||CHAPTER 69||
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"No, I mean," Ishita whispered, "Like, is this normal? Maine kabhi Vickey ko meditate karte huye nai dekha hai."

Passive silence followed until I rubbed my palms and slowly opened my eyes. Leaning against the door of the bedroom that Ishita and I shared, Arnav stared at me knowingly before addressing the girl who had run out of the room looking for help when she opened her eyes to the sight of me meditating in the balcony, early morning. "Agli baar se, jab taq potential danger na aye, mere paas chillati hui mat ana."

He did not look at Ishita while speaking, but he smirked my way before walking away. He knew about my new routine, and I knew he secretly thanked the Shimla camp for it.

"But this is not normal," Ishita said, voice slightly higher than a whisper. I got up, rolling my yoga mat before entering the room. "Ye kabse shuru hua?"

"Shimla camp utna bhi bura nahi tha," I shrugged. It was six-thirty in the morning, so I could understand her concern regarding me waking up early. "Kind of a good experience, if I'm being honest."

Outside, in the living room, Arnav had not bothered going back into the room he shared with Ritwik. He dozed off in the couch instead, his laptop on the coffee table. The transferring work must've been completed by now.

Propping open his laptop, I waited for the screen to light up. The door to the third bedroom clicked open, and Vansh walked out, rubbing his eyes.

I forced my eyes back on the screen that asked for the password. The problem was, I did not know the password. So I shut the laptop instead.

"I think we should get ready," Ishita perked up just as Karan walked out behind Vansh.

"Tu chillana band karegi, please?" Arnav squinting his eyes at her. "Soney bhi nahi de rahi hai ab tu."

He stood up, ignoring her glare, and stretched his muscles.

"Breakfast is free, so Ritwik ko utthao. I'm not paying for his hungry ass, kal usne mujhe poora loota hai," Karan yawned, looking at the itinerary kept at the table.

I snorted at him. It wasn't like he had a constraint on his pocket money. Dramatic, that's just what he was being.

"Jitna hasna hai, hasley," I heard him before going back to my room to dress for the day. "Aaj raat ke pool party mein ham sab tujhko lootne wale hai. Fir dekhte hai kitna funny situation lagta hai tujhko!"

We were boarded into the minibuses, and I sat beside Arnav who claimed the window seat, capturing the colourful street life of Udaipur.

"I like this place," I said in a low voice, since the bus was silent. Everyone had either just woken up, or were still sleeping. Or vlogging because apparently, YouTube-ing every moment of their lives was as important as breathing.

"I like teddies too."

Frowning, I looked towards my left shoulder that Ritwik had made his pillow. He was mumbling non-sensical things in his sleep, and his hair was tickling my neck. With my index finger prodding against the side of his forehead, I repositioned his head away from me.

His head landed on Vansh's shoulder instead, and Vansh looked up at me from his phone.

He didn't even smile at me before looking back at his phone again. Biting my lip, I turned my head to the right to gaze out of the window.

The bus came to a halt in front of the Lake Pichhola. We were supposed to go on a boat ride.

After assembling the fifteen of us at the shore, and assuring that each one of us had the life vests fastened, the guide allowed us to enter the boat that wobbled as each one of us entered.

"Oho," Ritwik exclaimed, placing his elbow on Arnav's shoulder. "Lag raha hai Roshni ke pair me sprain ho gaya. Jaa Arnav, usko uttha yaar, dekh kitni problem ho rahi hai ussey." Of course Roshni had let the whole lot know that her heels had got stuck between the riffs of the wooden bridge leading to the boat, in turn twisting her ankle. If her motto in life was to be one of those actresses in the television series Daadi loved, she was excelling at it.

Arnav twitched his jaw before shaking Ritwik's arm off his shoulder. Glancing at the water stretching beyond us, he turned to Ritwik. "Mujhe tujhko utthakar fekne me koi problem nahi hogi."

At once relocating himself at a safe distance from my brother, he raised his hands in defence. "It's okay, bro, I understand. Itna graphic violence sehat ke liye achha nahi hai. Arvika, kuch sikhaya nahi apne bhai ko?"

I let out a yawn in response, waiting for the ride to start.

"How deep do you think this lake might be?" Karan asked, leaning against the railing.

Ishita sat beside me just before the boat jerked into a start. The geeks and nerds gathered around the propeller, while Ms. Negi placed a hand on top of her hat to keep it from flying away.

"Deeper than thou soul?" Vansh raised an eyebrow at Karan, a small smirk hinting at the side of his lips.

Karan's face distorted in disgust. "Sheh! Kitna baqwas line mara. Ishita ke saath reh rehke ajeeb ho raha hai tu."

