I had never felt this nervous before. My knees were trembling and my forehead was covered with sweat. No matter how many times I wiped it off, it remained persistent. I took a deep a breath and rang the bell.

Trrrriinng!

I tapped my fingers on my thigh as I waited for someone to open the door. I thought of going back but at the exact moment, the door opened and Uncle's bright face came in my view.

"Good morning, Uncle," I greeted.

"Good morning, beta. Why are you standing outside? Come in," he said and welcomed me.

I got in, removed my shoes and put them in the shoe rack. I followed Uncle in the living room and he motioned me to take a seat. Aunty was in her room so I decided to wait for her and sat down on the sofa.

"So, beta. Your dad didn't come today?" Uncle asked and joked how dad had already given up on the bet.

I laughed along with him and it helped to calm my nerves. I had been anxious since last night. I had prepared a long ass speech and was going through some important points in my head over and over again. But I wasn't sure how they would react.

Aunty also came after few minutes and hugged me when she noticed me chatting with Uncle. She went in the kitchen to prepare coffee for us. I excused myself and went after her.

"Aunty, I want to talk about something," I said as I entered the kitchen.

"What is it, Sandhu?" she asked as she dropped some coffee in a vessel and added some sugar to it.

"It's really important. So, I want you to come in the living room."

"Why do you sound so serious? Is something troubling you?" She stopped her work and looked at me in worry.

"It's not about me, Aunty. Can you please come with me?" I assured her and her face became relaxed.

She followed me and I made her sit beside Uncle. I took a chair from the dining table and sat in front of them. I rubbed my palms and counted till ten in my head before I started. Both of them exchanged glances and aunty told her husband to mute the TV volume.

"When will Nikhil be back?" I asked.

"In about an hour probably," Uncle replied.

"Okay, then. We can start now. First of all, don't worry. I am not going to announce any bad news, so you both can relax. And second, I want your full attention. Can you please do that?" I glanced between them.

They both exchanged a look and nodded. Uncle switched off the TV and put the remote on the centre table. I smiled at them to remove any doubts they might have and they returned the gesture.

"Before I begin, I just want to inform that whatever I am going to say now is totally my opinion and I don't intend to hurt your feelings. So, if you feel that I am stepping out of my boundaries, you can stop me and tell me to leave.

"But, I would request you both to hear me out till the end because it's really really important and I don't think I will get another chance to say it. So, are you ready to listen to me?" I asked and sighed in relief when I got the positive response.

"I am not here to talk about my friend, Nikhil but about your son, Nikhil Avasthi. Yeah, I know. Sounds confusing but I will explain. I will like to start with praising your son for being such a nice and caring friend. I really value him and wouldn't exchange him for anyone else.

"Thank you for giving birth to him and raising him to be a man who respects women and knows how to treat everyone with kindness."

I stopped to drink some water and noticed that Aunty's eyes had become glazed. Uncle was staring at me intently and was noticing my every move with detail. I knew he was trying to read my thoughts. After drinking water, I continued.

"Well, you both know how great your son is but we can't deny that in past few weeks, he was out of his character. He was talking back to you and even got involved in wrong things. But, now he is back to his old self which means the problem is solved, but has it actually?

"I know you understand him better than me since you are his parents and are capable of deciding what's good and what's wrong for him. Whereas, I am just an outsider. I might not know him too well but there's one thing that I believe with my whole heart."

I took a dramatic pause and continued again.

"And that is, he does not want to join Air Force. It is not his dream. He wants to play basketball professionally. That's the dream he is working so hard for and would even die for it."

I checked their reactions. Aunty was trying to control her tears while Uncle had fisted his hands. He looked angry and I knew I had made him mad. But I didn't care about it. It didn't matter if he threw me out of his house and banned me from coming here. I wasn't here for myself, I was here for Nikhil.

"I am sorry but I have to say it even if it makes you angry. Nikhil is really good at basketball and he loves that sport with all of his heart. But, because he loves you too, he can't see you unhappy. That's why he decided to crush his ambitions and follow your dreams which he had mistaken to be his dream too.

"I know he himself said that he wanted to join armed forces but what if he was just saying that to not cause any conflict in the family? Uncle, he respects you and Lakshya bhaiyya a lot. There is no denial in that but doesn't he deserve to find his own path and build his own success story?

"Moreover, he is really lucky that he discovered his true calling at such an young age. And look at me. I don't even know what I want to be and I am in college. Look at dad too. He wanted to join Army but couldn't because of a medical condition. I know he doesn't hate his current job but still that regret of not being able to serve the country hasn't left him."

I couldn't stop myself from laughing when I remembered how dad would boast about it and we would just agree with him without giving much thought to it. I shook my head at the memory and continued my speech.

"I don't want Nikhil to feel regret too. To be honest, I am jealous of him. He is such a great player. I wish I could also play like that," I confessed and noticed that Aunty was crying now.

"Don't cry, Aunty. You should be proud of your son. You always tell him to learn from me, right? But let me tell you, it isn't him that needs to follow my example but the other way around. I know he made some mistakes but aren't mistakes meant to be forgiven?

"Every child is unique and so are his/her/their dreams. Nikhil is a great kid and don't worry, Aunty, he excels in studies too. It is just that when you distance him from something he truly cares about, his performance in other areas also goes down. And he is a teenager so it is obvious that he will rebel in some or other way.

"As for going in Air Force, I think he can serve the country by playing for India and taking it to new heights in his field. I know-no-I believe he is capable of that. He just wants your support. If you won't stand by his side, then who will?"

