Shadows Of The Stumps

Chapter - 72

At Rahul's place, the scene was nothing short of a madhouse. Rahul was pacing up and down, his worry evident as he muttered to himself. Virat matched his pace, looking equally anxious. He stopped for a moment, giving Rahul a serious look.

"Dono batake nahi gaye?" Virat asked, his voice tinged with exasperation.

"No!" Rahul replied, throwing a glance at Kaka, who had been patiently dealing with their constant questions.

Rahul asked for what seemed like the thousandth time, "Kaka, ye dono batake nahi gaye kahan ja rahe he?"

Kaka, unable to hold back his laughter, replied with mock annoyance, "Nahi baba, nahi bataya hai mujhe."

Rohit, chuckling, leaned down to Sammy and said, "Tumhare dono chachu pagal ho gaye hai."

Sammy giggled, watching her uncles pace around, while Ritika swatted Rohit's arm. "Bas, nothing against my brothers," she said, defending them.

Anushka, catching Ritika's words, chimed in, "Hey, even you don't tell anything to my brother!"

With a mischievous grin, Anushka and Rohit exchanged a quick high-five, leaving Ritika rolling her eyes.

Sammy and Vami, ever the sensible ones, face-palmed at their parents' antics, while the babies, Akaay and Angad, joined in with their innocent giggles. Sanjana, couldn't help but laugh at the scene unfolding before her.

"Mazak sujh raha hai ap sabko?" Rahul muttered, genuinely exasperated.

Virat shook his head with a wry grin. "Wohi toh!"

Jasprit, who had been watching the two pace for ages, finally spoke up. "Can somebody make these two sit down? Inka cardio dekh ke mai thakk gaya hoon."

Sanjana shook her head with a fond smile. "Total madhouse, guys."

In the middle of all this, Ayan sat calmly in a corner, flipping through the academy's latest reports with Arjun by his side, both amused at the chaos unfolding around them.

Rohit turned to Ayan, slightly incredulous. "Tu itna chill kaise hai? Teri bhi girlfriend missing hai!"

Ayan barely looked up, smirking. "She's Meera. For all you know, woh do chaar logon ko gayab kar chuki hogi."

The room erupted into laughter, the tension melting away.

_______________

As soon as Meera and Athiya entered the house, the energy shifted. Rahul was on them in seconds, his questions spilling out in rapid-fire.

"Tum log kaha thi? Phone kyun nahi uthaya? Bata ke kyun nahi gayi?"

But before he could go any further, Meera and Athiya glanced at each other, grinning mischievously. Then, in perfect sync, they threw their arms out dramatically and shouted, "Rahul, take a chill pill!" imitating Kajol from Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham.

Everyone around them burst into laughter. Rohit clutched his stomach, chuckling. "Arey bhai, Rahul toh bas yahi sunne ke liye pareshan tha," he joked.

Rahul, however, was caught between laughing and being annoyed. "Mujhe seriously chinta ho rahi thi, aur tum log yahan dialogues maar rahe ho!"

"You know we were genuinely worried," Virat said, his voice serious as he crossed his arms, giving both Meera and Athiya a look.

"Same here," Rahul added, trying to hold on to his serious expression but failing as a small smile tugged at his lips.

At this, Rohit shook his head, chuckling. "The way you two were pacing and bothering poor Kaka, I'd say the worry was mutual!"

Jasprit chimed in, laughing, "Honestly, I'm exhausted just watching these two! Their cardio's given the rest of us a workout."