saanvi. When she got to know that there won't be any more lectures today, she had planned that she will spend the rest of the day in her house with no disturbance and she will watch her favorite K-Drama latest episode that was released a day before. The only thing that came as an obstacle to her sweet dream was this sudden announcement.

She looked up at Abhay and replied. "I won't be able to come today. Have some work at home." She lied, but it was for her good, besides she doesn't know if she is ready to make some real friends or not. After spending so many years without friends in her life, she was used to be living alone, and that was it. It was her, her family, her favorite series of K-Drama, and her happiness. She was content with all of that.

One of her other classmates whines at her reply and she said. "You always do this, Saav! This is the third time you are doing this, and I won't be listening to your lame excuses. You are coming with us."

Seeing that her lie did not convince her classmates, she got a brilliant idea in her head. She says, "I am sorry, but I seriously can't come. My dad won't allow me, you know."

Another girl then says, "Then call your dad and ask him in front of us. I am sure that he will allow you once we told him ‌you are going with us."

Everyone from her class nod their head and at that Saanvi felt herself getting caught in her lie. There was one thing that her mom and dad always wished for her and that was to her having friends and she always tried to divert ‌discussion about friendship whenever they talked about it. So it convinced her that once she calls her dad in front of her classmates, he wouldn't say no to them.

She laughs a little and then calls her dad. He picked up the call in an instant.

"Hello, Beta! How are you? You called early. Is everything alright?" He asks her, and she takes her phone call to the corner of the room, where no one can hear her talk with her father.

She looked back at her classmates and then tries to smile at them, she then turned her head again and whispered. "Dad, listen. My classmates want me to join them to watch a cricket match or something and I don't want to, so can you lie to them saying that you need me to help you at the home?"

Sunil laughs at that and says, "Okay. Keep your phone in speaker mode, and I will do as you asked."

Saanvi comes back to the center of the class and says, "See, my dad disagrees with it."

She turned her phone into speaker mode and then they heard her father say. "Who said I disagree with it? I want you to spend some time with your friends. So enjoy your time, beta!"

Everyone in the classroom cheered in joy, except for Saanvi. She smiled and nods her head whenever her classmates said something about the match when she finally left the room and stood at the staircase while saying, "PAPA! Why did you do that?"

She heard him laughing at her, and she shakes her head. "You said that you will say no. Why?" she whines to which her father replies. "I am doing this for you, and trust me, you will miss all of this time once it's gone."

"But-"

"And if you didn't watch that match with your classmates or even attempted to make friends there, NO MORE K-DRAMAS FOR YOU." He warned her and she felt her jaw drop.

"You will not do this, right?" She asks him.

"Try me." He replied to her and that was when she knew, she screwed up.

God help me! She said in her mind and then went back to her classroom.

~~~~~~*~~~~~~

How was the chapter? Good, Bad, or Moderate? Tell me your views on this chapter in the comment section.

Next Chapter: after 18th April but if you all guys are lucky then maybe I will publish it a bit earlier.

Until Then, Bye!

R. S. Gajbhiye