Author's note
A light and fluffy chapter for all of you. Enjoy with them, the day at fun fair.
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It was 1:30pm and what can be termed as voice of gases exiting body of a whale from whichever side it is, came from our tummies. Food was Indo-Chinese, my personal favorite. So we had momos, spring rolls, veg manchurian, chilli paneer, veg crispy, fried rice, hakka noodles, schezwan noodles, triple schezwan rice and for dessert, we had ice cream. We weren't eating much, just pretending to be hungry elephants. Precisely hungry monkeys if our anatomy and ill mannered eating habits are taken into consideration.
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"I'm sure I'll hit it this time."
"If you don't, I'll hit you myself." When Tara threatens you, it is for real. We were at this game stall where we had to hit the can with a dart gun. I had missed thrice, had two chances left of winning the stuffed snow white kitty toy with tiny soft ears. From the moment Tara saw it, she's lost her mind. Is she in love with that toy? Get a grip girl!!!
On top of that, she doesn't trust herself when it comes to shooting. Well nor do we.
That girl can throw a beach ball towards Ishaan to hit him and end up hitting a dog, his friend cat, a pigeon and a dinosaur for crying out loud. And if right now, I don't hit the can, I'll be the poor dog here.
I aimed at the cans. My hand steady and eyes on the can, I held my breath at once. I have to hit it this time. On the count of three, I shot the dart which went straight to hit the cans. The sound of cans falling down was like victory bells for me.
"I hit it!!! Yay I hit it!!" I turned towards Tara to hug her. But she didn't hug me. Our very own ray of sunshine was busy claiming the toy.
"Give me the toy! We won it." She ordered the shopkeeper.
"We!! At least give me the credit. You didn't even bother to hug me." I complained.
"Aww I will hug you." Ulka hugged me. She's the only real friend I have. If I am to fall in quicksand, she will be the only one saving me. Others will click weird pics of my helpless situation to blackmail me later.
I hadn't noticed before, but there was a young girl standing by the stall, watching us.
"Hey! Do you want any help?" I asked.
"The kitty is so fluffy. Is it yours?"
"Well yeah! She won it for me. It's mine." I doubt if Tara will be that possessive of her future husband, ever!
"I want it. Give it to me." The girl demanded. Well what was that? Who does that? It's like asking Cinderella to give up her glass slipper, or asking the beast to give up his rose or asking Arjun to give up his bow or asking Tara to give up her soft toy. Yes, exactly that.
"Excuse me?"
"Tara, chill. Let Ahana handle her. She's the best with kids." Snehal, the award for wisest friend on Earth goes to you my dear. I'll clean your room in return.
"Hey dear! What's your name?" I asked her with utmost kindness and all the politeness I could fit in the wide smile of mine.
"Give me the kitty." had she been my daughter, I would have grounded her for a month with live kittens around. Such ill mannerism will not be entertained in my territory. I'm good with kids only when they behave themselves. Did she throw up her manners?
Calm down Ahana, you've got this. She's just a kid. Kids are supposed to be angels. Just explain the situation with an example and she'll give you a kissy on your cheeks in return. Easy isn't it?
"Look! What a beautiful pink dress you have. A baby pink dress with roses all over." She looked down upon her dress and touched the tiny roses on it. She looked so adorable doing that! I'm on the right track I guess. I continued.
" Look, it has glitter too. I love it. But that doesn't mean that I can have it, does it? I like your dress, but it belongs to you. Will you give me your dress just like that?"
She was silent for a moment. Guess I've achieved the feat.
"Mamma!!!! This girl stole my toy!!!"
What the hell? Her mother came running from behind. A lady in her late 30s with expensive clothing. She looked like the mamma version of Regina George from Mean girls. Her face screamed of money and arrogance, a lot of it.
She bent in front of her daughter and asked her,
"What happened to my doll?"
Doll? Yes Annabelle she is.
"She stole my toy, cotton candy. I just won him." Cotton candy? How can she name that toy cotton candy?
"Okay enough! Firstly it's a white kitty soft toy and not a pink one so it cannot be named as cotton candy."
Tara made a very logical point there.
"Secondly, she won it for me. You were just standing here looking at us." The deadly version of Tara was appearing in front of us.
"THIS KITTY IS MINE!"
Starburst!!! Run everyone run....run for your life. Tara the devil is here to eat us alive!!!
"TENNAGERS. That's the only valid reason for this kind of behavior." So the mamma hen began speaking.
"Drowning in hormones, you people can do all crazy things, even steal from little girls. Give me back the toy. I'll pay for your drugs instead."
This lady makes me want to claw her face out. If she doesn't shut her trap, I'll sit on her shoulders and pull her hair out while singing Devil's haircut by Beck.
"Excuse me ma'am, but you are crossing your limits. It is quite obvious where this girl inherited her bratty tendencies from."
