Chapter 13: chapter 13

Ayu and I were on vacay mode as we were to visit our hometown after months.More than us, one more person was super excited.Yash!Yes, Yash visits our family at Coorg, our beloved native often as he is way more favorite of my dadu (Grandpa) and dadi (Grandma) than we are. It is since our babyhood phase, nothing new. Besides, Bharat uncle is out on his official trip for a couple of months.Apart from this, there is another important reason why Yash is too excited this time. "Make it fast Yash beta", dad called out seated next to the driver in the cab. "Coming uncle", Yash replied dragging his luggage from his left hand and texting someone on the phone in the right one. "Chal na yar!", Ayu screamed towing his luggage."Aah! These boys are really slow", I teased as I was already seated."Look who is talking?", they unisoned placing their luggage in the cab's main storage."Move", Yash elbowed me."We will be there in just a few hours. Can't you have patience till then?", I queried Yash who was still busy texting on his phone."Shut up duffer", he shot daggers. I punched him. But, he didn't react. How come?I get it. He was still busy with his phone.Post driving for almost five and half hours, we reached our native Coorg.Akhil chachu, Naina chachi, dadu and dadi were already waiting for us in the lawn.Ayu and I pushed the front gate and ran towards them.Ayu and I touched their feet to seek blessing followed by a hug.Dadi and dadu hugged us saying "Mere bache!"."Don't your maid cook proper food? You both look so paper-thin", dadi complained. Grandparents you know❤️"But, where is Yash beta?", dadu always searches for him. "Here I am daddu", he rushed towards him. Everybody from our family was here, but Yash's sights were searching for someone else."Yash, Simran might be here any moment. Okay?". dadi caught him. We all burst in a fit of laughter. His face went crimson. "Aww! Simran", we jested. "Zip your mouths", he fumed. "Don't irritate him", dadu supported him as always. Meanwhile, there entered a beautiful girl wearing black legging and red sleeveless kurti, with an easy rope braid tacitly resting on her left shoulder."There she is.. Simran!", Ayu pointed at the entrance gate. Everybody looked at Yash's face. His eyes were stuck on her.Simran ignored and hugged Ayu and then me. Later, she turned to Yash."Chalo, let's go inside! Yash and Simran, you should stay here for a while and can come inside later", dadu said suppressing his smile."Come on dadaji", she was flushed. "Ba..bye idiot and Simran!", I winked at them. Simran!Simran is Yash's love of life. Simran is my school friend. She is a sweet, hardworking, honest and smart girl. She has a positive outlook towards life and they have been in a relationship for two years. I am sure she is a perfect match for Yash.Though Yash stayed in a different city but being dad's best friend Bharat uncle's son, he got used to visiting Coorg every time during his vacations.I, Ayu, Simran and Yash used to hang out together whenever Yash visited us. As time flew, Yash and Simran fell for each other and confessed their feelings.Of course, everybody knows about them by now. Honestly, we all are happy for them including Bharat uncle and Simran's family.Who doesn't?Yash is a sensible and responsible guy acquiring all the qualities a true gentleman should have. Everybody is waiting for them to complete their respective studies as both want to be independent.My friend and best friend are together and are very happy. What else do I need? A snap with a side hug pulled me back."Where were you lost duffer?", Yash asked."I am so happy for you", I replied returning his hug back."Thanks, my lucky charm", he mutated the side hug into his bear hug.He considers me as his lucky charm. "Dinner ready", a shout from downstairs reached us.We all had dinner prepared by Naina chachi and Simran. My goodness! It's a deadly combo of the perfect chefs we ever know.I paced towards the drawing room, where they were already chatting and laughing."Let's watch a horror movie", Yash grinned. They all know how much I abhorred those blood-curdling flicks.I am sure that it was intentional as they are certain that I am the "Odd Women Out" here. "Are you serious?", I glared at him. "Of course", Yash shrugged. "Alright then, have a nice time", I stomped my feet towards my room. They ignored.Argh! But, it was to be interrupted as I noticed someone entering."Uh..oh! Red Alert", I warned them. All three pairs of sights moved where I was staring after discerning my words.There comes the most nosy women