"THE TURTLENECK GIRL" AK ff end,p131

THE TURTLENECK GIRL:

PART 1

INTRODUCTION:



The Khanna's had immigrated to the US 15 years ago, and settled in the New York area. They had lived in Westchester, an upper income suburb of the city for almost 10 years, till their tragic death in an accident five years ago. Their two sons, Kartik, 27 and Angad, 25, now live on the upper west side of Manhattan in a luxurious four-bedroom apartment. Kartik, who is an MBA, works as a young executive at a leading advertising agency in Manhattan, 'Creative Advertising.' He is very ambitious and is a workaholic; his goal is to one-day lead a company as a CEO. He is single and considered one of the most eligible bachelors in the Indian-American community of Greater New York.

Angad Khanna is the carefree, bratty brother with the I-don't-give-a-damn attitude. He recently joined his brother's company as a photographer. Angad has never been serious about anything- his school, college, career, or relationships. The only person he is close to is his brother, but everyone else is dispensable as far as he is concerned. The only reason he joined 'Creative Advertising,' was to appease his brother.

"Angad….you need to do something with your time man! You can't just party and have a good time all your life! Hey, you enjoy photography and traveling, don't you? We have an opening in our photography department, why don't you give it a shot?" Kartik insisted, when both the brothers were lounging on the balcony of their high-rise apartment, with a beer and nachos on a muggy, summery evening.

"Oh C'mon man! Kaam? That is so boring! I can't have a 8-5 job….you know how much I enjoy my freedom!" Angad whined as he sipped his beer.

"Angad….this job will have flexible hours, and above all you will be taking pictures of beautiful girls all day!" Kartik tried to make his offer more exciting.

"Girls?" Angad thought for a minute, "you are not kidding, uh? You are not going to make me take pictures of inanimate computers and TVs? Girls….models….supermodels? Hmmm….not bad! Ok, I will give it a shot!"

Angad was soon selected for the job, and in no time became the ace photographer of the company. Models and supermodels vied for his time-he could make anyone look beautiful with his lens! The company executives were pleased with Kartik's younger brother- he had magic in his hands; all top models wanted to sign up for their company now!

Angad, of course LOVED his job. He flirted openly with the models, dated them, pampered them with expensive gifts, brought them home to his brother's chagrin-in short, this was turning out to be a dream job for Angad! Kartik did not approve of the revolving door of girls at their apartment, but he kept quiet, as Angad's popularity had helped him gain recognition in the company also.

One day, Angad walked in to the apartment with an Indian girl. Kartik was munching on some chips and watching 'Ocean's Twelve' on their new plasma TV.

"Hey bro! You are home early!" Angad was surprised to see Kartik at home, as Kartik worked late most nights.

"Ya! I just needed a break!" Kartik saw the new Indian model in Angad's arms and cringed a little. He recognized the Indian face as "Mishti Sharma," a fresh face they had just hired to promote beauty products geared towards the growing ethnic population of the city. Kartik was a little disappointed that Angad had managed to 'hook' this girl too. He did not know why, but Kartik had a soft corner for girls from the Indian subcontinent; he felt protective towards them. He knew one day, he would want to settle down with a nice Indian-American girl; may be he wanted them to be left alone by guys like his brother!

"Bro…this is Mishti…..and Mishti, this is Kartik….you must have seen him around at work," Angad introduced the two of them.

Kartik got up to leave, but Mishti insisted, "Oh..please sit down….I would like to watch this movie too….is that OK Angad?"

Angad was disappointed, as he did not believe in wasting time watching movies, talking, hanging out together…..he just wanted women to have fun with him. He settled down on the couch with one arm around Mishti. Mishti and Kartik watched the movie intently; Angad decided to order some take-out, as he was getting bored. After the movie, the three of them settled in the balcony and ate the Chinese take-out.

As she was leaving, Mishti suggested, "Hey guys….my parents have a beach house in the Hamptons….would both of you want to accompany me this weekend?"

"Sure!" Angad jumped up with the suggestion.

"I have to go to Atlanta this weekend….but why don't both of you go ahead?" Kartik said.

"Sounds good! I will pick you up on Saturday morning Angad!" Mishti kissed Angad's cheek and said good-bye to both the brothers.

After she left, Kartik asked, "Angad….you are not serious about this girl…are you?"

