We are a team called The Spellbinders, a team of 10 members who have joined together to write a story for the Blogadda challenge “Game of Blogs”.
The story so far :
Chapter 12
Cyrus entered his father’s house a little agitated. “Beer,” he said to the ever watchful servant and went into his room. The little interrogation session with DCP Malik had left him a little flustered. Being a law student, Cyrus was well versed with the nuances of questioning a suspect but this was his first taste of being the suspect. “Who the hell was Malik to question his whereabouts or the woman with him on the night of the murder at the warehouse” he thought. He cursed Malik & knew that it wasn’t the last of him he would see.
Just as the can of beer started hitting all the right spots, he retrieved his sleek & shiny Macbook Air from its leather carrybag, opened the Safari browser & logged in to his blog www.devilsadvocate.ddtn.com. His blog had always been his escape route from his daily routine & also a solution to his anger management. In addition to being a law student, Cyrus was an amateur photographer. These days anyone with a DSLR called themselves a photographer but Cyrus did much more than that. He knew he was pretty good at it too. Being the son of the head honcho of DDTN had its perks even if he hated his father. His photoblog was widely promoted by DDTN website. He began uploading the pictures of the Elephant Parade held in Jaipur a few weeks ago, the same festival where he had met Tara & Roohi. He described each picture be it the resplendent elephants with the head-plates & anklets, the mahouts seated on the enormous creatures resembling a high throne, the expressions of little kids on seeing the tuskers hurl water at them through their trunks & the various stalls serving everything from food to jewellery to antique armours & knives.
Within half an hour of the post going live, Cyrus’s iPhone began to ring. He looked at the caller ID & smiled. It was his close friend Aryan whom he hadn’t met in more than a year.
Cyrus said, “Hello”
Aryan replied, “Hello Cyrus, the virus. Long time buddy. You have no time to meet old friends but you have all the time in the world to visit Jaipur?”
Cyrus laughed. This was a long standing complaint Aryan had. Sometimes Cyrus needed his blog more than people. He said,“So you saw my blog, how are the pictures?”
Aryan said, “You know I don’t give a damn about your pictures, especially when you upload pictures of bloody elephants! So who was the girl?”
Cyrus blushed. He was thankful Aryan could not see him. He said, “What girl!?”
Aryan said “ The girl for whom you went to Jaipur, please don’t tell me you actually went for the elephants!”
Cyrus – “There was no girl in Jaipur Aryan & yes, I did go for the elephants.”
Aryan said, now teasing openly, “ Your taste has deteriorated. You chose elephants over girls.
Cyrus said, “Oh come on dude. The trip was worth it. Grand sight.”
Aryan said, “I can see that. Saw a photo of that news woman and a little girl too. You met her? Lucky dog. I am a huge fan of hers.”
Cyrus said, “Oh that is Tara Madam. I met her or rather her little girl over there.” He paused and added, “Aryan, can I catch up with you later, I have to go now.”
“Where?” Aryan asked.
“Got a date buddy,” Cyrus said.
Aryan groaned. “Cy, who is this girl? You have a really bad taste in women.”
Cyrus said, “No I don’t.”
Aryan laughed, “Remember that girl in our school? Pakhi? She threatened to jump off Lovers Point in Mussouri if you did not marry her.”
“She was a kid, Aryan. And that was a long time ago,” Cyrus said, opening another can of beer.
“The Polish woman with whom you hooked up in Goa? She robbed you of all your things, even your underpants. I had to rush to Goa with money for the hotel room and some clothes.”
“Aryan, that was just a mistake. Got to go now, bye,” Cyrus said disconnecting the phone.
………………………………………………………………………………………
Cyrus adjusted vase on the table & looked at Jennifer through the V made by the 2 roses in it. She was not the most beautiful woman in the world but she was both alluring & radiant. She looked quite spectacular right now compared to their first meeting in Kochi thought Cyrus to himself & chuckled. They were seated at the famous Oberoi International in Nariman Point, Mumbai. The section they were seated in was called ZIYA. The amber colored hue emanating from the overhead lamps cast a romantic glow on their table which was placed next to ornate French windows through which they could see Mumbai’s night scape.The conversation was friendly. They knew they were at a stage where they wanted to spend more & more time with each other. Jennifer for some reason was shy & spoke without making any eye contact with him
Jennifer – “Cyrus, I wanted to tell you something”
“Oh Bloody crap!” said Cyrus, his eyes on a young man approaching their table with a wide grin. He was around 5’8’’, curly hair, dressed well in blue jeans & maroon khadi shirt & sandals. He wore stylish frameless spectacles & had a mischievous look about him.
