Boo!'
Niveditha let out an audible gasp!
'Sidharth!! thum? she said
'Dar gayi?'laughed Viren out loud
' ji nahi, voh main β¦ han...mujhe cheenkh aa rahi thi , aur thum pechay se aa gaye' she said covering up
'han han , ofcourse' said viren , still laughing
' kya ker rahi ho?' he asked tossing a tomato in his hand
' anday de rahi hun!' said Niveditha sarcastically
'thum hamesha aise hi sawal puchthay rehthay ho? I mean seriously!' said niveditha
'sawal hi tho puch raha hun' retorted viren
' aur main bhi jawab hi de rahi hun' said Niveditha, catching the tomato that Viren was tossing in mid air
'baap re baap. thumnay ithna chapad chapad kerna kab seekha. pehlay aise tho na thi' said viren
'hmm , 14 years kam nahi hothay. waqt kay saath insaan bhi badal jatha hai' said niveditha smugly
'han han, aur jhoot bolna bhi seekh letha hai' said Viren smiling
He knew that she was thinking about how she had to cover up her being scared
'thum yahan kya ker rahe ho' asked Niveditha trying to change the subject
'thumsey milnay ka dil kiya. So aa gaya' he said
Niveditha looked at him crossly
'icecream khanay chalayin?' he said leaning on the counter
'thumsey aur kuch kaam nahi hai kya?' she asked
'hai na' he said
'tho jao karo. mujhe kiyun tang ker rahe ho' she said now stirring up her vegetables
' vohi tho ker raha hun' said viren smiling
'kya matlab?'
'acha chodo, amm.. thumhara koi boy friend hai?' he asked
Niveditah looked at him with a shocking expression. She could not believe his straight forward attitude.
'bolo naa' he asked again
Her face reflected disbelief. Can a person's basic nature change? It was true that sidharth was studying in US and perhaps the environment around him had changed him but how could he be so blunt.
'Nivi!!'
'Dadi bula rahi hain'
Niveditha turned to leave but viren caught hold of her wrist
'Sidharth!' said Niveditha strongly, now completely annoyed
Viren let go of her hand
Niveditha looked at him rubbing her wrist. His eyes reflected guilt.
'sorry. Dard ho raha hai. I didn't mean to β¦ sorry' he said
Niveditha felt a mixture of anger and pity.
'Main jatha hun' he said.
Niveditha saw that he was hurt. She did not wish for him to leave, atleast not this way
' Sidharth. Ruko. koi baat nahi. main thum pe naraz nahi hun. Bus voh... '
'I am sorry niveditha. meri vajay sey thumhay takleef hui hai'
'its ok' smiled nivi
'tho batao? boy friend hai? asked viren coming back to his chirpy self
Niveditha looked at him stunned. Her annoyance flooding back onto her face
'thum dono batain hi kerthay rahogay ya beta nivi, mehmaan ko khana bhi khilaogi' said Dadi
'suna niveditha, mehmaan' he said pointing to himself and waving finger at Niveditha as if to reprimand her
'Dadi, aap mera kithna khayal rakhthi hai aur ek hai ye, mujhe pani tak nahi pucha' complained viren
Niveditha looked as if she was spitting fire through her nostrils
'Niveditha, ye kya? thumnay pani bhi nahi pucha' asked Naintara
'Dadi... voh.. -
'rehnay dijiye dadi. abh in baton ka kya faida' said Viren in a very cinematic way
'bhaiyyah ji. Bhaiiya jii' came nandu's voice
'lagtha hai meray liye bulawa aa gaya hai' said viren sounding almost dissapointed
'are beta kuch kha ker jao' said Naintara as she saw viren running towards the door
' main abhi aaya dadi. Us golu ko boliye ki meray liye khana garam garam ready rakhay' he shouted back
Niveditha's face was red with anger. She felt completely frustrated with Viren's behavior but a small part of her reflected on the words that had reached her ears
'Golu?' whispered niveditha thoughtfully