|Chapter Six|

"Man, I'm hungry," Nitya mumbles as she drags her feet up the stairs, ahead of Aisha.

"Let's hope ma has got something for us in the fridge then," Aisha responds as the group of four reaches their floor.

"You're coming for tuition this evening, right?" Vivek asks Aisha quietly while Veer unlocks the door to their home, opposite to Aisha's residence.

"Yeah," Aisha nods. "And this time let's be serious about studying."

Vivek chuckles, his voice a little melody to Aisha's ears. "Sure," he nods before turning and walking into the house. Vivek looks at her once with a small smile before closing the door shut.

Turning, Aisha waits at the doorstep for someone to answer as Nitya rings the bell twice. Nobody answers. Furrowing her brows, Aisha rings the bell once, yet no response.

"Just great," Aisha sighs. It hasn't even been a day over in here and both her parents have started working fulltime at their workplaces. Even shifting didn't affect those two workaholics.

"Let's look for the keys," Aisha tells Nitya. Nodding, she and Aisha begin inspecting the floor, under the doormat, inside the flower pots, and over the doorframe. Over ten minutes have passed and the two girls are shuffling outside the locked front door, unable to find the keys.

"I'm hungry, Ash," Nitya wails, pouting sadly.

"We have to wait for them, Nitya," Aisha tries explaining. "There's no choice."

"Easter Bunny can help us, maybe," Nitya says, pointing a hand at the door of the Deshmukh's. Aisha glances at the door confusedly.

"You mean Vivek?" she asks to which Nitya nods a yes.

"But-" Aisha says when the door opposite to them clicks open and Vivek peeks out, his hazel eyes looking back and forth between Aisha and Nitya.

"I heard Nitya say Easter Bunny..." he explains.

"Oh, it was nothing," Aisha shakes her head.

"We are locked out, Bunny," Nitya speaks up, despite her sister throwing her a look of disapproval. "And I'm hungry."

"Oh," Vivek says, emerging out fully from behind the door and standing to face them with concern. He's now changed into a full-sleeved black T-shirt and tracks.

"We'll be fine," Aisha waves off, not wanting to burden the twins with any worries.

"No, I won't!" Nitya argues, stomping her foot with affirmation.

"Are you hungry, Nitya?" Vivek asks, grinning at the little girl.

"I could eat a whole large pizza!" Nitya says.

"Pizza, where?!" Veer's voice reaches them from somewhere inside the Deshmukh's house, making Vivek roll his eyes at his brother.

"Even our parents are out today and we have got some food, so you girls could come over-" Vivek offers.

"Oh yeah!" Nitya cuts him off as she rushes inside the Deshmukh's residence, slipping past Vivek swiftly like a little mouse on the run to her cheese.

"Whoa! She's fast," chuckles Vivek.

"I'm sorry for her behaviour," Aisha mumbles, making a mental note to teach that kid proper manners later on.

"Relax," Vivek smiles. "Veer is ten times worse, so I don't find it..." he trails off when he realizes what his words implied. "I don't mean to say that Nitya is bad... I mean she's yet to learn basic manners..." Vivek trails off yet again. "No, I didn't mean that either...She does know how to act, it's just that she's sometimes loud and interrupts people..."

Sighing at his stupid words, Vivek presses his lips into a thin line, cursing himself internally for such a blunder. His eyes dart up to look at Aisha when she laughs with amusement, making him blink at her.

"Gosh, Vivek," Aisha shakes her head, still grinning. "We're good, don't get so nervous."

"Right..." Nodding, Vivek holds the door wider, letting Aisha in with a relieved breath.

________

Vivek has got dark, dense tresses which are a shade of brown, intermixed with black and golden strands which make them appear to have been highlighted artificially. But Aisha can look and tell that they are naturally that way. The brown strands would turn a lighter shade of golden if he were to walk under the sun, making them look even more fascinating.

A few locks are tousled to the side which bounce lightly whenever he jerks his head or turns to look around. Aisha thinks if he trims the edges to give them an uneven layering, the wild locks will suit his distinct jaw and slender face even more, and it'd amplify the hazel hue of his eyes-

"Aisha?"

"Huh?" Aisha asks back, blinking at Vivek dumbly.

