A Pocketful Of Peace

3. A Friend In Need

Soundarya Prabhu. The uncrowned beauty queen of hearts. The only sight worth seeing for many in the entire Madikeri. Half the population was constantly vying for her attention and latter half was on the verge of throwing daggers at her for catching and holding the attention of the former half. Needless to say, which section of the population felt what. Here she was, perched up on the top of the stairs besides his door, all eyes for Aman! And he was here too... looking at her, his best friend and confidante ever since he could remember. It was difficult to articulate the feelings they had for each other. He didn't even remember since when they had known each other... probably forever. But he did know he could trust her with his life, ever since she had covered for him in kindergarten. The friendship and trust budding from that instance continued to flourish and to this day had culminated into a deep sense of gratitude and a kinship that they solely relied upon for their survival in this unforgiving world.

"Trying to poke a few more eyes with your dagger, are you?" She asked.

"You, are exaggerating. It was a mere pencil." He said.

"Probably it was. It did hurt like it was a dagger, though."

"Why complain now? You should have said something when you still had a chance to, back then." He shrugged.

"And end up losing the perfect opportunity to boss you around for years? No, thank you! I will play the game as I deem fit and fair." She said, casually blowing over her nails.

"It is hardly fair when you keep on cribbing about that one act. It was but an accident and I did say sorry." He complained.

"I like to hear it again and again, anyways."

"You are such a cold and calculating monster!"

"...and your only friend in need." She smirked as she held her arms wide open.

"A bitter truth... did I ever mention how truly blessed I am to have a monster for a friend in you?" Aman rushed past the flight of stairs and scooped her up in a bear hug as she flung her arms around his neck.

" Yes, you have, about 98765509876 times already but you could say that again. Gosh! How I have been looking forward to this day! Now I can show that stupid Mayuresh what happens when you don't back off. His face will be worth watching when you punch the daylight out of him. Oh yes! Yes, yes yes... I am so excited to see his arrogant arse suffer... It's been ages since I had some fun, you know." She said excitedly.

"And I missed you too, Sandy." He said, amused at her excitement. She beamed a radiant smile at him and pulled him down as she proceeded to sit on the porch.

Hand in hand, they sat by the corner near the front door, his luggage stacked besides them.

"What was all that about Kattappa?" He asked her.

"Oh! Ever since that movie released the kids keep calling him Kattappa. I am pretty sure they will start calling you Bahubali the moment they get to know you are the esteemed nephew."

"You are exaggerating." He commented.

"Which part? You being Bahubali?" She asked in a patronizing tone as her eyes traveled over the lean, muscular body and broad shoulders. The jacket did a good job of hiding it all but Sandy knew from her experience what lay beneath the layers of clothing. For years now she had seen him directing his pent-up anger and frustration towards his life into something constructive. Not only was he a brilliant student and an accomplished orator, Aman was a two times champion at triathlon.

"Me being an esteemed nephew." He stated as a matter of fact. She gave him a flat look and he continued... "I thought you would be busy. How did you manage to sneak out at this hour? That too right under your beloved Appa's nose?" Aman inquired. He knew what it was like working under his uncle at the diner and Sandy had been braving up at the place as a cashier cum waitress cum cleaner.

"Appa sent me home so that I could welcome you." She said brightly.

"Oh really? Since when did your Appa start loving me so much that he sent a welcome party?"

"Okay, I admit. There might have been some other reason for which he let me go."

"I swear I can smell mischief here..." he said raising an eyebrow.

"No mischief there. I might just have given him an age-old excuse though... and that hardly qualifies as a mischief."

"Excuse! Oh boy, that sounds pretty interesting to me." Aman chuckled at the thought of his uncle being fooled yet again. "Pray tell, which of the silly excuses did you recycle and reuse today?"

"Oh, I just told him I had a very bad stomach ache. He didn't want to get his washrooms dirty, so sent me away."

Aman let out a hearty laugh. "I wonder how come he didn't drag you to the doctor personally this time considering that you have been giving the same excuse in a row for about 2 months now."

"he did!" she exclaimed.

"He did?" Aman blinked, surprised that his uncle actually took trouble to take her to a doctor. That was suspiciously close to caring. "How did you get out of the situation?"

"Oh, you can hardly call it a situation when the doctor in question happens to be your next-door neighbor and Appa is so well known for his tantrums! Doctor Shetty just prescribed a few generic medicines, lots of rest and sent me off. Appa was pretty convinced and I earned a paid day off!"

"I am telling you, be aware... Dr. Shetty has a crush on you." He told her in a conspiratory tone.

Sandy raised an eyebrow and asked him, "Jealous?"

"Who? Me?" He asked. "Ha! As if I care whom you fall in love with! Oh, come on, if you want to be bored waiting for a doctor husband to get home every day, be my guest." He said, leaning back on his elbows.

She got up, straightened her dress and extents her hand for him "Come on! You can't be serious!"

"I am perfectly serious. Though I do think you should date people from other vocations as well. How about a painter? Or a singer? Or a gambler? Oh yes, gambler seems to be a good choice. You won't have to work in the sorry excuse for a diner. But on second thoughts, you will end up waiting for your better half while he is winning money for you... or perhaps, when he is busy lounging in some lockup until you arrange for his release..."

"Are you done setting me up yet? Because I am feeling hungry and I can't live on air like a few people I know." Sandy exclaimed giving him a curt look. She turned around and skipped down the stairs.

"Hey! Wait up for me, will you?" He called after her, hastily getting up from his very comfortable position on the front porch.

At the bottom of the steps, Sandy whirled around and shot at him, "I don't like to wait for anyone. Much less you, smarty pants! Get yourself moving if you wish to be in my company." With that, she was out of the gate, speeding off towards the market. 

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Hi! I am so glad I found you here. Thanks for dropping by. If you are reading this part, I will risk assuming that you are pretty much interested in the story by now and are looking forward to know what happens with Aman and his friend. I am eagerly looking forward to sharing it all with you. I know, it's too early in the story but do let me know how you are liking it. 

A little motivation goes a long way. Kindly shower your love in votes, comments and share. I will try my best to upload a chapter every weekend. Looking forward to your love and support... 

See you next weekend. Adios!