MANMARZIYAAN -MY TAKE

The presentation

The alarm clock buzzed which woke up Samaira. She glanced at Radhika who was still sleeping like a cute child. They had reached Lonavla the night before and had soon retired to their respective hotel rooms as everyone was very tired from the journey.

Sam quickly took a shower and then had to literally pull Radhika off the bed to wake her up. Once Radhika was ready they joined everyone for breakfast.

Teji : What are our plans for today?? Can we go sightseeing somewhere?

Kritika : Yeah! I really want to see the beautiful lakes and forts here.

Zubin : Not to forget the adventure park.

Samrat : Relax guys we have 10 days we'll do all that. But remember it's also an official trip.

Piyali : Yes. Samrat and I have a meeting with Tresemme owner Mr. Shashi in two hours. After that we'll have to make a trial presentation and get his approval.

Neil : Maybe we can go trekking after all this is finalised. And then camp out for 3-4 days.

Radhika : AWESOME IDEA NEIL!!! ITS GOING TO BE SO MUCH FUN!!

Sam pulled Rakhika's cheeks and said : You're excited like a baby Chasni. Oh sorry I forgot YOU ARE A BABY 😅😂

Neil : Haha. I'll make the arrangements.

An idea struck Arjun. This was the time! Piyali Samrat and Neil all would be busy. He could take Samaira on a date and try to impress her.

He asked Samaira who readily agreed. They had a splendid time. Sam started understanding Arjun better ( or so she thought🤫😉) She enjoyed how deep yet relatable his words always were. She started feeling more attracted towards him.

4 days passed. All of them had made a spectacular presentation and we're supposed to show it to Mr. Shashi the next day.  Sam and Arjun's closeness became the topic of discussion of Zubin, Kritika and Teji. On the other hand, Neil and Radhika had become very good friends and we're always found teasing each other or discussing some story or other. To top it all, Neil and Sam had not been talking to each other for two days since Neil had commented how ugly Arjun and Sam looked together.

At night everyone gathered to review the presentation one last time but was they saw left them bewildered. Someone had deleted the presentation from the pen drive!

Everyone was distraught. Arjun was smiling in his heart. He had successfully got hold of the pen drive and done his job secretly. He then suggested that everyone should go back to their rooms, bring the necessary files and material needed and then all of them could remake the presentation.

Everyone agreed reluctantly. Arjun cleverly locked Krutika, Zubin and Teji in their rooms and himself got into Radhika's room and locked it from the outside with the help of a hotel employee. He couldn't leave her alone lest she try and break through the room. He HAD to keep and eye on her.
He knew that Neil and Sam not being on talking terms would find it very difficult to complete the presentation in just a few hours.

A couple of hours later.

Samrat kept pacing up and down in his room. Piyali too looked fearful.

Samrat : WHERE THE HELL IS EVERYONE. They were supposed to come an hour before.

Piyali : Yeah plus how will we complete it in such less time.

Sam : Don't worry mom. We both will complete it. We will not let the account go from our hands.

She looked at Neil expectantly and he nodded back.

Piyali : But you both are not talking.......

Neil : Ma'am we know better than to mix personal and professional life. We'll do it. Relax.

Neil and Sam started on the ppt and stayed up till 6:00 am untill the ppt was finally completed. Neil kept the pen drive in his own pocket to keep it safe. They both slept on the chairs itself with Sam's head on Neil's shoulder and his head on her head.

At 8:00 am Samrat and Piyali walked into Neil's room followed by everyone else. They had already been thrashed by Samrat and Piyali about their irresponsible attitude the night before.  The sight they saw left them smiling. They woke up the two sleeping beauties and watched the newly made presentation.

It was actually better than the first one! To say that Arjun was devastated would be an understatement. Yet he masked his annoyance with a smile. He remembered the events that took place the previous night and his smile widened.

The night before

Radhika was really annoyed upon being locked up.

Radhika's thoughts - Oh god WHY did you do this?? Why did I have to get locked up?? THAT TOO WITH THIS KHADOOS?? I cannot tolerate him for 1 hour and now I'll have to spend the whole night with him in this room! Why??

Meanwhile Arjun was really content with himself for executing his plan perfectly.
He smiled seeing Radhika blabbering to herself. He picked up a glass of water to drink it but by mistake spiled the water on the ground.

That was enough for Radhika to erupt like a volcano. She glared at him and started moving towards him threateningly.

Radhika : YOU! Everything is your fault. WHY DID YOU HAVE TO COME TO MY ROOM. Now because of you we are locked in and still you are not satisfied that you......Aaaaaah

Radhika's foot slipped on the water on the floor. She closed her eyes anticipating her inevitable fall. However a strong pair of arms caught her. She kept her eyes closed for 2 minutes in fear after which she slowly opened them. To her surprise Arjun was looking intently in her eyes. They shared an eyelock and remained in that position for a long time

(Song playing in the background)

After that Radhika accepted that they can't do anything about the situation and so decided to make the most of it. She told Arjun various stories and things that her Dadaji would say.

To his surprise Arjun did not feel annoyed by this and instead enjoyed listening to her stories. Soon they shifted into a deep slumber with Arjun's hand wrapped in Radhika's.

He was brought back into the present by Teji's words. He glanced at Radhika who looked right back at him before remembering the moment they shared the night before. A slight blush crept on her face. Arjun smiled seeing this.

Radhika : Oh god what am I thinking! No this is not right. Sam loves Arjun sir... She quickly brushed her thoughts aside.

Teji : Wow this is amazing Neil and Sam! But wait weren't you guys not talking to each other??

Radhika : Kuch dostiyon mein shabdon ki zaroorat nhi hoti. Aur mere Dadaji kehte hai ki aisi dosti sirf kismat waalon ko milti hai.

Everyone smiled at this except one man. He thought that had to do something to break this 'pakki dosti'. And that too very soon.

The presentation with the Tresemme owner went better than expected and Birdsong got the account. They still had a day with them before going back and all that was left to do was to party and have fun!

Hello everyone! Do comment how you feel this story is. Is it too slow?

The next chapter is going to be a hard choice for Sam

Until next time!