Page 51 of Born in Ruin

“Friends like family,” she mused, following him off the elevator and down the silent corridor to Amay’s flat.

“Yeah.” The only family he had. He keyed in the code to the front door, before putting a finger to his lips.

She mimed zipping her lips, locking it and throwing away the key. If only life was that merciful, he thought with a shake of his head, leading the way into the darkened space. They made their way quietly and stealthily through the living hall and towards Amay’s bedroom.

He opened the door a crack and peeped in to see Dhrithi fast asleep in the bed, the covers drawn right to her chin. He beckoned Mayukhi to go into the bathroom and get the trophy.

Her eyes widened when she realised he wasn’t coming with her but her gaze went to a sleeping Dhrithi and she got it immediately. She slipped past him and into the darkened room, making her slow way to the bathroom. She opened the door and disappeared from his line of sight. He heard nothing for a minute and then the bathroom door opened and she camescuttling back towards him like the worst cat burglar in history. Definitely the worst because her hands were empty. Where the hell was the trophy?

Mayukhi walked out of the room, closing the door behind her.

“Where is it?” Ishaan hissed, keeping his voice as low as possible.

“It’s not there,” she hissed back, sounding like the viper he suspected her of being all along.

“What do you mean it’s not there? I saw it!” His voice rose the slightest and she made a shushing motion with her hand, flapping it in the air a bit.

“And it’s not there now,” she snapped in a whisper shout.

“That’s impossible!” Ishaan folded his hands over his chest and stared at her.

She did the flapping, shushing thing again with her hand. Ishaan reached out and grabbed it, stopping it in mid flap.

“You are not being rational,” she said. “I have a plan. If you’d just let me –“

He never heard the rest of what she was saying because a screeching banshee came flying out of the bedroom, a cricket bat held over her head. High pitched, shrill screaming that would drill a hole in his head for his brains to leak out, echoed in his ears. Mayukhi screamed as well and for a moment, Ishaan thought that this would be the soundtrack of his death.

“Dhrithi!” Mayukhi screamed. “It’s us.”

“What?” Dhrithi screamed back, hysteria clearly still having a stranglehold on her.

“It’s us,” Ishaan said, using his ‘I’m in control’ voice and stepping forward and reaching for Dhrithi. She reacted by swinging the bat and smacking him in the thigh. Ishaan screamed, the highest pitched scream of the night. Both women stared at him, effectively silenced.

“Oh my God!” Dhrithi said, her voice hushed. “I’m so sorry. Are you okay?”

Ishaan rubbed his thigh and glared at Mayukhi like she was the one who’d hit him with a bat. “No,” he answered, his voice gruff with pain. “We’re sorry. We should have realised we’d scare you.”

“What the hell are you guys doing here anyway?” Dhrithi mercifully lowered the bat as she stared at them, wide-eyed. A wide-eyed look that narrowed in seconds. “You’re here for the trophy.”

Mayukhi and Ishaan stayed silent, neither wanting to admit guilt.

“Ha!” Dhrithi hadn’t been one of the best students at school for nothing. “I knew you were looking shifty that day, Ish, after you stole Amay’s aftershave.”

“Maybe he was looking shiftybecausehe stole Amay’s aftershave,” Mayukhi volunteered, with a dirty look in his direction.

“Careful Kraken,” he muttered. “You’re not exactly a beacon of morality.”

“That’s why I moved it to a new hiding place!” Dhrithi added triumphantly.

Ishaan eyed her. “That trophy was awarded to me by the school, you little thief.”

“Only because you cheated, you bigger thief.” Dhrithi took a step forward until she was toe to toe with him. “You should never have gotten that extra mark in computers.”

Ishaan fought to keep the smile from his face and his voice as he stared her down. “I beat you then. I’ll beat you now, Goody.”

Dhrithi grinned, a toothy smile. “That’s the problem Ish. I’m not Goody anymore. Give it your best shot.”

He held a hand out to her. “May the best man or woman win?”

---