Tales of the Heart

Chapter 5

Once Nandini was done with the cake cutting session, she looked at the side table where all the gifts were placed. It didn't have only the gifts of Manik, Avneet and Siddharth, also from Manik's parents, Siddharth's parents and a few of her college friends. Nandini didn't like celebrating her birthday but these trio never heard her. They always arrange this small get together for her where only 4 of them celebrate her birthday. 

"Di, now open the gifts and see what we've got for you." Avneet was excited more than Nandini. She was about to drag Nandini with her but she stopped Avneet.

"I won't open them now. I'll see them all at night."

"But why?" Avneet whined. "We want to know whose gift you liked the most."

"Nandini, you don't have to open all of them. Just open mine and Avneet's one now. Then we can clear our deal." Siddharth glared at Avneet who looked at him in the same way.

"Deal! Which deal?" Nandini was surprised as well as confused not knowing what they meant exactly.

"These all are this Siddharth's plan. He has made a deal with me about whose one you like more. If I win, then he will have to do something of my choice. So, open my gift first and say that you've liked my gift the most. Then I win this deal." Avneet made a face looking at Sid with the corner of her eyes. 

"Uff!" Nandini nodded her head in disbelief. "You both are impossible." She couldn't help smiling seeing their childish antics.

"Nandini, please open the gift and say this witch that you've liked mine one more."

Avneet as well as everyone else's eyes went wide hearing him.

"Witch!" Avneet yelled on top of her voice. "Did you just call me witch?" She turned Sid towards her.

He nodded with a tight lipped smile. "I guess I did."

"Then what are you? You... You... You're monkey." Avneet was fuming.

Before this could turn into a world war, Nandini knew she had to stop them. So, she jumped in between them. "Stop both of you. Come I'll open the gifts now."

Nandini sat on the couch and started unwrapping Sid and Avneet's gift at first. She was surprised seeing both of them have got the same thing for her. They both had gifted her noise cancelling earphone. 

Everyone present there were surprised.

"You must have secretly seen what I bought for di, that's why you did this on purpose." Avneet rolled her eyes and huffed looking at Sid. "I was also thinking something must have going in your mind else you would have never made this deal."

Sid glared at her. "If I had known that you're gifting Nandini this, then I would have never bought this for her. Moreover, it can also happen that it's you who had seen me buying this secretly and now when you're caught, you're blaming on me." He narrowed his gaze looing at Avneet. 

"What did you say? You're trying to say that I'm lying?" Avneet stood in front of him placing her hands either sides of her hips. She was giving him death looks. "It's not me, it's you."

"No, you."

"You."

"You."

"You."

Siddharth and Avneet were about to indulge in a fight once again but Nandini came in between them and showed her palms to both of them. "It's fine. Peace. Peace. None of you cheated. Just think you both are so similar to each other. You both should be happy thinking of that and here you're fighting with each other! Also you know how clumsy I can be at times. So, if I break one or lose one, then I'll have a spare one."