Bela's Pov-

"Meine dal bhi bana di h aur chawal bhi aur saath mein kurkure bhindi,teri favourite!"Dadu said,a broad smile on his face and I couldn't help but reciprocate it.

"Just the thing I wanted to eat!"I said and he smiled hearing that.

"Puttar tu jaakr na freshen up hoja mein dining table set kr deta hu tab tak"Dadu said and I smiled and nodded.

I quickly left the living room and entered the bedroom,the dark room reminded me of the closed lift.

What was he even doing here??

In this kind of building?

Wasn't he one of the rich kids of the school?

His father was the trustee of the school if I remember correctly.

How come he stays here?

I didn't even know he was claustrophobic.

I always thought he was one of those guys who are blessed beyond words, god's favourite child, perfect family, perfect siblings, perfect life.

Did his family suffer some financial crises I wasn't aware of?

But then if The Sehgal's suffer a financial crisis the whole nation would get to know about it.

The way he clutched me in that lift.I could actually feel his fear.

He was too frightened, something I have never seen in him.

He was always that happy, notorious, talkative guy when we were in school.

Mr.Popular

I shook that image which appeared in my mind.The last time I had seen him was definitely during our last exam.

He had cracked an egg on one of his female friend's head.

Typical Mahir Sehgal.

I took my clothes and went towards the washroom,all the while thinking about him.

Not because I was taken away by him.

Infact,I never have been.

In my whole school life that I have known him,I was never taken by him.

He always seemed someone I could never talk to,not because he was rude or something but because it seemed we could just never bond over anything.

And so I never talked to him.

And neither did he try to have a conversation with me.

He was always surrounded with friends,a whole lot of them.

While I just had one friend,who is my best friend till this day.

It's weired you meet someone you have practically known your whole life and yet discover things about them.

For me it was Mahir's claustrophobia.

I never thought he had any issues.

This one was a revelation for me.

Also the way we met was still hard for my brain to process.

Imagine the girl who never talked to him had to practically hug him and comfort him on their first meeting after years.

How bizzare can this get then this?

"Sona"I heard my dadu call me and so I quickly rushed out of my bedroom,leaving these thoughts for now.

Dinner time was strictly Dadu's time.He likes for us to talk while having our dinner.It's the only time we get to spend with each other in the whole day.

"Khana thanda ho jayega"He said as he was already seated on his place.

I quickly made a messy bun out of my hair and sat beside him.

"Mein khud serve kr sakti hu dadu"I said for the nth time but he as always ignored me and kept serving me.

"Aur yeh upar se ek chammach ghee!"Dadu said as if talking to a lil girl, but I could still just smile at him.

"I can't wait anymore"I said and quickly made a bite of the piping hot rice and dal,with my hands.

Oh my god!

How can someone fall in love with the same dish again and again?

"Unbelievable"I muttered and Dadu chuckled seeing my expressions.

Dadu makes the best dal chawal in the world and his kurkure bhindi is to die for.

"Kesa tha aaj ka din??"Dadu asked,as usual.

"Thik tha,aap bataiye aapne kya kiya pure din??"I asked him.

"Ek dessert ki reel banayi h meine,dinner ke baad dono aaram se khayenge"Dadu said and I nodded hearing that bht narrowed my eyes at him too.

"Aapko yeh dessert waghera ab thoda kam kr dena chahiye dadu"I said and he just rolled his eyes at me.

"Mein serious hu,iss age mein itna meetha nhi khana chahiye aapko, healthy khana khaya karo,ussi se fayda honewala h aapko"I said seriously.

"Okay teacher"He said,teasing me as always and I sighed.

"You are far worse than my students combined,kam se kam woh mere aankhein dikhane se darr toh jaatein h"I said and he chuckled hearing that.

My whole batch of students together were easy to manage than my dadu on his own.

He was the most stubborn person I had ever met in my life, always doing what he likes.

"Unn bicharon ki kya halat krti hogi tu yeh toh mein soch bhi nhi sakta hu"He said and I just looked at him.

