The story so far: Ankita and her twin Aniket get into trouble with their mother over their ‘puddle-jumping’ competition.
In the evening, Madhavi narrated the day’s happenings to her husband, Raman. “What are we going to do with this girl? She is going from bad to worse. She is intelligent but won’t study. She gets into fights everyday and her teachers and the neighbours complain regularly about her behaviour. Why can’t she be more like Aniket who is a model student. His teachers rave about him.”
Raman just smiled; they had gone through this routine several times before.
“But, don’t forget Anki is a karate champ.”
“Is that going to get her into Engineering or Medical?”
“She can excel in some other field, can’t she?”
“Like what? A security guard in a mango garden? She will end up eating all the mangoes.”
Quick moves
Ankita was standing in line, waiting for her school mates to get into the bus. She had been on her best behaviour for a week now; a record. Her dress was almost as neat and clean as Aniket’s when she got home. She had not got into fights or ragged any teacher. There had not been a single complaint against her.
Just then, a tall boy pushed her back and went before her. “What do you think you are doing?” Ankita snapped.
When he turned around, she saw that it was Vijay, the new boy in their class. “Every line starts from where I stand,” he said.
“Don’t act smart. Get lost.”
“Hey, look, I don’t fight with girls.”
“Why? Are you scared you’ll get beaten up?”
“If you don’t shut up, I’ll alter your silly twin’s features. That way, everyone will able to differentiate between the two of you. Though, ideally, you should come in shorts and he in skirts,” Vijay sniggered.
The next moment, he found himself airborne before landing with a bump on the ground. Before he could get up, Ankita pounced on him and twisted his arms. He began yelling in pain.
Suddenly, someone whispered, “Anthony Sir is coming.” This was their P.T. teacher and everyone, including Ankita, was scared of him. “What’s happening here?” Anthony Sir demanded.
“Nothing, sir. Vijay was teaching me a new kick-boxing move when he lost his balance and fell. I was helping him to get up.” Anthony looked suspiciously at Ankita and then at Vijay. “Is that what happened?”
“Yes Sir!” Vijay knew he had no choice. How could he tell Anthony Sir that a girl had clobbered him?
The next day, Aniket gave Ankita a piece of good news.
(To be continued)
