Sanyukta shot open her eyes, breathing haphazardly and sweating profusely. A nightmare broke her peaceful two hour old sleep. She moved her hands roughly over her face before setlling her uneven breaths. Hell that was scary! She thought. Her heart ached for her mother's presence. She would never admit but having her mother around, always calms her down even in the worst situations. The nightmare was still fresh in her memory. Her father had killed her mother and she was standing aside, doing nothing. She felt so weak at that moment! At that point, she so wanted to be beside her mother! Jumping out of the bed, she clutched her cell and called her mother. After hearing her mother's voice, Sanyukta composed herself a bit. Once assured about the status of her house, she abruptly chirpped a goodbye to her mom and cut the call. She didn't want her mom to worry about her condition here!

'What a start of the day!' She mumbled to herself and went on to freshen up with a heavy heart.

She was drying her hair in front of the small mirror when her cell beeped with a message. Imagining it to be of the service provider, Sanyukta picked her phone up, disinterestingly and the thing that caught her eyes made her frown hard.

Sadu: Don't get late on the first day of practice. Remember that you are with ME. I have a repo to maintain.

'Idiot' she cursed him, clutching her phone. She could imagine him smirking while texting. Already his thoughts were jumping over in her mind every now and then since the last night and this text of him made her recall all the incidents of last night and hot blood rushed over her chubby cheeks! How he confessed honestly! Unlike her. Her lips curved up in a smile reminiscing his flushed face just after his confession! If it would have been earlier, she would have been rolling all over the house, laughing hysterically! But then, she was the one he had confessed his attraction to! She couldn't make out what to say at that moment. Never in her life did she face such a situation! Or ever thought to be in any! Especially with Randhir being the one! She was still stunned!

The chain of her thoughts was broken by Aunty's call from the kitchen. She answered her call and went on to dress herself up, throwing the phone on the bed. She wasn't going to get late, again! No, obviously NOT for him but for herself! She has a self respect for heaven's sake!

She locked the door of her apartment and flung the keys inside the bag. She tried to recall whether she had forgotten to take anything! That sadu won't leave her whole then! After checking twice, she descended the stairs and hopped onto her scooty, mumbling
'I m not thinking about him..'
'I m NOT..!'

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

"Miss Sanyukta Aggarwal... Have you decided to break the record of being late, in your last year of the school?" Father bellowed, nodding his head hopelessly.

"I m sorry sir..." Sanyukta stammered standing on the entrance of the school auditorium, her head hung low. She could feel a pair eyes shooting daggers towards her. Hell? What was she? Any sort of fortune-teller? How was she even supposed to know that her scooty would betray her like this, that she had to drag it through a long route, till the garage to repair it, after it broke down in the middle of the road?

She could feel the other team mates gawking at her. Oh did she bother? NO! But the sharp eyes, eyeing her from the corner, intensely, made her bones shiver!

"Come on now.. This must be the last time.." She heard Father calling her inside. As she walked in, she saw Vidushi looking at her with a questioning gaze. She ignored her but stood beside her. She couldn't risk standing with HIM. To a note, she had noticed his attire today. And he looked HOT! Oh did she call him HOT? Hell indeed he was looking!

They weren't in their school dresses as they were on vacations. The team had to prepare for the championship and that is why Father has alloted them the whole empty school for practice sessions. Championship was in about fifteen days and they have got much less time to prepare. She looked up to a blabbering Father, which she, well, didn't hear at that moment! Her eyes darted towards Aryan, who was looking at her with a smirk. She rolled her eyes at him and moved her gaze to Father. Hah! He was much more interesting than this annoying Aryan! How was he smirking even? Wasn't last day's insult enough for him? She groaned internally.

"So I have got the lists of your tasks and made a clear chart upon it... Now about the partners, are you guys completely sure that you'd be able to do the best together?" He looked at Randhir & Sanyukta more that the other pairs. They replied in affirmative, in unison as Randhir and Sanyukta sighed together.

"Just for symmetry in the team, I have got another participant.. Tanya come inside.." Father exclaimed and all eyes darted towards the door from where, a skinny, bespectacled girl in a baggy costume, took an entry. Sanyukta looked at her in awe. Okay? Tanya? The goody-two-shoes nerd beside her from her section. Good good! At least she won't feel alienated!

