Rab Rakha

Chapter 2

"Hi Mama, wassup?!" Advait picked up his uncle's call.

"Adi! Kya kar raha hai?" Sidharth asked his nephew.

"Kuch nahi, just came back to my room." Advait replied.

"Okay, did you see the pictures I sent you?" Sidharth asked, he could sense that the boy wasn't really happy.

"Dekha maine, mere bina bohot enjoy karte ho na aap!?" Advait answered, frowning because his uncle celebrated his birthday without him.

"Achaaw!? Abey, tune khud apna course chuna aur bahar gaya! Ab gussa kar raha hai!" Sidharth replied.

"Toh mujhe nahi pata tha ke mai aap logo ko itna miss karunga!" Advait mumbled. The boy decided to do a certificate course after his fourth semester during the long break.

"Aww. I'm missing you too mera baccha! And just so you know, maine koi enjoy nahi kiya. Bas kuch colleagues ne treat mangi thi, mera toh birthday ka dinner bhi ghar pe bana tha." Sidharth assured him, not wanting his nephew to feel left out.

"Okay. Also, you were looking good in that shirt I suggest you buy." Advait replied.

"Yeah? Took you so long to notice!" Sidharth chuckled.

"Mama, how about I come over for this weekend. Christmas me, lamba weekend mil raha hai." Advait asked.

"Sure, aja. Do you want me to book your tickets? Teri mummy se baat karta hu mai." Sidharth asked back. A break would be good, the boy was really missing his family.

"Ha thik hai." Advait said, feeling a lot better now. The boy had lived all his life with his family, this was the first time he had decided to do a small certificate course to have some good things in his CV. This was his final year in his degree of engineering and the studious kid he was, he badly wanted to get placed into one of the good companies his campus promised.

Advait got that trait from his mother, Preeti. She was the most studious among the three siblings. She was that one nerdy kid who used to study during her free period and visited teachers for better guidance. She began to teach other kids while she was in college. As a consequence of her passion for teaching, she was a lecturer in a high school as well as a tution teacher to those who wanted to clear competitive entrances.

"May I come in, Mam?" Sidharth knocked at her classroom door. His sister was going through some papers, which looked like her students' answer sheets.

"Aana, Montu." Preeti smiled, pulling off her glasses. She has had them since she was 20 and since then, it suited her round face. She looked cute.

"Adi se baat hui meri, miss kar raha wo sabko idhar." He told her, taking a seat infront of her table.

"Ha, meri bhi baat hui thi usse. I could sense that." She replied.

"Toh iss aane wale weekend pe bula lu usey? Christmas break milegi usko iss weekend." He asked her.

"Toh decide kar liya hai tum dono ne? Kar deti hu uski tickets." She smiled, realizing that the two boys already made their plans. Even though she missed her kid, she wanted Advait to experience the change and learn to adjust without his family around.

"Kitni der rukegi? Aur kitne tests leti hai baccho ka? Kaha fass gaye bichare!" He mentioned and chuckled, looking at the pile of copies she was correcting.

"Aise hi JEE nahi clear hota beta! Padhna padta hai." She shook her head.

"Tujhe ya students ko!?" He laughed commenting and so did she.

"Wrap it up! 8 baj gaye hai bhai, tereko lene driver nahi bhejunga. Sath me chal." He insisted, getting up and picking up her handbag for her.

"Thik hai." She nodded, folding her glasses into their case and getting up from her chair. She sighed loudly as she stood up, it had been a while since she got up and stretched. It was a task for a middle-aged woman to sit for long hours and work. The sigh was more of a mentally exhausted sigh after long hours of paper correction.