MaNan ff - L@nd of $weeties

5. Detention

The aftermath of the "Great Ping-Pong Disaster" still lingered in the air as Manik Malhotra made his way to the detention room, his signature smirk firmly in place. Behind him, his friends trailed, grumbling and muttering under their breath, each of them caught in the crossfire of Principal Rao's rage.

As they entered the stuffy room, Manik flopped dramatically into his chair, throwing his arms wide. "So, what do you think? Should we start a band? 'The Detention Desperados.' I'll play the ping-pong ball, naturally."

Mukti rolled her eyes as she settled into her seat. "Great, because that's exactly what we need—more ping-pong chaos."

Cabir, always up for a laugh, grinned from his spot near the back. "I can beatbox, Abhi can sing. We'll be famous by the end of the week."

Nandini, seated beside Manik, couldn't hold back her exasperated sigh. "Can we just stay quiet for once?" she muttered, shooting him a look that was both pleading and annoyed.

Manik, unfazed by her irritation, leaned closer and winked. "Don't worry, I've got it under control."

Navya, overhearing the exchange, whispered sarcastically to Alya, "Famous last words."

Principal Rao appeared at the door once more, his glare now trained on all of them. "If any of you so much as breathe wrong in here, you'll be here for a month."

The threat hung heavily in the air as the group quieted down—for the moment, at least. But, of course, Cabir wasn't about to let the silence last. He leaned over to Abhi, his eyes gleaming with mischief. "You know, if we get Rao to laugh, we might shave some time off this sentence."

Abhi chuckled softly, shaking his head. "Good luck with that. The man hasn't smiled since 1995."

"Challenge accepted," Cabir whispered back, already plotting.

Mukti, never one to be intimidated by authority, kicked her legs up onto the desk and stretched. "Honestly, Rao should thank us. The school's been boring since last semester. We just made his day more exciting."

Alya, already distracted by her compact mirror, glanced up briefly. "Yeah, nothing says 'exciting' like scrubbing floors after school."

Nandini, still stewing over the situation, turned toward Manik, her voice low but edged with frustration. "Do you realize we're going to miss all our afternoon classes because of this?"

Manik shrugged, completely unbothered. "What's a little detention in the grand scheme of life?"

"You always say that," Nandini huffed, crossing her arms, "and then we end up paying for it."

Manik only chuckled softly, leaning back in his chair. "You worry too much, Nandini."

She shot him a glare but didn't say anything else, choosing instead to focus on the notebook in front of her. As the minutes dragged on, Manik couldn't help but glance at her out of the corner of his eye. It wasn't new—this quiet, easy tension between them—but it was something he hadn't put into words. There was always something about Nandini that made him feel grounded, even in the midst of chaos.

Just then, the familiar sound of a ping-pong ball bouncing across the floor interrupted his thoughts. Manik's eyes widened as he realized it had fallen out of his blazer pocket, rolling innocently across the room.

Principal Rao, passing by the door at just that moment, froze. His eyes narrowed dangerously. "MALHOTRA!" he bellowed.

Manik jumped to his feet, snatching up the ball as fast as he could. "It's not what it looks like, sir! It's a... uh, stress ball! Helps with concentration."

Cabir leaned over to Mukti, barely containing his laughter. "Honestly, the man should've confiscated that thing hours ago."

Mukti smirked but said nothing, her eyes gleaming with amusement.

Meanwhile, Alya, completely unfazed by the chaos, was still focused on her mirror. "Does detention lighting make me look pale? Be honest."

Navya groaned, rubbing her temples. "Alya, we're literally being punished right now. Maybe focus on something else?"

Alya shrugged. "There's always time for skincare. Rao's anger doesn't mean my complexion has to suffer."

Cabir, growing restless, quietly turned to Manik with a grin. "Dude, I've got an idea. What if we stage a fake fire drill and bolt?"

Manik raised an eyebrow, intrigued. "And how do you propose we start the fire?"

Navya, overhearing, shot them both a warning glare. "If you two are serious, I'm going to make sure you're in detention for the rest of the year."

Cabir winked. "Maybe just the semester."

Dhruv, trying to keep things light, piped up from his seat. "Look, at least we're all in this together, right? Detention or not, we'll get through it."

Manik nodded in agreement, though his attention kept drifting back to Nandini. "You're right, bro. We've survived worse."

Mukti snorted. "Like that time you set the science lab on fire trying to make a volcano model?"

Manik smirked, unrepentant. "Hey, that was an educational disaster."

Just as the group was finally starting to settle into the monotony of detention, Cabir, whether by accident or not, knocked over a stack of books on the teacher's desk. The loud crash echoed through the room, and within seconds, Principal Rao was storming back in, his face a mask of fury.

"THAT'S IT," he roared. "Extra detention for the rest of the day !"

Alya let out a dramatic sigh. "Great. Looks like I'm going to need a survival kit for my hair."

Mukti leaned back in her chair, a mischievous grin spreading across her face. "Well, if we're stuck, might as well make it memorable."

Manik exchanged a glance with Nandini, the corners of his lips twitching upward. She rolled her eyes, but there was a hint of a smile there too, something small, just for him.

And so, as detention stretched on, the chaos simmered down to a quiet buzz. But beneath the jokes and the schemes, the lingering glances between Manik and Nandini spoke volumes—though neither of them was quite ready to admit it.