“Hey Cyrus, dude what a co-incidence bumping into you here!” Aryan said with a wide grin & wink at Jennifer.
“Yes a co-incidence indeed!” said Cyrus sarcastically. “How did you know I would be at this hotel?”
“Rang up the house half an hour back. Your servants trust me more than you do, pal.” He added, “Arent you gonna introduce me to your friend?”
Cyrus winced. With friends like these who needs enemies. But he knew Aryan was his close friend. He saw Jennifer grinning from ear to ear not just because of the fact that Cyrus seemed so awkward but also because of the free spirit that Aryan was.
“Jennifer meet Aryan, Aryan Ahuja. My childhood fiend, I mean friend” said Cyrus
“Oh so this is the beautiful girl you were going ga ga about on the phone!” Aryan said, extending his hand forward which Jennifer accepted blushing. “You’ve made quite an impression on my mate.”
By now Cyrus’s face resembled a tomato. “Don’t mind my friend, Jenny. He sounds like a flake, but he is respectable. You know, he has already authored a book on Psychology called Mind Freaks & gives guest lecturers all over the country” said Cyrus looking at Jennifer.
Cyrus said, “Hello”
Aryan replied, “Hello Cyrus, the virus. Long time buddy. You have no time to meet old friends but you have all the time in the world to visit Jaipur?”
Cyrus laughed. This was a long standing complaint Aryan had. Sometimes Cyrus needed his blog more than people. He said,“So you saw my blog, how are the pictures?”
Aryan said, “You know I don’t give a damn about your pictures, especially when you upload pictures of bloody elephants! So who was the girl?”
Cyrus blushed. He was thankful Aryan could not see him. He said, “What girl!?”
Aryan said “ The girl for whom you went to Jaipur, please don’t tell me you actually went for the elephants!”
Cyrus – “There was no girl in Jaipur Aryan & yes, I did go for the elephants.”
Aryan said, now teasing openly, “ Your taste has deteriorated. You chose elephants over girls.
Cyrus said, “Oh come on dude. The trip was worth it. Grand sight.”
Aryan said, “I can see that. Saw a photo of that news woman and a little girl too. You met her? Lucky dog. I am a huge fan of hers.”
Cyrus said, “Oh that is Tara Madam. I met her or rather her little girl over there.” He paused and added, “Aryan, can I catch up with you later, I have to go now.”
“Where?” Aryan asked.
“Got a date buddy,” Cyrus said.
Aryan groaned. “Cy, who is this girl? You have a really bad taste in women.”
Cyrus said, “No I don’t.”
Aryan laughed, “Remember that girl in our school? Pakhi? She threatened to jump off Lovers Point in Mussouri if you did not marry her.”
“She was a kid, Aryan. And that was a long time ago,” Cyrus said, opening another can of beer.
“The Polish woman with whom you hooked up in Goa? She robbed you of all your things, even your underpants. I had to rush to Goa with money for the hotel room and some clothes.”
“Aryan, that was just a mistake. Got to go now, bye,” Cyrus said disconnecting the phone.
………………………………………………………………………………………
Cyrus adjusted vase on the table & looked at Jennifer through the V made by the 2 roses in it. She was not the most beautiful woman in the world but she was both alluring & radiant. She looked quite spectacular right now compared to their first meeting in Kochi thought Cyrus to himself & chuckled. They were seated at the famous Oberoi International in Nariman Point, Mumbai. The section they were seated in was called ZIYA. The amber colored hue emanating from the overhead lamps cast a romantic glow on their table which was placed next to ornate French windows through which they could see Mumbai’s night scape.The conversation was friendly. They knew they were at a stage where they wanted to spend more & more time with each other. Jennifer for some reason was shy & spoke without making any eye contact with him
Jennifer – “Cyrus, I wanted to tell you something”
“Oh Bloody crap!” said Cyrus, his eyes on a young man approaching their table with a wide grin. He was around 5’8’’, curly hair, dressed well in blue jeans & maroon khadi shirt & sandals. He wore stylish frameless spectacles & had a mischievous look about him.