"Mein kal se thoda late aaungi,agle hafte se bacchon ke papers start ho rahe h,thoda extra time dena padega unhe"I said and saw his expressions turning sad so I immediately added after that.

"Don't worry Shruti ko bol diya h,woh aa jayegi aapse milne aur aapko company dene"I added and his expressions turned normal.

"Mein wese akele bhi reh sakta tha uss bichari ko kyu pareshan kiya tune"Dadu said as if I don't know him.

He hates being alone, that's the only thing he complains to me about all the time.

"Rehne do,aapko bht acche se jaanti hu mein"I said and he shook his head at my words.

"Kab tak h tere bacchon ke papers?"He asked.

"Do hafton tak chalenge,jo bilkul hi nikkame bacche h unpr khaas dhyan dena padega wrna kahi sach mein fail na ho jaye,unke maa-baap phir mera gala pakdne aayenge"I said because I was actually worried about a few of my students,no matter how much I tried to help them,they couldn't just grasp anything.

"Oh fail hotein h toh ho jaane de,hamari kya galti h ismein bhai? Aur aane de unke maa-baap ko,ek ek ko dekh lunga mein puttar,tu tension kyu leti h? Prithviraj Singhaniya abhi zinda h,aise kese koi uski poti ko baatein sunakr chala jayega bhala?"He said, showing off as he always does and I just smiled at him.

"Don't worry, Prithviraj Singhaniya ko kuch krne ki zarurat nhi h,unki poti kaafi h inn sab logo ke liye"I said and he chuckled hearing that.

We both finished the dinner talking to eachother,making plans,sharing ideas,talking about random things.

That's how my day always ends after spending sometime with my dadu.

"Ab aap aaram se so jaiye,aur raat bhar reels dekhne ki koshish zarurat nhi h dadu,wrna issbaari sach mein wifi uda dungi ghar ka"I said as I tucked him in the bed and he narrowed his eyes at me.

"Please so jaiye abhi,kal ka pura din h aapke paas reels scroll krne ke liye"I said and he grudgingly nodded and I kept his phone on the bedside table.

"Good night"I wished him and he finally closed his eyes.

"Good night Sona"I heard him dadu say as I left his room.

I sighed as I got into my bed.

Today's events played in my mind as always and they stopped on one particular moment which happened,not long ago.

Meeting Mahir Sehgal in a lift.

I still couldn't believe he lives in this building.

Not that it was a bad place to live in but with the money his parents have he could live in Mumbai's most posh area then why was he living here?

In Andheri of all places.

Did he recognised me?

Well I did,but because he was the popular one,I was the quiet one on the other hand.

I don't really care if he would recognise me after so many years,I wasn't yearning for it after all.

I can't keep thinking about him and his stupid family,I have a ton of classes to teach tomorrow,I should sleep as much as I can because with the exams approaching I am sure I wouldn't get any time to relax.

But I had to prepare a question paper for the students.

Ugghhhh!!!!

I got up from the bed and quickly sat on my study desk, opening my laptop and RD Sharma text book,I started jotting down the important questions and turning them into a sample question paper.

I will ask the students to solve this question paper in the morning class so that I could assess how much they actually know.

The doubt clearing session can be kept in the afternoon.

Perfect.

Only two weeks of arduous work,after that I am free.

I smiled as I remembered the trip I had planned for dadu and myself.

He has been nagging me to take him somewhere for the vacation.

What better place than Shimla?

I can't wait to get away from Mumbai's hot weather.

Dadu would be ecstatic,he loves mountains.

I don't even have to worry about the funds,all the students have paid full fees at the beginning of this term,I have enough money for this trip and also a good amount of savings.

The EMI for this flat for this quarter has already been paid,so that is already ruled out.

Whenever all my major expenses are dealt with,I feel the most secure, financially.

Maybe I could even upgrade dadu's old camera into a go-pro.

He would love to vlog his shimla trip.

I smiled imagining the happy look on his face.

I quickly shook those thoughts away,that happy look will appear only after I get past this exam phase.

I concentrated on making the paper and once it was done I quickly took out multiple copies of it to distribute amongst the students tomorrow.

I sighed.

Finally I could sleep.

