"No, of course not." Jasmine's cheeks were blushed.

"Then the answer is no. That attraction limited only to boys." Malathi said.

"Have you felt attraction like that towards any boy while you were studying your ninth class?"

Malathi's expression became tight. "No, I never have felt any attraction towards any guy either in my ninth class or at any other time either."

"Then were boys attracted towards you at that time?"

"You are asking too many questions on this day." adjusting herself for more comfort in the chair she sat, her mother said.

"Just curiosity. Nothing more than that."

"Alright." Malathi nodded her head. "It happened just like this to me at that time. Some guys tried to contact with me and I must say I also attracted towards some guys. But I learnt..." she tried to say something more.

"You just have said you were not attracted towards any guy." With a frown Jasmine asked her.

"I am sorry I said that in haste." Malathi felt irritation. She paused for a moment before continuing "It is just natural and there is no necessity to take that seriously. It is quite natural in the teenage and some years after that also to feel strong attraction towards opposite sex. But that should not be taken seriously. Our concentration and attention should always be on our studies."

Jasmine did not say anything and there was still confusion on her face.

"Don't break your head for this dear. Just do in the way I said. And Jasmine....." she paused for a moment before saying "You did a very good thing contacting me like this. Just continue it in the future also in the same way."

"Alright mom." Jasmine nodded her head.

"Never neglect your studies. Never fall prey yourself into false relationships. Never give a chance to anyone to take advantage of your friendship."

"How they can take advantage of my friendship?" there was once again confusion in Jasmine's face.

"They may try to touch you, kiss you... and ..." It was really indeed very much troubling to Malathi to explain all that to her daughter. But she knew how much important that she would tell all about it to her daughter then itself.

Jasmine's cheeks were blushed. "What you are talking? I just cannot understand."

"Just listen to me, I can make you understand." Then she told her what could happen between a girl and boy after they reached maturity and how it could be turned bad. "We cannot blame the boys either. It is just natural feeling like that and given a chance a bad thing like that may happen. It is quite important to know what type of change our body and mind undergo with age."

"I understood mom. You told me very important things on this day." With the same charming smile Jasmine said again.

"In fact every daughter should be told all these things by her mother or someone else at this age." Malathi felt fatigue after saying all that to her daughter.

"Did your mother tell you all these things to you then?" looking inquiringly into the eyes of her mother, Jasmine asked.

"Too many questions....too many questions." Malathi hugged and kissed her daughter.

***

"Don't do anything to that guy on this day. After coming to home, he has been just studying all the time." Sulochana said after Mrudanga Rao came to home. His son came home long before Mrudanga Rao closed the school and came home. It was surprising to him to hear like that from his wife. Until that moment she always pleaded with him not to beat the boy but never said that he was studying.

In fact he observed that his son coming out the class while in his free period, he followed him and observed him secretly. He saw his talking with that beautiful girl Jasmine there. There was no surprise that boys were showing interest like that on that girl. But it surprised him that Jasmine also was talking with him for a length of time. What that girl has talked with him he could not understand. He wanted to know about that once he reached the home, but after hearing what his wife has said he changed his decision. Whatever that Jasmine talked with his son, might be good. Otherwise, he suddenly would not show interest in his studies like this. If he questioned him anything more, he might stop studying.

"Alright, don't worry." Principal nodded his head. "Let him study. I don't want to interfere with him at all on this day."

Sulochana went away from that place.

***

"Mounika's parents went to a lawyer." Jasmine said to her mother.

"For what?" looking into the face of Jasmine, Malathi asked.

"They want to take divorce. I think I have said that to you." Taking a deep breath, Jasmine said.

The expression in the face of Malathi became serious. "Have they started legal proceedings to be separated from one another?"

"Yes, it is that." Jasmine nodded her head. "You have to do something mom" she said.

"But what I can do, dear?" Malathi was really feeling very bad.

