Life changed with every single moment, for only minutes earlier she was blooming in happiness, and now for everything she knew, their was only panic and darkness around her.

Her mind was in crazy whirl she couldn't understand what to do now, the first thought that came to her mind was to call a ambulance, but that would take time, and then she would have to search up the number in the directory too, which considering her mothers worsening condition she didn't have the time for. She fished out her cell phone from her faux pockets and pressed the speed dial to Vivek's number instantly but only a second later disconnected the call, looking blankly at the fluorescent screen which had her and Vivek's picture from school on the wall paper. Tears escaped from her eyes ad trickled down her cheeks, as her sight darted towards her mother who was still whimpering in extreme pain clutching her heart continuously. She has formulated her mind to calm down and think is relaxed way of the best solution to the problem and slowly gaining procession of her composure she thought of people she would call at times of help. Vivek. Crossed. He lived too far away she had to think of someone near, someone with a doctor, someone with a male, and for a split second as the thought came into her mind her breathe hitched, for another time in Stanford, she had to rely on him for help, again.

Looking at her mother twice, who was going green like he had last night, she didn't give another thought to her decision, and searching her contact book for his number, dialed his number, her heart pacing up as the ring went on and she heard his familiar husky voice wiring from the other end of the call.

"Arnav speaking" she heard him say, and hadn't it been for the situation she would have rolled down laughing on his way to attend calls, but right now laughing was a way too far, she wasn't even anywhere near a smile. He on the other hand, had picked up the call in a giffy seeing her caller ID flashing on his mobile screen, an instant smile lightening up his face, which he was very much unaware off.

"Rai...zada... Rai... Ar...nav" she muttered in a choky voice breathlessly the endless stream of saline water marking tear tracks on her slightly plumpish red cheeks blowing them up enormously. As she held on to her sleet black N5 on her ear, the other hand around her mother, she shivered continuously seeing her mother seethe in pain, while she waited for his voice to reach her ears.

The smile from his face vanished instantly, hearing her stifled voice, the hard works he putting to suppress her tears evident in her voice. His expression hardened, and all his features tensed as he continued to hear her sniff from the other side, his voice magically hanging somewhere in his voice box.

"Gupta, what happened? Why are you crying?" he asked finally having found his voice, which was filled with panic, him waiting for her to answer patiently while she processed thoughts to string up a sentence.

"Can..I..plea...se talk to Anita..Aunty?" she said in a constricted voice, for a moment having him confused into deciphering what she had said when he finally got the sound of her words clear.

"Wait a second, I''ll get her on the line" he replied back quickly in a panicky, much to her relief not asking any questions, as he paced out of the room, looking extremely frantic, and barged right into his mothers room who had just changed into her casuals and was keeping her lab coat and the dirty clothes in the wash basket. Hearing the ruffle of his feet on the carpet underneath, she raised her eye brows up at him her face going suddenly rigid, seeing him all tensed and worried about something. He almost bumped into her, as he shoved the cell phone in her face, which she kept on her ear in confusion, him slowly in a breathless voice muttering it was Khushi on the other side.

"Hello Khushi. I was expecting your call, are you home safe?" she asked in a pleasingly polite tone, still holding that puzzled expression on her face, seeing her youngest perspiring so heavily as if he was back from a football match.

"I am safe, but (she choked on her words) my mother'Maa'she (looking at her mother) ..I don't know what..has happened to her..shee..is clutching her..heart tightly..Ma's gone..all green.. I donnt know what ..to do..Aunty..cann you..pleasee come over?" Khushi said in a monotonous tone, her voice having no expression other that of confusion and trouble.

"I'll be right there dear, don't worry, just do me a favor get your first aid box out" Anita Raizada, replied in a parental tone, consoling her, and clicked the line off as she heard Khushi's small okay, and now handed over the phone to Arnav who was looking at her curiously, she looking at him gravely.

"Do you know where she lives?" she asked him directly and he nodded but still looked at his mother sheepishly expecting her to throw some more light on what had actually happened.

"Her mother is not alright. *pause* (taking out the car keys from the drawer) Get the car open, I'll write a small note for princess and monkey boy, just in case they get up before we return back" Anita Raizada told her son in a serious tone, and he hurriedly nodded, and sprinted out of the room with the keys, his entire body tensed with worry which he was very much concerned about. He couldn't understand why he felt so concerned, so worried for her mother, he didn't know why there had been a smile on his face when he had attended her call, but for now with every racing step he took towards the front door, he forced these thought on the back of his head, since right now there were greater troubles on hand, and he didn't have time for all this, she needed him, that was the most important thing right now.

He had started the car, only seconds later that his mother raced in with her doctor brief case, and took her seat on the drivers seat, taking control of the wheel, driving out of the street and then asked Arnav about where she lived, evidently surprised when he told her she lived on Maple Street.

"Her father is in the military?" Mrs.Raizada kept her eyes fixed on the street ahead, as Arnav answered in the affirmative his own gaze searching the house plates for the number 47 when they turned into Maple Street.

"Who are her parents?" Mrs.Raizada asked suddenly, stopping the car to an halt, when Arnav had tapped her shoulders signaling it was the house, she getting a place to park in front of the door of the backyard, the two stepping out of the car, Arnav's eyes searching for her, as he half expected her to be outside waiting for them to arrive.

"Gupta. Her mothers name is Aparna, father I don't know" he told his mother, while they were walking up the porch that led to the front door of the Gupta house. Arnav rung the bell, and craned his neck sideways to look at his mother who was staring at him with wide eyes, apparently in shock over the fact of who Khushi's parents were.

