"Ehan, would you like me to cook you something for dinn...?" Lily stopped mid-sentence when she spotted Ehan in the living room. A 55-inch LED TV was opened and all his parts were scattered all around. Ehan's back was facing her, who was trying to fix everything back.

"God! Why do you do this to every electronic?" Lily whined, standing by the door.

It was a Sunday evening and Ehan had nothing to do. He completed his homework and played games, and now he was bored. He couldn't go out and roam around because of the allergy. So he opened the TV using some screwdrivers and observed which thing was placed where and which wire was to be attached to which thing. He has done this earlier too, with his laptop, tablet, washing machine, refrigerator, oven, etc. Whenever boredom kills, he opts for this option. Till now, he has successfully fixed his laptop, a few mobiles, and washing machine but the rest of the things went to trash.

"I'm bored, Lily" Ehan replied, not turning to face her.

"Make friends, my dear. You can't kill your boredom like this" she suggested, hoping he would listen and take her suggestion at least this time.

"I'm fine, Lily. I don't need anyone. And don't make dinner. I'll make it later" he responded, holding a golden board to observe it, thinking where that thing should be placed.

"Why don't you ever let me cook for you? I feel like I'm getting paid for nothing" Lily huffed in annoyance.

"You clean my room, supervise other workers get their work done. Isn't that enough?" He questioned back, still busy with the golden board.

"I'm your caretaker. Lemme..."

"I'm not a kid to be taken care of. Please" he spoke in a whisper, reminiscing his words.

"For God's sake, stop complaining, Ehan. You are not a kid to be taken care of. Learn to take care of yourself" His dad's bitter words which he heard 6 years ago, were still fresh in his memories.

---

Stretching her hands with a content smile playing on her lips, Ira looked around. She just reached London and came out of the airport. She looked at the tall buildings in amazement. All the tiredness from jetlag flew away in the air and excitement filled in her.

"I'm finally abroad" she squealed, earning a few strange looks from the people around but she was too busy in herself to notice that. She started walking as if she had been living there since birth. After walking to God knows where she stopped when she spotted an electronic shop. She went inside and got a SIM card. She asked the staff there to activate the sim. She came out of the shop and dialled Mary's number.

"Mary, I reached safely" she squealed, making Mary distance herself from the phone for a moment.

"Stop screaming, Ira. Didn't I ask you to behave?" Mary scolded from the other end.

Ira rolled her eyes and said, "Ok. I wanted to inform you that I reached safely"

"Good. Now call that agent we contacted and get the apartment. Don't roam there like you own the place" Mary advised, knowing Ira too well.

"Ok. Mary, is Pinky there?" She hesitantly asked, knowing very well that Mary would never let her do anything according to her wish.

"No, she isn't. And you don't need to waste so much money in calls" Mary hanged up, without letting her speak.

"Bipolar" she mumbled.

She called the agent and he asked her to wait at the airport. She took that opportunity to explore around, making sure she didn't get lost. She withdrew some cash from the ATM she noticed nearby.

After about 15 minutes, a blonde guy in his mid-twenties arrived and took her to show her a small apartment, more like a small room with an attached bathroom. She completed the formalities and rented the flat. Taking the keys from the agent, she closed the door shut.

"I still can't believe it" she squealed, looking around. She quickly unpacked her bag and took out the only toy she ever had her Hunny bunny.

"Hunny bunny, see where we are?" She showed the teddy around, smiling widely.

"Finally! We are out of there. Do you like this place?" She asked the stuffed toy, raising her eyebrows at that.

"I like it too" she squealed, turning around. She blabbered to the toy about her plans and how they were going to live a peaceful life.

"Are you hungry? Me too" she asked the toy and answered herself.

"You sit here, I'll just go bring something to eat" She kept the teddy on the bed and went out, locking the door. She went downstairs and spotted a fast food stall at the end of the street. She bought a burger with fries. Coming back home, she finished the food, talking to her Hunny bunny.

Due to jetlag, she felt tired and dozed off in a few minutes. When she opened her eyes, she found herself in a dark room. A scream was about to escape her lips when she realised she wasn't punished, she was away from the orphanage to live her life. She quickly searched for the switch and turned on the light. She sighed loudly, leaning against the wall. Darkness was something which makes her feel uneasy. She checked the time and it was night already.

"It's ok, you'll get used to it," she told herself and turned the lights off. She laid back, shutting her eyes tight, clutching her Hunny bunny close to her heart.

When sleep didn't consume her, she spoke in a whisper, "Hunny bunny, are you scared?"