Before I could react to that absurd statement, Ritwik nudged Karan harshly, making him fall backwards into the boat. The noise made Ms. Negi raise her eyebrows at us. Apologising once, Karan got up, rubbing his back. "What the fuck was that for?"

"You know what that was for," Ishita replied, tilting her head to the right. Towards me.

Instead of prodding the issue further, Arnav looked at Karan. "Were you considering what I think you were considering?"

"No, I was not comparing this lake's depth to Roshni's puss- ow!"

I was liking this violent side of Arnav. Obviously it would have had been great if he showed this side of his eight years ago instead of appearing to be the goody-two-shoes, but I was done complaining.

"Will everyone stop abusing me?" Karan nursed his jaw. "I just want to take a swim down there. Bewajah jaan kha rahe ho tum log meri."

In the second that passed, the boys spoke through their eyes, measuring up their surroundings. We were not in the centre of the lake, we were just circling the periphery. Grabbing the camera from Arnav, I stood up, pulling Ishita with me to stand near the centre. Watching them unbuckle the life-vest peel off their shirts, Ishita went paranoid.

"Guys, that's not why we are given these ugly orange vests- Vickey these boys are not listening- shit they are going to-"

The consecutive splashes confirmed her doubts, and I tried capturing the whole scene, adjusting the lens of the camera once they jumped off. I could now understand why Arnav loved this- the lens of the camera competed your view point. 

But that was until Ms. Negi stood right in front of it.

Frowning at the bottle in her boyfriend's hands, Arya commented, "That looks like urine in a bottle. I'm not going to be able to drink any booze without vomiting if that's how you are going to bring it."

"Booze hai tho ulti tho hogi hi na," Shayan's friend spoke, "Pehele ho ya baad mein, kya fark padta hai?"

His group cackled in another round of maniacal laughter. Ishita and I were suffering more than the boys because of their punishment.

Shayan zipped up his bag after keeping the booze-filled bottles of mineral water inside his bag pack. He had taken the term 'peey jal' too seriously. "This was the only way, okay? And alcohol was not my duty."

But he had to look after it because Ms. Negi's punishment for Arnav and the boys was staying in the front of our troupe as we roamed around the City Palace of Udaipur.

There was not much trouble the sponsor's kids could get into, and Arnav and the boys were taking full advantage of it. Ishita and I, on the other hand, were paying for their sins instead.

"You're a responsible guy," Arya patted Shayan's shoulder.

"Is that why you love me?" He flirted back.

"Nope," Arya shrugged. "It's definitely your dičķ."

The howls of laughter and appreciation made me wonder if I was watching a teenage rom-com instead. I just wanted to get out of here.

Letting the crowd walk ahead of us to create some space between them and us, Ishita and I followed at a slow pace watching random strangers.

"Do you think Roshni might actually like Arnav? Room na milne ke bawajood woh uska peechha nahi chhod rahi."

"I don't know," I said, pulling up my Ray Bans as the sun hit us again at the court yard. "How does it really matter? Do you have a crush on my brother?"

She scoffed. "Depends. Does he have a six-pack? Is his soldier tall enough?"

"Do I look like his bathroom mirror? Stop giving me these disgusting images."

She giggled, pulling me aside before I could crash into another tourist.

"Well, you're his twin," she shrugged.

"And yet I wonder why he doesn't have to wear a bra. Really logical, Ishita," I shook my head.

"To answer your question," she returned to the main topic, "No. I do not harbour feelings of attraction towards your brother. And by now, I think you must have guessed that the feelings are more than mutual."

I paused on the stair well, really serious. This time, I asked her straight out. "Do you want to tell me why?"

The halt in her step was not sudden. She was pondering over it, but not playing with the idea. Glancing at her white Puma's once before placing her decision, she moved wisps of her hair behind her ear. Timing was the key that she didn't have though.

"Girls," Ms. Negi yelled from the top of the corridor. "Faster. You're not eighty. Be with the crowd."

Hence, ignoring everything that was about to happen, that should've happened, we rushed upstairs.

_____

Namoshtaii!

So I tried really hard to publish this chapter early today, but college admission stuff is taking a toll. I promised you guys that this week is going to be an everyday-update-week, and I really, truly, hope I am able to keep up with it. Its not even Writer's Block if I am being honest, because the plot is ready. Whatever it is, I am going to try my best to keep my word, because Dil Jaanta Hai is the only thing I am actually very honest about.

Anyways, a lot of you have been asking whether there will be a sequel or not, and hence to clear any doubt, I'm gonna tell you here. Yes, Dil Jaanta Hai will be getting a sequel, and it is going to be more like an extended epilogue. The name and plot line is ready, but just for fun, what do you think or suggest the name for the sequel will be? I'm really curious!

Also, chapter dedicated to for being the awesome motivation she is for me. 

Anyways, read, vote, comment, promote!

~chaashnee.