The Rules Of Pursuit

51. The Bad-ass

"You won't have any harness, so make sure you don't slip." Mentor Varun's words left me gaping in horror. "It's a 10 km trek, so make sure you don't exhaust yourself. The ones who reach first will get full marks. The one's who fail to reach the top within three hours are going to fail."

"Shit!" I murmured. Avinash secretly held my hand to ease the panic.

"Good Luck team!" Mentor Varun winked and let us take our places. I stared at the narrow trail through the forest circling the mountain ahead.

The rest of the teams jogged ahead on his whistle, but my feet were rooted on the spot.

"Come on Naxi." Avinash said kindly.

"I cannot do this Avinash." I whispered. "I am scared of heights and ten kilometres in three hours...I can never do it."

"Do you Trust me?" He stepped in front of me, and looked into my eyes, not letting go of my hand. "Do you trust me Naxi?" I managed to move my head up and down. "Then come with me." He gently pulled my hand, walking backwards. "Come with me."

Even though I knew I may let him down, I followed Avinash's footsteps.

"Avinash I am sorry." I said after a while. We had managed to cover some distance but I didn't know how much. None of the rest of our co-competitors were anywhere close. Since the trail was becoming steeper, I could tell that we were already going uphill. The trees here were covered with snow with the sun poking through the thick canopy.

"Listen Naxi, you don't have to be sorry for anything, okay." He was still holding my hand.

"I need to confess something." I hadn't told him about the swap yet. "It was I who made Mandy swap. I wanted to be with you." I said quietly, as Avinash entwined his left arm with my right and helped me up the hill.

"It is because of me, that you are having to come at the bottom in all the physical training and sports examination." I pointed out sadly.

"Thank God you did!" Avinash grinned, putting his arms around my shoulder. "Otherwise I wouldn't have had a boner, without watching porn."

I playfully punched him on his chest, making him chuckle.

"I don't want to become your weakness Avinash," I lamented "I want to be your strength." Though it sounded a little cheesy, it was the truth.

"You are my strength already Naxi." He kissed me on the side of my head, "After we swapped, I became more focused on my studies. You made me a better person."

"I wish I too could have improved myself in sports and agility." I said sadly, "then we could have beaten Mandy and Natasha. Imagine if you were paired with Mandy you two would have been invincible."

"What could have happened if you hadn't swapped doesn't matter now." Avinash said earnestly. "Look at all the good things that happened because of the swap. Neither Mandy and Natasha, nor you and I, would have been together if it wasn't for the swap. I don't know about you, but I would rather have you in my life than top the trimester examination."

I don't know how we had managed to traverse so much distance so fast, but one of the pairs were sitting on the side of the trail.

"Vertigo." One of the partners of the pair informed Avinash.

"All the best mate!" Avinash wished him.

After walking for another hour, I begged Avinash to take a break.

"Don't sit down okay?" He warned, "If you sit once, you won't be able to get up." I nodded, as I doubled up holding the sides of my waist. My breath fogged out even though I was sweating profusely in this cold.