CH - 1 Shani and Jhansi

A family sat at the dining table having breakfast. The man sitting at the head chair read a newspaper, the boy was busy scrolling down below his eyes seeming to touch thin air but his change of expression said otherwise and the woman took care of a cute little girl. It was a family of four, parents and their children, an elder son and a younger daughter.

The house the family lived in was not small or large, just the average size. The corridor led to 2 rooms, a kitchen, a sofa, a bed, a table and everything a family needed to live.

They sat beside each other physically, however mentally none of them was present. Their minds are preoccupied with something else. The retinas of their eyes moved furiously new information popped up in front of them and their minds processed it.

Infinity Corp was the company that had shown the most growth in the history of mankind. Growing into the most popular conglomerate within 10 years. Its influence has reached every household. They came up with the life-changing technology Retina Mobile. Their motto is, "Now, the whole world is in your with a blink of an eye ."

It was the vision provided by their modified retinas which acted as screens to project digital information similar to a phone. The retinas could be controlled by the brain directly making it convenient.

However, there was a change in the atmosphere when the entrance door was rapped . The whole family looked at the door coming back to their senses.

Mr Reddy said, " Is it that lot of children again? Don't they have anything else to do? My peaceful mornings are always disturbed because of them."

"Dad! They are my dear friends. Don't think of them as an annoyance."

"Why don't you tell your friends to wait outside? Is there a need to ring the bell and disturb us?"

"It's not just our house. We go to all my friend's houses to call each other and always go to school together. Other parents welcome us with a smile, they are always glad to see a big group taking their kids to school. It gives assurance that their kid is safe. But, you're the total opposite."

The boy, disgruntled, hurried to take his bag and get out of his house.

Mr Reddy grunted in displeasure getting back to reading the newspaper.

Mrs Reddy said, " Beta, take care of yourselves."

The boy's younger sister waved, " Bye, bye." She was so cute his foul mood vanished like smoke.

"Goodbye, Amma and Chitki."

Outside, kids stood waiting for the boy.

Shani said, " Don't ring the bell next time. If it happens again, then there will be consequences. "

The group was a mix of boys and girls. Trepidation could be seen on their faces at the mention of 'consequences'. They all promised, "Shani, we won't do it again."

Shani felt bad when he saw their fear. They were his dear friends but had increasingly scared of him as the years passed. But their expressions were the result of his actions and exploits. If he became the bad man but ensured their safety, then he didn't mind. There was an exception to everything, even for this.

"Where is Jhansi? Is she not here?"

"We haven't gone to her house yet."

Shani said after a slight pause "Hmm, all of you. Head for school without me."

Raman couldn't contain his curiosity, " Boss, where are you going?"

Ananya giggled, "It's obvious why the boss isn't coming. Haha. "

"Why? Why isn't he coming?"

Chandra nudged Raman, " I will explain it on the way. Don't waste the Boss's time asking nonsense questions."

Raman could only nod still wondering why Shani couldn't come with them.

Ananya, the rest of the girls and the boys also wanted to take part in the foolish discussion speculating about Shani and Jhansi's relationship status.

Shani climbed on his hoverbike driving through gullies that were set up like a complex maze. One could easily get lost if not familiar with the area. He turned left at a corner coming out of the maze and entering an average-housing neighbourhood. The houses here were a level downgrade compared to his houses locality but both live in the middle-class community. Anyone entering the neighbourhood, their eyes would be attracted to the house decorated with paintings.

Without hesitation, Shani rang the bell of the weirdly decorated house with familiarity. An old woman greeted him by calling out, " Shani, has come. If he has to wait for a minute then no Khichdi today."

A 16-year-old girl rushed from the house stopping beside Shani. She glanced at him, then checked outside asking in confusion, "Where are the others?"

"I sent them to school. The school is going to begin within 5 minutes, so I didn't want them to be late. Only I could make it fast enough to get you to school in time."

"But, now you will be late because of me."

Shani waved his hand, " I don't mind. It's fine."

The old woman pushed Shani and the girl out of her house, "If you are late to school, then why are you wasting time dawdling here? Get there as soon as possible."

"Bye, Dadi."

"Bye, Beta. "

"Shani, you brought your hoverbike?"

"Yeah, of course."

Jhansi became happy hugging Shani with excitement, "Then we won't be late and I get to have some fun too."

Shani's expression fluctuated a little before he calmed himself, "I guess so."

"What do you mean by ' Guess so'? You should say it with more confidence."

Shani climbed his bike with Jhansi sitting behind holding him tightly, "Let's go. "

The road to their school was not complicated but the traffic was. At 8 in the morning, the peak number of people gathered, with adults heading out to the office, students to school and senior citizens to temples. If Shani waited for the signals to become green, then they would surely be late for school. The only way they reached in time was by driving rashly. Ramping up the gears and pressing the throttle of his bike he drove like a bullet, dodging skidding and narrowly escaping accidents.

AI Robots stood next to every signal making sure the rules were being followed, they blared red lights as Shani drove past them with speed above the limit. The robots gave chase but he confused them without breaking a sweat. Robots were hard-working creations but they never did anything out of routine. Once their working patterns were known, it was very easy to avoid them.

Jhansi liked action, danger and defiance. The whole ride she shouted at the top lungs enjoying herself in the situation. Within 5 minutes, they weaved through the intricate maze and reached Gyan Vidyagar Higher Secondary School where a big surprise was waiting for them.

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