" There are meeting room conducts and there is something called basic etiquette."

The sharp demanding yet melodious voice broke my trance. I shook my head to get rid of the intrusive thoughts ( only for the moment).

" I was preoccupied I am sorry for barging in just like that." I point my thumb backward at the door.

" You should be." She says formally as she points at a chair at the farthest corner of the long table.

" Have a seat and we would start the inquisition in a few moments." She further adds and goes back to talking with another man seated on her right who I did not notice before. Not that it a shock, of course, he was going be to shadow in front of her.

I used the given sweet time to just look at her. The perfect jet black hair bouncing as she moves her neck. Her face is round, with big doe eyes that like pools of honey and chocolate. The blazer is stretched across her slender shoulders but oozing pure confidence.

The thing that gave me the perfect knockout was the glasses, those damn glasses. I have no shame in admitting that I always have a thing for glasses, not any particular shape or color just glasses but now I do know what my favorite is. The conventional rectangle-shaped, black framed glass.The best.

She arranges them sporadically and scrunches her nose as she does that.

I see no aspect of her that can be unbecoming. Her sharp tongue, voice, and those glasses clad eyes. I do not mind the case at all. Anything at all.

" Shall me Mr. Malhotra?" The shadow speaks now. I am not enjoying his presence or his voice here.

" Yes, we shall." I straighten my back and clear my throat.

" I am Rana Setupati and I am handling the case as assisted by the board. I would like to inform you that, my side is a clean paper. I would inquest about the board as well as you. I thought that maybe I should make it clear beforehand so that you are at ease during this course and further on." He gives me an encouraging smile. Still not welcome his presence.

" Thank you so much, sir." I nod but he waves a dismissive hand.

" I am not that old." He says with a chuckle."These are the statements that were made by the informer. Go through it and tell us if you can recall them." He shoves the file towards me and I bend forward to pick it.

My mind goes into a 1000 kmph speed, trying to fit this new piece of information in my mind and run it through that night.

" Upcoming Australia tour..... " I murmur.

Somewhere in between the lines I scoff and look up with a lazy smile to find the electrifying eyes of the judge boring right into mine. The pull was so strong that I could not move my eyes but she clears her throat and looks down at the papers in front of him. These meetings are not going to be easy.

" Are you done?" Mr. Setupati inquires.

" A few more moments, please... " I say and go back to reading the chain of lies and deceit.

So this random person is saying that I gave a vocal accord to let go of my wicket early and further added that that is what happens in the game and some other bullshit.

" For starters ... " I begin as I keep the file down. They had a file for 2 pages.

Placing my palm flat on the table as I continue, "Australia is one of the biggest competitors and I do have competition as a batsman with the Australian no. 3. We began our careers through the same U19 world cup and have succeeded further uniformly. I would never succumb to my opponent team. my opponent batsman just for money. No matter how much it is. I have earned a lot and truth be told I have no clue if one can spend that much money in a lifetime."

" We agree Mr. Malhotra but money can make a man let go of values. I am not attacking you personally but people would choose money over anything and that's the convention. We can't be clear of your or anyone's intentions." Ahh, no wonder she is a judge. I gave the best reasoning but she countered me with a more pragmatic approach and here I was thinking that getting through a year-old judge would be challenging.

" You have anything to add?" She places her elbow on the table and plants chin on the fisted hands.

" I believe your reasoning is right but if I were to strike a deal say a fixing deal with someone then I would choose indoors something ... that could be sealed from the eyes." I open my palms out as the last line. She barely moves her brows and keeps looking at me.

" The offenders are quite smart these days. They would choose outdoor so that they can take the defense of the present public but that's an outdated technique." She tilts her head as I absorb the information and fact that my every defense turns into a dead-end in front of her.

" Very well. How about the fact that I won man of the match twice and man of the series on this mistrust series." I ask with a clear, loud voice. This is in my court. I see her lips lift an inch but she goes back to her stoic face.

" Cricket is a game. I do not have any clue as to how that game operates but what I do know is that performance fluctuates. Here....... " She takes out a paper and reads it." is your score for the series. 113 , 17 , 9 , 93 , 89 . " She looks up at me on number 9.

" You'd had three non-significant scores. How does that fit into your criteria of not - fixed? Luck? Maybe. When you are under investigation then everything is looked into and right now nothing is coming on the surface in your support. Also, you made a deal to scoreless and the ratio is 3: 2. Maybe you wanted to secure yourself further and scored well in the other two. It can be anything... we never know."

The ball never came into my court. This is coming at me with every word and I do not see a way out of this ordeal.

" Anything you would like to add?" She asks me but I never raise my eyes.

Is there anything left to add to this situation? Anything that can help me.

Think!

" You do not trust any word that comes out of my mouth but you seem to have a blind trust of the informer." I bend down over the table to her. She is safeguarding and defending someone who is in a rat hole.

