Mondays were the best in Ayush's life. Hectic Board meetings hosted by an egocentric boss, a massive project with a shoestring budget, and bickering coworkers- a perfect start to the week. He flipped through the new project file, circling numbers with a blunt pencil chewed in the corner. His stomach grumbled, so hungry that it could digest paper or grass. Slapping the file shut, he leaned back and flexed his neck.

The elderly peon had left a cup of coffee and the daily newspaper on his desk. He was so sucked into the project that the coffee had cooled down and a sticky film of milk skin floated on top. Pushing it away with a disgusted face, he turned his attention to the newspaper. He skimmed through columns of The Sonambar Times overflowing with ridiculous headlines. A youth tried to sell his friend's kidney for a laptop. Cliché. A rich man's home was looted by his guard. Meh. Something in a corner caught his attention.

It read, 'Sunehra Jeevan Dal heads Kushwant Vardhan and UV Rana tangled in corruption case ahead of elections.' Now that should've been in the headlines, he thought.

He had an inherent hatred toward people who misused their power and authority. His mother was a victim of such gross misuse. She was tormented by some obsessed politician till her last breath for refusing his marriage proposal. His father refused to divulge the scoundrel's name. Though Ayush was six months old at the time of her demise, he understood her agony from what his father told him. Folding the paper and tossing it back on the desk, he closed his eyes and shifted his thoughts to the evening.

People went on dinner dates, adventure dates and party dates. He and Sakshi were probably the only ones going on a milkshake -and- accounts date. He closed his eyes and smiled wide. What dress will she be wearing? Would she have applied her usual thick, dark kohl?

"Ayushman Singh!" Yash Dhanraj's raspy voice itched his ears.

He sprang to his feet and cleared his throat. "Good morning, sir."

"What the hell are you doing without submitting the accounts report?" He shouted.

Ayush had nicknamed him as 'the Yashigator', merging his first name with 'alligator'.

"It's ready sir, I'm sending it across right now."

"Show the report! You haven't contributed anything to our new project."

"Sir, I've pitched in eight reports till now."

"You can do better. Maybe thirty reports by this weekend?"

"Thirty?" Ayush suppressed a gasp. How demanding could the man be? This time he was speedily rocketing to the planet of stupidity.

"I will try," he said, knowing it would never be possible.

"Not try, you have to do it."

He stood speechless before giving a half-nod.

"There are people who crave to have your position. Take my brother-in-law, for example. He's more qualified than you but he's being paid much lesser in a dingy company."

"You told me, sir."

"So why aren't you making any progress?!

He bit his teeth and clenched his fist. "I'm sorry, sir."

"Sorry won't hold your job. Better do well or I'll be forced to find a replacement."

Yash didn't have to do all that hard work. His brother-in-law would instantly jump in. Ayush needed to play it safe as Yash was eager to kick him out. A couple of co-workers gathered at a distance, mocking and sneering as Ayush bowed his head. Shame washed over him.

"Did you read the circular? We have a crucial board meeting tomorrow. I hope you're ready with your presentation," Yash barked.

The said meeting was far from important. It was another random meet to satisfy Yash's ego and make him feel important. Rage pulsed in Ayush's veins.

"I'll get things ready," he said as the man dashed away.

If he presented three reports by the evening, it might satiate the Yashigator's hunger. Maybe vulture was more apt to describe him. Plopping into his squeaking chair, he turned on the computer and flicked through the pages of his accounts ledger. Going through the motions of accounting, he attended three boring board meetings, filed his reports, and rode his bike home at 3 PM. On the way, he purchased tablets and wholegrain sugar-free biscuits for his father, Amar Singh.

Parking his bike inside the gate, he knocked on the door. The one-storey building, Amarini Ayush Nivas, in Pravisht Street was his home for twenty-four years. His father had bought it with a huge loan and settled it with his sweat and toil. Amar Singh opened the door. His weather-beaten face broke into a smile seeing his beloved son. "Ashu, I was just thinking of you."

"How is your knee pain, Papa?"

"It's better now, Ashu."

"I've got your medicines and biscuits."

"Oh good! I wanted to tell you but it completely slipped my mind."

Amar Singh was a man in his early sixties, fine as steel. When he contracted diabetes a year ago, his strength lessened, but his enthusiasm hadn't changed. With his lean hands, Amar set a steel kettle on the table and beckoned Ayush to join him.

"I've tried new tea powder today. Have you got my biscuits?"

"Yes, Papa." Ayush handed him the packet.

Amar tousled his hair with loving eyes. "Thank you, son."

He arranged the biscuits on a platter and poured scalding milk tea into two ceramic mugs, adding sugar into one and Sugarfree into the other. "Here, tell me how it tastes."

Though Ayush was a coffee person, he never turned down his father's offer to join him for a cup of tea. It was the time of the day when they bonded with each other and spent quality time chatting about the day. Slurping on some tea, Ayush scrunched his nose at the excessive sweetness, but he put on a smile.

"It tastes amazing!"

Amar beamed with pride. "Have it along with biscuits, Ashu."

"No thanks, Papa."

"How was your day at work?"

"It was as usual," he said while ransacking his mind for a valid reason to meet Sakshi.

"Is there something you want to tell me, Ashu?"

"Papa, I have to meet one of my friends at 4:30."

"Okay-but why are you so stressed?"

Ayush felt a weight thrown off his shoulders. His father didn't even question him because most, in fact, all of his friends were guys.

"Nothing, Papa. I'm fine," he said with a relieved smile.