Abhaas had taken it upon himself to end this argument. He continued,
" If you have enough money to buy us drugs, you surely can buy a whole toy shop for your daughter. I insist you buy her some manners as well 'cause she needs it as much as you do. Satan's race won't find acceptance in human society, if you get what I mean. Now we wish you a good day and take your leave." Abhaas was smooth and mildly offensive when it came to insults. He held my hand with his chin high and we started walking. He had the aura of the boss. When he speaks, the world shuts down for me.
I heard Ulka finish with her,"Hope you choke on that money one day!"
"It's best if we don't let this hamper our time or mood here. Even the shopkeeper knew she was lying." Ishaan can make the most politically correct statements in the world. I wonder if he's tutioned by Chanakya himself.
"It was soo badass Abhaas!!" Ulka said
"Thanks dear. But you know what's even more badass? This ride." We turned our heads towards the ride and saw a huge pillar with two seats attached. The seats were suspended on a vertical pole which I suppose is able to move 360°.
"It's like sitting in a juicer - blender."
"Yeah it is. Who's in?"
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"Just hold onto these handles. Do not leave them or else you'll get hurt. Got it?" The instructor told Ishaan. He was the one that decided to get on this ride with Abhaas.
"What happened to badass Ulka?" Snehal knew when to mock.
Abhaas was trying to convince Ulka to take the ride with him. But she didn't budge even when Abhaas was about to lift her and put her on the seat. A no is a no.
"I never said badass is good. Badass is badass. I always go for good." Ulka avoided any eye contact with us. But who can blame her? This ride is too risky for us.
"What makes you love the cat so much Tara? I mean it's just a white cat." Ulka asked. Though it was a clear cut move to divert our attention from Ulka's embarrassment, I was equally curious for the answer. I know Tara's crazy for soft toys but this was way too much.
"It's white.... reminds me of mom. She was wearing a white coat the last time I..."
Tara's face shrank visibly. She continued,
"I've made a truce with the situation but I need something to hold onto."
She tied a handkerchief to the kitty's paw, said it belonged to her mother.
"I'll treasure it forever." All four of us group hugged. It was liberating to know that Tara has finally moved on with life.
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We stood below as the ride began. The start was good. A left, right, north, diagonal, straight down. It was fun watching.
"This tape can go a long way blackmailing. Look at their faces." Tara said as she recorded the guys. The speed increased and their expressions changed further. Ulka and I were moments before falling flat on the ground laughing while Snehal was live on Instagram.
"Is it raining? There are few drops on my phone lens." Snehal asked us.
"Yeah maybe, I feel it too, unless. Oh god it isn't rain it's the guys puking!!!" Ulka's comment left me shocked. I felt another drop on my hand. It could contain thousands of germs that are currently partying on my hand. They can cause so many diseases. I'm falling sick. I want to puke too. I can feel the food crawling up my food pipe. I'm going to burst any moment.
"Let's clean up. The washroom is there." Tara said. I followed her with Ulka and Snehal.
We finished up all the sanitizer bottles and wet wipes we had, to clean up. I would as well go home and bath in sanitizer.
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As the ride got over, we returned. Armed with tissues, throw up bags, water bottles, mouthwash and mint candies. The guys went to the washroom with our 'clean up after puke kit' and returned after fifteen minutes.
"Badass is bad huh!" Ulka's comment left us all laughing. The guys gave us sheepish smiles and continued to look at each other with embarrassment. They didn't plan on taking the ride to end up giving a puke shower to the fun fair.
"Guys are you okay?" Tara asked, concerned as always.
"Yeah. Better. Did you enjoy the puke shower?"
"Eww Ishaan! Let's not discuss that part."
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We returned to the food stalls because apparently the guys had to fill up their stomachs. Vomit had caused a famine inside there. Though for me it was just another bite we were having, for Snehal it turned out to be a lot more.
At the order counter there was a donation box, displaying donation to the 'Boarding school of North'. She stood by it for like 10 minutes as Ulka and I observed her. Then she went to the table, picked up her purse and threw a ₹500 note in it. For a moment I was scared of her. She went back to the table and slammed her bag with a loud thud. "Is she okay?" The shopkeeper asked. "Don't mind her." I replied.
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"Stop staring at me like I'm an alien."
"Your behavior is not what Snehal's is. Who are you?" Ulka had taken it upon herself to calm Snehal down.
"Disguised as our Snehal, did you abduct her and then replaced her? Are you going to ask for money to let her free? If so then keep her to yourself. We're not wasting a penny to save her." If one doesn't stop her, Ulka can go on and on.
"Okay that was rude! I can't even trust you with my life." Snehal said rather loudly.
"At least you are speaking! Now open the bottle of your mind and spill the contents inside. If you don't comply I'll squeeze it out of you." Ulka and her metaphors.
"Okay fine. I'll tell you what happened. But promise me this doesn't go out of the group." Snehal finally agreed.
"So we're discussing a big secret at a crowded food court and we're not supposed to leak it huh?" Ishaan was right. Who knows? Maybe that 'Give me the kitty' monster and her manufacturing machine are hiding under the table, recording our secret. We found a couple of benches near the parking area. We decided to sit there and let Snehal scream her heart out.
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What do you think about the chapter? They's something coming up in Snehal's life as well. Stay tuned.