Check if you've read the previous update as the reads are less.

There are high chances of you having missed the previous update.

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The players dressed in blue jersey enter the stadium.

"Joshi.. Joshi.. Joshi.. Joshi..", the entire crowd in the stadium cheered in unison.

Jersey no. 1, Joshi waved his hand at the crowd. On the other hand, Jersey no. 12, Agnihotri was lost looking at the Dino Mascot dancing with the cheer leaders as usual. Even though it wasn't the same person inside the dino costume, the glimpse of his lucky mascot asking him to focus on the goal and showing him thumbs up came infront of him.

"Chotte bachche ki tarah Mascot ko taadna band karo", teased his teammate when he saw Sidharth smiling at the mascot.

The team and it's players were introduced giving special mention to the new player, Sidharth Agnihotri, Jersey no. 12. Since it had been quiet sometime from the last tournament finals, people had forgotten Sidharth's goal against Joshi, so when his name was announced there were very few or close to negligible amount of people cheering for him.

Joshi being the captain, chose the team of 11 to play on field and Sidharth wasn't part of it. Sidharth was made to sit outside as a substitute. The opposite team wasn't among the best teams. Sidharth didn't bewail of being kept out of the field but enjoyed watching his team play. Dino team won by 4-1.

At the end of the match, Sidharth was surprised to receive a small bouquet from a little boy, and wondered as to why would someone give him a bouquet of all the team mates when he haven't even played today.

"Kamaal hai, bina khele bhi kisi ne tumhe phool bheje.. zarur koi tumhaari handsome chehre ki fan hogi..", teased his teammate. Sidharth blushed a little and then looked at the little card attached to it.

Tumhe khelte dekhna chahti thi, par kisi kaaran aa nahi paayi.. I hope tum bahut achcha khele hoge. Agar nahi bhi khel paaye toh niraash math hona, there is always a next time.
- Tumhaari Shehnaaz

"Shehnaaz..", he muttered softly. A painful smile came up on his face missing her.

2 days later, they had a match with Rajasthan Rhinos, who were one of the most aggressive teams in the tournament.

"Players decide kar liye?", Asked the coach.

"Yes. It's the same as last time.", Said Joshi.

"Joshi, Sidharth had been playing well during practice. Usse lena faydemand saabit ho sakta hai.", Suggests Coach.

"Practice matches are different from tournament. Experience matters the most on the field. Besides the same team won the last match.", Said Joshi.

"Usse mauka doge toh hi toh woh experienced player banega, Joshi. His graph has been better than anyone in the team right now, even yours. ", Said the Coach.

"Coach, I know what I am doing aur mere faisle ke khilaaf koi nahi jaa sakta. You know it very well.", Smirked Joshi.

"Aryan, don't make your team pay for your ego.", Said Coach.

"Mind your business Coach else you won't be in this team.", Insults Joshi.

"You will pay for it", said the coach.

The whistle is blown and the match begans. As usual, the Rhinos vanquished the Dinos team members one by one. The injured were sent out and Joshi called the substitutes one by one except Sidharth. Sidharth watched the opponents carefully. Half time was announced and the scores were in favour of Rhinos with 2-0.

"We want Agni.. We want Agni..", the crowd demanded. Joshi wondered who the Agni was, when his assistant passed him the phone.  A video from few months back was trending on number 1 with #Agni. It was the video of Joshi beaten by Sidharth in the previous tournament's final match's fun contest when he scored a goal in a mere contest.

Joshi was seething in anger when he saw a certain comment discussing why Joshi was not calling Sidharth to play on the field.

Joshi is insecure. #Agni

#JealousJoshi #Agni

Joshi is ridiculous. #Agni

"Oh!! Toh yeh sab uss coach ka kiya dhara hai. Ab yeh coach mujhse aise badla lega? Chalo ab bula hi lete hai Agni ko.. dekhte hai asli field pe iss Agni ki agni kitni der tak chalti hai.", Said Joshi.

Sidharth being unaware of social media and the new hashtag for him, simply spoke to the team mate and gave them his opinions on how better they could do.

Joshi dialled the number of Rhino's team-player and made a deal to give a huge amount of money in lieu of injuring Sidharth so badly that he wouldn't be able play any matches this tornament.

The whistle marked the beginning of half time.

"Sidharth in, Arora sit.", Said Joshi.

Sidharth nodded and took his position

The first ever match of Sidharth Agnihotri as a player of Delhi Dinos began and Sidharth took charge, right from the beginning. The crowd was in awe of his play and soon the stadium which had been cheering 'Joshi' at the beginning was now chanting "Agni". Agni means Fire and Agnihotri was indeed on fire. Having studied his opponent, Sidharth didn't give any chance for them to attack him and instead equalled the scored with two goals.

Joshi was extremely irked by Sidharth's performance. He looked at the traitor Rhinos member, they exchanged messages on the move. Rhinos asked Joshi to get Sidharth in the corner and block him, so that he gets a chance to harm him but it failed miserably and backfired when instead of Sidharth, Joshi was badly injured. The traitor Rhino got suspended and Joshi was sent to the clinic.

