Next morning.
Ding. Dong.
"Oh, Rai come on in. How are you dear?" Mr Chakraborty grinned, widely seeing Rai at the door.
"Good morning Subhashish Kaku." She greeted him.
"Who is it?" Mrs Dey asked as she climbed down the stairs.
Noticing Rai, she smiled and beckoned her close, "Why the sudden visit? Didn't you guys say that you would spend all your time studying now that the exams are near?"
The trio had taken an oath of not visiting each other since two weeks before the exams. They wanted to uphold their motto of less talk, more study. This was only possible by going through a separation period for a fortnight because if they met, it would only result in the opposite of their motto: less study, more talk.
"Aunty, I came to take Ankita out for a walk. She had been pretty stressed out recently." She answered.
"Yes, I've noticed it too. Do you know if she is having any problem at school? She's been coming home with quite a lot of bruises and cuts lately." Trina said with a worried look.
"I've tried asking her about it but she evades my questions every time,"
"Aunty it's probably because of our Karate class. Recently sensei has been giving us fighting lessons. Since Ankita is physically quite weak, l she ends up getting the shorter end of the stick every time. But don't worry. They're nothing serious. Sensei said that getting hurt a little will do us good and improve our resistance. And it's common to get hurt while practising martial arts." Rai assured Mrs Dey.
"Your aunty worries a lot, don't mind it." Mr Chakraborty said, hugging his wife.
That earned him a glare. Their interaction made Rai laugh. She waved at them and went upstairs to look for her best friend.
"Ankita are you-"
What greeted her was Ankita in her home-wear, reading at the study table.
"Hey, why aren't you ready yet?"
Ankita stared at the raging Rai blankly.
"Don't tell me you forgot!" Rai said, fuming.
"Why do I need to get dressed?" Ankita asked her with an innocent expression.
Rai closed her eyes and made an Om Shanti pose, breathing out loud.
"I told you last night that we will be going to the park today. You need fresh air and a long walk. You've been really gloomy recently and that sight is making my eyes itch." She said each word as calmly as possible through her clenched teeth.
Ankita's forgetful mind really got under her skin sometimes.
Ankita squinted her eyes and stared at Rai for some time before realisation struck her, "Oohhhh. Yes! I completely forgot. I'm so sorry."
She slapped her forehead and bit her tongue, looking at Rai with a guilty face. Then, she grabbed a dress from her closet and dashed into the bathroom, banging the door shut. Rai crossed her arms and stared at the closed door pointedly while tapping her foot, counting the seconds. Ankita came out of the bathroom like a hurricane and stood in front of Rai, panting.
"I'm...huff... ready... huh.." she bent over her knees, gasping for air.
Catching her breath, she gave Rai a silly smile and slipped a hand under her arm saying, "Let's go, let's go."
"Hmph!" Rai freed her hand and marched out of the room.
"Oh no. I made her angry." Ankita said with a panicked expression and ran after her.
"Argh! My stupid brain. Can't remember a single important thing." She scolded herself while chasing after her friend.
"Rai wait," Ankita shouted after Rai, who was already out of the main door.
Not wishing to anger her further, Ankita increased her pace. Looking at her scurrying back, Mrs Dey sighed and shook her head at her daughter's antics.
"This child. She must have forgotten something again and angered poor Rai."
Mr Chakraborty laughed from the kitchen.
"You don't laugh. She inherited this characteristic from you." Trina glared at him.
Subhashish shut up immediately. He was very afraid of making his wife angry and sleeping on the couch for punishment. Even thinking about it made him shiver.
"Such a lioness of a wife I have got," he muttered.
"Did you say something?" Trina's voice came from behind.
Subhashish jumped in fright, almost dropping the plate.
"Aaaah. When did you come here?" He said, pressing his hands on his chest.
Trina looked at his soapy hands in disdain and said, "Are you planning to have a bath with dish soap?"
Subhashish immediately set to wash his hands and stood in front of her, like an obedient schoolboy in front of the headmistress.
"And who did you call an angry lioness just now? Could you repeat? I didn't hear it clearly." she asked, putting her hands on her hips.
"What? Me? How dare I?" Subhashish said, feigning surprise.
"Yes, how dare you?" Trina said with a threatening gaze.
"No, my dear wife. I just said that you're as brave as a lioness. And fierce... I mean powerful and strong and..." He racked his brain, searching for a solution to his stupid slip of the tongue.
"Oh really? Then I think you'll enjoy your night on the couch."
"Trina. Trina, listen to me." Subhashish chased after her.
He slapped his head, angry at his big mouth. But when he reached their room, Trina shut the door in his face. Subhashish stood there like an abandoned puppy.