"Mom," Jasmine paused for a moment and then said. "Have you forgotten? You promised me to help in this. We both are going to their home on the evening of this day."

"But what we can do by going to their home? I just don't know how I can be helpful in this."

"I don't know. We have to go there. After our going there, we may come across something useful through which we stop their taking divorce."

"Alright. We go there in the evening." Malathi did not want to argue with her daughter. She too just so desperately wanted to stop Mounika's parents from taking divorce but did not know what to do.

***

"I am very happy that you both have come to our home." Inviting cordially the mother and daughter into their home, Prameela said.

Jasmine and Malathi also greeted Prameela and sat in the chairs in the hall. "My daughter is very much curious to come here, so I have to come." Malathi said.

"No, it is not so. It is my mom who is so desperate to meet her new friend and made me to come here like this." Jasmine said.

"Alright, alright." Prameela laughed. "So you both are interested to come to my home."

Malathi was so carefully observing the face of Prameela to see if there was any difference in it. But it was so plain and her joy was appearing just natural. If she was going to take divorce from her husband, how still she could behave in such a way at all?

"My husband is so much interested in meeting your husband and talk with him. Both are the birds of same feather." Malathi said.

"But my husband is working in a private bank while your husband is working in a nationalized bank." Suddenly the smile and joy in Prameela's face was disappeared. The sudden change in her surprised Malathi.

"But a bank is a bank and the work in them would be almost usual." Malathi said.

"May be. I don't know." Prameela said.

"Where is Mounika?" Jasmine asked while looking around curiously.

"She went to grocery shop to take groceries." Prameela's voice was completely indifferent.

"At what time my brother comes to home? I want to see the husband of my new friend and talk with him." It has become very hard to Malathi to talk with Prameela while seeing her stone like expression so.

"I cannot say. His timings are never in the same way. He comes to home quite irregularly." Prameela said with a small voice. She was going to say something then Mounika entered into the home.

"Oh, what a surprise! I am really feeling very happy." Looking at Jasmine and her mother, Mounika said.

"I am also happy that we can manage to come to your home like this." helping Mounika keeping the groceries on the floor, Jasmine said.

"Mounika and Jasmine both you go into your room and talk there. Here we both elders are in some discussion." Prameela said.

Hearing that Mounika and Jasmine went into Mounika's room.

Malathi surprised on hearing like that from Prameela. Did she really want to talk something important to her?

"My husband and I are going to take divorce." After few seconds, with a small voice, Mounika's mother said.

"Am I hearing it right? What you are saying?" Malathi did not feel surprise for what she heard. But she felt surprise that Prameela shared that thing that straight with her.

"Yes, what you have heard is right. We both have strongly decided to take divorce. We went to a lawyer also." Breathing deeply, Prameela said.

"I don't like it even a little bit. It seems we have started at a very wrong moment to come here. I never have expected to hear news like this from you." Even she knew that, hearing it like that straight from her created distress in Malathi.

"But it is true." Prameela said. "I too don't like it much but it is inevitable. It would be a great relief to him and me also."

"How a divorce is going to be a relief to you both? If you both are not having any children it may be. But what about Mounika? How she is going to cope with this?"

"Mounika is going to stay with me." With firm voice Prameela said. "She will be alright in all respects with me."

"One thing is quite clear here." Malathi said. "Unless otherwise you feel closeness with me, you would not have shared this news like this with me."

"Quite intimate. I am feeling quite intimate with you, I don't know why. From scratch I have no brothers and sisters. You appeared like a sister to me. So I have said this to you." Looking into the face of Malathi, Prameela said.

"You are really feeling like that with me?" observing Prameela's face carefully, Malathi asked her.

"I never tell lies." There was the same firmness in Prameela's voice.

"Then I shall ask you a straight question."

(..........to be continued)

(I hope you enjoyed it so far. Please don't forget to rate and review it. I update the next chapter as early as possible.)