Sidharth being good with strategies, was made a captain, who not only led the team but also protected them from further injuries. The dino team scored yet another goal just as the final 10 seconds were remaining, winning the match.

When Sidharth was presented with the star of the match award, the crowd of fans chanted Agni non-stop.

"Agni Sir, autograph please", came a voice.

Sidharth smiled and took the pen and paper from the boy.

"Sir, aapne humein pehchaana?", Asked the boy.

Sidharth lifred his head and looked at the bunch of boys carefully.

"Aapne apni patni ke saath humare saath football khela tha. Humne aapko humare team ka cap bhi diya tha?", Said a boy.

"Oh!! Mujhe yaad hai..", said Sidharth with a smile.

"Oye, woh sir ki wife thode hi thi.. woh toh shayad unki girlfriend thi..", said another boy.

"Girlfriend ko ma'am kaun bulaata hai.. shayad unki boss hogi..", said another boy.

"Inki boss kaise hogi? Waise bhi kaunsa boss, stadium mein baitke full josh ke saath cheer karta hai?", Said another boy.

Sidharth looked at him in shock.

"Woh yaha aayi thi?", Asked Sidharth.

"Haan.. humaare saath hi baiti thi.. infact half time mein unhone hi "We want Agni" ka naara start kiya tha aur hum logo ne unka saath diya. Phir toh saara stadium hamare saath chilaane laga..", said the boy.

"Unhone start kiya? Par kyu?", Sidharth muttered.

Hmm.. of course Delhi Dinos ki sponsor hai, team ki jeet se unka hi fayda hoga..

"Sir, aaj toh bata dijiye woh aapki biwi thi ya girlfriend?", Asked another boy. Sidharth was in a dilemma of what to say.

"Sir sir, autograph", said another little boy.

"Aapka naam?", Asked Sidharth to avoid the conversation and waved at them as a sign asking them to leave.

"Aarav", said the boy.

"Nice name, Aarav.", Said Sidharth and signed an autograph.

"Ek aur autograph please..", said Aarav.

"Do do kisliye?",asked Sidharth.

"Ek mere liye aur dusra didi ke liye.", Said Aarav.

"Oh!! Achcha, aapke didi ka naam?", Asked Sidharth.

"Pata nahi.. woh mujhe yahi mili thi.. maine unka naam pucha nahi.. puchke aaun?", Aarav asked innocently making Sidharth smile.

"Nahi.. rehne do.. main general likh deta hoon.", Said Sidharth.

"Okay.", Nods Aarav.

'With lots of love
- Sidharth Agnihotri '

He signed an autograph and gave it to the boy.

"Thank you Sir. Yeh aapke liye. Didi ne diya hai.", Said the boy giving him the little bouquet and running away.

Sidharth smilingly nodded his head in disbelief. Soon he got few more people asking for autograph which he signed humbly. On his way to the dressing room, he looked at the bouquet. It looked similar to the one he had received 2 days back. He immediately halted in his way and took out the card attached.

Agni, kaisa laga tumhara naya naam? Kisi aur ne nahi maine hi tumhaara naamkaran kiya hai. Hope tumhe achcha laga hoga.. Tum toh sach much ke fire nikle..
-Shehnaaz

"Shehnaaz!!", He ran back to the stadium where he had met the little boy. His eyes scrutinized the whole place but he couldn't find the little boy anywhere. He looked at the girls moving out of the stadium cluelessly, thinking who among them could be his Lucky Mascot.

The mascot who brought luck with her for him on every stage. First when his wallet was empty, then to get into the team and today her mere presence brought him the chance to play and win.

He went back into the dressing room, when the team cheered him and the coach decided to throw the party for winning.

When the team arrived at the venue, Sidharth's memory came back flying. It was the same place where he had come earlier. The Delhi Dino Burger store, where he met Sana and came with her often to eat those burger.

"Kya khaaoge, Agni?", Asked the coach.

"Kuch nahi..", said Sidharth.

"Kyu?", Asked the coach.

"Mujhe yaha ki food pasand nahi hai, just like it's owner.", Said Sidharth.

"Don't say that.. these burgers are not as bad as Aryan Joshi. I love it as much as I hate Aryan Joshi.", Wishpered the coach.

"Aryan Joshi? Maine kab uska naam liya?", Asked Sidharth.

"Kyu? Didn't you say that you don't like the owner of this restaurant? Owner is equal to Aryan Joshi.", Said the coach.

"What? No.. iski owner toh Ms. Sana hai na?", Asked Sidharth.

"Sana? You mean Sana Joshi, Aryan's sister?", Asked Coach.

"I don't know her surname but shayad wohi hogi.. sister hai toh owner bhi hogi na?", Shrugged Sidharth.