I got up from the chair and sat in front of Aunty. I took her hands in mine as she continued crying in silence. Uncle was staring ahead of him with a serious expression on his face. He was deep in thought but I knew he was listening to me too.

"He loves you guys enough to give up his dream for you. But, I don't want that that when he grows older and looks back at his past, he would blame his younger self for not being brave enough to speak up about what he actually wanted.

"Trust me, Aunty. Your son is made for greater things. Afterall, his mom is so great herself," I said and Aunty smiled through her tears. I turned my attention to Uncle.

"You too, old man," I addressed him and he raised an eyebrow at me. I didn't brake the stare and continued.

"You can tell me to leave if I offended you, Sir. But please don't be so harsh on your son. I know you are very proud of Lakshya bhaiyya but give a chance to Nikhil also to prove himself to you. You are his role model, so I hardly doubt that he will fail. Right?" I finished and waited for his response.

He didn't say anything for what seemed like ages and even Aunty got worried. I was scared too but I didn't show it. Did he freeze with anger? Just when I thought he would explode, he cracked a smile. I couldn't believe my eyes.

I glanced at Aunty and she was also staring at him in surprise. Uncle shook his head and let out a huge sigh. He looked at us and gave us a 100 watt lightbulb smile. Aunty also wiped her tears and caressed my hair.

I wasn't imagining all of this, was I?

"Uncle, you are not angry?" I asked in disbelief.

"Angry? Of course not. Do you think I am just an old grumpy ex-serviceman who doesn't feel any emotions? I am hurt," he replied.

"I thought you will go hulk mode," I commented.

"Come here, you little punk. You called me old, didn't you?" He ruffled my hair and pinched my cheek.

"We are not angry, Sandhu. Thank you for talking to us. I didn't realise I was hurting Nikhil all this time. My poor baby...." Aunty cried and Uncle put his right arm around her shoulders to console her.

"He had told us about his dream of becoming a professional basketball player but we didn't take him seriously. We just kept accusing him of not studying and kept comparing him to his brother," Uncle confessed.

"I am sure he wasn't able to put his point through properly," I said.

Uncle rubbed Aunty's back as she cried on his shoulder. She kept saying that she failed as a mother and should have been more careful. Uncle also started blaming himself for mistreating Nikhil and how he should have been more lenient towards him.

"Both of you, stop blaming yourself. What was supposed to happen, happened. Let's focus on now. We still have time to make amendments. So don't lose hope so soon," I assured.

"What can we do now, beta? He must be hating us," Aunty said.

"No, Aunty. He doesn't hate you. He loves you. So, I request you to take baby steps with him. Don't directly jump on him when he returns. Take things slow, okay?"

They both nodded and I smiled at them. I checked the timing and got up quickly. Nikhil would be here in ten minutes, so I should leave. My lecture went a little bit too long, but atleast I didn't mess it up. Right?

"Where are you going, beta? Wait for Nikhil. He will be here any minute. I will prepare breakfast too," Aunty announced and got up from the sofa.

"Thank you aunty but I should get going. And one more thing, please don't tell Nikhil that I was here and we had this discussion," I requested.

They looked at each other in confusion and asked me why. I thought about an excuse as I put on my shoes.

"Just don't. Please. I will tell you the reason later. But till then, please do as I say. It's a request," I pleaded and opened the door.

"Okay, we won't if you don't want us to," Uncle replied and I sighed in relief.

I said my good-byes and rushed out of their house. I pulled up my hoodie cap since it was chilling outside thanks to the rainy weather. I covered my face more and crossed their pavement. I jumped up in fright when a car almost crashed into me from my left side.

The car came to an abrupt halt and I cursed when a very pissed off Ved came out of the driver's side, followed by Nikhil and Karthik. Ved strode towards me and his face was red with fury.

"Do you have a death wish? Can't you see where you are going?" he shouted and stood in front of me.

I didn't reply as I was busy ogling his car. It was a fucking farallon black Jaguar XJ. I had seen it only in magazines or in movies. I was so amazed to see it in front of my eyes. It was so beautiful.

"Hey! I am talking to you." Ved flicked me on the forehead and I begrudgingly directed my eyes at him.

"Did you just come out of my house?" Nikhil asked and narrowed his eyes at me.

"I am getting late. Bye," I ignored his question and moved my feet but Ved grabbed my left arm.

"Why are you in a hurry? Are you trying to run away?" he provoked.

"Leave my hand," I ordered.

"And what if I don't?" he teased.

I tried to kick him but he blocked my leg and spun me around. He twisted my left arm to my back and grabbed my right arm too. He laughed when I couldn't free myself and kept teasing me.

"Let me go, Ved!"

"Why? I am enjoying this game. It's been so long since we played together."

This jerk!

"Bro, I think we should go," Karthik said.

Ved irritated me for few more seconds and then freed me. I stumbled forward but balanced myself before I fell down. I stretched my left arm and rubbed my wrist. It hurt so much.

Ved stared at me and then at my hand. He took a step forward but I put a safe distance between us. I glared at all three guys but decided to leave before I got in a fight with them.

"All of you are idiots!" I shouted and ran away.

It was better to get out of there before they ganged up and beat me to a pulp. Mom wouldn't have appreciated me getting in trouble and coming back home with broken bones. She would have broken the remaining ones too.

I needed to work on my fighting skills. I was still lacking a lot. I should go the gym and polish my moves.

Gambatte!