Despite the excruciating pain in his back, Abhirath smiled at his friend's words. For as long as he would live, he would never be able to forget the moment when he had held Mriga so close in his arms. In that instance, he felt zero pain. All he could sense was… her body warmth, her smell, and her racing pulse in her ribcage where his arm had rested. Right that moment, Mriga came running out with the Vaidya*.
The old man examined Abhirath on that porch itself since there were no beds available inside. He brought out a terrible looking herb from his pouch which hung by his waist after a few moments.
"You are a strong lad. I don't have the time to crush this and give it to you with honey. Just put it in your mouth and chew it for ten seconds and then gulp it down with water. You will be slightly sore for the next couple of days but otherwise there is no lasting damage. Just stay away from physical exercises for the entire week," with that he handed over the herb to Mriga and went back in.
Vandit went to look for water for him to drink while Mriga gingerly handed over the medicine to him.
"Just close your eyes and count till twenty in your head while chewing this. Concentrate on the counting and not the taste in your mouth. It will be over before you know it," she said, trying to console him.
Abhirath took the herb from her but held onto her hand when he put the vile smelling thing in his mouth. Tightening his grip on her fingers, he swallowed the bitter thing with his eyes closed.
Vandit, who had returned with a mug in his hand, halted in his steps at the tableau in front of him and then slowly backed off. Clearly his friend didn't need the water!
"Guruji, maybe we shouldn't have done this task. So many children have got hurt," the sports teacher addressed Prithvi who was surveying the scene with a poker face.
"After every competition, we need to have the participants leave the angst of rivalry behind and come together. What better way to do so than taking care of each other?" he replied in his usual manner.
"I am going back to the Admin building. Please send someone to inform me when it is time for the chess competition to start," he instructed the guy.
An hour later
Mriga was standing at the entrance of the hall where the events for the seniors were about to start. Yash had vanished post the human pyramid game and she hadn't seen him since. Abhirath was feeling better and had joined in to register for the quiz but now they were short by one person again.
"Mriga, they are asking all participants to collect near the podium. Any sign of Yash yet?" Ishani had come running out, to inform her of the same.
Mriga bit her lip and shook her head in negative.
"Never mind. He must have a reason for being late. Maybe he is helping tend to his teammates' wounds. We need to go in and register right now else we will not be allowed to participate," Ishani said to her in consolation.
Mriga wanted to go look for him but it would mean abandoning her team mates which wasn't fair to them. Squaring her shoulders, she went back into the hall with Ishani where they bumped into Vandit.
"Hey, I heard that you are looking for someone to join your quiz team," he said to Mriga.
She was about to say no to him but then replied, "Yes, we are. Do you have anyone who is interested at this last minute?"
Vandit grinned at her and pointed towards himself. Mriga looked at him in consternation. She was fond of him but didn't know how good was he with his knowledge about Chandragarh's geography, history and current affairs.
Ishani nudged her and asked, "Is he any good at the history bit? That is one area which was Yash's strong point."
Before Mriga could shush her, Vandit addressed her, "Don't worry. I am a walking encyclopedia on the last hundred years' worth of knowledge about our beloved queendom."
Giving him a dubious look, Ishani dropped her voice further and told Mriga that they needed to go with him even if he didn't know as much as he was claiming. Something was better than nothing!
Upset with Yash for not showing up, Mriga cast one last look at the hall's entrance before asking Vandit to join them. All of them went to enrol their names in the competition. They barely made it to the counter to put in their names before it was closed.
"I am going to go and prep for my chess competition which is happening in the next fifteen minutes. I will see you guys on this spot after that," Mriga addressed the two of them alongwith Abhirath.
"Ok, we will come and support you from the viewers' stand. My chausar competition is tomorrow," Abhirath told her with a smile.
The three of them wished her luck for the competition and went to grab seats in the front row of the room where it was supposed to take place. Abhirath had always enjoyed seeing Mriga participate in the outdoor sports, but never in a game where she needed to rely on her mental abilities more than the other attributes. He was really looking forward to seeing the same.
Mriga entered the room where all participating players had been asked to gather before the game.
"Alright, listen up. Today, we shall be playing a variation of the traditional chess game. Listen to the rules carefully. You may seek clarifications at this moment. No questions shall be entertained once the game starts," the referee started speaking once every participant had gathered around him.
*Vaidya - Medicine practitioner following Ayurveda