First Meet

“Chhutki! Chhutki! Kothay geli? Ei meyeta na!”

(Chhutki! Chhutki! Where did you go? This girl!”)

Just as her mother kept on looking for her younger daughter, a five-year old toddler flopped down the stairs. She looked like a true angel, with milky white skin, large, hazel brown eyes, and long hair, that fell in soft curls. She quickly ran to her mother and wrapped her tiny arms around her waist. Avantika, her mother, couldn’t help but smile at her cute gesture. Chuckling, she said, “ Hmm….finally my little kumbhakaran is awake, I see. Don’t you have school today? Come, let’s get you ready. “ Just as she heard her mother, she started cribbing. “Mumma! I don’t want to go! School is pocha( bad)! Please mumma! I don’t want to….”

“Chhutki! No excuses! If you get so scared in the name of school, won’t people think that Jagruti Roy Choudhury ‘s baby sister, Aditi, is NOT brave?” A single sentence….and that’s all it takes for Chhutki to flick her nose and say,” No way! Chhutki is the bravest!”, making her nine-year old elder sister to smile. Unlike Aditi, Jagruti had golden skin, beautiful chocolate brown eyes, and wavy hair. She was a head taller than Aditi. Also known for her artistic skills, she was an excellent singer, too. Aditi, on the other hand, had a sharp mind, and was an equally talented dancer. Avantika smiled to herself. Her elder daughter sure knew how to make literally anyone obey her. She went to prepare their lunch boxes while the sisters ran to get ready for school.

As soon as the girls reached school, they saw a group of kids standing together, like a crowd. Curious by nature, the two of them decided to check what’s happening. That’s when they saw three boys standing in the middle. One of them had bluish eyes, and stood in a protective stance between everyone and the other two boys. The second boy stood unfazed, as if he knew the boy with blue eyes wouldn’t let anyone touch them. The third boy, probably a toddler, seemed different. His lower lip was jutting out and he looked ready to cry. He stood their clutching the other two’s fore fingers.

While the first two seemed around Jagruti's age, the third one seemed to be as old as Aditi. Friendly as they were, the Roy Choudhury sisters went ahead to greet them, as it could be seen that they were newcomers. Aditi could see that the little guy like her, had tears in his eyes and looked scared, and of course, the other two were trying their best to keep him calm. She ran up to the little guy, who was fair like her, and had curly hair. Sticking her hand out, she said, “ Hi! I’m Aditi, but you can call me Diti like everyone else in school!” Immediately, the boy shook her hand and said,” Hey! I’m Shubh, but you will have to call me just that because that’s the only name I have.” Saying so, Shubh pouted a bit, then gave Aditi a smile. Seeing that Shubh had actually calmed down, the tallest one among the three walked up to Aditi and said, “ Thank you, Aditi. My brother was feeling really scared because of the way everyone is looking at us. I’m Lakshya.”

Aditi smiled at him and spoke in her child like voice, “Don’t thank me. I felt that, being a student of this school, which according to me, is the best, it is only my responsibility to help my new friend feel at ease.” To say that Lakshya was extremely surprised at the level of maturity that this little girl, who looked like a cute doll, had, would be an understatement. He simply smiled and nodded his head in understanding.

That’s when Aditi finally noticed that her sister wasn’t around. Seeing her turning restless in a matter of seconds, Lakshya couldn’t help but ask, “Aditi, is something the matter?” To which Shubh spoke, “I remember there was a taller girl with you. Are you looking for her?” Aditi bobbed her head up and down, feeling worried. Truth be told, she was born a mature person. She knew that her Di was extremely innocent, more than her. That’s why, she always felt the urge to protect her. Lakshya had been noticing her for a while, and the only thing he could see at the moment was worry etched all over her face. Smiling, he said,” Relax, your sister is there. Look! That’s my elder brother Agastya, who’s talking to her.” Aditi sighed in relief. She had seen for herself that both Shubh and Lakshya were really nice, so naturally she knew that their elder brother would be like them, too.

