Abhirath was interrupted by the peon's arrival who handed a folded scroll to Mriga and left. Curious, everyone peered in to see who had sent it to her.
"Come and see me."
The message was unsigned and carried no seal. But out of the four people standing there, three of them immediately knew who had sent it. "Uh, you guys… I will see you in a bit," with that hurried sentence, Mriga left.
Ishani looked at Mriga's retreating back, curiously. Abhirath nudged Vandit and mouthed that he needed to distract her from wondering about Mriga's sudden departure. His friend nodded subtly and bent down to whisper something in her ear. Abhirath didn't stay back to see his friend charm the girl. His mind was on the summons which Mriga had received and that too right after the announcement for the Queen's contest. It couldn't be a coincidence. But he didn't think that Mriga was interested in participating in the competition.
Administrative Department
"Umm, excuse me… is this the office of Prithvi guruji?" Vindhya asked Saraswati who looked the girl up and down, curiously.
"Who sent you?" Saraswati asked her, without bothering to answer the girl's query.
"I, uh… the dean told me that this is where I am to report if I have any questions regarding the Queen selection competition," she replied, her eyes taking in the dingy, dim lit room with sparse, rickety furniture.
She wasn't sure what the current queen was thinking, assigning the role of the mediator to such a guy. Though she wanted to scrunch up her nose at the dampness in the room, she kept a neutral smile plastered on her face.
Right then, a ruffian looking guy appeared next to her, soundlessly. She got surprised and jumped a few steps back in fright, at his sudden appearance.
Giving a subtle nod to Saraswati, the guy went through the nearly invisible door and disappeared.
Vindhya's forehead had frown lines marring it in confusion. Where had the dean sent her?
Before she could ask the receptionist again, she spoke up, "Guruji doesn't see anyone without a prior appointment. If you wish to meet him, please write an application mentioning your details and your reason for seeking the meeting and leave it with me. If he agrees, I will send an intimation to you with the time and date."
Vindhya stared at the tiny woman in consternation. Ever since she had entered the Gurukul, she had been treated like a minor royalty. Even the dean knew Vindhya by her first name. Who was this obscure teacher to behave so high and mighty with her?
"I will send the letter with someone. Thanks for your time," Vindhya maintained the polite veneer but her facial expressions held a hint of condescension.
Saraswati simply looked at the girl and said nothing. As Vindhya turned, she bumped into another person who had apparently hurried into the room.
"This place is sure busy with all sorts of people coming in"… before she could finish the thought, her brain registered the presence of her rival.
"I am so sorry. I was in a hurr… Mriga stopped mid-sentence when she saw the girl whom Yash had been with during the quiz competition.
"Uh… hi, you are Yash's friend," Mriga summoned a polite smile to accompany her words.
Vindhya arched one of her eyebrows and said, "His friend? Is that what he has told you?"
With those cryptic words, she tossed her hair and exited the building.
Mriga stood there with a bad premonition crawling at the back of her neck. Saraswati who had watched the wordplay with a lot of interest, snapped her fingers to attract Mriga's attention.
"Are you here to meet Guruji?" she asked the girl who looked lost in her thoughts.
Mriga nodded her head and showed the scroll which she had received some time back.
"I see… He must have sent it to you from the auditorium itself. He is inside with Shauryaveer. Go on in," she told her kindly.
She hesitated, wondering if she should ask about the reason for the other girl's presence here. But then she stopped herself. One, it was none of her business, second, she wasn't sure if Saraswati would tell her the truth. Why was life becoming so confusing these days?
After knocking at the door, Mriga entered the room which was lit brightly today.
"Ah, you arrived at the perfect moment," Prithvi said acknowledging her presence.
She bowed down first to Prithvi and then to Shaurya before taking a seat around the table where few sheets were scattered, along with a map of Chandragarh. Shaurya gave a quick shake of his head in her direction, acknowledging her presence. Ramanujam was nowhere to be seen.
Sitting quietly, she waited for them to finish their discussion.
"I have understood the instructions. I will make sure that the communication is sent to all Suraksha Chakra members today itself. I will take your leave now," Shaurya rolled the parchment which he held in his hand and got up.
"What's the hurry? I have called Mrignayani to chart her training for the next two months. Stay back and help me allot your mentee to the appropriate zilla for honing her skills during the school break," Prithvi told him.
Since she had entered thirteen minutes ago, this was the first time that Shaurya turned to look at her properly. He hadn't seen her since that evening when he had seen her and the guy near the Gurukul's entrance. She looked her usual radiant self except that she was frowning over something right now. Did the uniform fit her a bit snugly around the curves or was it his imagination?
"Oh Heavens! Why am I thinking about such things? What is WRONG with me?" He gave himself a mental shake.