"Aryan.. You can work with her I assume?" Father looked at Aryan, who at that moment looked a bit annoyed at his just found partner. He turned towards Father and smiled a fake one, after nodding his head positively.

"So team.. The chart is over there in the bulletin board. Have a look at that and inform me if anything is wrong... Now.. You guys may choose your own work space for practice. The field has been opened, the swimming pool is kept ready and the library has been unlocked for your convenience! Now its upto you and your tasks! Best of luck..!" Father halted in his speech and walked out of the auditorium leaving the team behind.

Sanyukta at once ran towards the bulletin board with others following her. Randhir stood rooted on his spot, waiting for her to return back as he had already seen the schedules and points about the task divisions.

She saw her and Randhir's name against the swimming and treasure hunt column. Parth and Vidushi were still stuck onto their the current affairs quiz whereas Aryan and Tanya got along with the 80 metres long cycle race, Aryan being a good athlete. Sanaya and Dhruv had their names against the mental aptitude test.

"What the fuck..." Sanyukta murmmered under her breath. They were supposed to get on with mental aptitude test and treasure hunt! Where from swimming dropped in? He didn't even inform her about the sudden change in his decisions! They were a team! He had to ask her before changing anything regarding the tasks! Leave alone asking, he didn't even inform her about that and was busy messaging nonsense! She turned around and saw him standing at a distance. Angrily, she marched towards him.

"Who do you think you are?" She charged him furiously.

"Randhir Shekhawat.. Twelfth standard, student of St.Louis, and your school-mate Sanyukta.." Randhir replied sarcastically tapping his feet on the ground and smiling at her.

"Oh yeah!" Sanyukta rolled her eyes at him.

"Why did you alter the tasks? We were supposed to participate in the mental aptitude test right? We studied the whole day at my house for that yesterday! Do you even remember that?" She swayed her hands in the air with an impossible expression adoring her face.

"Dhurv got a spine injury today early morning... I couldn't inform you.. He won't be able to swim for the competition.. And moreover, no one else in the team except me and you knows swimming.. So I just swapped the tasks.. He'll get discharged within next week and he could even prepare for the mental aptitude test in his home without stressing himself.." Randhir inhaled a deep breath after voicing in a breath and looked at her.

Sanyukta at once looked here and there to spot Dhruv but she couldn't. Wow. She didn't notice his absence amidst the chaos. He was right. She felt bad for Dhruv a bit. He would have surely made them win the swimming task being one of the best swimmers of St.Louis. Now for her and swimming, she doubted herself. She had left swimming since eighth standard and had not even staggered near the swimming pool for a long time. She had almost forgotten the feel of her body in neck deep water. Randhir was a great athlete!
He was the best in everything, regardless basketball, soccer, volleyball, swimming, racing! She highly doubted herself on the part of athletics now! She had broken all her ties with athletics after the tension started building up in her family. Her father was her first ever coach in swimming! He had started teaching her swimming when she used to be a small kid. These things now seem to be a tiny fairy tale story for Sanyukta.

Her trance broke by the click of his fingers in front of her eyes. She looked at him as he stared at her in awe.

"Give your mind a bit rest, will you?" He mocked at her, twisting his lips.

"How did you know about me knowing swimming..?" She felt strange but her lips turned into a slight smirk.

"Come on.. We are in the same school since last twelve years! Anyone would have known! And also, I had seen you many times in those extra swimming sessions of the school years back..." He looked straight into her eyes. Amusing? He should have felt awkward or strange talking to her after what he did last day but he wasn't feeling any? He felt his inner sense poking out.

As I was walking towards the library, I collided with Tanya in the narrow corridor on the way to the Library.

She immediately apologized meekly and cleared the path for me by moving away.

"Hi, Tanya, right?" Out of nowhere, I felt this compulsion to talk to her. Perhaps knowing her history with Aakash made me pity her a little bit.

"Ye..Yes." She stammered out, not once making eye-contact with me.

"What are you doing out here alone?" I enquired in a soft tone, taking into consideration her very disturbed demeanor.

