Double Devils

Like Tom and Jerry

Three things you should never ever trust:

· An email you got saying you won three crore rupees because you were chosen from one million people. You aren't that special or lucky. Its a scam.

· When the lady villain in the daily serial is polite and kind all of a sudden, and insists she's turned over a new leaf.

· When Rudhra says, "Trust me, I have everything under control."

"Trust me, I have everything under control." He said, his shoulder arched back in an unusually stiff position, holding the broom in a defensive way, as the both of us hid behind the kitchen door.

I tried not to snort, for he had said the same thing about twenty minutes ago, and we'd been in this same position except the door had been the balcony door, while the rat was rampaging about my house, having the time of its life.

"Just leave the rat to me." He insisted confidently, as though he were the Pied Piper of Hamlin. "And go watch TV at my house. I'll be back before the ad even begins. Don't worry, you'll be all right."

"But, will you?"

"Ha ha ha. Of course I will. The rat is just being sneaky now. It's hard work but I can do it. " He insisted, wiping the sweat off his forehead and hid undercover like James Bond. He tightened the broom in his hand and twirled it a few times. Perhaps if he'd actually tried to run behind it and not simply gaze at the rat which was running across the house now, he'd have very probably, just a bit, might have caught it.

"I understand Rudhra, this is hard work. Catching a rat requires some quickness of the mind and some insane reflexes, and not to mention, patience. So we should just leave a poison or something." I said, triggering his buttons. If there was one way to make Rudhra do something, it was to hint at the possibility of him not being able to do it. He just wouldn't die until I'd been 'proved wrong'. It wasn't really an ethical tactic, but it was useful.

"That's exactly why you should leave the job to me." He said, and his face was now as proud as a grandfather who takes his grandchild to the first day of school, and his face contorted to a stupid grimace that said, 'huh? Just one rat? Bring a thousand and I'll crush them all!'

"No, thanks Rudhra. I think I've had enough of this real life Tom and Jerry with the rat."

"Excuse me, I am Jerry." He said.

"What did you say, Tom?"

"It's Jerry, miss."

"Come again, Tom?"

"We both know that between us that you are Tom and I am Jerry. Be reasonable for a moment." He declared.

Huh? What if I was really the Tom? When I was little, Jerry had been my favourite character, until I grew up and realised what a horrible little bitch Jerry was, and that Tom was a poor loser. There was absolutely no way I'd accept his decision. I'd rather be Jerry than Tom the loser. 

"No way, Rudhra. Grow up. Accept the facts. You're Tom and I am Jerry. Don't be childish." I said.

And just like that we spent the rest of the day arguing about who was who. On one occasion he'd even suggested that I wasn't either of them but that super annoying Jerry's cousin. Of course that did not sit well with me.

"Ready for tomorrow?" He asked me. I nodded.

I had applied for the position of software tester in a startup two weeks prior. Luckily and fortunately, I got it. And since I was too used to being at home, it was a little awkward to me as well. I slightly dreaded the thought of going back to my older routine life.

"Rudhra, are you sure you'll be okay? I don't think I'll be able to cook for you anymore." I said.

"Thank god." He said.

"Rudhra, I'll be gone for long hours from tomorrow. I'll be back at only at five in the evening."

"Really? Then, can you lend me your TV for my video game?" He said.

How horrible. He really did resemble Jerry sometimes.

"You aren't nice at all! Perhaps you should learn from Tom. Tom, the lovable cat." I said.

"No way! Why should I?" He said. And suddenly, just like that our banter resumed.

"Jerry is all sorts of horrible to Tom, and poor Tom has to keep up with him!"

"Yes yes. Jerry is so horrible. Tom only wants to eat it. What's so wrong about that?" He asked sarcastically, his face morphing into that familiar grin he wore when he thought he won the match.

"But, Jerry is a rat. No one likes rats, Rudhra. I don't like them myself. I like cats very much though." I said, an evil grin forming to myself.

"Oh...really?" He said thoughtfully. He was innately partial towards me. I had an obvious upper hand over him, though he never knew about it himself. It was like a nuclear missile that had to be used on very rare occasions like this.

The next morning, there was no sign of him for a long time though he was the one who was supposed to drop me off at my new office. I knocked on his door.

"Huh? Rudhra, what happened?" I shrieked, pointing to a large hole over his shirt. There was fog coming out of his house.

"This." He said, and handed me a container. " I made rice for you."

He'd made rice for me. Just plain white rice. And had somehow managed to burn himself off. It wasn't even edible.

"Oh! Don't worry. I didn't get burnt at all. It was my shirt that was martyred." He said. " Although it looks more in trend now."

I pulled him into a hug. He was the sweetest person ever. "Rudhra, I was joking when I said I won't be cooking for you anymore. So please, don't do dangerous things like cooking plain rice again. No. You are forever banned from entering into the kitchen!"

"What about the fridge?" He said, through the hug.

"Fine. Only the area until the fridge, then." I said.

He pulled away, a cheeky grin on his face. "You know what? I'll gladly be Tom."

"Huh? No thanks. I hate rats." I said.

"I don't care actually." He said. "All I know for a fact that Tom and Jerry are a super-duper fantastic duo."

"Just like us then." I said.

The smile on his face grew even wider. "Just like us."

My friend Meera, who apparently had been standing for a while, cleared her throat.

"Eww. Stupidest things I've ever heard in my life." She said.

Author's Note:

I was too bored and accidentally watched a reality show (i.e Splitsvilla). Darkest moments of my life.