Angad laughed, as he opened a beer can, "bro…..I can never be serious about any girl…don't worry….I am just having fun!"
"Angad….she seems like a nice girl…..don't hurt her feelings." Kartik said

"Ya right! You are so ignorant bro…..this girl is very chaalu….she is very ambitious…she is using me to reach to the top, just like I am using her to get on top of her!" he winked at his brother and settled in his favorite lounge chair.

Kartik just shook his head, 'tu kabhie nahin sudhrega…..kaash teri zindagi mein aisi ladki aaye jo tujhey pagal kar de…..I am dying to see that!"

Mishti picked Angad early Saturday morning and they drove to the beautiful East Hampton village area, where Mishti's affleunt parents, Dilip and Naina Sharma had a summer home. Dilip was an established realtor in the New York area. He had immigrated to the US, 9 years ago with his wife, Naina and two daughters, Mishti and Kripa when they were just 14 and 12 years old respectively. Dilip had started his own commercial real estate business soon after immigrating, and thanks to the recent real estate boom in NY, had done well for himself.

The beach home was walking distance from the beautiful East Long Island beach. It was a four-bedroom, one-story home with a beautiful large island-kitchen.

Angad was impressed with the house; it was very tastefully decorated, "wow…you guys have good taste," he said as he looked around.

"Yes…that is all my mom's doing…..she is very fond of interior decoration!" Mishti commented

As Angad walked around, he came across a smaller room in the back of the house, very different from the rest of the house. It was very plain, all white and with no color whatsoever! "Whose room is this?"

Mishti followed him, "Oh…this is my younger sister's room."

"She must be very boring!" Angad commented

"Oh..well…she is different!" Mishti did not elaborate anymore. She circled her arms around Angad, "wanna go for a swim?"

Angad smiled seductively at the thought, "sure!"

Mishti went to her room to change into a swimsuit. Angad settled in the guestroom and changed into swimming trunks. He was thirsty, and decided to get a drink from the kitchen. He strolled into the kitchen in his swimming trunks, and opened the refrigerator. As he was checking out the choices available to him, he heard the back door unlatch.

"AHHHHHH!!" there was a loud scream. He looked up from the refrigerator door, and saw a young petite girl in her early twenties, with hair tied up in a ponytail, thick rimmed glasses, white pants and a white full sleeved turtleneck standing at the door screaming at the top of her lungs!

….to be continued….Edited by bheegi - 16 years ago

😆 😆
yay! another ff by u. excellent start. looking forward to read more 😛

nice start.waitin for next part

amazing start
sounds really intresting
👏

whoa...awsum start...nd nice title!!! 👏

YAY... another FF of ur's... i am sooo excited, i love all ur FF's!!! nd this
one sounds wicked!!! nd cool title too!!! i really want to know wht the deal
is with Kripa!!! 😕 😆 continue soon!!! 😛

wow..another FF 😊
y is she wearing all white??? 😕

HAHAH, um her boyfriend is chasing her!! lmao!!   i think she freaked out cuz she saw angad in his swim trunks!! anyways,. fab partttttt!! continue soon!!
.
p.s- lovee the title!!

Thanks guys 😊 😊

PART 2:

Recap: "AHHHHHH!!" there was a loud scream. He looked up from the refrigerator door, and saw a young petite girl in her early twenties, with hair tied up in a ponytail, thick rimmed glasses, white pants and a white full sleeved turtleneck standing at the door screaming at the top of her lungs!

Angad was in shock at being caught half-naked by a strange looking girl. The girl was trembling and took something out from her purse. Angad was frightened that she might have a gun, "Stop! Stop! Listen to me!" he screamed in self-defense, but was relieved to see that it was just a cell-phone. The girl was hyperventilating as she dialed, "911" "THERE IS AN INTRUDER IN MY HOUSE….PLEASE SAVE ME!!!!" She yelled and picked a kitchen knife in her defense.

Angad shut the refrigerator door and raised his hands in surrender, "please listen to me…I am not a thief or an intruder…I am just a friend!" Angad and the girl came face to face with each other- him, barely clad in a bathing suit, and she, covered from neck to toe as if it were the middle of winter! She held the knife in front of him, "GET OUT! GET OUT RIGHT NOW!" They heard the sirens in a distance as the police approached their house.

"What is this commotion in this house?" Mishti's voice floated into the kitchen.

"KRIPA! What are you doing here? And leave that knife, will you?" Mishti yelled from behind.

Angad sighed in relief and went and hugged Mishti, who had changed into her swimsuit by now, "thank god you are here Mishti…the cops are on their way."

Kripa looked at both of them and put the knife away, "What are you doing here Mishti? Dad told me no one else would be here this weekend."

