We Are A Match [COMPLETED]

Chapter : Seventy

Chapter : 70

Rishav's POV 

"Aa, dekhe zaraa,
Kisme kitna hai dum.
Jamke rakhna kadam,
Mere saathiya...!"

And there goes Ravi, Saqib and all the others players of my team singing the well known lyrics of a retro track. We were in the bus which was about to reach our lodging Inn where our Delhi team would be spending the nights. I was partially upset about the fact that Ananya, Kabir and the rest were preparing for the Science exam two days from now while I was on my way to playing for the state in the test series. I mean I am really happy. But there's still a part of me that keeps telling me that I've made a mistake.

Ravi too had gave up the Science examination but he was different. Different than a middle class boy like me. He had the money and was going to be a part of his Dad's business anyway. Scoring good grades had never been his priority.

"We are about to reach the Inn. Get your luggage ready boys." Kiran, who was traveling with us this time, yelled over the loud singers.

The bus entered into a large complex which had many people moving about. Picking up my kit bag, I got off the bus with the rest of the guys. I looked up at Ravi when he handed me his duffle bag silently.

"I gotta use the washroom. Will be back in a minute. You go ahead." Ravi told me quickly and ran off for the toilet.

Sure, now he has to go and pee. When texting Naina in the bus station, nothing is more important.

Shaking my head, I headed on with the rest of the boys. I heard the familiar ringtone of Ravi's phone from his duffle bag. Sighing, I unzipped the bag and started looking for the phone amidst all the crap this moron had stuffed in it. Suddenly I walked into someone and the bag slipped out of my grasp. I whipped my head up to look at Madhav who had a look of apology etched on his face. Frowning, I crouched down and started picking up all the items that had sprawled on the floor. A wave of shock passed through me as I noticed a Playboy magazine too was lying on the floor out of the bag in all its glory. That was the first item I pulled back into the bag, hoping that nobody had noticed it. God, Ravi.

I was surprised when Madhav too got down on his knees and started helping me out. Nevertheless, I didn't question him. We were still putting the things into the bag when I turned around to look at Ravi who was now approaching us.

"Here you go Neil." Madhav's voice brought my attention back to him.

I silently took the duffle bag from his hands as he stood up and joined the group of boys back quickly. Standing up, I still had my eyes trained on his feline figure.

"Rishav? What's the matter?" Ravi asked.

"Playboy? Seriously?" I asked him while he passed me a sheepish grin and shrugged.

***

"East or west?" Ravi asked out loud.

"Delhi is the best!" The other boys replied in unison.

The atmosphere was still all electric as we entered the Lodging Inn to get some rest. We had finished the first  Match out of the three test matches today which had ended in Delhi's victory. Of course there were two more matches left to be played to declare our victory in this test but winning the first test had definitely charged up everybody's spirits.

"Okay, enough shout outs now. Better go to your respective rooms and get some sleep. We'll all start warmups tomorrow at 9:00. Be ready." Kiran spoke, silencing the group.

All the boys nodded and headed for the respective rooms. Ravi and I were sharing a room and it had a cozy feeling about it with the heaters and warm blankets to face the December chill. Entering our room, I got off my jacket and hung it by the chair as I settled down on my single bed. Ravi threw his sweater off as he laid down on his bed and sighed with a smile, still happy. The room was a warm treat since the Lodging staff had left the heaters on for us before we arrived.

"Let's call up Anan-" Ravi was speaking when someone barged into our room without a knock.

It was a man in an overcoat and black attire. He didn't look happy with that scrutinizing look plastered on his face. Ravi and I, both sat up straight and looked at him questioningly. He entered the room without any permission, followed by three more men.

"Who's Rishav in here?" The man with the overcoat asked.

"I am. But what's the matter?" I spoke.

"Check his bags." The man commanded and within moments my bags had been pulled out from underneath the bed and brutally opened up. Two of the men began throwing out everything from T-shirts to jackets out of it. I had a confused frown on my face.

"You can't just come and do this shit in here!" Ravi spoke in anger.

The man threw Ravi an amused glare. He was definitely not ready to face such an attitude from teenage boys playing cricket for the state. If only he knew who Ravi Sharma was.

Soon Kiran appeared on the doorway with a worried face. I was even more confused when he didn't stop the men from the checking.

"Kiran, who are these idiots?" Ravi asked.

"They are from the Cricket board... It's okay kids. Just let them check your stuff. I already told them there's nothing illegal with you but they wanna check for themselves." Kiran explained slowly.

"Fine." I replied to silently tell Ravi to shut up.

"There's nothing in here, sir." One of the two men who were checking my bags said.

"See! I had already told you he wouldn't be involved in illegal things." Kiran said with relief.

The man with the overcoat however, looked dissatisfied. He then shot a glance at the duffle bag under Ravi's bed which belonged to Ravi.

"Check that one as well." The man said and pointed at the bag.

"Fine go on." Ravi said and threw the bag at the two men with confidence.

Two minutes into the search and the guys had discovered five packets from Ravi's duffle bag. It had some sort of powder in it. Ravi had a frown on his face.

"How the hell-" Ravi was saying when the man interrupted him.

"You will say all that you've got at the Ranji Board boy. You are officially out of the game until any further decisions are taken. You will have to come with us." The man spoke.