Episode 10 || Summer Camp

Summer Camp,

A boy in blue jeans and a brown hoodie was sitting on the rock near the riverside, completely focused on the book he was reading while other children were enjoying themselves with their friends or involved in the activities assigned to them by their teachers.

But he was sitting away from the crowd and his ocean blue eyes were busy reading the content of the book, flipping to the next pages when a group of kids of his age group appeared beside him and started to mock him.

“Hey, why are you so boring? Come play with us.” They said, removing the cap of the hoodie from his head and his dark brown hair shined in the sunlight. The boy ignored them and continued to read, but his classmates started troubling him.

They pulled his cheeks painfully. “Why are you always so miserable?” One of them said.

“Of course, he will be miserable, his father never shows up and his mother is always busy.” The other boy said.

“Poor unwanted baby,” They laughed at him, but he focused on his book without giving a damn about them.

“Now, come on, we want you to play with us.” A bulky boy named Joey said and tried to dominate him by tugging his shoulder. The boy stiffened and didn’t move an inch, no matter how much they bullied him.

“I SAID I WANT YOU TO PLAY WITH ME!! Now get up,” Frank raised his voice but when the boy didn’t make any movement, he moved forward, grabbing specs from the boy’s eyes and crushing it under his feet while the other boy threw his book where a small girl was standing, witnessing their actions.

She was wearing a polka dot black and white jumpsuit, her light curly brown hair was up in a beautiful bun and her honey colour eyes glared at the boys.

“My mom says that God resides in books. We should always give respect to them and do not throw them to the floor.” She said in her babyish voice and picked up the book from the ground. All the boys stared at her, except for the boy sitting on the rock who didn’t lift his eyes for once to look at the source of the voice.

The girl came forward and gave the book back to the boy, she confronted Frank and his bullying group, keeping her hands on her hip.

“I am watching you for the last two days. Why are you troubling him all the time?” She asked, and Frank chuckled at the arrogant tone she used at him.

“Hey! Peanut size girl… just go back and play with your dollhouse, okay? Shoo… Shoo,” He said and turned to trouble the boy again. “And you, are you getting up, or do you want to get beaten up?” He slapped his shoulder, and the small girl flared in anger.

She pushed Frank and he fell back on his ass. “Don’t trouble him again or I’ll beat you.” She pointed her index finger and tried to threaten in her cute voice.

Frank laughed at her, standing back on his feet, and then pushed the boy off the rock and he fell down. The girl slightly parted her lips but then lunged over him, scratching and slapping his face while the other boy came forward, and picked the stick from the ground to attack the girl, but the boy with hypnotic ocean blue eyes came in between and started beating him.

The small girl looked back at him and a dimpled smile appeared on her face while watching the boy taking a stand for himself. They were successfully teaching them a lesson when the teachers appeared and detangled them.

She looked at the condition of Frank and his little gang members. “You both.” The teacher screeched looking at the boy with hypnotic ocean blue eyes and the girl with honey coloured eyes. “Come to my office right now!”

***

Cafe24

Nikhil was settled on the corner table and glanced at his latest Rolex watch, “What’s taking her so long!” He muttered while waiting for Mishka when he heard the voice of clicking heels, his eyes looked up at the entrance and the view quite impressed him.

Mishka was wearing charcoal grey pencil-fit jeans with an off-white shirt that was neatly tucked in her jeans. Her hair was in a messy bun and she was talking to someone on the phone when the server stopped her.

“Sorry, I am here to meet Mr Nikhil Khanna,” Mishka said to the server while disconnecting the call and he led her to the table where Nikhil was waiting for her.

“Hi!” She said and Nikhil stood up to greet her.

They shook hands. “Hi! Please have a seat.” He said politely, and they both settled. “Would you like to have something? Coffee?” He asked.

“Sure,” Mishka replied and searching for something in her bag while Nikhil ordered two coffees for them and stared at her face, scrutinizing her feature.

The woman sitting in front of him appeared very simple in looks but she carried a powerful aura that seems to mesmerize him each time they meet, and what made him more interested in her, was her mysterious eyes that appeared to be holding sadness, sadness that was slowly destroying her.

“Are you alright now?” Mishka heard Nikhil and her eyes snapped back at him.

“Huh?” She gave a confused look.

“You were disturbed about something yesterday,” He mentioned and Mishka nodded, smiling briefly.

“Yeah!! All good.” She said, removing her eyes from him and the server came with their coffee.

Mishka forwarded a pen drive in his direction. “This holds the destruction of Amblys.” She said and Nikhil quickly opened his laptop to check the proofs and it brought a huge grin to his face.

