It began with Jassi sneezing three times in a row in the practice session when he had gone to fetch his pad and helmet from the pile of equipment (yes, Virat had insisted that the tailenders needed to learn to block).

Of course, he panicked straightaway and looked around frantically if he'd been 6 feet away from all his teammates. Much to his relief, he was.

He was debating whether to shout and ask Virat bhaiya what he should do when another fit of sneezes came, so violent that he had to kneel down for a while.

And that, of course, decided it. He needed to quarantine himself immediately.

"VIRAT BHAIYA!" Jassi shouted down the field.

"WHAT?" asked Virat.

"I'M NOT FEELING WELL, I'M GOING BACK TO MY ROOM!"

His voice cracked at the last word, and that made him even more terrified.

He was starting to have all the symptoms, and he had definitely come in contact with the whole team since morning.

Concern flashed over Virat's face. He started running in Jassi's direction, asking, "Will I take you upstairs—"

"No, no, don't" said Jassi hastily, and he turned tail and fled before Virat bhaiya could come any closer.

He paused on the way to grab a mask, fixed it on his face and did not stop till he reached his room, praying and praying that even if he had got COVID, none of the others had caught it from him.

*********

Virat stared after Jassi in astonishment, wondering why he had run, but Shami trudged up to him, complaining that they were insulting his blocking when he was quite a good batsman, and couldn't Virat stop them?

"Sure," sighed Virat, catching sight of Mayank and Rahul's girns. "Rahuliya, Mayu, are you insulting Shami's blocking?"

"He insulted my bowling action," said Mayank innocently.

"Shami, did you—wait—" Virat turned to Mayank. "You have a bowling action?" he demanded.

Mayank expressed outrage at Virat's question, and amidst the circus, Virat made a mental note to go and visit Jassi's room as soon as the practice session ended.

**********

When the team trooped into the hotel, tired (and the bowler, disgruntled) after the practice session, one of the support staff casually told them that Jassi was running a high fever, and had been shifted to the adjacent wing.

"Why'd they shift him?" asked Virat, even more astnoished.

"Because," said Rahul. "That's the obvious rule."

They started for the room they were sharing (Mayank was with Aashita, of course, and Anushka wasn't there).

"What?" said Virat. "Shift someone because they have a fever?"

"Virat!" said Rahul, exasperated. "Obviously they have to isolate him if he has got any symptom at all of COVID, that's why wwe're being quarantined in the hotel, remember?"

Virat gaped.

"JASSI HASN'T GOT COVID!"

"I hope he hasn't, too."

"Hope? Hope! He hasn't got COVID!" said Virat.

"I'm sure they're making him take a test, so we'' get to know in a couple of days," said Rahul patiently.

"TEST?"

"VIRAT!" cried Rahul, wishing he wouldn't shout in his ears, and also that he would stop being so pigheaded. "It's hardly a big deal, Mandy was tested before the IPL, too, and so were some of the others—and Deepak actually caught it and recovered swiftly, stop freaking!"

"So he'sgoing to have to live alone in the left wing for two days, does he?" saod Virat dangerously, evidently hoping to bully Rahul into denying.

"Yes," said Rahul. "That's what quarantine means."

"I don't care about any quarantine! I'm going to his room right now."

Rahul blocked the door, glaring at him.

"You try it and I'll lock you in, too."

Virat subsided, muttering furiously, taking up his phone.

"I'll prove Jassi hasn't got COVID, then."

"Do," said Rahul, relieved to see him sitting down at least. "I'm going to take a bath." But before that he went off to see if Jinks would mind keeping Virat guard for half an hour.

**********

Virat was armed with a long list, and when he stood up, he did a double take on spotting Jinks squatted at the door.

"When did you come?" he asked.

"Around 20 minutes ago," said Jinks, grinning, "You were too busy to notice me."

"Sorry, but yes, I was too busy," said Virat importantly. "I have a visit to make."

"Um," said Jinks. "To whom?"

"Jassi."

Damn, Jinks had been hoping he'd forgotten all about that.

"You can't do that, Vi."

"I must talk to him," said Virat. "I simply must."

"Then call him."

"I want to hear his voice—live," pleaded Virat.

Jinks rolled his eyes.

"Ok, then, come with me," he said finally.

***********

Jinks had come up with the best compromise to keep Virat happy and also keep him away from Jassi.

So they were standing in the garden directly below Jassi's room on the third floor.

"JASSI!" hollered Virat.

Jassi, who had been lying huddled on the bed, feeling awful feverish by now, almost fell down in shock. Then he dragged himself to the window and peered down.

"What?" he called back, a lot softer than Virat, because he was having hallucinations of a throatache, too.

Of course, Virat felt even more concerned to hear his subdued voice, but he was not to be deterred. He had come to prove a point, and he would not go away without doing so.

