Anitha wiped tears off Saksham's face gently as she looked at Saksham with eyes filled with tenderness. Saksham also looked at Anitha with a foolish grin on his face. Right now, Saksham felt as if his purpose for life is complete. He felt that even if he died now, he won't have any regret left. But of course, he can't die as he can't leave his loved ones alone in this world, specially Anitha. As he promised Anitha that he would make her the happiest woman, for that he needed to rush his plans. The studies have to be paid even more attention so that he could get in the same college as Anitha. Although doing so many things would be tough, it was not impossible. Saksham clenched his fist with determination.
"The boy in the afternoon was the head boy of the school. As it will soon be our farewell party, our class teacher wanted me to give him some advice about it and discuss some things about it. I will go to the teacher and tell her that I can't do it and let someone help him. Happy now?" Anitha smiled.
"No, no. I am not a child who will be grumpy all day long. You don't have to go that far and do something like that. Do give him some good advice or else our farewell party might just become like the one 2 years ago. That was an absolute disaster of a party." Saksham laughed.
Anitha pulled Saksham's cheeks and smiled, "As you say, my knight."
Saksham laughed as he bent down on one knee. He smiled, "Would the princess give me the chance to take you on a date soon?"
Anitha's giggles stopped abruptly. Saksham found the silence weird so he looked up to find Anitha's face red with shyness. She coughed lightly to ease her embarrassment and put a finger at the corner of her lips as if wondering about something. She said, "Well, I might just give you a chance to take me on a date. But I have a condition."
"Condition? Do state the condition princess." Saksham said.
"You have to hold my hand the whole time. If you even dare to leave my hand for a second, I will go back home and not talk to you for a whole day. Can you do it?" Anitha smiled softly.
"Are you challenging me? Alright! I will hold your hand the entire time and not let go for a second. This is my promise to you!" Saksham thumped his chest.
"Alright then, I will see you tomorrow then."
"Wait. It's so late. I will come with you."
"Alright."
Anitha smiled and jumped towards Saksham, hugging his left arm, and started walking. Saksham also smiled and followed her. After leaving Anitha off under her house, Saksham walked quickly back to his home. It was very late and Saksham was sure that his mother was going to pull his ears. So, as soon as he knocked on the door, Saksham covered both his ears immediately. When the front door opened, Savitri looked at Saksham and said, "Oh, you're back? Come let's have dinner. Your father is going to be a little late today. I was just waiting for you."
Then she started walking towards the kitchen. Seeing this, Saksham was confused. Why did his mother not ask where he was or what was he doing and why did he come late? This is not like his mother. Something was weird. But as his mother didn't ask anything and nor did she pull his ears, it didn't really matter. So, Saksham relaxed his vigilance and entered the house and turned to close the front door behind him. It was then a pair of tongs suddenly clamped on his right ear.
"Arghhhhh! Maaaa! Don't! Don't! Your son will really go deaf because of both you and Anitha! Argh! Please! I am sorry! Don't pull my ear anymore!"
Saksham cried out loud in pain. But the hand on his ear still didn't lift. Savitri snorted, "Brat, I told you to come back soon and you come back just before dinner? What have you been doing? Huh?"
"I was taking a walk outside and met Anitha. Then we both were talking for a while and didn't know how time passed so quickly. By the time I realized that it was late, it was already so dark. And then I also went to her home with her as it was so late. Please, leave my ear now Ma. I am telling the truth." Saksham pleaded.
"Hmm? You met Anitha? She came to meet you about 3 hours ago. When I told her that you are not at home she left. Where did you meet her?" Savitri looked at Saksham suspiciously.
As Saksham heard this, he was stunned. So, had she been standing there for hours, waiting for him? Just how much did she care about him to do all this? Thinking about how he made her cry, there was a sharp pain in Saksham's heart. Even his breathing became haggard for a second. But he quickly hid all the emotions and said, "I met her just outside the house. You can ask her if you want."
Hearing this, the tight grip on Saksham's ear loosened and Saksham jumped back wiping his non-existent tears. Then as if nothing happened just now, he immediately hugged his mother like a koala and asked, "What's for the dinner by the way?"
Savitri shook her head helplessly and said, "It is chicken curry with rice. I know you are hungry so go wash your hands and come have dinner. Your dad will be a bit late."
Saksham smiled and pecked Savitri's cheeks and ran to wash his hands happily. Savitri shook her head and went to the kitchen.
________
After having dinner, Saksham sat on his bed and had a notebook in front of him. There was something written on the notebook and Saksham was contemplating the things he wrote. He opened his eyes and once again started writing in his notebook.
"So, final examinations are important and JEE Mains too. I have missed the first one but I can give JEE Mains again after about 3 months again. If I start preparing, I can definitely make it. But time is less and things are more. I need more brain capacity. According to some novels, eidetic memory makes things like this easy. Maybe I need that. So, I will wait for about a week and use my powers to get eidetic memory. So, it is the first priority after I got my EP refilled."
"The second thing is how to make Rhytham's gang into a big thing. That Akshat guy needs to be taken out soon. That guy has the biggest gang in Indirapuram. If we can take him down, Rhytham will become the #1 power in all Indirapuram. But I don't think that with his measly gang, it can happen. I need to do something about it. To be honest, I don't need a gang. My plan is to make an organization, but it cannot be filled with these types of people. Hmmmm….Well, I will have to figure this out soon too. Let's wait for the report from Rhytham's side. Then I can decide about future things."
"Now, the third thing is about my weak constitution. I need to do something about it. Although I can make myself a [Physical Power User], but I think I have something even better in my mind. Let's just wait for my EP to be back to full and then I can do all this. Now, let's get back to studies."