After dinner, Shreya called Shreekant.

All these days, she only kept contact with him through messages. Her brother was unbelievably good at detecting her sadness. He would not voice out any concern, but she knew he'd be worried if he had listened to her voice over the past few weeks of her marriage.

"Shreya, how are you?" He did not sound as energetic as Shreya expected him to.

"Is everything okay?"

"Um, just exam tension. How are you?"

"I'm good."

"Are you home?"

"Yeah."

"I want to greet him... brother-in-law."

Shreya was confused. They did not even speak enough.

"Yeah? Okay... hold on."

Lakshya was sitting right beside her on the couch. The TV was on.

"My brother wants to talk to you." Shreya held out her phone.

Lakshya took the phone a little unsure. The person on the other side was just a little boy. Still, he felt awkward talking to her brother before her.

He walked around the house as he put the phone to his ear.

"Hello?"

"Hi. Can I call you Lakshya?"

Lakshya's face fell. He was glad he was out of Shreya's sight.

"No."

"Doesn't matter." Then Lakshya heard a pause and a groan before Shreekant continued. "Do you know what the most important thing is for Shreya? Being happy. She thinks too much though. If something is hard for you but easy for others, it feels so unfair, and that thing becomes the most important. Do you understand, Lakshya?"

Lakshya wanted to retort when he heard his name being called out by this boy.

"I am glad she is happy. Thanks."

Then he heard a choke.

"Hey, hey? Is everything okay?"

Lakshya had already waltzed into the balcony. So he was not worried Shreya would hear.

"Hey? You dump such vague words about your sister's happiness and then start crying? What is wrong with you?"

"Shhh!" Shreekant's panic was no joke.

"Shreya is not around. So tell me, what's going on?"

"I'm in the infirmary. I have an exam tomorrow morning. My books are not with me."

Lakshya softly shut the balcony door.

"If you need your books, ask your friends to get them to you!"

All Lakshya heard was silent sobbing.

"I don't know how to face you when we meet." A self deprecating chuckle followed.

"Why are you in the infirmary?"

A long pause later, Shreekant said, "That's not the point. Hehe. I guess I just wanted to cry out to someone. Don't tell Shreya."

The call ended. Lakshya wished he knew the password to Shreya's phone so he could call Shreekant back. He did calm down in the end, but what was that?

He went to Shreya. She took her phone and directly put it to her ear and said hello.

"He hung up."

She frowned. She had called after so many days and he did not even speak with her properly.

She unlocked her phone, giving away her lock pattern to Lakshya, and was about to dial Shreekant.

"He said he is busy with exams."

Shreya paused. That was another anomaly. Why tell Lakshya that?

Lakshya noticed her frown. "He said he could not call me before now because he didn't have my number. I said it's alright. Then he said, he wished he could talk for longer, but he had way too much to study for the exam. Why don't you call him in a week?"

Shreya still felt unsettled, but she put her phone down.

"Here, save that kid's number."

Shreya took Lakshya's phone as she muttered. "He is my brother."

Once Lakshya got the number, he said good night and returned to his room.

He had been keeping his door wide open purposefully, but he softly locked it this time.

He quickly called Shreekant. It was answered after some time.

"Who is it?"

"Your brother-in-law." Lakshya sounded a little aggressive.

"Lakshya."

"Hey! Leave it! How did you end up in the infirmary? Are you sick or did you get into a fight?"

"...fight."

"Good then. How many are in the infirmary with you?"

Shreekant laughed. "Three."

"If it was me, there would be five."

After some silence, Shreekant said, "Thank you."

"What about that silly exam?"

"I wish I could revise a little."

"Revise? That means you already studied?" Lakshya's face mirrored his disbelief. He had barely studied even the first time.

"Yeah, but I should revise."

"Hey! For someone studying in the top college, you're making me feel so special. I wrote my exams without studying even half of the syllabus and scored 90."

Shreekant laughed again.

"I'm glad Shreya chose you. Bet you made her laugh like this too."

Lakshya thought back to his first meeting with her. "Hm, I did." He smiled. He still did not know what made her laugh though. It was definitely not his jokes.

"Save my number. I don't want Shreya to be worried either."

The meaning was clear.

"Thanks."

"Good luck on that silly exam."

"Yeah."

Lakshya ended the call.

∼•∽

A few latitudes up north, a boy sat in the dark. His phone illuminated again. This time, it was not a family member.

A friend. If he could count her as one.

'Where are you? Please, tell me. I just got your books from your dorm.'

Another message popped. 'Please.'

He hated her guts.

'INF 021,' he replied.

∼•∽

When Dhriti came with a bag full of 2 sets of books, she was panting.

She took a moment to calm down and knocked on the door before opening it.

"Leave the books and get back."

Dhriti was riled up.

"What did I do? Why are you angry with me?"

Shreekant did not look at her. He was just worried for her. He did not have a single friend in the male dorm. Dhriti would be the one to fetch his things whenever he ended up in the infirmary.