" Who said that? You. When we are done with you we would continue our investigation further with that ' informer '. You are not helping yourself if you see us in black and white. We are no side. You two are black and white. " She speaks slowly as if I am a toddler but given my earlier statement, I might have given the expression.

" I think I need to make something very clear so that problems like this do not arise in the future. I was not aware of your existence before yesterday. I do not take any interest in sports or sportsperson and even if I did as a judge nothing would cloud my mind. I would have behaved the same. I do not keen on knowing you or the other person as soon as I am out of here all this is out of my mind. You would become one of many to appear before me it is not even a professional relation. I am not accusing you nor I am saving you. You are no one to me. My only interest here is to save the honest man. There is nothing more to it."

We all have an ego. No matter how much we deny we have it in some amount and nothing is left of mine now.

" Understood," I say formally.

" We have that out of the way now. I think we are done for today." She emphasizes the last word.

" Yes, we are. Mr. Malhotra we would inform you of the next date to be presented here." Mr. Setupati says.

" Thank you." The judge speaks and stands up. She nods at both of us before leaving the room.

" 3 points for first impression Arjun... " I murmur in my breath as I watch her go.

__________

" How was it?" Karn shouts as soon as he sees me.

" I don't know...." I tell him with a confused face.

" How can one not know?" Karn makes the same face like mine.

" There has been an ambush ahh sort of an unexpected attack. Not at all expected." I widen my eyes at him but he is oblivious to my riddles.

" The judge who was supposedly 45 years old, male, grumpy, disciplinarian well the tables turned. It's a female." Karn is still trying to connect the dots as he looks at me expectantly to continue.

" She is 24 or 25 and she is beautiful. Just ethereal." I whine and throw my head back.

" Ohho." Karn breaks into a laugh.

" The worst scenario... " He succinctly summarises my situation.

" I entered only to be thrown back with shock. One place I was thinking of being with her and then she speaks her first words to me. To summarise it she said I lack normal etiquettes and she also said that she does not give a damn about me or my mere mundane existence I am one of many who present themselves in front of her and ohh ohhhh what we have is not even a professional relationship." I count all the points on my finger and gloomily at him as he has his dose of laughter at my stake.

" So you were thinking of dating your judge when you are amidst a potential ban on your career. I have no idea as to what should I do cry or laugh." His voice was rich with mirth.

" Dating? No. You don't date girls like her you love them, cherish them and commit yourself with them." I knew this within the second of seeing her. It is not her physical attributes but those innocent eyes, the eyes that could hold any man's heart and mind, eternally.

" Woah! Arjun ..... " He holds my eyes and I smile wholeheartedly.

" I have a confession to make." He shakes his head.

" This is going to be so messed up, so so so weird... " This is true. What else is true is that I do not care.

" I am not confessing that I love her ok. That's not the case but there is something about her that attracts me, I know if I get to know her well then there would be no stopping me."

I am feeling things that are alien and inexplicable. I am not coming to terms with them but what I do know is I want to meet her, talk to her, spend time with her, get to know her through, and through its more than just simply liking someone. It is way more than just that.

" I am having mixed feelings. You do know that if you enrage her that is coming all on your career." He tilts her face reading me.

" She is not like that," I say confidently.

" And you have known her for about two hours and in those two hours she took every chance to counter you simply said that you do not matter

. Ahhh... No wonder you are so confident. " He gives me a tight smile as his face screams ' you - are -an - idiot. '

" I am very confident about this because of the display of professionalism." She is a thorough professional and someone like me would never hinder that.

" I hope you are right because I was not there to reckon that ." He says indifferently. If I was in his position then I would have shared these mutual thoughts.

" You are overthinking this." I kick the center table to get his attention.

" I hope I am because someone has to at least think when a certain someone has ceased to take rational actions." He reproaches.

" You need a drink." He looks at me with narrowed eyes.

" And a crocin aashiq ( lover )." He adds.

Yes.

_____________________

The soothing melody rings through the banquet hall. The crowd cheers in delight and the aroma of Indian cuisine mingle in the air. Indian weddings.

" One more man tastes the dust." One of my schoolmates lifts his glass in the air.

" He is getting married not bringing doom upon himself." The other one piqued.

" You are saying this because you are married and that too at the age of 24.

I should have stopped you but all I did was dance." The first one retorts.

" This is not the place to discuss it." I take a step to stand between the two waging warriors.

" Arjun tu kiski side hai ( Whose side are you on ? )" Adi clasps his hand on my shoulder.

" I am neutral here." I clasp his shoulder giving him a warm smile.

" Bhai ke Saath dhoka ( Deceit and fraud with your brother) ." He wipes his fake tears as we all laugh at his tactics.

My group of friends from school is gathered here for a wedding of one of us. Being in Delhi there is a 100 % chance that on average 2 out of 5 are going to be Punjabi. This gives you the chance to attend these big fat Punjabi Indian weddings that are fun and your legs do not stop bouncing on the beat.

