A Thousand Encounters

Chapter-4

"Now, don't tell me you don't know how to hold a gun even?" yelled Manik.

Half an hour.
Since his precious half an hour, all Nandini did was irritating him. She had taken an oath to bring every freaking new limit of tolerance out of him.

"Why are you shouting? I am supposed to be a student and you a teacher," she stated innocently, not.

"You mean, out of sudden, you have forgotten how to hold a gun. I have seen you taking pointless shots when I walked in, Nandini," he yelled yet again.

She kept looking at him with that super animated pout and innocent eyes.

"Arghhhhh, what did I do to deserve this? What?" Manik started to stride from one end to other.

Nandini suppressed her laugh seeing him that bothered. She walked to stand and picked up the gun treating that like a never seen machine.
Sometimes pointing it aimlessly and sometimes looking into pipe, she was into her role to the core. Role of a amateur...a irritating amateur to be precise.

"Put that thing down," he commanded seeing her playing with it.

He strode towards her and took the gun away.

Taking two deep breaths, he finally held the gun firmly and showed her how to hold it.

She on purpose brushed her fingers to his flesh, just to see him flustered all over again.
He immediately withdrew his hands and gun dropped. He fidgeted a bit with his facet of disciplined teacher and then stiffened his torso.

"Enough for today. You are dismissed," he said exactly in tone Nandini wanted to listen.

He didn't meet her gaze and walked out of arena stomping his army boots.

She finally let the long suppressed laughter out. She laughed her heart out while he was frozen just outside the door after listening her sweet yet wild laugh.

"I knew it. You think this is fun, Nandini. I will make sure it is," he murmured before continuing his walk.

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"Wake up, Manik," Harshad tapped his shoulder in order to wake him up.

"No, I don't know how to unlock a gun. Please, let me go," Manik mumbled in his sleep.

Harshad looked at him all perplexed and then finally jerked him hard to get him out of his nightmare.

Manik jumped on bed and sat like a kid who had just came out of a scary slumber.

Harshad touched his forehead and then his pulse.

"What are you doing?" Manik asked.

"Manik Malhotra needed to be waken up. Oh my God. I woke him up on this weird morning," Harshad said dramatically.

"Something is really wrong with you," he added.

Manik looked at watch and felt embarrassed. He was an hour late.

"I couldn't sleep properly last night so couldn't wake up," he explained in low tone.

Seeing him being highly uncomfortable about the fact, Harshad chuckled a bit. He patted Manik's back and said, "I am so proud of you. You finally showed some symptoms of normalcy."

Manik made a 'whatever' face and got off the bed.

"Get ready. Its last assembly of this season. No one is allowed to be late," Harshad reminded Manik.

Manik held his forehead as he got reminded of it and Harshad seemed to be unable to hold the happiness of telling Manik things for the first time.

"It feels so great. Yes," he boosted while Manik ran to get ready.