There was a knock on the door and a cop forced himself in with guns in both hands, "Hands up all of you! Don't move…don't move!" he commanded.

Mishti rolled her eyes, "officer…it was a false alarm…sorry…my sister did not realize that this man was my friend…..we are REALLY sorry!"

The officer put his guns away and looked around at the three of them, "if you say so….take care all of you…alright?" he smiled and left as fast as he had entered the house.

"Kripa! I asked mom and she never told me you would be here." Mishti frowned.

"Mishti…I asked dad last week….he told me I could have the house for the whole weekend as I have to finish writing the climax scene for my new book….I needed to be away from the city, and certainly far away from YOU!" Kripa yelled back.
Angad looked back and forth at both the sisters as their yelling ping-pong game continued for several minutes.

"Relax..relax…relax…can we sort this matter out as adults ladies?" Angad finally intervened.

Mishti and Kripa felt a little embarrassed and lowered their heads.

"Ok Kripa….we will not disturb you at all…..tum apne room mein rehna, aur hum mere room mein rahenge….anyways we are going to the beach right now….is that a deal?" Mishti asked.

Kripa took a deep breath, "Whatever Mishti! As long as you guys stay out of my way, I could care less….just don't groan loudly at night as you did last time with your last boyfriend….who was it? Sean…or something? At night, the sound insulation in this house sucks!" Kripa picked her bag and headed for her room with a disgusted look on her face.

Mishti turned red at Kripa's comment, "Oh…Angad….don't take that comment seriously."

Angad did not pay attention to Mishti's statement about her groaning at night, but followed Kripa with a strange look on his face, "What is wrong with your sister? Why is she so grouchy? She practically insulted her sister's guest, aur apna introduction bhi nahin diya?"

Mishti held Angad's hand, "don't worry Angad….meri behen aisi hi hai…..she is different, but harmless…kuch nahin karegi wo…..ab dekhna poore weekend apne room mein laptop par type karti rahegi…..we probably won't even see her again…..so we can still have fun!"

Angad raised his eyebrows, "is she one of your typical desi computer nerds or something?"

"Well, she is a writer…..her laptop is her best friend; she has already published a few books," Mishti said proudly.

"That's impressive! Par meri samajh mein nahin aata….why is she so ill-tempered?" Angad was still thinking about the girl in the white turtleneck.

"Leave her Angad! Tum yahan mere saath aaye ho…you are not here to analyze my sister..OK?" Mishti picked her towel and dragged Angad out the backdoor to the beach.

Angad and Mishti spent couple of hours at the beach and returned tanned, thirsty and hungry.

"Lets see what is in the kitchen?" Mishti said as she walked in exhausted and sweaty from the mid afternoon sun.

Angad followed her, "let me go and shower Mishti." The guestroom was also located in the back of the house. As he whistled his way to the guestroom, he saw Kripa's door slightly ajar. He could not resist peeking into the room. He saw her back facing him, as she worked on her laptop. She would shake her head every so often and then resume typing once again. He thought, "itne achche mausam mein kitna boring kaam kar rahi hai…thank god Mishti is a fun loving person!" he turned around to leave, but accidentally stubbed his toe on the door, "OUCH!"

Kripa turned around and walked to the door. She looked at the 6 ft tall, strong, muscular man crying like a baby holding his little toe in his hands.

"That is why, I don't like men! You guys are such babies!" she shut the door to her room, leaving Angad helpless with his toe in his hand, "how heartless!!" he muttered to himself and limped towards the guestroom.

After a shower, Angad slowly limped back to the kitchen in shorts and a t-shirt. He smelt some fragrance coming from the kitchen, "oh good Mishti…looks like you are cooking something."

He was surprised when he found Kripa instead. She was stirring something in the pan and chopping vegetables on the cutting board. Angad stood at the door and observed what she was doing- she sliced potatoes, green beans and then carrots into amazingly even sized pieces; every so often, she would throw a cut piece of the vegetable into the trash. He noticed that any piece, which was even a little bigger or smaller, would end up in the trashcan! In between, she washed her hands vigorously, as if trying to clean them thoroughly. "yeh baar baar haath kyon dhoti rehti hai? They seem pretty clean to me."

"Hey Angad…bahar kyon khade ho…lets grab a bite," Mishti walked in through the other door to the kitchen, "hey Kripa…kya banaa rahi ho? Pasta? MMMM……you mind if we join you for lunch?"