He was genuinely worried. Their dislike towards him will inevitably be casted on her as well. The only thing that was keeping her safe from being beaten up by the guys is probably the fact that she was a girl. But he himself would not back out because of gender. He would throw punches at body parts that are anatomically the same. Was he too vulgar?

He would not have to do that unless some girl decided to come up to him and say what the guys in the room next to him said: Don't go to Shreekant if you have a cold.

Dhriti handed him a Frooti pack and opened a packet of chips.

"No one would believe you are studying medicine."

"By your logic, I should fight you now, right?"

"For how dumb you are, you will probably hit a bone and cry out in pain."

Dhriti held up her fist. "I can try and prove you wrong, but I am a kind person." She put her hand down.

After they snacked, she finally turned on the light.

"Forget sleep. Teach me so that I am not in the bottom ten."

Then began their study session. It was the same, more or less, as the last month. Shkeekant looked through his notes and scanned his textbook to make sure he did not miss any point. Dhruti flipped to one diagram after the other.

"If I can get one essay right, no, the diagram on that essay right, I will not be in the bottom ten, right?"

"Yeah." He affirmed. Essays, he had asked to prepare on her own. Other concepts he would explain to her and she could write out whatever he remembered. That meant he had to explain each concept to her at least five times to get it in her head.

In a few minutes he was done modifying his notes. With that he was sure he could get a perfect score. Then, he put his notes in Dhriti's hands and slowly, with so much patience, he taught her everything from the basics. If he showed even a tenth of this patience outside studies, he definitely could have avoided almost all the fights he had gotten into.

They two stayed up studying until 3 in the morning when Dhriti was utterly exhausted.

Shreekant wanted to hit her head. They had yet to complete three quarters.

"Enough. I have never studied this much, this well." She started packing her stuff.

"You said it."

"Yeah, it's not like I will blame you for my bad marks. How are your injuries?"

"Not that bad, really."

"You cried before I came, didn't you?"

Shreekant stared at her dead in the eye.

"I won't tell anyone! I am just asking!"

"I didn't."

"Your eyes were red."

"Do you know how many reasons there are for red eyes? No wonder." He continued, "Your comprehension skills... justify your marks."

Dhriti had no comeback. She could only pout.

They received their grades soon the next day, she was placed seventh... from the last.

She was so angry, she stomped right into the infirmary room and bent looming over Shreekant who looked up with a bite of an apple in his mouth.

"Why are there only six people after me? You said there would be ten!"

Who said she would not blame him? He continued eating his apple.

∼•∽

It was Sunday.

After a late breakfast, Lakshya was on his stomach on the bed with an open manga. His eyes were slit as he tried to take in the gruesome drawings. He had one month left. He wasn't even half way through.

Shreya was getting ready for a date with Neha.

Lakshya shut the book.

He walked into Shreya's room and sat on the bed facing the dresser.

"Shreya."

Shreya looked up and saw his face in the mirror. He was sporting a small indiscernible pout.

"Yeah?"

"Your manga." He put the book on the bed.

"Okay."

"I didn't finish it."

Shreya nodded.

He thought she would at least remember the bet.

"You win."

"Yeah."

So she remembered. But her responses were off. They were too noncommittal.

"Is everything okay?"

Without a pause, she said, "Yeah."

"So what do you want me to do? I said I would do anything."

"Buy another ice cream when you come back from work next week."

Lakshya stared at her through the mirror in silence. She was slowly brushing her hair. When he took the manga, when he made the bet, his intention was in one hope. A hope he hid deep in his heart.

He hoped they could resolve past things.

He wanted to know where she stood about all of that before he apologised.

Knowing her for the past few months, he did not have high hopes though, especially since she did not seem to know how to get upset with him. But like she had asked a couple of times, she could ask him again to break up. Half of his thoughts did not make much sense to himself.

But her response felt unbelievable.

"I said I would do anything you say."

Shreya was almost done getting ready. She did not understand what he was saying. She turned around, smiled and said, "Then... Do you want to go out together someday?"

"If I had won, I'd have told you to go hungry for a week." He stood up and left the room.

Lakshya waited with no expression on his face. He held his bike keys and their house keys. When Shreya told him about her girl date, he said he would drop her at their meeting place, an anime con. Utpal had messaged in their friend's group about the upcoming convention and a couple of scores they could perform. But neither Lakshya nor Deepak responded. After a day's wait, Utpal messaged him personally. Lakshya was not going to reply, yet he opened the chat to let him know this was on purpose. Utpal deliberately invited Moksha. Lakshya had told him that he was bringing Shreya. The underlying message was not to talk too much. If he is going to be such a dimwit, Lakshya might have to just drop him.

Shreya movements slowed down. She really did not understand why he would say such a thing. They had been getting along so well recently.