"JASSI, CAN YOU SMELL?"

"Wh-what?"

"CAN YOU SMELL? SMELL THAT PLANT AT YOUR WINDOW, CAN YOU SMELL IT?"

Jassi, quite certain now that Virat bhaiya had caught a stroke of the sun, and yet being sort of hardwired to do whatever Virat bhaiya asked him, sniffed at the potted plant.

It had a pleasant kind of smell. Is that why Virat bhaiya asked him to smell it? he wondered.

"DO YOU GET ANY SMELL?" shouted Virat impatiently.

"Yes," said Jassi timidly. "It's nice."

"HAH!" said Virat triumphantly.

He glanced down at symptom number 2 of his list.

"DO YOU HAVE A DRY CO—"

"What on earth are you doing, Virat?" yelled Ash from somewhere above Jassi's floor, peering down.

"I'm going to prove Jassi has not contracted COVID-19," said Virat with utmost dignity.

Ash caught a look in Jinks' eyes—a mixture of resignation and amusement—and wisely retreated with a 'good luck.'

Now Jassi had finally caught on to Virat bhaiya's motive, and he did not know what to think. Someone had come up hours ago and taken a weird test, and had assured of the result within tomorrow. He wondered if he should mention this to Virat bhaiya but—

"HAVE YOU GOT A DRY COUGH?"

"No, only a sneeze," said Jassi.

"HAH! HAH!"

It went on for a while, Virat cross checking all the symptoms in his list. Whenever it turned out a symptom did match—like fever or weakness—Jassi could see Virat bhaiya scowling deeply all the way from the garden. Whenever a symptom could be ruled out, Virat bhaiya's 'HAH's and 'HO's kept making the entire hotel jump out of its skin.

Finally when the list was exhausted, Virat stated, I'll do a bit of research and get back to you, Jass—and you haven't got COVID."

"Thanks," Jassi felt compelled to say.

Jinks led Virat back to his room, sending Jassi a sympathetic wave.

**********

Rahul would have liked to get a bit of sleep in the evening, but Virat bent over his 'research' with utmost concentration kept him awake with trepidation. Goodness knew when he'd take it upon himself to visit Jassi to tell him his diagnosis himself.

"All my research says he hasn't got the novel SARS CoV-2, Rahuliya," said Virat loudly, moments after he had dropped off.

"Great, tell him tomorrow."

But no, Virat would not wait till tomorrow, so Rahul dragged himself out of the comfort of his bed and had to accompany Virat to the garden again.

"JASSI—" he began.

Now the physio appeared at a window, at the end of his tether.

"He is sleeping," he told Virat threateningly. "And he needs to rest. Kindly do not wake him up, captain."

"Oh," said Virat, immediately guilty. "Sorry, sorry." He turned back to Rahul. "Let's go back."

"Gladly."

**********

The report from the clinic came early next morning and Virat was the first one to be informed, keeping in mind facts like the peace and quiet of the hotel, and it was negative.

"I knew it," said Virat in an obvious tone to Yuzi, who had brought the news. "I had already diagnosed him yesterday."

"Very good," said Yuzi smoothly. "Maybe you can open a clinic after your cricket career ends."

He darted away before Virat bhaiya could reply.

Now that Jassi had been confirmed negative, Virat made his way to Jassi's room at a run, and Rahul did not waste his time trying to stop him.

He opened the door softly, and was glad he'd done so, because Jassi was sleeping, cover in layers of blankets.

Virat went and sat at the edge of the bed and felt Jassi's forehead. It was hotter than it should be, but not burning, so the fever must have broken.

Jassi opened his eyes slightly and flew into a frenzy seeing Virat bhaiya.

"YOU WEREN'T SUPPOSED TO COME HERE!" he shouted, terrified.

"You're negative," said Virat placatingly. "Don't worry—"

Jassi shot away from Virat bhaiya as far as he could get, obviously thinking that it had been Virat bhaiya's personal diagnosis.

"You're so—stupid, Virat bhaiya," cried Jassi, somewhere inside, awed at his own daring, but he couldn't help saying it.

Virat smiled, suddenly feeling even more fond of Jass than he usually did.

"The test result came from the clinic," he said, holding out the papers. "Look."

Jassi stretched out an arm and took them and studied them, and heaved a great sigh of relief.

"I thought..." he muttered, thinking that Virat bhaiya deserved an apology from being called stupid.

"I know," said Virat,still smiling. "Come on, go to sleep again...I shouldn't have woken you up."

Jassi actually felt tired enough to obey that at once, and he promptly lay down again. Virat covered him with the blankets and stroked his forehead till he fell asleep, and afterward, kept sitting beside him, feeling quite darned triumphant.

Hadn't he told the others right from the start that Jassi hadn't got COVID?