" You get free drinks, chance to have a get together again and all the excitement. I think one of us should get married every year." I tip my glass towards Adi with a knowing expression.

" Or we can save that mammoth money on all this extravagance and simply go on a trip, Ibiza anyone?" Adi taps his ear but everyone laughs.

" Excuse me. I need a refill." I pass through the laughing aunties and a group of youngsters staring at me with wide eyes. I wave at them affectionately as their faces break out into a smile and loud cheers.

I have already clicked pictures with kids, children, adults, and uncles who later moved on to advise me on how to play against Pakistan.

" Oh, beta tune nah bat khadka dena chaiye ek do ke ser pe ( You should hit your bat on one or two players ). In their defense they were drunk. Then the whole team of Pakistan is a thorough sportsman driven on sportsmanship. We do talk while practicing in the same field and share a few laughs. They would not be interested in knowing this so I laughed along.

" Omphhh...." I bash into a small figure as the few sips of wine spill onto a piece of fabric that is pristine and sky blue, not anymore.

" I am so so sorry I was not looking, miss...." I sit down on one knee and start to dab onto the fabric so that my handkerchief soaks the wine but the stain is inevitable.

" Here goes the second bite in the cherry." A familiar voice calls out. The room was buzzing a second ago but now is silent. The silence that stays, lingers.

I move my neck to look upwards to look at the face that is imprinted in me since the moment it got captured in my eyes and if possible then it got heart-achingly beautiful.

" You always remain preoccupied?" An affectionate smile finds its way onto my lips as she throws my own words at me.

" And you are still sitting on the floor." She looks awkwardly as her eyebrows knit. I hastily get on my feet and pass my handkerchief to her.

" I am sorry ... " I open my arms as my head bobbles voluntarily with a guilty look on my face.

"It is ok. Its an honest mistake .... " She trails off looking at the little trail at her calf area.

" The stain won't go... " I don't know why I said it but there was this dire need in me to keep talking to her even if she was practically a closed off.

" The whole world knows it." She lifts her head and looks at me with a blank face.

" Ahh... I can buy you another piece of this. Just... " I take out my phone clumsily," Tell me the place and I'll get you a new one."

Fire flashes in her eyes but it goes as soon as it appears. She takes a long breath and sighs.

" Mr. Malhotra, I do not need your help, money, or a guilty gift from you."

It is quite evident that she was not far away from lashing at me. Ok, this was a bad move but the intentions were pure.

" Ahh...please do not take it as disrespect. I was just sorry and annoyed at myself. I am so sorry... " She nods. Her leg is bouncing which is a clear sign that she can be anywhere but here. A gloomy air surrounds me and my heart feels heavy suddenly.

This is not how I want her to be around me. This was not in the plan. Do I even have a plan?

" I am sorry again.. I'll take a leave. Enjoy." I say in a low voice as she looks at me with confusion probably wondering the mood shift in a second.

" Sure you too." She nods again and turns and like the way everything is turning into a complete disaster for me this moment was also not spared.

She could have turned around and left without any hassle but what happened is that I unknowingly stood up on the trail of her dress and when she gracefully turned around to walk away it was pulled back with great force ( I am a heavy man with a good stance and the shoes have a great grip ) causing the side stitches to break free. My eyes shut and my whole body freezes.

Her hand flies to her side in a nanosecond because I feel it swatting my waist. I am not lying as it takes me about 5 seconds to respond which was staking way too much in the current situation. I open my tuxedo suit jacket in a rush and throw it around her shoulders.

" Did anyone see ?" Her voice is timid and bashful contrary to her natural self.

" No one was even paying attention trust me." I lift my hand to her shoulders which are stiff due to tension as a sign of assurance and support but decide otherwise. Standing closer to her I feel the great height difference between us. I could comfortably place my chin on the top of her head it would require little bending of the neck maybe.

" Andd..you?" The question I was dreading. I look down at her face as she looks up at me in the eyes. Apprehension clouding those beautiful eyes.

" I closed my eyes in an instant I swear on my maa," I say with utmost sincerity. She must have seen it on my face because she gives me a small smile and looks straight.

" Thank you." She whispers softly but due to the proximity, I was able to hear it.

" You should not be saying that it's a duty to help." If I walk out or try to take a peek at this compromising position it would not make me man.

My mother raised two gentlemen.

" Hmm..." I feel her back easing and resting against my chest unconsciously. We stay like this for about a minute before her brain starts processing again. She moves away and turns around in a rush and her hands fisting the hem of the jacket. She looks at the floor then again at me contemplating over what to say and do.

I know what needs to be said now.

" Do not worry I am leaving and I am sorry. " I say warmly and walk out with the feel of her eyes on the behind of my head.

Ok. I need a plan. A good one.

_________________________________________