Snapshots of Desire ✔ [Completed]

A Slip Of The Tongue : Part 01

Five hundred and twelve. Five hundred and thirteen. Five hundred and fourteen.

"Hey Abhijeet, did you know there are five hundred and fourteen cracks in the ceiling?" Daya asked. Abhijeet turned away from his computer and shot Daya a quizzical look.

"No man, why would I care?" Daya sensed he was about to lose the attention of the officer and thought up a quick retort. Rajat was giving him the silent treatment after he had replaced all his novels with comic books and Purvi was being a good little officer and doing her paperwork while Shreya was in a meeting.

"The more cracks a ceiling has, the more likely the building is weak," Daya announced loudly. Daya glanced over in Rajat’s direction. Yup, the man was still glaring. He was probably plotting hundreds of ways to kill him with crazy ninja moves. Daya shivered and continued to stare at Abhijeet. Abhijeet grinned as he slowly raised his eyes to the ceiling.

"You're crazy, Daya."

"I really think we should get the structural integrity of the building checked," Daya added seriously as Abhijeet’s happy expression began to falter. Daya laughed quietly to himself before digging in the cushions of the couch. Smiling, he pulled his hands out to reveal two colourful bouncy balls.

"Who are you? Mary Poppins?" Rajat asked disdainfully as Daya began to experiment with the trajectory of the small toys. Purvi ducked occasionally, but otherwise ignored her senior.

"Where is Shreya anyway?" Abhijeet asked as a pink rubber ball flew past his head. He raised his eyes warily to the ceiling again.

"She's with ACP Sir," Purvi responded. "The director from the ATS is an old friend of ACP Sir and stopped by for a debriefing." Purvi continued to click away on her keyboard when ACP Pradyuman, Shreya, and another man entered the room suddenly.

Abhijeet and Rajat straightened up while in view of their guest, but Daya continued to test the durability of the bouncy balls. Slouching over the couch, he bounced the balls as fast as possible using his hands like tennis rackets. ACP Pradyuman glared, but continued to introduce the director to his best team.

Thud. Thud. Thud. Boing.

The officers stared in shock when a purple ball struck the director in the forehead. ACP Pradyuman turned bright red as he took in the scene. Shreya grabbed her bottled water in an attempt to hide her smile.

"SHREYA!" ACP Pradyuman roared. "Grab Daya's balls!"

Water spewed out of her mouth as she started to choke. ACP Pradyuman turned even redder and began to splutter as he rethought his last order. Meanwhile, the visiting director just smiled a tight smile and left the room with ACP Pradyuman close behind him. Her eyes watering, Purvi silently handed her friend a paper towel and the team stared at one another in silence.

A moment passed and Rajat began to laugh. His laugh became a cackle as Abhijeet and Purvi joined in with a snigger. Clasping her hand to her forehead, Shreya headed to her desk and grabbed a file. Daya leaned back on the couch and closed his eyes with a petulant sigh. He allowed a small smile to creep over his face as he remembered Shreya’s expression. It had been priceless.

The End.