SUKOON

Ch -6: Family time

Rudransh's Pov:~

"Let's hit the club tonight, what do you think?" Akshat exclaimed eagerly.

"I'll pass. Got to head home. Mom texted earlier," I replied casually.

"No worries. We can plan for another night," Hardik suggested.

Just then, my phone rang with my mom's name flashing on the screen.

"What's the time, guys?" I asked urgently.

"It's 7:50 pm," Ryan replied.

Oh no! It's been 2 hours since Mom asked me to come home. I gulped and answered the call.

"Rudransh Veer Singhania, WHERE ARE YOU? YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO BE HERE 2 HOURS AGO!" my mom shouted through the line.

I glanced at my friends, seeing their wide-eyed expressions. They must have heard it all. I was supposed to head home immediately after college, as per Mom's instructions, but it slipped my mind. Now, here I was, sitting in a tea stall near our college with my best friends Akshat, Hardik, and Ryan.

We've been friends since childhood. Ryan's and Akshat's families are close to ours, more like family friends. Hardik, on the other hand, was an orphan we met during our childhood, but he quickly became an integral part of our lives and our families adore him. He's like an elder brother to me, my other half.

"Mom, I—" I started, but Mom cut me off.

"Don't even try to make excuses. Put your phone on speaker. I know those three knuckleheads are with you," she demanded.

I hastily put the call on speaker as instructed.

"Akshat Khanna, Hardik Singhania, and Ryan Kashyap, I'M GIVING YOU GUYS 20 MINUTES TO GET YOUR ASSES HERE RIGHT NOW. IF YOU DON'T THEN..." Mom's threat hung in the air.

"We'll be right there," the three of them shouted urgently.

"Fine," Mom said before ending the call, and we let out a collective sigh of relief.

"Let's go before Mom decides to give us a piece of her mind," Ryan suggested.

Yeah, they call my mom "badi maa," except for Hardik, who calls her "maa." We refer to Ryan's mom as "Maai maa" and Akshat's mom as "Choti maa."

As Akshat went to settle the bill for our tea, we made our way to the car. We all live in the same complex, so there's no need for four separate cars when all of us are going to the same place.

We reached home within 15 minutes, and as we entered, we flopped down on the sofas in the hall.

"Hey, young men," Dadu greeted us as he joined us.

"Hey, Dadu," Akshat replied.

"What's up, cool dude?" Ryan chimed in.

"Good evening, Dadu," Hardik and I greeted.

Suddenly, I felt a sharp pain in my left ear. Mom was twisting it, and I could see the other three sitting up straight, nervously gulping.

"Ouch, maa... It hurts," I protested.

"Quiet. When did I call you? You never listen to me. My words mean nothing to you," Mom said dramatically.

I sighed and hugged her, apologizing. Eventually, she relented and kissed my forehead, then did the same to the others.

"Where is everyone, maa?" Hardik asked.

"The men are in the snooker room, and the ladies are on the terrace. I just came down to grab some snacks when I saw you guys," Mom replied before instructing us to freshen up and heading back to the terrace.