When life happens

The beginning

Hardik sauntered over to where Neha and Siri were standing and demanded, "What are you doing here?"

Siri wasn't particularly fond of Hardik at all, and his tone didn't seem very nice to her, so she didn't bother to reply.

Neha grinned cheek hurtingly and said, "Come to learn your original helicopter shot from you, sir."

Hardik's eyes lit up.

"Really? Jaddu, Ro look, a few more fans of mine," he told his teammates.

Jaddu grinned in an uncanny similar way as Neha. "Then do teach them your original helicopter shot properly."

"Not me," said Siri hastily as Neha turned to her, so she stayed behind as Neha and Hardik skipped away, Hardik muttering something like, "No sense of magnitude at all..."

They passed Kuldeep who happened to be looking for someone to bowl to, Hardik offered to try the helicopter shot on him.

"His original helicopter shot," added Neha from the side.

"The helicopter shot isn't originally his," said Kuldeep at once. "It's Mahi bhai's."

Hardik brushed him off and told him to bowl.

As Kuldeep took his run up, he noticed Neha staring fixedly at him, and he stopped and asked a little uncomfortably, "What?"

"Nothing, it's just too wonderful for words to see you bowl from up close like this," said Neha.

"And me batting too, right?" asked Hardik promptly.

"That goes without saying," said Neha warmly.

Kuldeep couldn't tell if she was being sarcastic.

He bowled one of his characteristic fighted deliveries and Hardik missed.

"BOWLED!" shouted Neha in delight, as a grumpy Hardik ran to fetch the ball. "Nice bait, Kuliya," she said, grinning.

"Kuliya?" said Hardik. "And whose side are you on?"

"Kuldeep's, obviously," said Neha, realising that she had mistakenly called Kuldeep by his nickname, which was a bit weird. "When it's KKR vs MI, Kolkatans choose KKR, always."

Kuldeep looked almost triumphant at Hardik's expression.

They continued their practice, and Neha watched them, sitting on the grass, till Hardik finally managed his helicopter shot, and whooped at the top of his voice.

Neha found herself jumping up and high fiving Hardik in spite of the Mumbai Indians thing.

...........................................................................

Siri trying calling after Neha, "Prof didn't send us to learn original helicopter shots, Neha!" but she and Hardik disappeared alarmingly fast.

"What did he send you today for?" asked Rohit. "You haven't come with your luggage, right?"

"No," said Siri. "He sent us for some formalities and paperwork," she said vaguely.

"What paperwork?" demanded Rohit.

"I dunno, he explained them to Neha because I was late."

"You sound exactly like Rohit when he makes excuses to Virat every morning about being late," said Jaddu snidely.

"I'm never late," said Rohit in a dignified voice.