Here on the other side, Jagruti, like a responsible friend, was busy explaining the rules of their school to her newfound friend, who, even though was her senior by an year, was extremely sweet ( just like her). She had already noticed how her Chhutki had gelled up with the two boys, who Agastya said, were his younger brothers. She was sure that they were sweet like him, otherwise, the level of attitude her baby sister had, by now they would have been gone. Aditi followed their dad’s motto religiously, that I’ll always reflect your behavior towards me. If you are good, I’ll be good to you. But…if you are not, you shall be treated as such.

Jagruti knew it for a fact that the world wasn’t always just black and white. The way Aditi's young mind worked, she might as well land herself up in trouble some day.

All of them were stuck in their own thoughts, when the school bell rang. Jagruti quickly dragged Agastya to the trio and said, “ Let’s go, it’s time for the classes! Agastya, your class is in the first floor, second from the stairs. Lakshya, I heard that you are in my section. Come, I’ll guide you. And Chhutki, take Shubh with you.” Nodding her head like an obedient little girl, the toddler quickly jumped up to kiss her Di’s cheeks, then taking hold of Shubh's hand, she turned to Agastya, and said,” I’ll see you around, bhaiyya. Bye Lakshya!” And then the two munchkins ran to their class, while the other three followed suit, albeit laughing silently at their antics.

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The day went peacefully for all the kids, and soon it was time for their lunch break. In their school, everyone was supposed to come to the lunch room during the break. This was done so that the students did not litter their classrooms. Both Aditi and Lakshya were extremely punctual. As soon as the bell for the break rang, she quickly dragged Shubh to the lunch room. Quickly finding a table, the two raced to get a seat. Just as they were about to start eating, Lakshya joined them. When the two kids looked at him questioningly, he simply shrugged, “ Jagruti went with our class teacher to collect the textbooks that everyone had submitted on Friday. And Agastya had a few doubts in maths, so he went to the teachers’ staff room. They’ll join us in a while.” Nodding her head, Aditi asked like a grown up, “ So Lakshya, how did you like your class?” In reply, he shrugged, “ It was alright, to be honest. I don’t think I can already form an opinion, as this is just my first day. Moreover, I miss my previous school a lot.” Watching his brother and newfound friend (and bench partner) busy in serious discussions, Shubh quickly forked out a bit of the food from Lakshya's lunchbox and stuffed it in his mouth. And of course, like the pampered youngest brother that he was , he couldn’t help but think, “ Why does bhai’s lunch taste better? Hmm….I need to check Bhaiyaa’s tiffin, too.” Unknown to Shubh, Aditi had noticed his actions, and she tried her best to stifle her laughter. But of course, how much can a child bear?

As she finally burst out laughing, she spoke, “Shubh…..hahaha….oh my god….hahaha…..you’re….you’re so funny….Hey bhogoban! Aise kaun khata hai?” ( oh god! Who eats like that?) While Shubh tried to grin with a mouthful, Lakshya couldn’t help but join in the laughter. It was as if the young girl’s laughter had automatically brought a smile on his face.

As they continued eating, a tall guy suddenly walked over and sat at their table. Lakshya and Shubh both looked at him and smiled, as they both had food in their mouths, and according to Agastya, “One should never talk while eating. It’s not only unhealthy, but also against table manners.” Needless to say, the two of them always obeyed their brother, who protected them from all problems. This fact was unknown to the tall and burly guy, so he boomed,” How dare you both show attitude to me! To Advik Chauhan! Do you know who I am?” Shubh laughed and said, “ Bhaiyaa, don’t you know who you are? Or did you forget? Wait! Are you related to Ghajni? Wow!”