of the cosmos.Shikha! She is my school mate and our neighbour.She is a nice girl but the only thing of her's which annoys us is her "Cliche-ridden" thinking."Hey, guys!", she came in with a broad smile."Now watch your horror movie", I said in a pitch which was enough for them to be heard."Who will watch a horror flick, when a living She-devil herself is here", Yash ranted in a hush tone pulling me beside him.She looked at us and gave a strange look.How come she is here?"I saw you coming this morning, so I thought of converging for a while", she grinned. Does she read my mind? "Converging? Of course!", I forced a smile. We took our seats on the couch. "So, Aashi, how is the new college and boys?", she asked with a wink. Boys?Here she goes!"It's good! How are your studies going?", I queried back ignoring the unwanted crap."Well, they are going good", she replied."Good to hear", I nodded."Coming to the point..", she initiated. What point?Is she here to make the first day of my vacation worse by any chance? "Did you have a boyfriend?", she asked over excitedly.Here goes her stereotypical shit talk. Kill me! Have? Boyfriend?Her language suck! I looked at Ayu and Yash. Their level of irritation was ascending.Before I could answer, she shot another."How can you, when you already have one?", she asked.Ayu, Yash and I gave the same reaction to this query of hers. Have one?What does she mean?We three exchanged a muddled look, where Simran seemed to be blank."Whom is she talking about?", Yash whispered to me. She snapped when she didn't get any answer."Girl, I am talking about Yash", she grinned. Though she answered her own question, yet completely wrong. Yash? My boyfriend? We sat there with our mouths agape for a second trying to digest her nonsense. Next moment, we all burst out laughing."What? Did I joke?", she asked addled."Absolutely", we four came in unison this time."We are best friends", Yash said clearing her doubt.I nodded in thorough agreement.She was still confused and we were damn sure that she was ready with another shitty phrase."Come on! Can a girl and boy be just friends?", she smirked. Ugh! How can I ever forget?She is the flag bearer of the stereotypical belief "A Boy and Girl can never be just Friends".Why can't they?She needs help! "What made you believe so?", Yash was a bit disgusted. "Everybody says so", she was no less. "But, we neither say nor believe as such", I replied this time. "Really, huh?", Shikha taunted. Yash's tolerance limit was about to break. "Do you even know who a friend actually is? A person who has a bond of mutual affection with another person irrespective of the gender", Yash spoke. "Our society doesn't help us any better. Few of our educational institutions don't allow the fellow classmates to sit with the opposite gender at high school, just because of the thought, they have reached puberty and it's better to separate them", he added.Shikha gave an awkward smile."This is where the thought clicks in their little brains that a girl and a boy can never be friends, which is utter nonsense", I added to Yash's point."Instead of these, teach them the meaning and importance of consent, the actual spectrum of pure friendship and the ways to respect that spectrum", Ayu kept his point.Looking at Shikha's expressions, it was clear that she was getting our point but her ego didn't allow her to accept the reality.Well, we were not in the mood to waste our time on her crap. So, I decided to end it once and for all."I know this is an endless debate due to the complexity involved. It's very important to break this stereotype, which is very difficult but not impossible", I pulled the string. She stared vacantly."Cut the crap! LET'S BREAK THE STEREOTYPE!", I and Yash came in unison."Really? Who will break this stereotype?", she acted stubborn. "Aashi and I are doing this", Yash encircled his arms around my shoulder. "Are we, partner?",  Yash voiced. "100%, partner", I replied. We shared a fist bump. "Exactly", a chorus of familiar voices came from behind.We turned around only to find dadi and dadu followed by our parents."Got this beta?", dadu questioned Shikha.She was appalled by our views and unity."Ji, dadaji! It's getting late, I should leave now", she left being embarrassed. "Proud of you", said dadu pointing towards me and Yash.I am glad that God chose me to be gifted with such a heavenly bunch of people.*************************************Hello there! Well, Yash got his love, what about Aashi? See you in the next! Till then stay tuned and miss me..!!😉#KeepReading #KeepLoving❤️❤️