Bit Broken.

Deal?

That night when I got off the car, I could feel eyes sharply looking at me. It was the guard. He had always caught me trying to get into the mansion alone. I knew he had always assumed me as a thief trying to get the things from inside. I looked at  him with a cunning smile.  And turned to Tara.

"I'll get to the quarter now..." I said as softly as I could. " Papa must me waiting for me."

"Yeah..." Tara came closer and threw her arms around my neck and hugged me tight. "Good night!" I realized she had grown taller than me.  Ah! The smell. I wanted to grab her in my arms but I didn't. I pulled myself back.

"Good night..." I started walking towards the quarter with slow steps. Then I remembered about the scarf. "Tara...the scarf." I lifted it in the air.

"Keep it..." she smiled, "The color suits you!"

I blushed, I again felt eyes looking at me. I then saw the shadow from the terrace. I looked up. It was the king, Mr. Malhotra. I just nodded my head nervously and left as fast as I could. Something told me that I would be summoned in the mansion the coming morning. 

"Why are you so late?" Papa questioned as he opened the door for me. He smelled of pesticides.

"Why haven't you showered Papa? I was at the Xerox center...I needed the notes to..."

"Why don't you buy the books?"

"Books...They cost in thousands." I paused, "I cannot afford that. I might start a new work from tomorrow."

"Isn't all the part time you do enough? Should I take up another job?" His voice was filled with concern and I hated that.

"You are old Papa, nobody will give you good jobs. All you'll get are the laborious jobs. You are already weak...."

"What job would you start?"

"I'll be tutoring....Tara...Tara Malho..."

"Tara? Boss's daughter? And you call her by her  name?"

"Calm down papa...we are friends!"

"No you never will be friends, remember that..." He paused. "I don't want you to become their servant too!"

"I won't...I'll just need to teach her some classes and hopefully I get enough to get a new laptop.." s**t I was supposed to keep that to myself.

Papa at once went to my study and inspected my laptop. It won't start. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I don't want you to get too tensed." I hugged him as his tears escaped his eyes. "Don't worry...I'll get a new one as early as possible, this one is beyond repair now." I smiled to assure him. "Smile...please smile  Papa..."

"Let's have food. I am starving..." He put his palm on my head and smiled finally. Papa was old now. His heart was weak. The doctor told to continue medications and monitor him closely for any chest pain or cough. He didn't cough often but I was unsure about the pain. He never said anything. I wanted to save some money for any unfortunate event. Papa was good at hiding things. He did it when mom was sick. I too kept many things hidden from him. The money he gave me for commute and food. I saved it all. The laptop was dead for a month now, I was using the local cyber cafe. My phone was barely working. Also I didn't tell him that I was into girls. I was into Tara. His Boss's daughter.

As I expected ,I was called into the mansion by the guard the very next morning. Nothing as such had changed in the mansion but the huge portrait of the evil queen was new on the wall. Tara and Mr. Malhotra sat on the couch decorated with fretwork. The mansion seemed not so big as I remembered, I was small back then.

"I got to know that you and Tara are in the same college..." Mr. Malhotra sipped his tea. Steam from the china bone cup fogging his rectangular framed glasses. "You are his daughter right? What's his name....the..."

"The gardener...Dinesh Mathur. Mom also worked here as the cook..."

"Yeah, I think I remember....Lata...right? She went to..." He didn't look at me. I was looking straight at him. How casually he forgot mom's name too. Bloody....I was somehow keeping my lips sealed.

"Asha...Asha Mathur. She died from cancer." I literally snapped at him. He looked at me.

"Yeah...I remember now." He took a sip again as I looked at Tara. Looking pretty in a red boat neck crop top, open straight hair, golden hoops in her ears, pink lipstick. She looked back at me with wide eyes and a big smile.

"Dad she is really good!" She uttered. "She knows everything...even the teachers get amazed." She was literally jumping on her seat saying all this.

"Tanvi...I have looked into  your documents from the college. They are impressive. It would be great if you can do your internship from our company." He glanced at me with a crooked smile. "Have a seat."

"Sure sir..." I sat at the other end of the couch on which Tara sat. Feeling conscious of my faded blue shirt and my torn shoes. "I have planned to apply in the summer holidays."

"Good..." He sipped his tea and passed the plate full of cookies towards me. "Take."

I picked up one and began munching. They tasted rich.

"Five thousand." He took of his glasses. "Is it alright?'

I was totally taken aback. Five f*****g thousand a month! I couldn't speak.

"I think it should be fine...five per class. Three classes per week. Tara's room. I want Tara to get good grades." He folded his glasses and kept it in his chest pocket.  "Deal?"

I was dumbstruck. I just nodded. Fifteen thousand per week? Did I get it right!

Tara literally jumped and hugged her dad. "You are the best dad...I'll definitely work hard." She then came to me and held my hand. I was wrong. Her touch was softer than silk. We went up to the stairs and got into a room. It was bigger than my house. Fairy lights, pop posters, guitar, story books, two big wardrobes and then I saw out of the window. The tree stood there, the branches still reaching to the window, the leaves still huge.

I just got the access to the mansion and to Tara's room!