"Yes, you can…if you promise to stay out of my way, and don't mess up my cooking," she looked at her watch and said, "it will take another 13 mins and 37 seconds for the pasta to be done."

Angad laughed a little, "My god! Why do you have to be so precise Kripa?" He took a fork and pulled out a noodle from the boiling pan and pressed it against his fingers, "another 5-10 minutes….that should be fine!" He then dipped his finger into the other pan where the tomato sauce was cooking.

Angad turned around and saw an angry look on Kripa's face and a horrified expression on Mishti's face.

"Did I do or say anything wrong ladies?" he asked, as he licked the sauce off his finger.

Mishti turned away, as if she were not party to the crime, Angad had just committed. Kripa stepped sideways and walked towards the stove. She picked the pan with the sauce and dumped its contents into the sink.

"Hey..hey…what are you doing? It was delicious…don't throw it away!" Angad protested and took a spoon from the drawer and stared licking the sauce from the sink.

Kripa gave him a dirty look, "you are disgusting!"

Mishti turned around and saw what Angad was doing, "A..A..Angad…let's go out to the porch….let Kripa do her thing…too many cooks spoil the broth…I am sure you have heard that before," she pulled his arm.

"Well, I was just tasting….I am not cooking," Angad protested, "but why did she throw all that sauce?"

Kripa started chopping tomatoes and onions again, and did not pay heed to Angad or his protests. Mishti grabbed Angad by his shirt and pulled him out of the kitchen.

"My sister is a germ-o-phobic….she loves cleanliness…tumney apni finger sauce mein daalkar uski sauce contaminate kar di!" Mishti whispered into Angad's ears as they entered the porch.

"You are not kidding..are you? Isey kisi psychiatrist ko dikhaya hai? Is she crazy or something?" Angad could not believe his ears.

Mishti sat down on a chair, "sit down Angad…Kripa is fine…she is just obsessive about certain things….that is just her personality….she is not a psycho…in fact she is very bright…just a little different!"

"I think she is bonkers! Does she have a boyfriend?" Angad asked curiously

"No…she does not date," Mishti said sadly

"Or no one wants to date her!" Angad mocked at her.

"Angad! Leave her alone…she is a sweetheart….I don't want you talking like that about my sister." Mishti defended her sister.

"Wow! Over protective big sister…may be that is the problem…may be you all have spoilt her with your over protectiveness," Angad said.

"Angad…just leave it….tell me more about yourself," Mishti changed the topic.

"Mishti…I can't talk right now..I am hungry….I have to admit your sister is a good cook, that tomato sauce was the best I have ever tasted…..chalo let's go in and help her cook first." Angad got up and did not pay attention to Mishti's protests. He did not know why, but this girl in the turtleneck really intrigued him.

When he entered the kitchen, he was surprised to see the kitchen table spread out with the cooked pasta and drinks.

"Wow…that was quick! Did you just open up a Ragu bottle or something?" Angad teased her, but when he saw the serious expression on her face, he just stuttered, "main..main Mishti ko bula leta hoon. By the way, we were never formally introduced….My name is Angad!"

"I know," she replied curtly

"Oh..good….well….let me go get her now," he left, wondering, "what is wrong with this girl?"

The three of them sat down on the round kitchen table and ate in silence. Angad glanced at Kripa through the corner of his eyes and could not help noticing how particular this girl was about everything. As Angad slurped the noodles into his mouth, Kripa ate them so daintily and quietly, chopping them precisely with her knife and eating very small pieces of the pasta at a time. He noticed she ate very little, but never looked up or talked to anyone on the table.

Angad, however, noticed that behind her thick-rimmed glasses, there was a pair of beautiful brown eyes with thick eyelashes. "Hmm…wonder what is inside the turtleneck?" He smiled to himself at the mischievous thought, and finally broke the silence on the table, "so, Kripa….you are a writer?"

Kripa looked up from her plate; gave a cold look at Angad and then at Mishti, "I am sure Mishti has told you what I do."

"Well yes! What kind of books do you write?" he persisted

"Books you would never read….so why bother?" she bent down and started nibbling at her food again.

Angad raised his eyebrows and exclaimed, "wow…you are a tough cookie! Mishti, are you sure, you both are sisters?"

Both Mishti and Kripa glared at him. He just wanted to duck under the table at that point, and said, "looks like I might have touched a sore chord….never mind….Mishti please pass me some wine…will you?" He thought, "looks like this will be a loooooong weekend !"

…to be contd….

Gr8 part.Interestin ff.do continue 😛 😛