"so, everything is alright now?" confirmed kavin, as he continued to drive, and dushyant nodded in agreement.

"yeah, she'll go back though, but hey, atleast she's happy..." replied dushyant, as he reclined back on the passenger seat. 

"are you?" asked purvi, from the back seat. 

"yeah..." he responded. 

"well, we are here for you..." consoled kavin. 

"do you, need me to, fill you in, on the situation...or something?" asked purvi to ishita sitting next to her. 

"i know.." assured ishita, as purvi's mouth formed an 'oh'. 

"purvi, yaar tumhe eklauti ko jesus and mary mein admission lena zaroori tha?" asked kavin in an attempt to divert the topic. 

"tumhare college ke hi raste mein padta hai, itne nakhre kyun kar rahe ho?" argued purvi back. 

"aur nahi toh kya, kitna time waste ho jaata hai humara..." chimmed in dushyant too, participating in the teasing too. 

"hmm, mere bina toh tum dono time se pehle hi pahaunchte ho hamesha....aur tu toh kuch keh hi mat, kitni baar tu bilkul attendance ke waqt school pahaunchta tha..." pointed purvi to dushyant. 

"tu assembly ke waqt aate thi aadhe saal!" exclaimed dushyant. 

"dekh lo ishita, hum hi dono sharaafat se school time pe jaate the..." remarked kavin as ishita chuckled. 

"abhi ghar chal toh aaj shaam ko, teri pol ab meera ji hi kholengi..." warned dushyant. 

"guys, how does it matter, ab toh humne school pass bhi karliya hai..." stated ishita, in an attempt for the utterly ridiculous argument to end. 

"behen tumhara aur humara pass bilkul door-door tak ek range mein nahi hai..." retorted purvi. 

"come on!" exclaimed ishita. 

"apni baat kar tu, mere bahaut ache number aaye the." protested dushyant. 

"same here...actually mujhe yeh gaadi papa ne isiliye gift ki thi. i got 92% in 12th boards..." informed kavin. 

"hey bhagwan, ishita kaafi nahi thi, tu bhi tapak gaya ,aadarsh bacha..." complaint dushyant. 

"haan, tum dono bas medical karlete na....actually thank god waisa nahi hua..." relieved purvi. 

"you are studying biotech though, right?" asked dushyant to ishita, who just sighed in despair. 

"you are studying economics...." revolted purvi. 

"see, interior design takes brain too, ok...i mean, just different kind of brain..." remarked kavin. 

"and didn't you get like a 95% in 12th?" confirmed dushyant. 

"that's how much i got..." retorted ishita. 

"see, you both are smarter than us..." remarked dushyant. 

"we didn't need a report card to know that..." responded ishita snarkily, as purvi high-fived her. 

"ok, golden girls, here's your college.." said kavin as he stopped the car in front of purvi's college. 

"chalo, bye..." said purvi as she got out of the car, as kavin started to drive. 

"great, ab main akela hoon, kabab mein haddi..." joked kavin as he drove away. 

                                                                    ***

ishita was walking to her class, only to be suddenly pulled in poonam. 

"ok, just before you kidnap me, mere paas paise nahi hai firauti ke liye..." joked ishita as poonam rolled her eyes. 

"your dad, he called my parents yesterday again, asking for you.." informed poonam, as ishita's demeanor remained unchanged. 

"what did you say?" she asked firmly. 

"i lied, i didn't tell them that you came by that night, and they told him same thing....but he's going to track you soon..." warned poonam. 

"i know..." stated ishita calmly. 

"yaar mera kal se BP high ho rakha hai, aur tum....how are you so relaxed? and, how long do you think you'll live like this?" questioned poonam. 

"i don't need him, okay. i'm a scholarship student, moreover, mummy ne mere liye ek FD rakhti thi meri shaadi ke liye, dad ko uska koi idea nahi hai...i have enough money to live off on my own..." assured ishita. 

"how long do you think your nani is going to let you live there? kabhi na kabhi, ya toh unhe pata chal jayega, ya tumhe unhe batana padega...." concerned poonam.

"tab ki tab dekhenge..." commanded ishita. 

"what the hell happened to you? like, you used to be a person, who would think things through..." argued poonam. 

"yeah, i was always careful, because of my mom.....you never knew when she would just burst into another one of those fits of rage....but now i don't want to be scared anymore and i don't even have to be.." responded ishita. 

"see, i'm just concerned, i mean...he is a sexual offender. i just, i am worried, he might, you know..." alluded poonam as ishita nodded in agreement. 

"i know, but trust me, i'll handle everything." assured ishita, as poonam agreed. 

but she was forced to question, if she really was prepared for what was about to come. 

                                                                         ***

ishita unlocked the door to her grandmother's appartment, as she entered to her grandmother on the phone with someone. she smiled at her grandmother, and started to walk to her room. 

"haan, abhi rakhti hoon zara..." hunged up her grandmother, keeping the phone aside and taking a moment of utter silence. 

"kiska phone tha?" asked ishita nonchalantly. 

"toh, kahan gaye the, tumhare papa?" followed up her grandmother with a question, as ishita tried to stay calm. 

"puna...." she replied in a tone as casual as possible. 

"hmmm, toh zara unka naya number dena....ab delhi waala number toh chalega nahi wahan.." demanded her grandmother, as ishita understood what was happening. 

"aapne phone kiya unhe?" questioned ishita. 

"tumhare baap ne ek ladke se milne se kya mana kardiya, tum ghar chodke aa gayi!" yelled her grandmother, as ishita felt utterly disgusted at her father. 

"yeh kaha hai unhone...unbelievable!" commented ishita. 

"ishita, dekho beta, tumhare papa, tumhara bhala chahte hain...." explained her grandmother. 

"unhone aap se jhoot bola hai!" exclaimed ishita. 

"kya?" questioned her grandmother. 

"pata hai mummy ko kya pata chala tha unke marne ke kuch din pehle? ki papa ne apne dost ki biwi ka rape kardiya, daaro peekar!" informed ishita, as she noticed her grandmother got agitated. 

"aap kuch chupa rahi hai mujhse?" interrogated ishita, as her grandmother remained mum. 

"aapko pata tha!" exclaimed ishita, as she looked away in disbelief. 

"how could you! kaise rehne diya aapne maa ko unke saath, yeh baat jaankar!" yelled ishita, as her grandmother started to tear up. 

"i, i can't, i can't believe this..." she remarked, in shock.