"She isn't his real sister. She was adopted by Aryan's father, Mukesh Joshi when her father, who was working as a dino mascot, died of heart attack. Mukesh was my friend. Mukesh ne will nahi banaayi thi but woh chahta tha ki uska bungalow, Sana ko mile. Sadly after his death 5 years back, Aryan filed a law suit saying Sana wasn't a righteous heir of Mukesh's will. Sana ke pass case ladhne ke paise nahi the. Joshi ne Sana ko uski aukaat dikhaane ke liye apne Delhi Dino Burgers ke issi main restaurant mein mascot ki naukri diya.", Narrated the coach and went to buy burger for himself.

After hearing the story, Sidharth was confused as to why did Sana lie to him if she wasn't a owner. He went home still pondering about Sana's story.

Placing the flowers from Shehnaaz's bouquet into the vase, he kept the card into his wardrobe drawer. That's when he noticed the gift box given by Sana as a farewell gift. He hadn't worn the shirt gifted by her as he had left in anger. He opened the box again and read the letter.

His eyes noticed something which left him dumbfounded. He quickly pulled the two cards he had received from Shehnaaz with the bouquet, it was the same handwriting. He searched the drawer and pulled out the envelope which Shehnaaz had sent to his mother, it was the same handwriting again.

**Joshi ne Sana ko uski aukaat dikhaane ke liye apne Delhi Dino Burgers ke issi main restaurant mein mascot ki naukri diya.**

Sidharth remembered the coach's word and re-ran the whole story in his head.

**mahine ke 7000 rupaye tankha milegi, rehne ke liye jagah aur khaane ke liye khaana bhi dungi.. manzoor hai?**

**Main apna car kam use karti hoon.. kyuki mujhe doctor ne kaha hai ki walking karni chahiye. Abhi pura din busy rehti hoon toh walking ke liye fursat nahi milti toh isiliye main ghar se office aur office se ghar chalke jaati hoon**

**itna bada business chalati hoon na toh len-den waale karzdaar sab yahi ghoomte rehte hai.. isiliye peeche ke raaste se aati jaati hoon.. tum bhi yahi raasta use karna samjhe?**

**Aaa.. hmmm.. woh kuch din pehle sab chori ho gaya. Police mein complain kar rakha hai, dekhte hai kab milega.**

**Woh.. woh.. kuch din pehle hi mera aankhon ka operation hua hai toh main jyada roshni se durr rehti hoon. Sirf idhar ka ek light on hoga shaam dhalne ke baad. Kisi bhi aur lights ko haat mat lagaana. Samjhe?**

**Khao isse aur yeh dusra packet dopahar ke liye hai.. waapis ghar jao.. aur ghar ke bahaar ghoomna mat samjhe? Jo karna hai ghar ke andar hi karna thik hai?**

**Haan.. aaj kaam bahut zyada tha.. roz hoga.. tumhaare liye burger laayi hoon.. sorry, late ho gayi**

**Kal internet cafe jaake online apply kar lo marksheet copies ke liye.. yeh paise rakho**

**Aaj Friday hai bhool gaye? Tumhaare liye khaana hai. Woh tumhaare Lucky Mascot, Shehnaaz ne bheja hai**

**"Agle hafte se uske khaane ko miss karunga..", he said in a depressed tone. She looked at him silently who was lost eating the food.

"Aur mujhe?", She asked after a few minutes of silence.

"Huh? Kya?", He asked not able to connect with the question as she had taken quite a long gap to ask.

"Kuch nahi..", she nodded her head in denial with a faint smile.**

"Sana is Shehnaaz!! Sana hi meri Lucky Mascot hai. Woh jaanti thi mere pass naukri nahi hai, toh usne naukri di, rehne ko chhatt, bhook mitaane ke liye khaana diya, sardi mein khudh cardboard pe soke mujhe apna blanket diya, apni naukri gawaakar mujhe support kiya. Usne mujhe harr mode par support kiya. Aaj mein jis stage pe hoon, woh sab Sana ke wajah se hai. Warna main bina naukri ke aaj bhi bhatakta rehta. Par maine.. maine usse kya diya?"

**"Socho agar woh koi dhokhebaaz aur chalaak ladki nikli toh?", She asked.

"Woh bahut hi pure ladki hai. Maine bhale hi dekha nahi hai usse par main janta hoon ki woh bahut hi saaf aur nekh dil insaan hai. Aap apne aapko dekhiye. Kaise aapke pass itna paise hone ke bawajood aise bhikaari ke tarah cardboard pe letti ho, len-den walon se darr kar peeche ke raaste se aati jaati ho.. kya aap dhokha nahi de rahi apne karzdaaron ko? Aur ek Shehnaaz hai, jisne bina kisi motive ke meri maa ko paise bejh diye aur harr week mujhe khana bhi bhejti hai. Toh woh kaise dhokhebaaz nikli?", he spoke harshly to her in the fit of rage.

"Galat fehmi mein maine kuch ka kuch socha aur bahut kuch keh bhi diya. Aaj bhi mera madad karti hai woh.. Pata nahi kaha hai woh?", Muttered Sidharth speaking to himself.

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To be continued.. ❤️❤️