** Ghajni is the titular character of a popular bollywood film who forgot things in the span of moments **

Lakshya could only shake his head at his baby brother’s words. He knew from the way Advik said it, he was bound to be the school bully. This was their first day, and he didn’t want to stir any trouble. So he calmly replied to a seething Advik , “Actually, we joined school just today, that’s why we didn’t know you. Also, please don’t mind my brother. He doesn’t know when to speak what.” But this wasn’t enough for an egoistic boy like Advik. He felt utterly insulted by little Shubh. So he said, “ Listen you new boy, ask your brother to keep his stupid mouth shut. And tell him to apologize immediately." Realizing that her friend would be insulted, Aditi finally spoke,” Arey! What wrong did he say? If you go about telling people ‘do you know who am I?’ like a broken recorder on play, this is what any person with a bit of common sense would think!” That’s when Advik noticed her. He spoke with arrogance, “ Huh! Little miss Chubby cheeks knows how to talk back? Listen you kid, stay out of this. If it wasn’t for your pretty sister who I don’t want to displease, because I want to be friends with her, I would have taught you how to behave a long time ago!” Chuckling loudly, Aditi said,” Really? You out of all people would teach me how to behave? Well, that was a good joke, you know. And by the way, did you really think my sister would pay any attention to a bad guy like you?”

Hearing Aditi’s words, Advik completely lost his mind. He tried to push her, but Shubh came in between. He might have been a child, but he was quite strong for his age. Seeing the little guy trying to protect his friend, Advik bursted out laughing, “ Oho! Seems like the new boy is trying to play superman. You…..!”

Before he could utter anything else, Aditi warned him, “I wouldn’t finish that line if I were you. If you dare to scare my friend, I’ll complain to Principal ma’am.” Unknown to them, Lakshya had started recording the whole scene. He might be young, but he was also the most sensible one among the three brothers. He was waiting for Agastya to arrive, because he knew, if by any chance, he lost his cool….well, only the Almighty could save Advik. Because, the brothers had a temper like no other.

Advik knew that the two kids were extremely smart, because in these three months, one thing he knew for sure: Aditi Roy Choudhury was the smartest kid he had ever met. Period. Knowing that all her friends were like her, he knew that the little boy wasn’t any fool. He had been busy thinking of how to vent his anger, when suddenly an idea struck him. He mentally smirked for being “smart”. When no one was looking, he abruptly pushed the tiny girl in the pretext of getting up from his chair.

“Aaaa!”, a sudden scream made the two brothers turn towards the source in shock, and what they saw, angered them so much they saw red. Aditi lay all sprawled on the floor, with tears pooling in her large eyes. Seeing her in pain caused Shubh to get teary eyed too, while Lakshya knew he couldn’t hold back any more. But he also noticed, the amount of anger he felt was unparalleled to what he had experienced in the nine years of his life. Whatever it was, he knew that he could never bear to see the ‘little angel’( as he thought of Aditi) in pain. That was it. His anger reached it’s peak. And, truth be told, a furious Lakshya definitely wasn’t a pleasant sight.

Advik had been laughing seeing Aditi in pain. Satisfied, he decided to go back to his class, when he felt someone stop him by holding his collar in a strong grip, and say in a cold, menacing way, “Running away like a coward, are we?” He turned around, only to see a pair of eyes, red from anger, and of course, it belonged to Lakshya. Seeing his cold glare, Advik felt a cold shiver run down his spine, and he took a timid step back. All that he got in reaction to his scaredy act, was a scoff. The next thing he knew, there was a loud thud resonating through the lunch room, and then he was lying on the floor.

Before Lakshya could beat that bully up any more, Shubh quickly ran up to him and whispered in his ears, “Bhai, Diti needs to be taken care of. I’m going to call Bhaiyaa and Jagruti Didi.” Nodding his head, Lakshya walked back to Aditi, and slowly helped her up. As he wiped her tears away, he nodded his head in a ‘no’, to which she offered him a faint, but reassuring smile. He then turned to the now squatting-on-the-floor Advik, and then, his eyes dark with fury, he spoke in a very menacing and dangerous way, “If I ever see you trying to harm my people, trust me, you’ll get to see the wrath of Lakshya Kapoor, and that, I’m sure, would be the day you would wish you had never met me.”