‘Thigh!’ Dara greeted Aditya in the library. Aditya shook his head and sighed. Dara’s nose was jammed again.

 ‘Oooo idth dith?’ Dara asked Aditya pointing towards the boy who was with Aditya.

‘This is Chintan, my dad’s friend’s son.’ Dara extended his hand and said, ‘Thigh!’ Chintan looked with disgust at Dara’s hand that held a crumpled wet handkerchief and a nose inhaler. He gave an involuntary shudder and looked away

‘Thobh!’ Dara muttered to himself hurt by Chintan’s disdain. Aditya and Chintan pulled some chairs and sat down.

‘Bhai dith ooo bing imm ar?’ Dara whispered to Aditya gutturally. Knowing that Chintan couldn’t follow Dara’s garbled speech Aditya whispered, ‘I did not bring him. He had come home for a visit and he insisted on coming along. The nerd is a member of every single library in this town, can you believe it?’

‘Eebeee!’ Dara cheered sarcastically.

Chintan looked up from his reading and asked irritably, ’Does he need to talk?

’No, he doesn’t,’ Aditya reassured him and gestured with his eyes to Dara to keep quite.

‘Thobh!’ Dara muttered angrily.

Aditya gave Chintan a sidelong glance. Chintan’s face was buried in his book as if he was going to eat it. ‘Pompous ass!’ Aditya thought to himself. Meanwhile Dara was acting less endearing by the hour. He stuck the inhaler in his nose and jiggled his head. The inhaler quivered like a twig. Aditya grimaced and balled his fist and pointed it to Dara. The latter hastily removed the inhaler and pretended to read his book. Aditya’s face visibly brightened when he spotted Mahika and her friend Naina walking towards his table. He gave an imperceptible nod in greeting. The girls smiled and placed their bags on the table. Mahika’s bag was plastic. When she removed her books the bag crackled like a bag of chips. Chintan looked up with acute annoyance written on his face.

‘Excuse me!’ he barked. ‘Could you please take your papads outside the library?’

There was a gurgling sound like water bubbling as Dara inhaled sharply. Aditya on the other hand cursed silently and Naina’s heart began to beat faster at the thought of what was to come. All the three looked at Mahika. Her face was expressionless.

‘What did you say??’ her voice came out in a deadly murmur.

‘Thoh Thith!’, Dara muttered. He whispered to Chintan, ‘chae tholly mal.!’

‘What?’ Chintan turned an angry confused face towards Dara.

‘Apologize man. Say you are sorry,’ Aditya repeated Dara’s words.

‘Why should I…Aaaaargh…!’ The prig’s ego had been pricked and deflated by a pinch. Mahika had grabbed the flesh on the back of his hand and was now twisting and squeezing it. ‘Say you are sorry, bonehead!’ she said through gritted teeth.

 ‘Aaaaaargh! Stop it! Stop it! You witch!’ Chintan screamed.

The library was in an uproar now. Chairs were flung back as the students scrambled from their seats to have a better look. Someone yelled ‘Catfight!’ Someone else shouted back, ‘No! Dog and cat fight!’ The energy in the room was highly charged as the students gathered around and shoved and pushed each other to witness the drama. That the librarian had stepped out to speak to her boyfriend gave them the liberty to vent their enthusiasm. The boys whistled. The girls clapped and cheered and one of them even suggested that Mahi should also pull Chintan’s hair.

Aditya was horrified and embarrassed by Mahika’s atrocious behaviour. He also felt pity for the tormented boy. ‘Stop it Mahi!’ he shouted and pried her fingers open from Chintan’s hand.

‘Tell him to apologize!’ Mahika demanded. Chintan who was overcome with pain and embarrassment was too eager to apologize. ‘I…I am so…sorry,’ his voice came out in a trembling whisper.  The students groaned with disappointment that Chintan had given in so easily. They went back to their seats.

Chintan looked at his hand. It had turned reddish, bluish and greenish. He gingerly massaged his hand and looked fearfully at Mahika through the corner of his eyes. Mahika was still snorting like a she-dragon. Chintan was fearful that she was not done with him. He decided to flee the library. He got up.

‘Where are you going?’ Aditya asked him.

‘Uh…I just remembered that I have to be back at the hostel.’

Aditya felt sorry for the guy and a little guilty. Aditya told Chintan that he would drop him off at the hostel and asked him to wait near the car. Without a backward glance Chintan hastily strode out of the library.

‘What was the matter with you?’ Aditya angrily asked Mahi. ‘You made such big deal of a harmless remark. Not only did you embarrass the poor guy you practically harmed him.’

‘Which he deserved,’ said Mahika unremorsefully. ’Anyway I am guessing that Mr. MCP is your friend and hence you found nothing objectionable in his sexist remark. What do you guys think that we are good enough just to make papads and pickles?’

‘Mahi,’ said Aditya exasperatedly, ‘I don’t have the time to sit and debate with you the merits of women. Dara and I are leaving.’

