Now We Got Bad Blood

Chapter Six- The Singhs'

Sid had an eccentric sense of fashion, so when he showed up at the community basketball court on Saturday, Monami was unsurprised to find him wearing an oversized sweatshirt and shorts, paired with black goggles and a bandana. He pushed his way through the crowd.

"Tujhe garmi nahi lag raha hai?"

 "Nah!" He made a dismissive noise and plonked himself down beside her on the bottom bench of the courtside bleachers. 

"Tu to badi hot lag rahi hai," Sid commented, running his gaze along her outfit.

Monami looked down at herself: at her shorts, a plain grey tank top and an old pair of sneakers with bright pink stripes. Her hair was tied high on her head, falling down between her shoulder blades in a straight ponytail.

To be very honest she was hesitant at first; if nobody wanted to hang out with the daughter of a murderer, who would want to play basketball with one? But Sid reminded her- the trophies from the past five years were probably gathering dust on her bedroom shelf, and she gave in. 

Monami has been playing in the Vaishali Nagar Summer Basketball Tournament since she was a teenager. Not that the word 'tournament' really summed it up. It was more of a basketball-related gathering hosted by the Vaishali Nagar Residents' Association every May. As part of an ever-growing agenda that included park maintenance, security watch and outdoor movie nights, the association was always coming up with ideas that would keep the young people out of trouble in a 'socially desirable and positive way' during the summer. The basketball tournament was one of the few that had actually stuck, and over the years it had become a tradition that everyone made fun of but no one wanted to miss. Though no one actually played well, at least they had fun goofing around with the ball.

As always, there were twice as many spectators squishing themselves into the bleachers and spilling out onto the grass that surrounded the courts. The young girls had already secured a prime vantage spot at the top of the bleachers, scouring for boys.

"Waise Koel kahaan hai?", Sid asked Monami.

"Team name register karne gayi thi.'

"Main yahin hoon", someone interrupted.

Koel was stalking towards them, the sunlight bouncing off her red highlights. She was accompanied by a young man- Monami recognised him as Aneesh Malhotra, back from college. 

Monami bounced to her feet. "Chalo, we have a tournament to win."

"Mona, tujhe Aneesh yaad hai? Back from college?" Koel indicated behind her.

"Yeah, hi Aneesh", Monami waved.

Aneesh grinned and threw a fluorescent yellow vest at her. She fumbled and had to bend down to pick it up. Sid caught his vest on reflex and then dropped it like it was on fire. "Ew! So unhygienic. Main yeh nahi pehen ne wala hoon.'

"Natak mat kar, aur pehen le isse," Koel said exasperatedly.

Sid wrinkled up his nose in disgust. "I'd literally rather die." 

Monami and Aneesh put their vests on without protest. Eventually, after some not-so-subtle peer pressure from Monami, Sid wriggled into his.

"Court one pe humara pehla round hai," Aneesh started, clapping his hands and rubbing them together. "Humara team name hai Aces."

Monami and Sid grimaced. "Kitna bekar naam hai," they chorused.

Aneesh frowned and said," Toh tum log hi decide karo team ka kya naam rakhna hai."

"Oh, oh oh!" Sid started hopping up and down. "What about Sid G's squad?"

Aneesh's face fell, and Koel let out a groan.