"Don't be, I'm with you. Nothing will happen. None of the horror stories you have heard so far was real. Ghosts don't kill you in darkness... " She stopped, feeling scared.

"Yes, ghosts and all don't exist. Sleep" she scolded the toy and buried her face in the pillow, too scared to open her eyes. After God knows how many hours of struggle, she fell asleep.

---

The next day, she went to her school and completed all the formalities. She learned that her classes would begin after a week. She spent the week roaming around. She thought of finding a job and starting to save to pay the debt to the earliest. She found a part-time job in a small restaurant run by a woman in her late thirties. The pay wasn't much but she believed 'something is better than nothing' so she accepted it.

Finally, it was her first day at school. She dresses up in a white tee and black jeans with a sweater on. She walked to school, which was 10 minutes away from the place she lived. Mary already made clear to the agent that they needed a flat near her school. This way, they found one.

She stepped into the school, clutching the strap of her bag. A wide smile on her lips. She was too excited to begin her studies, though she hated it. All the scholarship students were guided to an auditorium. She looked around and found students from all over the world. She took a seat beside a girl, who was busy typing something on her mobile. Ira leaned on the comfortable leather chair, taking in her surroundings.

"Good morning, students" a cheerful sweet voice boomed over the speakers, grabbing everyone's attention to the stage. Ira looked at the beautiful lady on stage, smiling cheerfully at everyone.

"It's my pleasure to extend a cheerful welcome to you all" Ira clapped with others, too excited.

"Welcome to 'The Elite Academy'" Everyone squealed in joy. A speech was given praising the scholarship students for their hard work and a few rules and regulations of the academy were stated. Ira heard everything with keen interest.

"Now, we would like to honour the topper, who scored remarkably amazing the previous year. Just like you guys, he was a scholarship student. With his great knowledge and hard work, he has broken all the records to date. He has topped with the highest percentage so far in the history of our academy and has scored centum in 7 subjects" Everyone squealed in amazement.

Ira's mouth hung open, "Unbelievable! Doesn't he have any work other than studying?" She mumbled.

"I request Ehan Sinha to come on stage" Ehan shut his eyes tight, wanting the earth to open up and swallow. He was sitting in the first row, not interested a bit.

Though he was rich, he preferred to study through his scholarship, instead of relying on his parents' money.

"Ehan Sinha, please come on stage" Ira raised a little from her seat and looked ahead, wanting to have a look at the fellow.

Unwillingly, Ehan went up the stage. His head hung low and fingers curled to a loose fist. The lady who was hosting the event made Ehan turn and face the crowd. Hooting and squealing were all could be heard in the hall.

Ehan bent his head when the Deen made him wear a medal and handed him a certificate. Loud applause echoed in the huge hall as a huge sparkling trophy was given to him, which he accepted mumbling a thank you. Pictures were clicked for the school magazine. Everyone was squealing as if they won the trophy except the one who won it. His face was blank, expressionless. Ira kept her eyes fixed on his void face, admiring his achievements.

When a mike was forwarded to him, asking him to speak a few words of encouragement to his juniors, he refused. When he was forcefully handed the Mike, he sighed and lifted his head to face everyone.

"Hello everyone, all I want to tell you is... Trust no one, but yourself. Your future is in your own hands. Use this opportunity to either make it or break it" his low voice boombed over the speakers, making everyone cheer. He mumbled a thank you and returned the Mike.

He didn't give the credit for his success to anyone nor did he thank God or his parents, which made Ira feel strange, "Maybe, he is like me; an orphan" she thought.

He silently walked down the stage, removing the medal from his neck. Ira kept looking at him until he disappeared from one of the doors.

"Why did that hottie leave so early? He should have spoken more" an Indian girl next to Ira whined, making her roll her eyes.

---

Keeping the trophy in a glass cabinet, Ehan hung the medal along with other medals. He took a few steps back and gazed at the huge cabinet, filled with the trophies, medals, and certificates he achieved so far.

"Mamma please... I'll be a good boy. Don't send me away" 6-year-old Ehan cried, clutching his Mom's hands.

"Ehan, baby stop crying. You are not going away forever. Mamma just wants you to score well and bring a lot of trophies home. I'll bring you back home if you impressed mamma by doing so" his Mom promised, wiping his tears.

"I did as you demanded, Mom, with the hope that someday, you'll be amazed and impressed by my hard work and take me back home. But now I understand, how fake those words were" he whispered, blankly staring at his trophies.

---

Assalamualaikum everyone,

How was the chapter?

They'll come face to face in the next chapter, In Sha Allah :)