An Act Of Jealousy

Chapter 6

Mira filled Kamal and Kiran in as they headed for the library again, but this time in better spirits.

"Of course the coach is angry at you!" Kamal told them "It was very judgemental of you guys to think the other team stole them..."

They reached the library and they went in. It was a large place and very few people were in it. Kamal was firm friends with the Librarian and she asked whether Priya, the coach was still here and the librarian showed her where Priya was with a kind smile. Mirafound this irritating because the Librarian was very annoying towards Miraherself. They went towards the place and found Priya staring at a computer screen where a video was playing; it looked like a place in school. She paused the video as they came near, looked up and smiled.

"Hello! Relaxing after your matches boys?" she said. She continued "Nice playing, both of you. That throw was really good Kiran. I can see you are practicing. Your defence in the match was superb. I couldn't watch your match today Pavan, but others tell me you played really well. And Mira, I expect your best performance tomorrow, in athletics."

"Yes Priya, ..... but - "

Mira's words were cut short when someone called Priya. She excused herself for a minute and left the foursome with the computer screen still displaying its contents.

Mira couldn't resist. Telling her friends to keep watch, she slid behind the screen for a better view. Ignoring Kamal's protests, Mira scrutinised the video that had been playing. She had been right; it was a place in school. After a search of the screen she realized it was CCTV camera footage.

She scrutinised it carefully. A lot of good information was gleaned from it. She saw that the trophy had been placed in the auditorium so obviously that was where the theft had taken place. Then, she saw that a group of boys from the other school were heading towards the boys hostel. Then...

Then the screen went blank as Priya glared at Mira. Mira looked back terrified and saw the guilty faces of her friends behind Priya. She wondered what had happened.

"Curiosity kills the cat. It's a known fact... What did you want? You do know that you shouldn't be peeking into teacher's work don't you?"

Mira gulped but started defiantly back. She decided she would tell the truth.

"Well,you see we know that the trophies are stolen... and we're trying to find them."Mira said. "It looked like it was a place in school and... I know its unforgivable but I just wanted to find the thief and,... I guess I didn't think before acting."

"You know that the trophies are stolen....Let me guess you guys overheard someone?"

"Yes" Kiran confirmed. So the three seemed more inclined to be a part of it when Mira wasn't getting screamed at, were they? What good friends.

"And you want to do something about it? Well we have a lot of capable people working on it. You can help, I'm not going to deny that, there's no restriction because you're kids...Do you have any ideas? Other than sneaking in and watching videos you aren't meant to."

"To be truthful, we didn't mean to sneak in and watch the video... It just happened." Mira defended herself.

"Well, there is the fact that it could be a particular team or school...." Pavan ventured when everybody ignored Mira's point.

"Yes, that is possible. I'll go speak with the Green-wood High Coach, Ritesh......"

"That might be a bad idea. You see we went and asked him, but didn't get good results."

"You shouldn't have taken that into your hands. You see, most people do not believe that kids have a say..."

"Were the trophies large...or bulky??" Kamal asked

"No,... not really."

"In the video... umm I saw that the trophies had been kept at the auditorium that's the place they were stolen from?"

"Yes, but what is your point?"

"Someone would have been guarding them right? Well we could search for them and question them about the thievery."

"Yes. People are already there but the Janitor in question is not to be found. We could use your help though. I take it you know the school inside out?" The foursome smiled in satisfaction. They did know the school inside out. Mira remembered another point that she had found interesting in the videos.

"Nobody needs to go to the hostel right now do they? Are they even allowed?" She asked Priya.

"There are no rules against it."

"Yet, why would boys from the other school want to go to the hostels?"

"Good point." Kamal pondered. "We should look into this..."

Priya shook her head and a grim look appeared on her face. Mira was struck with a sudden fear of being reprimanded for her actions, but her fear was unnecessary. Priya stared at the four friends for a minute then threw her head back and laughed.

"You've broken in and looked at things you weren't meant to see." Mira thought it was unfair that Priya said that they had broken in, as this was not true. Nevertheless, she didn't say anything as the coach was in a good mood and listened as she continued. "Yet now your making plans to catch a thief you were not even supposed to know of. What am I supposed to do with you guys?"

"You could help us make our plans work?" Pavan had the nerve to suggest.

At this Priya laughed more but the friends knew that now they had a powerful ally who would help them catch this thief.

A/N: Hey guys, Its been a long time, I know, But I hope you haven't deserted me or this book and that you will still give this a read...

The song above is in Kannada, A language most people do not know... But do give it a listen because its a really good song and even if you do not understand the lyrics, you'll get the feel of the song.

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