Bit Broken.

Ticket.

Mom's condition went downhill quite fast. She had stomach cancer. Apparently she didn't each correct, at correct time or correct amount. It started with a constant pain and suddenly one day the doctor just gave us a line. 'Cancer has no answer.'

 She was to be hospitalized. My dad again begged for money from the Malhotras. We went to the mansion. Mr. Malhotra  threw a bundle of money like it was nothing. I saw Tara coming down the stairs. My heart fluttered. I wished she wouldn't see me. I hid myself behind Papa. I had not worn clean clothes, I had cried with dad last night, I hadn't showered.  She didn't see me.

 I heard from the other servants that she was leaving for another country. I wanted to tell her to stay. But I didn't know how. And even if I said, I knew she wouldn't stop. I was still a nothing! I let her go....just like mom. Mom was gone soon. I let her go. I didn't allow myself to cry. I had to console dad, look after him, see him break each day. He didn't smile for long.

He smiled finally after thirteen years, when I handed the scholarship papers to him. I was selected in the most prestigious management college in the city. Only the bright and the rich could afford getting in. I was not rich but I worked hard enough to get into the college.

That was the same year the evil queen fell ill. I secretly hoped she would die. Yes...you read it right! I hoped she would die. Her death would surely bring Tara back...Yes, I was selfish and evil. Mrs. Malhotra died after a month of falling seriously ill. Tara returned that very night. I didn't see her. I heard the car. The cries. It rained and thundered all night. One of the servants later told me Tara fell unconscious many times, she cried so much.

I know how hard it is when your mother gets so distant. I was concerned for Tara but I was happy she was here. I told you I was selfish.

The college classes finally started. As I expected, Tara had enrolled in the same college. Her father, Mr. Malhotra bought a seat for her. She was not so smart but she was rich enough to get into the college. The first day, I got early to the class and sat on the last bench. Tara came when the teacher had already started the lessen. She waved to a boy who sat on the front desk.  I had seen the face before...it was Vijay...Vijay Raj. He was two years older than us, he dropped some years. I heard he wanted to pursue film school but was denied by his father.

Tara sat with that moron, Vijay. Tara with her straight hair, pink top and blue ripped jeans looked f*****g stunning. Vijay looked like crap in the yellow jacket. I just had my curly hair in a bun, my fake diamond studs and army green sleeveless top with a black jeans, chewing my gum. Needless to say my attention was on them rather than the class. I shifted my seats for a couple of days but my f*****g eyes didn't shift their focus. Then suddenly one day Tara looked at me, so did the whole class!

The teacher asked the class, "What is auditing?"

And nobody f*****g knew! I wondered how they even got into the college. Were their degrees fake? Well they being stupid proved to be an advantage for me.

"It is an examination of accounting and financial records that is undertaken independently. This is done to determine if the company or the business undertaking has conformed its operations to the laws and the generally accepted accounting principles." I uttered casually, still chewing my gum. "Do you want me to state the steps in auditing?" I showed off a bit. I didn't want to impress the teacher. Yeah, I hit the bull's eye. I changed the entropy of the class.

Everyone seemed impressed. Tara turned to look at me. She smiled at me. Ah! the dimples! I so wanted to touch them. Touch her.

Later, when I was walking back to my house after the classes were over. Someone shouted "Hey!" from behind. I instantly blushed. I knew the buttery voice.  I turned around.

"Hey! get into the car..." she shouted.

"It's fine," I too shouted. The car came near. She lowered the glass even further.

"Arey, come...You are Tanvi right?" I was lost in her face for a second. She knew my name! f*****g unbelievable. "You live in our quarter, I know."

"I can walk....I anyway have to get the copies from the Xerox center." My heart fluttering constantly. I bet my ears must be red.  The belt of my bag slipped from my shoulder. The awkwardness possessed every inch of my body.

"Fine...I'll walk with you then."

What! The princess wants to walk? Everything was so surreal.

"But...Prin....Tara, you should get home early. Your dad must be waiting. Right?" I uttered. All adrenaline, serotonin and I forgot all those f*****g hormones going up and down like a merry go round. "Are you sure?" I asked and I wished she would say yes.

"Yeah, dad is out of town. He wouldn't know, chill." She winked and got out of the car. She talked with the driver and came running to me and grabbed my right arm. Her body touching mine. She smelled like roses. I was on cloud nine. "The car will pick us up at the market."

"Why would we go to the market?" My throat had dried up and so my lips.

"To get ice-creams...after we get the notes." She smiled and clutched my hand. I smiled back awkwardly.

After we got the notes. We went to the ice cream parlor. I got the cheapest one and she got the Double Decker Tooty Fruity, I was too scared to look at the price. Suddenly she put the spoon full of her ice cream in front of my lips. "Here..."

I looked at her dimples and her hazel brown eyes. I think I got hypnotized. "Tanvi...try it!" she said.

I opened my mouth and took it in. The same spoon she was feeding herself with. She then took my cup and dug in with my spoon. I just looked at her with my mouth half open.

"What? Why are you so surprised?"

"You are....You are sharing the spoons..." I blushed.

"What's the big deal? I do that with all my friends!"

Ouch...it hurt. All her friends...I was not different. I got thrown back to my place. I was her servant's daughter after all. What was I even thinking? I was the one making up our love story in my head for years. It wasn't her fault but I was still disappointed.

"No...it's not a big deal. Let's finish fast. We have to reach home." I gulped my tiny ice cream real fast and waited for her to finish. When I went to pay my share, the cashier told me Tara had already paid  for me.

"Hey, you didn't need to pay!" I felt a bit offended. She didn't treat me out of charity. Did she?

"Yes...you need to pay me back." She stuck her tongue between her teeth. "Umm, would you tutor me?"

"Huh?" The f*****g hormones were back.

"Hey are you cold?" She gestured to my top. My n*****s were f*****g hard and it showed through the top.

"Yeah...I..I just..." The heat was escaping through my ears.

"Wait!" she pulled out a scarf from her bag. "Put it on." She put the scarf around my neck, the ends hanging in front. I felt her fingers brushing my breasts. 

My body shivered with the heat. I gaped as it was hard to breath for a moment. "Thanks." I finally uttered.

"So will you help me with the classes?" She lifted her eyebrows and rolled her lower lip.

"Yeah...sure."

I just got the ticket to her world and her heart.