The Firangi Gurukul

Shopkeeper

"Right, what do we need?" Ethan asked as they entered the store, Bandana unlocked her phone and opened the shopping list that Sameeksha sent her. "Pampers" She said and he started reading the boards in each lane, trying to find the Baby or Kids'  section.

"That way!" He said pointing at a lane on their left. They found pampers at the start of the lane, "here you go!" He said excited, "you sure?" She asked looking at the different sizes present there. "What size do we need?" He asked hoping she knew it, "how would I know?" She asked. 

"Ask Sam" He said. She called Sameeksha but she was not picking up. He called Grayson and his phone was switched off. "Ab?" She asked, he started thinking, "okay, Edwin is small. His ass  should be that big, right?" He said placing his hands about twenty centimeters apart. She slightly nodded. 

"I don't think size matters" She said, "months ke hisaab se karte honge" She said, "can we just ask for help?" He asked, she immediately shook her head.

"Yaha boht Gurukul students aate hai. Mujhe sab jaante hai yaha, log poochne lagenge kiske lie chahiye pampers? Kya bolungi me?" She asked, he cocked his eyebrows, "ohkay" he nodded.

"Sabse chota size lelo" She said, he nodded and placed the smallest size pampers in the trolley. "What's next?" He asked, "baby soap" She read, "baby shampoo, baby wipes...what the hell!?" She said annoyed, "itna kucch?" She said.

He chuckled.

They finished shopping and went to the tills to checkout. A man in his 30s was standing at the tills knew Bandana as she frequently came there to shop.

"Bacche ka samaan?" He asked, Bandana looked at him, "kisko baccha hua hai? Samajh nhi aata ke Gurukul me log parhne jaate hai ya bacche paida karne" He said shaking his head.

"Aap se matlab? Aap products scan kijiye na" She replied. He looked at Ethan, "kahi yeh to nhi?" He asked, "haan, tabhi to saath me laai ho" He said.

"Dekho" Bandana gritted her teeth, "yeh kon hai, saathme kyu aaya, isse tumhe koi lena dena nhi hai. Sab samaan scan karo aur batao kitne paise hue" She said trying to stay calm.

"Woh sab to theek hai, lekin India me itne ladke hai, Gurukul me hi tumhe boht ladke mil jaaenge jo tumhare saath sone ke lie tayaar hai, fir foreigner ke saath karne ki kya zarurat thi? Isme esa kya mil gaya tumhe?" He asked looking at Ethan.

"What the fuck does he mean?" Ethan asked first looking at Bandana and then and the shopkeeper. Bandana held his right hand with her left hand.

He used his other hand to get rid of Bandana's grip, "how dare you?" He asked the shopkeeper. She looked at him, "tumari himmat kese hui ese baat karne ki?" He asked.

"Nhi, it's okay" Bandana said grabbing his hand with both of her hands. "What okay? Let me have a word with him" Ethan said gritting his teeth.

All the products were scanned, she read the amount to pay on the display and took some notes out of her wallet. She paid the shopkeeper and they left.

They sat in the jeep and she passed a death glare to Ethan, "what??" He asked, she rolled her eyes and turned the engine on.

"Aage se tum mere saath kahi nhi aa rahe" She said pressing the clutch down and changing to first gear. "Wo tumare saat bakwaas kar ra ta" He said, "haan to mere saath hi kar raha tha na? Tumhe kyu khujli mach rahi thi?" She asked. He looked away and kept quiet.

*******

Sameeksha and Grayson were back from Gurukul Pustakalay.

Sameeksha was unlocking the door, "that's some sick decoration, I've never seen it before" Grayson smiled looking at the lemons and mauli thread tied above the door.

Sameeksha looked up and shook her head, "me bhi sochu, nimbu aae to gayab kese ho gey!?" She said taking them down, "it's not decoration. It's just a stupid way to keep spirits away from the house" She said.

He chuckled, "what?" He asked, she nodded, "Bandana did it. You know the weird librarian we saw today?" She asked opening the door. He nodded. "Yeah, he told her to do this. He's doing a PhD on supernatural powers" She explained.

Bandana was watching tv in the living room, and Manjot was in the kitchen. Sameeksha went to the kitchen, "yeh lo nimbu" She said to Manjot, "nimbu paani banake gatak jaao. Bhaang ke hangover se araam milega" She said. He smiled and nodded.

Bandana was looking upset, Sameeksha took a deep breath and went towards her, "kya hua?" She asked. "Manjot ghar pe tha, tune kaha tha woh campus pe hai" Bandana said gritting her teeth. Sameeksha bit her lower lip, "usne to kaha tha woh campus pe jaa raha hai" She lied.

"Sameeksha me sab samajhti hu, utni gadhi hu nhi jitna tu samajhti hai" Bandana said rolling her eyes, Sameeksha looked down. "Jiske saath time spend karne ke lie tune mujhe bheja aur jhooth bola, usne waha kaand kar dia" Bandana said, Sameeksha and Grayson looked at her. 

"Kaand?" She asked, "ji haan kaand. Poochlo dono apne laadle se" She taunted. Grayson went to Ethan's room and came downstairs with him.

"What happened Ethan?" Sameeksha asked. Grayson was standing quiet as he knew how angry Ethan was. His facial expressions were telling everything.

"The fucking shopkeeper was talking shit about her" Ethan said loudly, Bandana looked at him, "and she was even trying to stop me when I was going to reply to those shitty comments" He said pointing at Bandana.

"Pata hai kitna tedha aadmi hai woh? Thoda jhagda ho jaata to police bula leta waha" She said standing up, "me rok bhi rhi thi, par nhi!" She said.

He went to her, "listen" he said as he stood close to her, "don't expect me to keep quiet when someone talks shit about you" he said looking down, at her.

She was looking into his hazel eyes that were holding emotions such as anger, pain, love, and possessiveness.

She broke eye contact when her eyes got teary. She left and closed herself in her bedroom.

"Hua kya tha koi bataega?" Manjot finally asked, Ethan looked at him. He sat on the couch and narrated what happened at the shop.

*******

Caption it guys!