RAG DOLL: a toyish love story

6: SPROUTING FRIENDSHIP

She gave him an annoying look when he was laughing, standing in the centre of cheerfully shouting and clapping children, looking at her. After all, he has defeated her team by 4-0.

Palak looked daggers at him along with the bunch of kids reaching up to her thighs who were looking with the same heated intensity at Parth.

Stomping her feet she drove the children from the field before sticking a tongue at him without lessening the heat of her glare.

Coming out from the crowd of his little fans after she ordered all of them to dismiss from the ground he ran behind her, not able to control the hoods of laughter, "Palak..." laughed again, "Palak..."

Adamantly she walked straight with more speed on her feet and stoically thrust herself onto the grassy mat of the ground. Sitting with her crossed legs and mounted lips.

He quickly crouched beside her right, spreading his legs and supporting his body through his palms on the ground, posturing himself at a 130-degree angle. His messy hair was dripping sweat, his faded blue shirt was translucent now and his brain was in the last stage of paranoidism. But it was like he would die if he didn't ruffle her feathers.

His laughter intensified eyeing her. Flaring whiff of angry air from her nostrils she turned to face her left, away from his sight.

Trying hard to compress his laughter he put a hand on her shoulder and shook it. She flinched and his hand dropped. He again positioned it, "Aye...", and shook.
She gave a hard thump on his knuckles later paining her own shoulder.

This time he sat straight, put his both hands on her shoulder and shook it.

Irritated she turned to him screaming out her throat and blindly launched arrows of punches on him. In the process when she was able to capture a wrist of him, pulled her mouth closer and bite hard on the lateral side of his palm.

He grunted in between his nonsensical laughter.

"Stop laughing!" His back got two more thumps.

"You are what? Football champion?" Finally, he had to clutch his stomach.

"Nothing is humorous in that, okay? And you're not going to play with us from tomorrow."

"Yes, you only have to say that who was defeated five times in five days." He held her chin between his fingers and shook it slowly with the offending sarcasm.

Palak dug her nails enough in his flesh to distract his hand from her. "You have the audacity to taunt me? I was the only winner since this game was started here, you understand?"

"Winner who uses football as cricket ball! Lift in the air more than kicking inside the net?"

"Now this is too much!" Frustrated she stood up from the place and lifted her leg to scoot ahead.

A stern hand momentarily gripped her wrist and pulled her down all over again. The bones of her hips smacked when she fell on the ground wincing in pain.

By that time he was rolling on the ground.

Thinning her lips she slapped his staut stomach then leaned beside him. She waited for him to get control over his insane laughing challenge to beat the world record. Why the hell her losing a match was that funny?!

She eyed him and finally chuckled herself. His laughing at her had nothing new to be released in local newspapers but his frequency was too high today. Perhaps, her immature playing tricks entertained him a lot. She facepalmed herself quickly, laughing more soundproof. "Such a drama queen you're, Parth!"