Soul Swap!

And it continues

Bhuvi was woken up the next morning at 6 o'clock by a heartless yell of, "GET UP IMMEDIATELY!"

He was a little surprised, because with Virat, it was always, "Get up!" with everyone and a gentle loving, "Are you awake, Bhuvi?" with him.

But when he pulled himself out of bed and went out, he saw, much to his consternation, that not the captain but the vice captain hammering on Jassi's door, shouting.

"Jinks!" said Bhuvi, wondering if he was still asleep.

"Good, you're awake. Go and wake up the others on the upper floor, please, Bhuvi," commanded Jinks.

"Did Virat give you this job?" asked Bhuvi hesitatingly.

Jinks looked quite insulted by that. "Of course not!"

Bhuvi gaped at him.

"Now go!" said Jinks, and seeing no other option, Bhuvi went.

He woke up Virat and Kuldeep and Yuzi and said mildly, "Why has Jinks taken over your domain, Vi?"

"My domain?" Virat couldn't have sounded more confused.

"Well, it's usually you waking us up for early morning practice sessions," grumbled Yuzi, yawning. "Dunno what's wrong with Jinks bhaiya these days."

They reached Rohit's room which, thankfully, was unlocked, but the occupant was sleeping with such dedication that he didn't look like he would wake up ever.

Virat shook him very mildly and said, "Ro, we have a practice session--wake up, please?"

Yuzi and Bhuvi exchanged a horrified glance.

Jinks burst into the room. "Hasn't he woken up yet? Why is he so lazy?" he demanded impatiently.

"No idea," said Virat, grinning, and he turned back and shook Rohit a little more roughly. "Rohit!"

Rohit slapped his hand away and turned over.

"He's not going to wake like this," said Jinks, annoyed. "SHIKHAR! BRING A GLASS OF WATER IMMEDIATELY!" he yelled.

Shikhar ran in with one soon, almost slipping when he saw it was Jinks who had asked for it.

Jinks took the water and promptly emptied in on Rohit's head--a trick which was older that anything else now--and Rohit sat up bolt upright, shouting, "Will you stop doing this, Virat!"

"Jinks!" said Virat disapprovingly at the same time.

The rest of the team stared in silence as Rohit looked from Virat's exasperated expression to the empty glass in Jinks' hand.

It was almost five minutes before Rohit managed to say weakly, "Jinks?"

"Will you get out of bed immediately or shall I empty another glass on your stupid head?" asked Jinks.

Poor Rohit was almost in tears, and Virat took charge of the situation.

"Take the others down, Jinks, I'll bring him. And Jassi, tell one of the sweepers to come and clear the mess," said Virat calmly.

Jinks turned and led the team off without a word, and Virat touched Rohit's wet head sympathetically and said, "That was harsh, Ro. Now do get up, you idiot, before Jinks goes off his head."

"Virat," begged Rohit. "What happened to you two?"

"Who? Me and Jinks, you mean?" asked Virat.

"Yes!" said Rohit desperately.

"Nothing...why?"

"How can you say nothing!"

"You're still half-asleep, Rohit," said Virat indulgently, hauling Rohit out of the bed. "Get dressed quickly."

"I don't like this," muttered poor Rohit as he followed Virat to the field a minute later. "I don't like this at all."

______________

Hardik hadn't quite grasped the situation yet, having been absent most of the time Jinks and Virat were doing their job, and after the practice session ended, he happened to spot Jinks placing his glass of orange juice on the counter of the reception as he went to receive a call.

Jinks was a harmless victim, and Hardik, of course, needed to reason at all to cause trouble, so he slipped into the kitchen and nicked a bottle of tomato sauce. Jinks' back was turned on the glass, and Hardik easily gulped down half the orange juice and refilled it with tomato sauce, and he managed to move away just as Jinks turned back.

"Hi, Hardik," said Jinks cheerfully, as he took up the glass again.

"Hi," said Hardik innocently.

Jinks took a big gulp and choked. "What--"

And he spotted the bottle in Hardik's hand (which he had made no attempt to hide) and the cheeky grin on Hardik's face, and he glared at him.

"I'll see you around, Harry," muttered Jinks as he walked off.

Hardik laughed after him.

That afternoon, a few members of the team were going down for a walk in the garden inside the hotel.

Hardik kept throwing mocking glances at Jinks, and Jinks grinned back, his eyes glittering, but of course Hardik didn't even consider the idea that Jinks might be planning revenge.

Not till, when they were passing the pool, Jinks fell in step beside Hardik, and said smoothly, "Nice trick today," and before Hardik could react, Jinks pushed him violently to the side.

Hardik fell headlong into the pool with a tremendous splash and a yell, and his friends jumped away in horror as Jinks started to howl with laughter.

If it had been anyone but Jinks, the others would have joined in, of course, because they had so often been at the receiving end of Hardik's pranks themselves, but in the present scenario, they began to feel distinctly scared.

Rohit stepped away from Jinks, seriously beginning to suspect that he was an imposter--because this person couldn't be his calm, sensible best friend.

"What was that for?" demanded Virat, annoyed. "Hardik, come out quick, before you catch an awful cold!"

And the others felt even more scared.

Two imposters? wondered Rohit despairingly.

Hardik climbed out of the pool, sopping wet, grumbling, "Whatever is wrong with you, Jinks?"

Jinks was still laughing. "Serves you right!" he said, sounding supremely mocking, something he never did, and Kuldeep tried asking, "Do you feel ill, Jinks bhaiya?"

"Of course not, Kuliya," said Jinks affectionately, throwing an arm around Kuldeep's shoulders and squeezing him the way Virat did all the time.

"Go and change," Virat was telling Hardik gently but firmly.

As Hardik was slouching away with Bhuvi (who was speechless with shock, too), Virat turned back to Jinks and scolded, "Seriously, Jinks, grow up!"

That was too much.

Rohit felt a terrible migraine coming on, and clutching his head, he fled, wailing, "What the hell is wrong with everyone?"

Shikhar and Jaddu ran after him, and so did Kuldeep and Yuzi, and Virat and Jinks stared after their friends running away at top speed and howling, and within moments they were reduced to such a sort of helpless laughter that they laughed for nearly fifteen minutes before they could stop.

"It's getting better and better, isn't it?" said Virat happily.

"Definitely, Vi," agreed Jinks.