Abhishek was playing on his phone when the doorbell rang. "Abhay dekh kon hai" Bandana, who was reading a book, said. "Tu dekh, meri game chal rhi hai" He replied. "Bhai jaa na, me zaruri kaam kar rhi hu" She said as the doorbell rang again.

Abhishek huffed and opened the door. A girl in black jeans, white shirt and navy blue blazer was standing there, now staring at Abhishek. He cocked his eyebrow, "yes?" He asked. She blinked her eyes, "umm, Bandana yaha rehti hai?" She asked. "Aap kon?" He asked. "Swarali" She smiled.

"Bandana!! Koi Swarali hai" He shouted, Bandana came running and let Swarali in. She took a seat in front of the couch Bandana was sitting on, while Abhishek sat on the couch on Bandana's left.

"Really sorry, aapko meri wajah se jaldi wapas aana pada" Swarali said, Bandana smiled, "no worries. Aane ke lie boht boht shukriya. Bataye kese help kar sakti hu me aapki?" She asked.

"Mene suna hai yaha paranormal activity witness ki geyi hai, aur aapko iske bareme kaafi experience hai?" Swarali asked grabbing Abhishek's attention. "Ji, mene kaafi baar spirits ko dekha hai yaha par" She said.

Swarali hummed, "unhone aapko kabhi harm kia?" She asked. Bandana shook her head, "kabhi kucch nhi kia, lekin sirf mujhe hi dikhte hai. Ab bhooto ko dekhna kisko pasand hai bhala?" She said.

"I understand. Me paranormal activity pe research kar rhi hu, isi lie yaha aai hu. Ho sakta hai iss topic pe meri knowledge aapke kaam aa jaae" She smiled.

Sameeksha came from the kitchen with a glass of juice for Swarali. As she was walking to Swarali, she noticed how interested Abhishek was in what Swarali was saying. He was looking at Swarali without even blinking.

"Hi, I'm Sameesha. Bandana ki best friend" She introduced herself, Swarali smiled and did a hand shake. She finished the juice, Abhishek was still looking at her, and Sameeksha was staring at Abhishek.

Sameeksha took the empty glass, and that's when Abhishek's gaze moved from Swarali to Sameeksha. She went to the kitchen and through the window, she looked at Abhishek sitting in the living room. Why was he so interested in Swarali?

Ethan came back from gym, "yo" He gave Abhishek a high-five. He looked at Swarali and then at Bandana, "yeh Swarali hai, yaha ki paranormal activities pe hamari help aur research karne aai hai" Bandana explained. Ethan nodded, "I'm Ethan, me bi research karne aya u" He said. She smiled and nodded.

"Jao jaake nahaa lo" Bandana said as he was sweating a lot, he nodded and left. "Swarali ham ek kaam karte hai" Bandana said and stopped when someone held her shoulders from the back, making her freeze. "Banana milkshake bana do please?" Ethan said in her ear. She hummed.

Swarali smiled looking at them. "Cheers" He said and left. Bandana sighed, "k...kaha the ham?" She asked, "kaafi close lagte ho aap dono" Swarali commented. Bandana just smiled, she neither accepted it and nor did she deny.

*******

Bandana and Abhishek were discussing about their problem of seeing spirits. "Yeh Swarali ko laane ki kya zarurat thi?" Abhishek asked all of a sudden. "Kyu?" Bandana asked. "Me yaha teri help karne ke lie aaya tha. Tu uske bulake bethi hai. Me kar raha hu na? To kisi teesre ki kya zarurat?" He asked.

"Abhay mujhe laga usko meri help chahiye. Mujhe kya pata tha woh khud meri help karne ke lie raazi hogi" She explained. He shook his head and looked away.

"Can I come in?" Ethan asked standing at the entrance. "Come come" Abhishek said patting on the bed. Ethan sat next to him.

"So basically yeah...I want to start my project" Ethan said nervous, "finally!" Bandana said. "And my first step is to visit the Cellular Jail" He said. Bandana's face went pale withing two seconds. "Why there?" She asked, "well the British built it for Indian prisoners. I want to go there and see what exactly happened in the mid 19th century" He said.

Bandana shook her head, "nhi, tum waha nhi jaa rahe" She said. "But why?" He asked, "waha jaan ka khatra hai" She replied. "You'll be with me, right?" He asked. "Na me jaa rhi hu aur na tumhe jaane dungi" She said.

"Hey, please" Ethan said making a puppy face, Bandana was about to say something but sighed and looked away instead. "Waha khatra hai" She said. "Please?" He asked again. She sighed and finally nodded.

"Kal chalenge" She said.

*******

"Upar jaake sabka bistar lagaa de, me yeh bartan dhoke aati hu" Bandana instructed Sameeksha. She nodded and went to the terrace.

Abhishek was already placing pillows on matresses. She put the two fans on their respective places. They gave each other a look, Abhishek was about to speak when Grayson came.

Abhishek decided to keep quiet. "Edwin ko doodh pilaa dia?" Sameeksha asked Grayson, "yeah, he's sleeping" He replied. Abhishek rolled his eyes, why did Grayson and Sameeksha have to behave like a couple or like Edwin's parents?

"Kal ham dono Cellular Jail dekhne jaa rahe hai" Bandana said as she came on the terrace with Ethan, "Swarali saath me aa rhi hai" She said. "Me bhi saath aaunga" Abhishek said, "yaha logo ko ishq ladate dekhne se better hai waha mare hue logo ko dekhne chala jaau" He said in a low voice, looking at Sameeksha and Grayson.

"Me fan ke pass sounga" Manjot said coming and sitting on the mattress next to the fan on the right. "Ek aur aa gaya, sab ke sab Sameeksha ke peeche hi hai kya!?" Abhishek wondered.

*******

Welcome to the Firangi Gurukul swaraliparekar_5

Avneet Kaur as Swarali Pandey

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