Fiercely focused

Mriga had been looking down all this while in embarrassment.

But now she raised her eyes and said in a miserable tone, "it's not about the money. They need me to be present and as an employee, I need to report to work when asked."

"Are they going to war? If one person doesn't show up, will the whole place collapse? You are giving so much importance to the commitment given to them. What about the promise made to me? Does that not feature on your priority list at all?" he countered, eyes blazing with intensity.

Feeling weighed down by guilt, she could only stand there in misery. Her nails dug into her palm sharply to control the urge to cry.

"That invite which I just received holds high importance in my family but I didn't hesitate before placing it secondary to our date. Maybe I should learn from you and reassess my priorities too," saying so, Yash walked off in a huff.

Mriga didn't mind any of the words which he had said because she knew that he had spoken them in a fit of anger. But it hurt nonetheless.

With a heavy heart, she turned towards her class. She threw herself into studies and the physical training with a renewed determination. If she had upset someone because of a worthy reason, she might as well give her best there to make it worth the pain. But the pleasure which she received from it had gone away, enough for her instructors to take notice.

"Is Mrignayani feeling burnt out? Have you been pushing her hard recently?" Prithvi asked Ramanujam.

It was late at night and Mriga had returned back to the dorm after spending her scheduled hour with Prithvi. Ramanujam who had just returned after training Vandit and Abhirath, looked at his mentor in surprise.

"I thought you were the one doing so and that's why she has been looking grim and fiercely focused for the past two days. Do you want me to find out?" he enquired.

"No need. If it is a private matter, let her handle it on her own," Prithvi replied sagely.

"How prepared do all of them seem?" he asked Ramanujam.

His junior pondered over the question for a minute and then replied, "they all have been informed about the importance and repercussions of the mission. As a result, they are preparing in their own unique ways for it. When will their mentors be coming here to brief them?"

Prithvi looked at the missive which he had received from Shaurya that morning and said, "I have told them that it is better if the trainees can survey the place before they begin their task that night. So, each mentor shall come and escort his assigned student tomorrow night to help them set up and be ready for day after."

Next evening

"Hey, what's happened between you and Yash? He has been avoiding me for the past two days at the foodhall. I tried talking to him but he cut me off citing some lame excuse. Don't tell me that you both have had another misunderstanding," Ishani came and sat down on Mriga's bed.

Mriga paused in the middle of preparing an overnight bag for her assignment. At Ishani's arrival, she casually put it away. She hadn't informed her about leaving that night and intended to slip out unobtrusively to avoid another barrage of questions.

"Well, I have been asked to report to work tomorrow and as a result I had to cancel the plan with Yash. He is upset with me over it," she told her friend in a subdued voice.

"Whatttt? Girl, can you get your head straight on your shoulders? If this person asks you to quit the job for taking one day's leave of absence, you can always find another job. But for how long will you keep testing Yash's patience? It is not fair to him. You have hardly spent any time with him during this entire semester. This time, I can understand his frustration," Ishani came to his defence.

"I know but I don't have a choice right now. This assignment is really important to me. I promise that I will make it up to him but I have to go for this fair," she said, in near tears.

Ishani looked at her friend's face closely and saw unhappiness etched clearly on it.

"Oh, you poor girl! You have been suffering as well. Never mind. You come back from your blasted job and we will figure out how to improve the mood of Prince of South. But does this mean that you are going to spend your entire birthday running errands for other people?" she asked.

Mriga nodded and said, "that's not important. It's just a day."

Ishani looked at Mriga's downcast eyes and decided to help her friend in whatever little way she could.

"Umm, I just remembered that I forgot something in the foodhall. I will just be back," she said and ran off.

Mriga was slightly relieved because Ishani had been so understanding just now, unlike someone who had been refusing to acknowledge even her presence for the past two days when they crossed each other during the school hours. Bringing the bag out, she continued with her packing.

"Why are you looking for me at this hour? I hope it's something urgent," Yash came out of the boys' dormitory.

"The boys in your hostel are really slow. Do you know how long have I been waiting for since I sent you the message to come meet me," Ishani grumbled.

Yash had a hopeful look in his eyes and Ishani knew that he was thinking that maybe Mriga had sent her. She hated breaking his bubble but hoped that he would come around once she told him the reason for her coming there.

"Of course, it is urgent otherwise why will I go through the bother of standing in front of the boys' dorm for so long at this late hour, with everyone passing by giving me weird looks. The things one has to do for friends!!!" she sighed dramatically.