Cause and effect

"Me! Wait, what?"  Arjun shouted back, regretting it immediately, as he remembered that he was still in Manya's house and that both their families were present there.

He lowered his volume and spoke again, in a whining tone, "Minnie it's not fair! Why do I always have to be the scapegoat?"

"Seriously? Think once again, Mr. Juno the great Genie, who always becomes the scapegoat?"

"That was at the time of our childhood, no! Plus, you never received scolding for anything anyway, unlike me! So it made sense to pin the blame on you, right?" 

"If you wanted to be like me, then you were supposed to mind your habits and be a good boy, but no! You can never do the things which are supposed to be done by a normal human being! Actually, never mind. It was not your fault, because you are the reincarnation of the monkey clan's most notorious monkey, which has taken on a passingly-human form in this lifetime, as you. So now that I am giving you the chance to mend your mistakes and show everyone that you can do something in a normal way for the first and last time- just grab it and prove it!"

*Arjun was amazed at how this girl always seemed to have the perfect set of words to roast him and make him laugh at the same time. But he could examine her diss tracks and do an analysis by preparing a thesis later. Right now, he had to solve the major problem which was in front of them, looming over them like a gigantic straight-sloped mountain, which seemed next to impossible to climb!*

He inhaled deeply, then replied, "I will do whatever I can do from my end, to postpone the engagement. But the important question is, how did they plan our engagement without even asking us?"

"Wait, without asking...? Oh yes! They haven't asked us anything about our relationship, and after my announcement, I really don't think that they can make this decision by themselves…"

Manya let her sentence trail off as an uninvited thought knocked on the doors of her mind. Ice-cold panic reached their veins as they both realised something and looked at each other with the highest degree of alarm that was calibrated on their respective scales. Judging by their expressions, only one level was left beyond the current one, which would lead both of them straight to the unseen gates of Heaven!

Without saying anything, they kept staring at each other, communicating with each other just through their eyes. After a few seconds, Arjun shook his head from left to right as if denying the possibility of what he had been thinking. Seeing that he was sinking into denial, Manya prompted him.

"Arjun, tell me honestly, are you thinking what I am thinking?"

Arjun nodded slowly, in the affirmative, confirming Manya's doubt. With an awkward smile on his face, he spoke. "Unfortunately yes. But I don't think it can be true, they are our parents after all-"

"Exactly! I know that they are our parents, and this is exactly why I am thinking this! Otherwise, how would they know what happened between us, and that we are ready to be in a relationship on the exact same day that we agreed to it?"

"That, I don't know. But I was pretty sure I checked that nobody was following us today-"

"Same! And I always get to know things like this after the incidents have already happened, so I have started being extra careful!" Manya interrupted him again, somehow feeling that it was important to make note of every observation or passing thought.

"Wait- did you say anything to my parents before my arrival?" Arjun asked, clarifying his statement further after coughing lightly to clear his throat. "I mean, about last night, when I had been blabbering!"

As soon as the words got out of his mouth, Arjun realised that he had dug his grave on his own once again, and the only thing that was left was for him to lie in it! 

"Blabbering?" Manya asked, raising her left eyebrow slightly. She then shook her head, adding, "Nevermind, I will let it slide for now. But I haven't told anyone anything before your arrival, as they had been talking about guards and increasing security for my safety and all! Nothing more."

*Arjun knew as soon as she had mentioned that she would let it slide, that it meant she was going to remind him of this for the entire duration of his life. And if she got the chance, then in his afterlife as well. But he pushed that lament to a far corner of his mind, he had to find the reason behind their sudden engagement announcement first. Otherwise, the girl who was supposed to be his fiance in a few days, would definitely be the one to reap his soul in a few minutes.*

He was about to ask something further, trying to dash as fast as he could, from his horrific imaginations. 

Detective Manya grasped her turn to ask questions faster than he could open his mouth, demanding "What were you talking to Mom about, after the meeting got over?"

"Oh, I was just telling her that I might have done an oopsie and spilled something in front of you last night, which I shouldn't have, and that you were mad at me!"

"And what exactly did you tell her?" Manya asked, giving emphasis on each and every word of hers, and ready to examine each word of his with a fine toothed comb.

"About me getting drunk and almost half proposing to you through interrogations!"

Arjun glanced at her after a few minutes of unexpected silence, to see that Manya had turned a deep shade of red.

*It was weird to see her blushing, but never impossible, he guessed. Today, he had seen this as well- only God knew what other miracles he would get to see before the day got over!*

He smiled and said, "Oh! You don't have to blush, I haven't told her the details!"

As soon as Arjun blurted this out, Manya hit him on the same spot he had been whining about, on getting hurt from her shoe, just a little bit earlier.

"I am not blushing you duffer, I am going to burst! So run as fast as you can and save your life, as you really won't get another chance!"

"But Minnie, Maenu has always been aware of my feelings, as well as about the fact that you didn't want to get into a relationship. I know she would not have organised this just because of my feelings towards you, because we would have been long married by now if that were the case! On a serious note, I highly doubt that she would take such a big step without your consent! Do you remember the last conversation you both had?"

"I don't remember it exactly, but something like a new project or anything, because she was asking me questions like, "are you willing", "do you agree"...I don't really remember!" 

She replied, a little flustered at the turn of tables that she couldn't dismiss on a logical basis.

Arjun didn't know how to break the news to her, as she herself seemed to have given her consent, when she continued her statement.

"It was your fault that I didn't hear her properly, as I was busy keeping an eye on you and your new favourite teacher!"

It was the first time that Manya had accepted her jealousy openly, and Arjun was so happy and proud of her that he was left extremely baffled about how to tell her the truth.

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