“Hey Cyrus, dude what a co-incidence bumping into you here!” Aryan said with a wide grin & wink at Jennifer.
“Yes a co-incidence indeed!” said Cyrus sarcastically. “How did you know I would be at this hotel?”
“Rang up the house half an hour back. Your servants trust me more than you do, pal.” He added, “Arent you gonna introduce me to your friend?”
Cyrus winced. With friends like these who needs enemies. But he knew Aryan was his close friend. He saw Jennifer grinning from ear to ear not just because of the fact that Cyrus seemed so awkward but also because of the free spirit that Aryan was.
“Jennifer meet Aryan, Aryan Ahuja. My childhood fiend, I mean friend” said Cyrus
“Oh so this is the beautiful girl you were going ga ga about on the phone!” Aryan said, extending his hand forward which Jennifer accepted blushing. “You’ve made quite an impression on my mate.”
By now Cyrus’s face resembled a tomato. “Don’t mind my friend, Jenny. He sounds like a flake, but he is respectable. You know, he has already authored a book on Psychology called Mind Freaks & gives guest lecturers all over the country” said Cyrus looking at Jennifer.
Jennifer froze! It seemed as if someone had drained the blood out of her system. Her face turned ashen & she looked as if she would be sick any moment. Both Cyrus & Aryan looked at her worried. She excused herself & went to the rest room.
Cyrus said, “You scared my date, dude!”
“Rubbish,” said Aryan. “I did not. She must have gone to touch up her lipstick or do her hair.”
They waited for fifteen minutes. When she did not join them, Cyrus got really angry. “Its all your fault, Aryan. You gate crashed my date & upset her. I had specifically told you not to play the fool” he said, getting up.
“I’m sorry Cyrus, I just wanted to have a little fun, I don’t know what I did to make her so upset” said a genuinely sorry Aryan.
Cyrus said, “You scared my date, dude!”
“Rubbish,” said Aryan. “I did not. She must have gone to touch up her lipstick or do her hair.”
They waited for fifteen minutes. When she did not join them, Cyrus got really angry. “Its all your fault, Aryan. You gate crashed my date & upset her. I had specifically told you not to play the fool” he said, getting up.
“I’m sorry Cyrus, I just wanted to have a little fun, I don’t know what I did to make her so upset” said a genuinely sorry Aryan.
“What sorry, you have always been this way. Everything is a joke to you. Stop playing your psychology games with me! You are a backstabber!!!Trust me, if she comes back still being upset, Ill kill you, I’LL BLOODY KILL YOU, you got that?” screamed Cyrus brushing away the apology, walking off from the table in rage, making his way to the bar. The conversations at the other tables stopped for a moment. The waiters & guests stared at the two of them.
Aryan went outside into the hotel lawns to smoke a cigarette and let his hot headed friend cool down. Perhaps the girl would be back by then.
Twenty minutes later, one of the security guards at the hotel found Aryan in a pool of blood with a knife protruding from his back. Next to him was a newspaper article of the little girl who was stabbed to death at the warehouse a few days back. The security guard called for backup when he realised he could still feel Aryan’s pulse.
Twenty minutes later, one of the security guards at the hotel found Aryan in a pool of blood with a knife protruding from his back. Next to him was a newspaper article of the little girl who was stabbed to death at the warehouse a few days back. The security guard called for backup when he realised he could still feel Aryan’s pulse.
You can read the next chapter here – Chapter 13 – Breaking Bad by Ankita Singhal
TEAM MEMBERS – Ritu Lalit, Farida Rizwan, Sunita Rajwade, Bhavya Nandakumar, Ankita Singhal, Bushra M, Kunal Borah, Ankit Mahato, Deepa Dutta & Ryan Fernandes
To know more about all the Authors of this story & for suggestions , Join us here
Me and my team are participating in ‘Game Of Blogs’ at BlogAdda.com. #CelebrateBlogging with us
The conversation between Cyrus and Aryan is so amusing and delightful! And then it took a spin and ended at a terrific note. Great job there 🙂
Thanks Ankita….All credit to the team! #TheSpellbinders
Yes! We bloody well nailed it! Go team go!
When the team has a good captain, half the job is already done Ritu ma’am 🙂