19th August 2017

L U K A

"This is such a great idea!", Aisha said with much enthusiasm.

"Yeah, Yeah. I know. You've already told me that tonnes of times", Preeti replied and rolled her eyes.

"Where's Abhishek? Isn't he coming?", Jule asked.

"No. H-He's busy", Preeti said with hints of sadness in her voice.

I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion as to why her mood suddenly dropped.

"Preeti. C'mon. Let's enjoy today! Follow me everyone! To the bus stop!", Aisha declared and the others, including my Mom started following her. I stayed a little behind the group so that I could catch up with Preeti and perhaps get to know why she was so sad today.

"It's nothing really. I'm fine", she said in a whispering tone.

"People say that when they feel the opposite", I said, emphasizing the word "opposite".

She took a deep breath in and let it out.

"Okay. So, here's the thing. Yesterday at school Aisha and I were discussing about me moving to Paris. Abhishek... unbeknownst to both of us, was standing right behind us and overheard our conversation. I had not told him about me moving to Paris before, so he got all mad and lost his temper. He gave me a cold shoulder in class and isn't picking up any of my phone calls despite me apologising several times", Preeti said in one single breath, as if she was trying to bottle it all up and finally, she let it escape.

"Hey", I said, in a soft tone and put a hand on her shoulder. She looked up at me and I took it as my queue to continue," I'm sure he'll come around soon enough. Don't worry about it."

"Thanks Luka", she said and smiled at me, while I reciprocated her gesture.

"Guys the bus is here!", Juleka shouted from the front of the group.

We were so lost in conversation, that we didn't even realise we had arrived at the bus stop. Everyone climbed in. I was about to hop on too, but decided against it.

"Ladies first", I said and extended my hand to Preeti, to help her get on the bus. She giggled, took my hand and got on the bus.

I love it when she does that.

I jumped in right before the bus started for its next destination.

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Gotta admit. Kolkata is truly a wonderful city. Bengali style with traces of British elegance makes this place extraordinarily beautiful. We had just visited the Victoria Memorial and all of us were tired because we had to wait in a huge line, to finally get a chance to explore the marvellous architecture, from the inside. It was like a museum which showcased the lifestyle of the British and the Indian people during the times, when India was still under the British colonial rule.

"Here. Hold it carefully or else the liquid will flow out of the cup", Preeti instructed me, whilst giving me the small, improvised cup filled with 'pani-poori' or, like the Bengalis say- 'Phuchka'.

"Looks delicious. It doesn't have much masala, right?", I asked, while glancing at her nervously because I didn't want to ruin this trip, all thanks to my sensitive stomach.

"Don't worry. There's only a teeny bit of masala in our snacks because I also can't tolerate Indian spicy masala", she said and pushed a 'Phuchka' in her mouth. I did the same and the taste just felt incredible. It was so soft and watery that I wanted to have more.

"How is it?", Preeti asked.

"Amazing. I want more", I said and gave her a dorky smile.

She laughed at my expression and replied," Sure. Why not? Just don't have too much, Couffaine."

Preeti walked towards the moving cart of 'pani-poori' as I wondered why she called me by my last name. She came back with two plates in her hands-one for me and for her.

Before devouring the delicious snack, I said," I thought we were on a first name basis, by now."

"Hmm? Oh. Must've slipped off my mouth, Couffaine", she replied with a smirk on her face-this time intentionally calling me by my surname-and stuffed her mouth with the 'poori'.

I let out a soft chuckle.

I think Couffaine sounds better on her lips.

══════════════════════

I ran a hand through my hair to free it from any tangles, and to check whether it had gotten too wet in the rain or not. Mom, Jule, Preeti, Aisha, Abhinav, and I had all been roaming around the streets of Kolkata to buy something, which could act as a memento for this trip. All of a sudden, the weather changed its mind and heavy rain started to pour down on the, now empty streets. All of us rushed into a grocery store because, none of us had gotten the brilliant idea of carrying an umbrella, just for the sake of emergency.

Never trust weather forecasts in India. Noted.

I looked around to see everyone almost drenched from the sudden downpour. My eyes scanned the whole store but I couldn't see, Juleka nor Preeti.

"Guys? Where's Juleka and Preeti?", I asked, frantically looking here and there.

"They were on the opposite side of the road before the rain started pouring. After that I didn't see them", Abhinav said, in a tone which proved that he was also worried.

"Hey boys. Chill out. I'm sure they will be fine", Aisha said in a calm tone, but her eyes were full of nervousness.

"But Juleka does not know this place so well. She might get lost", Mom replied back.

"Wait. I'll try to call them", I said and pulled out my phone.

I called both of them but to no avail.

"The network is down", Aisha announced.

None of us were able to get hold of them and the rain was pouring heavily, so even if we go outside to look for them, our visibility would be minimum and we might get lost.

"Juleka's with Preeti. I'm sure she'll be fine", I said.

I hope both of them will be alright.

~~~~~~~~~~~

And there we go... End of Chapter 10.
Wow! Never knew I would actually write 10 chapters like literally, along with 2 specials.

So, what do you think happened to Preeti and Juleka? Leave your thoughts in the comments. ^^

Did you know? This book won first place in Fan Fiction genre in Girl Power Writing Contest hosted by the Girl_Power_Community! I'm so happy!

Also, I'm sorry to say that this book is going on a hiatus from now because I have loads of projects to do and to top it all of, ICSE board exams. This year we don't even know when and how The Board Exams will be conducted!!!

I'm so freaking out! (You need to calm down, you're shouting too loud~)

Okay okay TS I get it.

P.S. the above pic is of Victoria Memorial so you guys know what it looks like for those who don't know. Pic taken from Pinterest and doesn't belong to me.

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