“I don’t know about Amblys but you surely saved me from destruction. Thank you so much.” He said with a wide smile on his face.

“It’s alright and these are some more proofs against them too. Have a look!” She gave some files to him and took a sip of her coffee while Nikhil checked those files.

“Thanks again!” He said and Mishka nodded.

“Okay, I’ll take my leave, then.” She said and was about to stand, but Nikhil stopped her.

“Please sit, I need to have a word with you regarding this case.” He said and Mishka settled back, looking at him attentively.

“Why can’t you take my case? I will pay a good fee.” He said impatiently.

“It’s not about money. I don’t take high-profile cases and your case already has a lot of media attention.” She clarified, and Nikhil knitted his brows.

“Usually lawyers look for such cases that have high media attention. It gives a boost to their career and you’re rejecting the case for the very same reason?” He said, sounding a little offended.

“Not all lawyers are the same, Mr Khanna,” Mishka said while Nikhil was tapping his finger, thinking about another way to convince her.

“Is it because of money? I will offer more money if you want.” He said, and Mishka pursed her lips in a straight line.

“Still, my answer is…” Mishka was about to say something when Nikhil received a text from an important number and he excused himself.

“Just a moment!” He said and quickly unlocked his phone while Mishka nodded and took another sip of the amazing coffee.

“I know you are busy, but can you please come here? I am in a trouble.” The text said.

Nikhil’s face lost all colour as he started thinking about the worst scenarios, while Mishka stared at him. “Is everything alright? You look a little disturbed?”

“I’ll talk to you later! Please think about my proposal once again.” He said, taking the file, laptop, and car keys from the table and rushing out after paying the bill.

Mishka looked at him from behind, watching him leave the café. She was ready to leave as well when her eyes fell on the pen drive he forgot to take with him.

“What a man!!” She took the pen drive and rushed out of the café to give him but he was nowhere to be seen. She huffed and started walking to where she parked the car when her mobile started vibrating in her jeans.

She retrieved the mobile and an unknown number appeared on the screen, her heartbeat always raced whenever she receives a call from an unknown number and it was racing again.

She picked up the call, gulping the knot in her throat, and said nothing until the person on the other side spoke and her eyes widened upon hearing the news. “Okay… okay, I’ll be there soon.”

***

“Andrea! What a surprise,” Chris said as he sprinted toward his mahogany desk and sat in his black leather chief executive chair. “I didn’t know you’d be here.”

Andrea smiled, “Dad came to discuss something with your father, so I joined him. I hope I am not disturbing you!” She said.

“Not at all! I am free for the rest of the evening.” Chris said, and Andrea beamed with a smile.

“Great! I was thinking, can we go out for a dinner tonight?” Andrea proposed, and Chris knitted his brows.

“Dinner? Are you asking me out on a date?” He smirked, and Andrea blushed under his gaze.

“Well…” She scratched her neck, “We never got a chance to talk back in college, so I was…” She trailed off.

“Dinner at eight p.m.?” He asked and a wide smile crept on Andrea’s lips.

“Y-yes, sure.” She replied when Danny burst in through the door with files in his hand and his eyes paced back and forth from Christian to Andrea.

“I think I should come later,” He said and turned to leave but Chris stopped him.

“Danny, you can stay,” He said and Danny sauntered back to him and kept the files on the desk.

“You’ve to sign these files before leaving.” He said and turned to leave without acknowledging Andrea.

“Now you’ll behave as if we don’t know each other?” Andrea questioned, and Danny turned his face in her direction.

“Do we know each other, miss?” He asked, and Andrea rolled her eyes at the tone he used while Christian looked at them with a playful smirk.

“I am taking a day off tomorrow. Maya wants me to take her out.” He said to Christian when Andrea interrupted again.

“Maya? Your girlfriend?” Andrea asked out of curiosity, but Danny ignored her and walked out while she stared at his retrieving back.

“Don’t take him seriously! He is just like that,” Christian said and Andrea focuses back on him, a little embarrassed. “Anyway, let’s meet at Madison? 8 pm?” He said and Andrea nodded.

***

Mishka reached the base of the summer camp, and a woman was standing outside the door. “Hi! I gotta call from here. My kids got into trouble.” She said impatiently, and the woman let out a huff before speaking up.

“So you are the mother! Your kids have beaten up a group of small kids. Your husband is inside talking to the principal.” She said and Mishka looked at her, horrified.

“M-my h-husband?” She stammered and her throat went dry.

“Yes! He is inside.” The teacher replied and Mishka froze at her place as the word husband buzzed in her mind.