‘What? You were supposed to teach me those algebraic formulas.’

‘Sorry.–– Hey you wanted to hear that, right?’ he said sarcastically Then he left the library with Dara.

‘What shall we do now?’ Mahi asked in a dejected tone.

‘Study, of course,’ said Naina.

‘No I am too depressed. Let’s go out for lunch. My treat.’

‘Okay’, said Naina happily.

‘Let’s hurry if we want a lift from Aditya,’ said Mahika.

‘Are you sure? That boy Chintan will be in the car.’

‘So what?’ asked Mahika, unperturbed. ‘We can rag him some more.’

‘Okay,’ said Naina and the girls ran out of the library giggling.

They came out of the building and saw the car about to leave. Chintan saw Mahika come running towards the car and shouting ‘Adi!  Wait for us! We need a lift!’ Chintan thought his heart would stop. ‘You know Phoolan Devi??’ he asked Aditya in a horror-stricken voice. Aditya laughed and said that she was his best friend. Chintan thought he would faint. When Aditya slammed on the brakes Chintan begged him not to stop the car. Aditya brushed away his fears telling him that Mahika in fact was pretty mild. It was the youngest sister who was wild. Chintan did not look convinced about Mahika’s credentials. He sighed and resigned himself to his fate.

The girls came and climbed into the car. Aditya introduced them to Chintan who gave a forced smile and then quickly turned his face away pretending to look outside. Mahika put on a remorseful face. ‘Hey Chintan I am really sorry about what happened in the library. Didn’t know my own strength there. But you really are a chauvinist pig, you know.’ The others gave a start but there was no reaction from Chintan. He continued to look outside the window. ‘Anyway, let’s see your hand,’ said Mahi in a nurse-maid voice. Chintan shook his head and dug his hand firmly in his pocket. Mahi shrugged her shoulders and made a face.

‘He doesn’t talk much, na?’ Naina observed. While Mahika nodded her head seriously Dara thought it was the biggest joke of the year. ‘Woth a thokh!’ he articulated his thought.

Aditya told Mahika that Chintan was in the second year in the Ratannagar Institute of Management.

‘Is that right? Well Adi and I are preparing for the CAT too. We will be giving the entrance test for RIM also but we both will be getting into one of the IIMs. Isn’t that right Adi?’ Adi gave her a brief smile and nodded his head. Then he and Dara gravely looked at each other in the mirror.

‘So Chintan,’ said Mahika and poked Chintan on the shoulder. He looked terrified. ‘I hear that the RIM has a lovely campus. Can we come to see it some day?’

‘Sure’, Chintan’s voice came out in a cracked whisper.

‘How about today?’

‘What? No! No! Today is not a good day!’ Chintan looked like a frightened animal in a cage.

‘Why not?’

‘Because….. Because I have to go some place else. Aditya please stop the car…I just remembered I have to go to my uncle’s place.’

‘But…you said…Oh okay.’ Aditya stopped the car. Chintan opened the door wished everyone a hurried goodbye and took off like someone had set his tail on fire. Mahika and Naina laughed uproariously and Dara gurgled happily. Aditya looked exasperated.

‘Now why did you do that?’ he asked Mahika.

‘He was annoying me.’

‘But the poor chap was quiet the whole time!’

‘Still.–– Anyway thank god that’s the last I’ll see of him. Adi I think you too should stay clear of him.

‘But we might bump into him when we go to RIM.’

‘Why would we go there? I said that to get rid of him. Of course we are not going there. We never will,’ Mahika said determinedly. Aditya looked at her silently.

Mahika’s mobile rang. It was Kajri telling her to get home quickly as there was an emergency.

‘I am sure someone in your house is making a mountain out of a molehill as usual,’ said Aditya wryly.

‘Don’t be presumptuous Adi,’ said Mahika. ‘This time it could be something serious.’

‘Sorry.–– Come, I’ll give you a lift home.’

‘No thanks’ Mahika shook her head. ‘If I go in your khataara I’ll reach only tomorrow I think I better take a rickshaw. Bye Naina. Sorry for today. The treat is still on for the next time.’ She waved goodbye and hailed a rickshaw.

 Mahika rang the doorbell. Kajri opened the door her face wreathed in smiles her body shaking with excitement.

‘What happened? What’s the emergency?’ Mahika asked her.

‘Come in. Come in. Close the door.’

Mahika looked at Kajri curiously and closed the door. Suddenly she heard her mother wailing and her father comforting his wife.

‘What’s happening?’ asked Mahika concerned.

‘You know Chutki’s legs are heavy!’ said Kajri giggling. ‘In this house small small feet making a lot of noise!’ Mahika looked at Kajri as if she had gone crazy.

‘Congratulations!’ she said sarcastically, ‘Your screw has finally fallen off!’

‘No. No,’ said Kajri impatiently. ‘My screw is still there.’ She cupped her hand to Mahika’s ear and whispered, ‘Chutki is pregnant!’

‘WHAT???’

                                                                                                                        contd....