"What? Why are you looking at me like that?" he asked Anita Raizada, but before she could reply, the door in front of them had burst open, and in front stood a disheveled looking Khushi, her tear strained face and red eyes, not going at all with her party wear dress. He figured out seeing her dress that she hadn't even changed her clothes; no wonder, he thought, she was in such a shaggy state. Khushi put in a small smile on her face, it not overshadowing the worry and misery on her face as she let the two of them inside, leading Anita towards the room where her mother looked sicker than before. Anita almost gasped seeing Aparna Gupta over there slithering in pain the look on her face wary, as the eyes of the two ladies met, them both recollecting memories together. Khushi looked from Aparna to Anita in confusion, and then at Arnav who was as baffled as she was, Anita Raizada walking towards where Mrs.Gupta was trying to gain control of her depleting state.

The vision in both their eyes was blank; they seemed to be gathering things that was unknown to the two teenagers standing there, Arnav taking the opportunity to stand next to Khushi both their eyes fixed on the pair of their mothers.

"Aparna you here? Like this? What..*pause* wait a minute sit still, and tell me exactly where you feel the pain." Anita said sensibly, locking her eyes with the terror filled, yet hurt and a little happy eyes of Aparna, she roaming her hands around Aparna's chest to find the exact spot of defect. Khushi stifled a gasp in her throat, seeing the interaction of the two mothers her sixth sense making it very much evident that the two ladies knew each other before today. The result of stifling a gasp turned out to be a throaty cough, which did not seem to stop, as Arnav standing by her side kept rubbing her back continuously, but the cough won't go, and keeping a comforting hand on her shoulder rushed out of the room to fetch her a glass of water.

Entering the kitchen, fond memories of him keeping the half eaten ice cream buckets into the refrigerator seeped into his mind, and he smiled just a little, before pouring a glass of water from the water dispenser on the corner of the kitchen. Done that, he walked out of the kitchen, and was just making his way towards the room where Khushi, his mother and her mother, when he heard the faint ringing of someone's cell phone, near the living room couch. Walking towards it curiously, he searched for the cellular device, finding it lying ideally on the caramel brown couch front on the top, the voice box being on the back, which is why the voice of the ring tone had been muffled. He picked it up with his free hand the other balancing the glass of water, and saw Vivek's name flash as the Caller ID. But that was of meager interest, considering his eyes were boring into the picture in the background, the background of her and Vivek her arm around his neck, their cheeks sticking together, smiling for the camera, the background of the picture he figured out to be the school cafeteria. He didn't know what was happening, but something in his heart had just triggered something in him felt as if he had been stabbed hard in the middle, it looked like if the picture hadn't been virtual he would have generally ripped the picture apart. The call ended, and only a second later it started ringing again, and with much effort, in confusion of why his teeth were chattering, he touched the green call button and kept the phone on his ear.

"Gosh Chun! You took forever to pick up the phone! I told you to call me up when you reached home, you are at home right? (slapping his forehead) Silly of me to ask! Ofcourse you are at home *pause* listen remember you asked me yesterday, what happened when you got drunk? (taking a long disturbing pause) you and Arnav danced on Tu Mera Hero" Vivek chirped happily, slowing down at the last phrase he had uttered, fixing the bluetooth on his ear which had gotten slightly dislocated as he brushed his hair, forming nice spikes of them, smiling contentedly at his reflection in the mirror. Slowly the smile vanished replaced with a frown on his face the wait of her answering back since the last minute not ending. What was taking her so long to react?, he thought to himself busily, twisting his eye in a thoughtful expression.

"Chun are you there? You didn't lose your voice hearing about the dance did you?" he said light heartedly getting more and more confused at not having a rude or snide remarked thrown his way, since he gotten use to of it by now, because whenever he pulled her leg with any of his comical jokes, it was either a rude remark or a threat to kill him that she would subject him to.

The next words that he heard, almost caused the blue tooth to slip from his ear his eyes dilating to an extent where they were on the verge of blasting and letting out the aqueous humor contained in it. The hair brush in his hand dropped on the floor with a loud thud colliding with the vinyl-ed floor underneath him, as the voice from the other end buzzed in his ear.

"This is Arnav speaking" he said in a tight jaw fixed, throaty voice, the glass of water in his glass rattling, with him waiting for the next words of the boy on the other side who just had the living daylights out of knocked out.

"What! What in the world are you doing with Chun's mobile? Wait a minute, where is she? Is she still at your home, did she get back to her home, answer me quick!" Vivek burst out in worry, yelling his senses out on the other side of the phone.

"First of all Shut up! There is no need to hyper ventilate, Gupta is fine, she is at her home, I am at her home." Arnav said in a hoarse voice, his mind still thinking about the dance Vivek had just told him about. They had dance when, how come he didn't remember anything? It wasn't like he had consumed 7 shots of apple juice or whatever it was, then why didn't he seem to know anything at all? And her, did that mean she didn't know anything too? What had they even done under the effect of tequila?

"You are at her home? WHY?" Vivek blasted off once again in utter bewilderment, fishing up his brush from the ground and keeping it on the dressing table, he himself rushing out of his room, his blue tooth safely hanging on his ear now. He ran out of the room and out in the living room, giving in a quick message to his father who was reading his newspaper, Mr.Mandvi nodding moodily at his son, as Vivek departed out of the house, hopping inside the car his body as tensed as other was. The moment Arnav had told him that Khushi's mother was sick, he could only imagine Khushi's condition because being her best friend he was very much aware of how close she was to her mother.

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nav_bat2012-07-28 21:05:02