“This is just not possible! He can’t be here,” She screamed in her mind and looked at the teacher. “What’s my husband’s name?” She asked, her face turned a little pale, and the teacher gave her a weird look before opening her mouth.

Meanwhile, inside the cabin

The principal was giving a lecture on parenting skills to the man sitting in front of her. The man listened was listening patiently to her for the last ten minutes but now he was starting to get irritated because the woman was continuously speaking without giving him a chance to speak. He massaged his temples with his forefinger to calm himself but the principal was hell-bent to give him a headache.

The principal looked at the girl and the boy sitting on the bench adjacent to them. “Your son… he is impressive!! Always excels in studies and every sports game” She praised the boy with hypnotic sea blue eyes and the girl with honey colour eyes smiled looking at the boy sitting next to her but soon her smile dropped as she heard the next word of the principal.

“But your daughter…. She is the cleverest girl of our school, always creating troubles.” The man gazed at the small girl while she glared at the principal with a cute pout. The man tried to open his mouth to say something, but the principal cut him off.

“What should I say to the parents of these kids? Your kids have beaten them so badly.” The principal pointed to her right side, where the bulky boy and other kids were sitting with bruised faces and the man pursed his lips. She was about to lecture the man again, but he showed his palm to stop her.

“Respected madam, I can take the accountability for what my son did to them. But that girl…. I am sorry but she is not related to me.” The man said, and the principal furrowed her perfectly arched eyes and looked at him through her glasses.

“What do you mean by she is not related to you?” She asked and before the man could say anything, the door clicked open and Mishka walked in.

“She is my daughter, Kiara,” Mishka said and the small girl quickly tried to hide herself behind the boy sitting next to her. The man turned, and he was shocked to find Mishka, and the latter gave the same shocked expression.

“Mishka,”

“Nikhil,”

They both said in unison while the principal quickly checked the names of both the kids and felt embarrassed. “There seems to be a confusion. Is Ivaan your son?” The principal asked and Nikhil turned to focus on her.

“Yes,” He said.

“I apologize for the mistake, I got the wrong information.” The principal apologized for her mistake. “The camp is almost over you can take Ivaan home if you want,”

Nikhil pulled a long face and stood up. “Thank you so much!” He was irritated with all the drama and gestured for Ivaan to come.

Ivaan tried to move away, but Kiara was clutching his brown hoodie and wasn’t ready to let him go. “I saved you from those devils and it’s your time to pay back.” She whispered, peeking at Mishka, who was glaring in her direction.

Kiara quickly closed her eyes and tried to hide again. “That’s your mom, not any devil!” Ivaan opened his mouth for the first time in the entire scene and Kiara huffed in annoyance.

“Leave me, dad is calling.” Ivaan successfully freed himself and ran towards Nikhil. They turned to leave, and Nikhil briefly glanced at Mishka before exiting.

“Please sit,” The principal said and Mishka came forward.

***

Nikhil and Ivaan stood outside the office, waiting for Mishka and Kiara to come out. “I am sorry, dad,” Ivaan muttered and Nikhil looked down at him.

“It’s alright! But I am amazed to find that you fought with them. You are not like this?” Nikhil asked.

“Those kids bully me a lot, but I ignore them. I was ignoring them today as well, but Kiara jumped in and started fighting them for me. Another boy was about to hit her, so I joined her too and became her partner in crime.” Ivaan replied.

“But she is so small,”

“Yeah, but she pushed the boy down on the ground and started beating him sitting on his bulging tummy,” Ivaan said and Nikhil chuckled.

“Do you know her?” Nikhil asked.

“No, she is in a junior wing,” He answered when the door opened and Kiara came out with pouty lips, followed by her mother. Her honey colour eyes met hypnotic sea-blue eyes, and she gave him a pissed-off look while the latter looked away.

Nikhil came forward to Mishka, “I didn’t know you’re married.” He said and then slipped on his knees in front of Kiara.

“Thank you so much, baby girl,” He said and Kiara stared at him. “You’re so brave, you helped Ivaan.”

“Please tell my mom I was helping Ivaan. She says I’m a troublemaker,” Kiara said in her babyish voice and gave an annoyed look to Ivaan, who was staring back at her, standing against the doorframe of their car.

“We will talk at home, Kiara,” Mishka said, and Nikhil stood up, ruffling her hair.

“Let’s leave then,” He said, “Should I drop you?”

“No.. I have a car. Thanks for offering.” Mishka smiled and looked around. “Where is your brother?” She asked Kiara.

“I don’t know where is your perfect son.” She gave an attitude and ran away to join her friends before Mishka could catch her.

“You have a son, too?” Nikhil asked, sounding a little stunned.