Little Love

Chapter 5: Photograph

Dear Lovelies,

I am sorry for the delay. Here is a long chapter for you to enjoy. 

Love

W

Pihu swung her little feet in the air as she sat on the boundary wall, licking her ice cream. A lanky Jeet sat beside her with an open book on his lap. He was scribbling something frantically in a notebook.

"Jeet, what are you writing in the notebook?" Asked a curious Pihu. She peeped over Jeet's shoulder.

"I am making a list of books I need," Jeet replied without taking his eyes off his notebook. "Akashda said he would hand me his used books to prepare for the Medical Entrance Exam."

"But you are in ninth standard right now. You still have three more years." Pihu pointed out.

"Really?" Jeet made a "you are unbelievable" face. "I must score well to get a scholarship and a government college. I need to start right now." He mumbled while scribbling some more intangible words in his notebook. "I should have started long back." He whispered at the end. Pihu rolled her eyes as she finished the last bit of her ice cream. She jumped down the wall and brushed the back of her skirt.

"You are very boring to hang out with, Jeet. Always so serious about everything." She complained while showing her tongue to Jeet. " I will take my leave now." She mocked a bow. "...and don't forget about the lunch invitation at Narayani Pishi's (Maternal Aunt) place tomorrow," Pihu said as she turned on her heels to walk past the iron gates of her apartment. Jeet just nodded as he threw his bag over his shoulder.

It has been two months since the "thief" incident. Since that day, much has changed in the Mukherjee and Banerjee household. Pihu and Jeet were inseparable. They were, for all purposes, best friends. The small girl from the orphanage was adopted by Dipu Masi and named Mishti...Mishti Mukherjee. Mishti had wrapped the Mukherjees around her little finger, especially Kailash and Palash. Akash passed the Medical Entrance Exam and got a seat at Maulana Azad Medical College, Delhi. He was leaving in a few days. He had very quickly become Jeet's role model. Jeet wanted to become a doctor, just like Akash, so he was on a mission to extract as much information as he could before Akash left.

"Aii Pihu, roll up the window panes. The car will get dirty." Kailash said in an irritated voice.

"But if I roll up the panes, the car will get flooded with my vomit. So you choose." She turned her head to give Kailash a stunning smile but stopped abruptly when she noticed the horrid look on Akash's face. "I m...mean, I feel nauseated in the car, and you know that, Kailashda." She said with a fake pout. The Mukherjee brothers and Pihu, Jeet and Diotima were on their way to visit Pihu's Narayani Pishi's house - her paternal aunt.

"Do we need to go there? Mishtu is all alone." Palash complained.

"Firstly, Mishtu is with Ma. She is not alone....," said Akash in a sharp tone as he steered the car around a sharp bend. Pihu would have almost been thrown on Akash if it had not been for the seatbelt. Her cheeks turned tomato red. "....and we need to go to Narayani Pishi's place. It is her son's 10th birthday, and she has invited us. It will be impolite if we don't attend the celebration," Akash concluded.

Pihu nodded her head obediently but frowned at Kailash as he made a weird face. She glared at the twins, silently making fun of the elder Mukherjee behind his back, quite literally. Her eyes trailed to her best friend sitting next to Kailash, peeping out the window. Jeet and her 7-year-old sister - Diotima, had the same enthusiasm. Pihu realized that Jeet was riding in a car for the first time. A small smile bloomed on her face.