Intense Desires...

Military Style...

My mother arrived at 01:30 p.m. at Mrs. Sood's house and chatted briefly with Alisha, i.e., Mrs. Sood (who was not matching eyes directly with my mother). My mother quizzed her about why I had gone so early. Mrs. Sood provided explanations, but my mother remained unsatisfied (I told you she was the Lady Sherlock). My mother inspected the entire house and garden yard and discovered that everything was in order and that I had completed my allotted tasks flawlessly. She was in the midst of a life-changing experience (or what you call it—shell-shocked). Mrs. Sood offered my mother money in exchange for my services (gardening, not anything else, crazy minds!), but she rejected them. My mother explained to Mrs. Sood that it was our way of assisting those in need and that money would destroy the kid's life.

“Hopefully you people stick to the same philosophy, otherwise I almost ruined your son.” Mrs. Sood murmured to herself.

"Did you say anything?" Mom inquired.

“Yeah! You did a fantastic job raising him. He is well-mannered, behaves extremely well, and is conscientious about his work. I hope and pray to Shri Sai that the child will get all the love in the world and have all of his wishes fulfilled. " Mrs. Sood put on a brave front and complimented my mother on my upbringing.

Mrs. Sood managed to trick my mother by complimenting her on my upbringing, something no one had ever done before, and no one ever wanted me in their house or around. Once, Mrs. Khatri asked me to her daughter's birthday celebration when I was ten years old. Mrs. Khatri wears a wig, which I discovered accidentally. She bent down a bit with her daughter to cut the cake (I was standing just next to them). I grabbed her wig and went down the street, followed by all the other kids, and we all played with it by flinging it about.

Meanwhile, at Khatri's residence, Mrs. Khatri and her daughter dove headfirst into the cake. After that, everyone in our neighborhood was terrified of my mischievous character, and I was never invited to another home party (except for Yamini's House Party, which may not have known much about me; Prince Ashvini gets the benefit of the doubt). But believe me when I say that I have no idea how such things happen to me. I can't stay in one spot for long. But it was when I was a kid, and stuff like that is intended to happen when children are around. Even though I'm a 16-year-old hunk (mature enough), let alone girls, even women are mad about me (Remember! Mrs. Sood!).

My mother's eyes welled up with tears when she learned about my indiscretions. It was the first time someone had complimented me. "Thank you so much, Mrs. Sood! If you ever want his services again, please contact me and he would be happy to assist you. " My mother responded by grasping both of Mrs. Sood's hands.

"Mrs. Tyagi, without a doubt." Mrs. Sood replied with a phony grin.

My mother had forgotten why she had come, didn't ask many questions, got into her car, waved at Mrs. Sood, and went directly to our house.

I arrived at the party on time and was floating as I stepped in. I came to my senses when my mother called Mrs. Deshpandey's at 3 p.m. to see whether I had arrived safely. Mrs. Deshpandey handed me the phone, and for the first time in my life, I sensed joy in her voice as she told me she was proud of me.

"If you ever found out the truth, you'd murder her (Mrs. Sood)," I murmured.

"Did you say anything?" Mom inquired.

"No, mum, there has to be some sort of inter-connection on the phone." I stood up for myself.

OK, don't worry about that; just enjoy your party and go home on time. I was enraged when Mrs. Sood informed me that you had gone to Yamini's house without alerting me, but her praise for you compensated more than for the disobedience. But bear in mind that you'll never do it again. "Got it." Mom felt she had gone too far in my praise and I had to keep grounded and decided to end it in her unique way (Military Style).

"Of course, mama! I'll never do that again. " I then hung up.

I'd never felt so good in my whole life. It had been a fantastic day (except for a few things that just went overboard). Yamini began to give me odd looks after approximately an hour. I assumed it was due to her impending return to London, but I didn't give much thought to it. I basically drank my Coke, ate my meal, talked to Ritvik, Yamini, and a few other gorgeous females from my class, and had a fantastic night overall.

At 8:00 p.m., Mrs. Deshpandey offered to drive us back to our respective homes. My parents were unable to pick me up since they were out for the evening. They had a date night on Thursday, but today they were going to see a performance. When I got home, Preeti, one of the neighbors’ daughters, was with Anoop and Sheetal. She stepped out the door as I walked in.

I hadn't even taken off my shoes when the phone rang. I responded.

“Hello.”

“Ashvani, this is Yamini. What happened to you before you came to my house today?”

“What?”

"An event occurred. You were different; you were less shy and a loser but more self-assured. You even spoke with Aanchal Gupta! Who was she? " Yamini wondered.

I had a crush on Aanchal Gupta, a cheerleader, since ninth grade, but she was way out of my league.

“What?”

"I'm aware of the reason behind the change. Are you going to tell me how it went?" she asks.

“No. You are correct. That did happen, but I'm not sure what happened. She'd never be with me again if the girl found out I told you."

"Wow," she said with a giggle. "I'm from London, and you've done something I haven't. We have a good name to keep!"

It was a running joke between us (guys) about London females being easy to catch. She argued that the only difference was that English people were more outspoken about it. That had always sounded more my pace than the conservative Delhiites, but I didn't believe I'd ever get the chance to find out.

"You know, I'd be delighted to help you with that problem."

I suppose being with Alisha has given me a new sense of self-assurance. That was something my friend had observed.

"Well, see you in class on Monday," she chuckled again.

“Bye.”

I hung up the phone.

Around 10:00 p.m., the phone rang again. We didn't generally get calls so late, so it was strange. I assumed it was Mom and Dad calling to let me know they were running late. It was, to my surprise, my grandma. She jumped right in. "Where are your parents tonight, Ashvini?"

"They went out tonight instead of Thursday this week," I replied hurriedly.

“Yes. But where have they gone? I must know!" Grandma inquired.

Her tone seemed strange. "Let me have a look at the calendar," she said. It appears that they had tickets to a movie in a South Delhi theatre. They made no mention of a change of intention. Why?”

"Thank God, thank goodness. I was concerned they'd gone to Green Park's Uphaar Cinema, which they aren't (it was one of their favorite movie theatres)." Grandma shows some relaxing tone.

“Why?”

"Turn on the television. I'm going to have to call my other kids. " She hung up the phone.

I tuned in to the news station to hear the newscaster. On the screen, there was a large fire raging. My parents go to the theatre at least once a month. When a fire broke out, 59 people perished and another 103 were badly injured. When the whole extent of the tragedy was revealed, it was evident that my parents would have been right at the center of the worst portion of it. That was a strange sensation.

Fortunately, they weren't present there, and it was swiftly forgotten by a sixteen-year-old, because I was preoccupied with something else in my life which I had never imagined. I was going to retire to my bedroom for the night, but sleep was eluding me. I had memories of Alisha, Yamini, and Aanchal the entire night. They all arrived in turn, and I fell asleep at 4 or 5 a.m.