The Mourning Moon

Chapter 36

"Okay, that's enough!," said Ishita glaring at Vivaan who gave her a smug smile.

The five friends were playing carrom in Ansh's room. Well, four of them. Vivaan and Somya in one team, Ishita and Ansh in another. All of them were sitting on the carpet. Shreshth hated the game so he just sat on Ansh's bed sipping on his soda as he watched his friends play. Vivaan and Somya were kicking Ishita and Ansh's ass in carrom. Ishita being as competitive as she was, gave her best but it looked like in carrom, luck favoured that smug asshole Vivaan. So after five rounds of carrom, since Ishita did not want to give up so easily, she had had enough.

Vivaan sat back feeling smug and while Ishita glared at him.

"Don't look at me like that, Ishi. You know no one can defeat me in carrom," Vivaan said, enjoying Ishita's frustration.

Ishita narrowed her eyes at him and then smiled at him sweetly as she said, "Ansh, please bring out the chess."

As soon as the words left Ishita's lips, Somya's mouth opened wide in amusement and Vivaan froze. His smugness went poof in the air as he stared wide-eyed at Ishita's smiling face. His gaze then landed on Ansh.

"Ansh, y-you don't have that abomination in your home now, do you?," Vivaan asked, his voice laced with fear.

Ansh frowned, confused, "Um, what?"

"You don't have chess, do you?"

"I do, why?"

Vivaan looked at Ansh as if he had betrayed him in the worst way possible. He placed his palm on his heart as he, in a sad, broken voice, said, "And I thought we were friends, Ansh."

Ansh was baffled at Vivaan's reaction. He looked towards Shreshth who had switched from sipping sodas to munching chips, enjoying the show. Noticing Ansh's gaze, he shrugged and kept on enjoying Vivaan's misery.

"Ansh," started Ishita, "what are you waiting for? Bring out the chess."

"NO!!," exclaimed Vivaan. "You can't. You can't bring out devil's plaything. It will bring bad luck."

Ansh's frown deepened. "Vivaan, are you ok?," asked Ansh, genuinely concerned for his friend.

Somya could not hold her laughter in any longer. She burst out laughing while holding her stomach with her both hands. Shreshth followed next, Vivaan stared at them with his mouth open unable to believe how his friend and fiancee are enjoying his misery.

"Somya!," Vivaan exclaimed causing Somya to fall down on the carpet while laughing.

"Ok, seriously, what's going on?," Ansh asked confusion lacing his voice at his friends' behaviour.

Shreshth sobered up and answered, smile still playing on his lips, " It's chess, Ansh. Vivaan hates it with all his being."

"No matter how hard he tries, he can't win. Once he played it with a kid and lost spectacularly," said Somya. "It was such a sight to behold seeing Vivaan wail and thrash."

Vivaan, red with embarrassment, said, "Suraj did NOT defeat me. I let him win."

"And I am the Prime Minister of India," Somya said.

Vivaan glared at her.

Ansh looked at Vivaan, amused. "You know, I can teach you how to play chess," Ansh suggested.

"I know how to play chess!," said Vivaan affronted by Ansh's suggestion.

"If you say so."

Vivaan was about to retaliate but was stopped with Ansh's bedroom door opening revealing a blushing Anshika.