266 Vinegar anyone?

Eastern Zilla

"Since I am awake at this hour, why should others sleep peacefully? Dear snake, I hope you will put your venom to good use right now. What's the point of keeping it stored inside all the time, hmm?" muttering softly, Ramanujam settled into a chair and put his ear to the listening device which was connected to the ground floor lobby.

Gurukul

Mriga woke up with a start. Since it was pitch dark in the dorm room, she assumed that it was still late at night. She didn't know what had stirred her but she sat up and brought her knees together under her chin. Her thoughts went immediately to the scene which she had witnessed during the day today. Maybe that's what had been playing at the back of her mind when she went to bed.

She had gone to visit Ganga earlier in the day to talk about the next level, now that she had cleared this round. Even though the nomination stage was yet to be crossed, Mriga wanted to ensure that she had the older girl's support as promised earlier. Much to her surprise, Chiranjeev had been the one to suggest that she reaffirms this with Ganga and had even insisted on coming along for the talk.

While she had bid farewell to the senior soon after a brief discussion, Chiranjeev gravely suggested that he should hold a brainstorming session with Ganga about the possible simulation exercises which may come up during the next stage. Much to Mriga's surprise and relief, he had informed her that she wasn't needed for this discussion.

So, she had left a bemused looking Ganga in the hands of her fierce friend. After leaving from there, she had experienced a few guilty pangs about letting her senior face that irritating guy on her own but then consoled herself that Ganga was smart enough to handle him. It was then that she saw Vaishali in an intense conversation with Abhirath.

Even at this hour, sitting alone on her bed, Mriga couldn't describe the emotion which she had felt seeing the two of them together. Probably, it was the lingering effect of having been deceived by Yash in a similar manner that it made her feel really insecure at that moment.

She had turned around and walked on a different path post seeing them. After calming down a bit, she had thought it out calmly and asked herself the question – why was she so upset seeing them together? She wasn't officially dating Abhirath. Also, in all likelihood, they must have been discussing the issue about the students colluding together on the physical examination day. Then why… why was she still so uneasy?

Mriga had come back to the dormitory post that and spent a quiet evening, arranging her clothes and books which had been in a disarray for the past many weeks due to her hectic schedule. When someone had come to inform her that Abhirath was waiting downstairs for her, she had made an excuse about not feeling well and sent him away. She hadn't wanted to face him with messy emotions written all over on her face.

Now, as sleep deserted her, Mriga wondered if she was shying away from her feelings for the guy. Or was it that she had gotten so used to him being completely devoted to her, that she couldn't stand him interacting with anyone else? But this was not in her nature. She had been extremely easy going in the past. Was Abhirath's jealous nature rubbing on her? Sighing in frustration, she punched her pillow and laid back down on the mattress.

"He better have an explanation for meeting with Vaishali on his own, without informing me or asking me about it. Hmph!" that was her last thought before she closed her eyes.

Himprayag

As had been his habit in Chandragarh, Shaurya wore a layer of make-up and different clothes to disguise himself. He stepped out in the night, heading towards the popular lanes of Himprayag. Bustling during the day, these places like in any other spot, changed their nature with the rise of the moon.

A seemingly friendly and safe corner selling inane goods in the morning could be a drug-peddling joint in the night. He had stepped out tonight with no specific agenda in his mind. Now that the proposal had been accepted, he roamed around the lanes, more out of habit than anything else. It was like an attempt to soak in the peculiarities of a different place, just to satisfy his curiosity.

Even though he hadn't been as vigilant as he usually was, when on a mission, as he turned a corner, his instinct made him pause imperceptibly before going back to maintaining his languid pace. But his senses had gone into alert mode. Without turning around, he strained his ears and was nearly sure that someone was following him. By the sound of the soft footfalls, he estimated that the person was probably 30 to 40 steps behind him.

Shaurya was fast approaching another bend on the street and slowly, he evened out his breathing. As soon as he took that turn, Shaurya took off at a frighteningly fast speed. Without slowing down, he turned two more corners before reaching the same spot where a guy stood against the wall, as if waiting for him.

"Not bad. Your running speed is good enough for you to try a career as an athlete," Rudradev's smiling words were met with a scowl from Shaurya, who was now trying to catch his breath.

Though the minister was only a few years older than him, Shaurya always thought that the guy was far sharper than he let on.

"Thanks, I will think about it," with that Shaurya made a move to go past him.

"There is a shop about 500 metres away from here which serves the coldest rasgullas* in the entire Himprayag. Having a cold dessert during winters is the most amazing feeling. Have you ever tried it?" with that seemingly inane remark, Rudradev pushed against the wall to stand straight and started walking.

*Rasgullas - a sweet snack made with curdled milk, it is a syrup filled roll.