Or was it all in her head? Perhaps nothing changed? She hoped not. In fact, she felt so happy for so long, that it felt undeserving. That feeling was especially strong that day.

As they walked to his bike, she reached out for his hand.

When she felt his warmth though, he snatched his hand away. The way he looked at her made it clear that he did not like it.

Shreya looked down quickly.

"What? Did your plans change? If not, get on!"

He rolled the throttle and the rattle was loud.

Shreya's breaths became quick and she shortened them not to show any change. She carefully climbed on and held the metal rods at the back.

Lakshya did not stay for another second after dropping her off.

He revved up his motorcycle and reached Deepak's home. Deepak's mother was pleasantly surprised. She had come to his wedding.

After some small talk, Deepak came into the living room.

"Aunty, can we go out?"

Those were the words she had been hearing for 20 years now. She shook her head. In fact, she knew how unruly this boy was. So seeing him act so sincere and innocent always amused her. He had a special place in her heart. She was grateful that he remained a good friend to her son through all the difficult times, especially since her son was autistic.

When the boys were young, Deepak was just... slow. Doctors called it autism, but slow was the only word that made sense to her. Not many wanted to play with him. But Lucky was an exception.

"Of course you can go," she said with a chuckle.

Just as the friends left, she said, "Lucky, next time bring your wife over."

Lakshya nodded, "Okay, aunty."

On their way out, they ran into Deepak's father. "Lucky!"

"Good morning, uncle!" He hugged the old man, who then gave them each a chocolate that seemed to be just purchased.

After he left, Lakshya smirked and said, "It's like old times. I still feel jealous that you get to eat chocolate without having to ask."

"I shared it with you every time."

Lakshya teared open the chocolate. It was true. His love for chocolate was fueled by Deepak. He was way too anxious when they were children and chocolate was his escape. His parents could not say no.

"Does it really help?" Lakshya asked, full of scepticism. Back then he thought Deepak was just saying things to receive more chocolate. He had stopped asking a long time ago.

"It does."

"How are you really doing?"

"Everything is good. It's slowly becoming better. It's already so much better that no one can tell anything."

"Good then. This time you really are getting chocolate for no reason."

They then decided on a place and each took his own vehicle. Although Lakshya was upset about a particular thing, unlike every other time, he did not bring it up. Shreya was on his mind somewhere beneath the surface as he chatted with Deepak watching him hit the cue ball on the green table.

∼•∽

In the evening, Lakshya was once again with the manga. His thoughts were elsewhere though.

He heard the door unlock a little past 7. He clenched his jaw.

"I told you to let me pick you up if I dropped you."

Shreya smiled uneasily and looked away.

He just could not stand it. She was saying she was sorry.

Lakshya threw the book aside and walked up to her. Her hair was in his way. With a shaky hope, he moved it away. Staring into her eyes, he had one question for her.

"Are you angry with me?"

Her eyes widened.

Shreya was shocked. She was not. She was confused about what she did that he started being mean, but angry? She was maybe a little sad, that was all.

She quickly shook her head. She wanted to bring his hand down from her hair and hold it and reassure him. At the same time, she did not want to risk being exposed to any more of his rude words. She did not touch him.

"Shall I cook tomatoes without any onions?"

His reaction made it clear that her words somehow had the opposite effect of what she intended.

Lakshya was so mad for a moment his brain stopped completely. If you were in my position, what would you do, he then thought.

Then he smiled at her.

When Shreya saw his face, a thought possessed into her head. He looked like Kageyama, who could not smile but tried to, the result of which is a classic moment of hilariousness.

She smiled back, stifling her laughter.

"Is this funny?"

Shreya stopped smiling at his tone.

Lakshya could not bear it anymore. She was making every effort to push his anger through the roof. He almost wanted to hit her, punch her in the face.

He walked away with a clenched jaw.

As if to spoil his mood further, his sister called to inform of an upcoming trip to Tirupati, a few hundred kilometres away, with the whole family.

"We're not coming!"

"Are you out of your mind? Shut your mouth and tell me when you both can get a week off."

Lakshya's chest rose and fell. In the end, he handed his phone to Shreya and went inside his room and banged the door.

The loud noise startled Shreya.

"Lucky!"

"Hello... It's me, Shreya," Shreya spoke softly to the angry voice.

Lata's tone changed like a switch. "Shreya? How are you?" One could imagine a smile on her face from her tone.

"I am well. How are you?"

After some small talk, Lata explained the trip plan. It had to be five days in the next fortnight. She assured Shreya that Lakshya could get a leave anytime without much problem. But she did not know much about Shreya's work, so when they would go was primarily dependent on Shreya's leave.

Shreya quickly counted her period. She had to pick the very next week.

"I will call you in a few minutes."

"Okay."

∼•∽

A/N:
Shreekant is the most complex character. Writing him is no less than balancing on a double edged sword. Most of my psychology research if actually going into him, not Shrey. There is no comparison between the siblings' suffering, however.