"I...I don't know. I don't know where I should go now that Father has taken my application."

She seemed entirely clueless and it was obvious that she was forced out of her comfort zone.

"Where's your partner?"

"Aakash?" Her voice rose with his name. Poor girl appeared to have been abandoned by Aakash.

"I don't know..." I sighed.

"Did you get to choose your tasks? Did he come talk to you about this?" She nodded her head negatively before bending to look at her shoes.

Was Rishabh sure when he told me Tanya wanted to seek revenge on Aakash? That girl appeared entirely subdued before she could even do anything.

"Come, let's search for him. You need to confirm your tasks today itself." I found myself taking her hand and striding off towards the library with a very nervous Tanya sliding meekly behind me.

Upon entering the library, my eyes immediately fell on Rishabh who was standing before the very first shelf, scrolling through the tags. I made a direct beeline towards the librarian's desk with Tanya behind me.

I enquired about Aakash being in the library to a very disgruntled looking librarian who might have been annoyed at being called upon her job during the vacations. She gruffly voiced out a no before returning to the book she was reading.

I turned to Tanya who gave me a distraught look. As if on cue, Rishabh walked up to us with a very confused face.

"What's wrong?" He asked me, before glimpsing back at Tanya.

"We can't find Aakash. She has been roaming around cluelessly and he's nowhere to be seen. They have to submit their choice for the tasks within today." I answered in an irritated tone and Rishabh deadpanned.

"Seriously, Bimbo? What did I tell you about not worrying over other's issues? I've been rummaging here for half an hour, searching for materials for our task and you're going around..." He quickly stole a glimpse of a very uneasy Tanya before adding, "...looking for trouble yourself?"

I rolled my eyes at his obnoxious demeanor. Typical Rathore.

"Well, Tanya here needs to do her job. She can't just be roaming around. If you don't want to help, then don't. Let's go, Tanya. I'll make that asswipe straight." I was agitated.

"How is this any of your business, Sanvi?" Rishabh groaned which made the librarian shoo us out of her cabin.

I pulled Tanya alongwith me before I was stopped by Rathore blocking my way.

"What are you trying to accomplish?" He grumbled as he held my shoulders.

"Nothing." I answered nonchalantly before pushing his hands off of me. Rishabh groaned again before following us out.

There began our search for Aakash Khanna who seemed to have vanished in thin air, accompanied by Rishabh constant groans of frustrations and Tanya's humble 'I am so sorry for being such a bother'.

After what felt like an hour, we finally found him, smoking away behind the bleachers. Rishabh stayed behind while I briskly strided upto him, pulling Tanya along and made her stand right in front of him. Aakash masked his surprise with a grunt before throwing the butt on the field and aggressively squashing it with his shoe.

"What is this? What do you want?" He barked, looking disgustedly at both of us.

"There's two things you should be doing right now rather than smoking. One is to discuss your task with your partner and second is to go inform Father about it once you're done with it." I folded my arms against my chest.

"And who made you Team Captain?" He retorted menacingly.

"You did. When you began doing these stupid things, you automatically made me the Team Captain. So thank you for the honour and get back to work." I felt Tanya shifting uncomfortably in her heels beside me.

"I am NOT working with this bitch. Especially when I know all of this was orchestrated by your boyfriend." He snarled, rudely shoving Tanya on his way down the field, making me sprint behind him in anger.

I wasn't as rattled at the boyfriend comment as I should have been but I was focused on another thing.

"I didn't orchestrate anything. It was your own doing. Tanya is equally qualified to be in the team as we all are."
Came Rishabh's heavy voice as we turned to look at him holding off a very agitated Aakash.
My eyes widened in surprise but I had more urgent things to do, for instance, stop a bloody massacre right in the middle of the field. Triggered, I felt Tanya run alongwith me, sensing the tense situation.

"Yeah? Then why don't you qualified people indulge in a little promiscuous throuple then? Heard those are very popular these days." Aakash barked trying to push Rishabh off of him but he didn't budge. Wow, he was strong.
Rishabh sneered in response.

"Aakash, enough is enough. You heard
Father. There's no way you could perform alone. Tanya's right here

★★★★★★★★★★★★★
♥
TBC