"Did you hear me the first three times I called you?" he asks softly, not wanting to sound rude.

"Um... No, I wasn't listening, sorry," Aisha shakes her head honestly.

"Okay, I'll repeat the theory then," Vivek nods as he unwearyingly explains the calculative solutions all over again. Aisha is surprised that he didn't pass her a sarcastic comment or even a look of disapproval. He was just so patient with teaching her.

Shaking those thoughts off her mind, Aisha attempts to concentrate on the theories and principles for the next hour or so, asking questions every now and then when something didn't make sense.

Ever since that request by one of her users to make a tutorial video on boy's hairstyling on YouTube, Aisha's been in a dilemma. Where would she find a boy to experiment her hairstyles on? Moreover, nobody should find out about her channel, so she can't even ask anyone to help her out.

Her eyes glint at an idea as she glances at Vivek who is now silently stacking the books away, having dismissed their tuitions for the day.

"Hey, Vivek..." Aisha speaks, fiddling with her pen thoughtfully.

"Hmm?" he responds, looking at her with a small smile.

"Can you tutor me at my place tomorrow?" she asks quietly.

Vivek's smile falters a little as he wonders about the offer. "Um, you don't like it here?" he asks, genuinely confused.

"No, I do," Aisha shakes her head. "I just need to talk about something with you after we're done with tomorrow's class."

A sharp gasp reaches the duo from over the bed. "Am I so insignificant?" Veer asks, clutching his heart overdramatically.

"See? This is the reason why I want you to meet me at my place," Aisha sighs, flailing a hand at Veer without casting his melodramatic self a glance.

Vivek gives it a moment's thought. "Um...okay," he nods with a shrug.

__________

"Am I the only one supposed to look after the kids?"

"Tulika, I didn't mean that and you know it."

"Oh yeah? Then what does calling me 'irresponsible mother' means, Pranjol?"

"Couldn't you have gone to inquire at the court some other time? The girls were left stranded at the doorstep."

"I would, had you ever compromised on your oh-so-important meetings."

"What have my meetings got to do with your inquiry?"

"Don't I need to prepare your meeting coats, get them ironed, make you a breakfast, prepare tiffin for you, and only then take a breath of relief every morning?"

"You could've left a key under the doormat or something."

Exchanging a glance, Aisha and Nitya sigh as they sink deeper into the couch in the living area, switching channels over the TV. "Raise the volume, please," Aisha tells Nitya who has the remote. At least Arijit Singh's loud songs sound better than the loud arguments of their parents.

"Why do they fight so much, Ash?" Nitya asks, frowning evidently as she switches channels and watches Shinchan steal a cookie from the fridge discreetly over the TV show.

"Where there's love, there are fights as well," Aisha tries to comfort the little girl.

When Nitya doesn't respond, still unconvinced, Aisha decides to speak further, "You and me fight a lot, don't we?"

"I suppose, yeah," she nods.

"In fact we fought minutes back when I had walked into your room without knocking, right?" Aisha asks, recalling the banter from a few minutes ago.

Nitya nods.

"And yet here we are, watching Doraemon and it's all okay between us now," Aisha explains.

"It's Shinchan," Nitya giggles.

"Yeah, whatever," Aisha waves off.

"You're right, I understand." Nitya nods.

Smiling, the girls resume to watching the cartoon over the TV screen. "Ash," Nitya speaks after a moment.

"Hmm?"

"Ma and deuta fight too much, so does that mean they love each other just the same amount?"

The question leaves Aisha speechless for a moment. Glancing sadly at the hallway which leads to their parents' bedroom and where the two are still arguing like little five-year-olds, Aisha knows it's not true to say they understand each other anymore. The two don't even try to talk things out anymore now. It's as if they've given up on this relationship long back and the only bond tying them together is the love for their two girls.

"Yeah, they love each other a lot, Ni," Aisha forces a smile on her face as she glances down at her little sister.

___________

Author's Note:-

I really think Vivek's a sweetheart to tutor someone with such patience and dedication. But at the same time, I think it's probably the Aisha-affect...? Who else agrees? XD

In all honesty, I loved creating the character of Nitya. She's more or less like my brother so, all in all, Nitya's the female version of Dheer, my brother XD *shush, don't tell him this!*

See ya later love!
*waves a goodbye*