Ayush went to his medium-sized bedroom and took a nice shower, letting hot water calm his stressed muscles and nerves. He lathered himself with a fresh mint soap, especially massaging his neck which ached from staring at the monitor all day. Slipping on a crisp full-sleeved blue t-shirt paired with black corduroy pants, he styled his hair with SetWet gel. Lastly, he selected a special perfume gifted by his father that smelled like an ocean breeze and sprayed it all over his shirt.

"Are you going to meet Gaurav?" Amar asked as he stepped out.

"N-no, Papa. One more B.Com friend," he said and got onto the bike.

Amar shook his head in exasperation. "Wear your helmet, Ashu!"

Ayush donned the helmet, waved to Amar, and rode his bike to the other side of town. He parked his bike outside Chocobar Café and stepped in. Nestled amid three colleges, and a theatre, the place was the gathering hub for the youngsters of Sonambar North. It was the only modern place in the town. He had visited the place with his college mates five years ago.

A long wooden counter was stacked with coffee mugs and milkshakes, and a glass display case held assorted gourmets, cakes and pastries. The smell of chocolates, roasted coffee beans, and baked goods permeated the air. Following Sakshi's message on his phone, he marched up the wooden stairs to the terrace. His lively eyes scanned the cosy tables and red leather chairs for her and finally halted in the corner.

Sakshi fluttered her fingers in the air, waving out to him with her signature pearly smile. She had found a comfy place in the corner of the café near a huge glass window facing the street. A couple of accounting ledgers and two calculators sat on the table with the menu. He was about to say a formal 'good evening' but decided to ditch it.

"Hello, Sakshi."

"Hey, Ayush. Have a seat."

He sat opposite to her. "Thanks."

"If you don't mind, can we order something first and then proceed with the class?"

"Of course. Which is the best coffee here?"

"I'm not sure, I'm a tea and milkshake sort of person."

"Oh, my dad too! He is an aspiring tea master, experimenting with different tea powders and concoctions."

"Wow! I guess I must meet him them."

"Yeah, you should."

"From what I've heard, the caffè mocha is one of the best coffees in the house."

"Then I'll have that."

"You should try the glazed donuts too."

"Sounds perfect!" he said.

They placed the order and the waiter served two donuts, a caffè mocha for Ayush, and a salted caramel milkshake for Sakshi.

"Ayush, how many people are in your house?" she asked, stirring the ice cubes in her cup with a straw.

"Just my Papa and me."

"And your mother?"

"She passed away when I was six months old."

"Oh! I'm so sorry to hear that." She involuntarily placed a comforting hand on his.

"Thanks for your thoughts. What about your family?"

"In my house, there's my Babaji, Maaji, Bhaiyya and the caretaker Lajo Aunty, who is more of a family member."

"That's nice."

"What about your father?"

"Papa is a retired school teacher."

"Which school?"

"He initially worked in Mitiya High School, then moved to Pitashri Institute."

"Oh, I studied in Mitiya's! What's his name?"

"His name is Amar Singh, but you wouldn't know him because he resigned even before I was born."

"Mitiya's is one of the best schools in Sonambar. Why move to Pitashri? Don't mistake me asking, I was just thinking that we could've been schoolmates if your father continued here."

"Haha, no it's fine. Thing is . . . my parents had an altercation with some politician."

"Politician?!"

"Haan, so they were forced to leave. Anyway, tell me about your family. What does your father do?"

"He . . . and my brother work in the same place. Babaji stays busy all day, but Bhaiyya takes care of whatever I need."

"Most of my friends grew up with siblings. I never knew how it felt. It's nice to have someone watching over you, right?"

"Not always. Bhaiyya is very strict. He doesn't let me go anywhere except college. Even now, I told him I'm attending extra classes. It isn't a lie, no?" she asked with a worried frown.

"No, no. This is an extra class . . . sort of," he said, pushing down a laugh.

After finishing the drink, Sakshi wiped her mouth with a tissue and peered at him.

"Thanks a lot for coming, Ayush. I appreciate your efforts very much."

"What are friends for?"

She dipped her head and smiled. "I watched all the seventeen cover songs on your channel in one night. Your voice is too good."

"Really?"

"Yes! I shared it with some of my friends and they too loved it."

"That explains the twelve new subscribers."

"You deserve more, Ayush. Twelve lakh, if not twelve million."

He looked up to refute it, but the truthfulness glinting her eyes made him swallow it back.

"Thanks," he said, humbled.

"Shall we begin now?"

"Sure, show me the question."

She pointed to a particular question from the textbook. He craned his neck and nodded.

"Why don't you come over this side?"

"Great idea." He got up and perched himself beside her.

With animate expressions like telling Chirag pink fox's story, he narrated the concepts in simple terms and helped her work out the problem. Their fingers touched often when grabbing the same pen, punching buttons of the calculator and similar instances. She chewed on her lower lip and inclined her brows at a difficult problem. Despite the anxiety marring her serene face, she looked more beautiful in his eyes. He felt a strong pull of emotions toward her. At the end of the session, her mouth dropped open and her eyes dazzled in surprise.

"I can't believe it! How on earth did the balance sheet tally?" Her surprised smile thrilled his heart and stirred his breath.

"See, it's quite easy," he said.

"You're a genius, both in music and in maths."

His cheeks burned. "That's too much praise."

"Seriously! I wish you were my classmate. Then I'd clear my doubts whenever I want."

"You can still do so. Just ring me up if you have any doubts and we can meet again same time same place."

Though skirting across the town after a full day at work was a tiring task, Ayush was ready to do so hundreds of times if meant seeing her again.

"In that case, can we meet the day after tomorrow?" she asked.

"Sure! I'm looking forward to it."

"So am I! Thank you, Ayush."

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