Next morning,

I woke up with the alarm blaring,I groaned knowing I had to wake up.

I quickly got up and went straight to the bathroom,after having a bath and brushing my teeth I made my way out of the bedroom and saw Dadu already in the kitchen,making breakfast.

"Kyu uth gaye itni jaldi?? Abhi sirf 6 baje h dadu,aap kyu apni neend kharab krte h meri wajah se??"I couldn't help but ask.

My classes start from 7am in the morning and ends at 6pm in the evening,he always wakes up early to make sure I haven't breakfast and also prepared lunch for me.

"Aloo paratha ready h,aur lunch ke liye pulao aur raita,saath mein kheera aur gajar cut krke rakh diya h,aur isswali bottle mein chaas h,aur ismein paani"He said, ignoring what I had said.

I sighed.

"Dadu please mat kiya karo yeh sab"I said,tired of trying to make him understand this.

"Yeh le garma garam paratha khaa tu"He said, ignoring my words and serving me a hot paratha.

I sighed but made no efforts to eat.

He saw that and sat beside me.

"I am supposed to be taking care of you,not the other way around,upar se meine aapko hazar baar bola h mat karo yeh sab apni neend kharab krke! Aap sunte hi nhi ho!"I said and he just smiled at me.

"Kya farak padta h tu mera khayal rakh rahi h ya mein tera?? Ab hum dono hi toh h na ek dusre ke liye? Wese bhi mein din bhar toh Ghar pr hi hota hu,dophar ko so bhi jaata hu,kaha neend kharab ho rahi h meri? Aur tu hi toh mera khayal rakh rahi h na Sona? Tu nhi hoti toh pada hota mein kisi road pr......

"Shut up dadu"I said and he didn't said anything further.

"Acha chal yeh sab baatein nhi krte subah subah,aaram se dono dadu-poti milkr naashta krte h,thik h?"He said and I nodded.

"Aap please time pr lunch ke lena dadu,mein call karungi aur camera pr check bhi karungi toh mujhse jhooth bolne ki toh bilkul koshish bhi mat krna"I said and he again gave me a nod.

"Acha bana h na paratha?"He asked,like a child.

He likes getting reviews for the cooking he does.

"Best h"I said and he smiled and fed me a piece with his own hands.

My dadu is the sweetest person someone will ever encounter.

"Aur haa aaj woh society mein pooja h,aap jaa sakte h waha pr,aapka thoda mood bhi fresh ho jayega bahar jaoge toh,sham ko hi h toh shruti le jayegi aapko,aapka kurta meine already press krke aapke room mein rakh diya h wahi pehenkr jaana,yeh shorts aur tshirt pehenkr mat jaana please"I said and he made a face hearing that.

"Dadu,pooja h,koi party nhi,please dress accordingly,ek toh hum new h yahapr"I said and he finally agreed.

"Tu kab tak wapas aayegi?"He asked,the same question he asks me everyday.

"Thoda sa late ho jayega,aap please shruti ke saath dinner kr lena,mere liye wait mat krna.....and I mean it dadu! Mein already bacchon ke paper ki wajah se bht stress mein hu,you please don't add onto it! Chup chap time se khana khaa lena,mein aakr kr lungi dinner"I again said and he agreed this time.

"Better "I said and he rolled his eyes, mocking me.

"Zyada na teacher mat bana kr mere saamne,jab dekho tab hukum chalati rehti h"He said but I didn't entertain him.

"Okay, please remember all the things I said and be a good boy for Shruti"I teased him at the end as I left and he glared at my retreating figure.

I made my way towards the lift and sighed as I again remembered him.

I shook my head and went into it, pressing the button for ground floor I waited.

Once I reached the ground floor,I made my way out of the lift and straight towards the parking.

I sat in my car and drove away towards the coaching,ready for another day of handling wild teenagers.

Coaching Centre,

7:00 am,

1st batch of classes,

"I have made a sample paper for you all,solve it within 2 hours and than submit the answer sheets to me,as always no use of mobile phones,chits,no cheating,you all know the drill already, don't let me catch you,you know the punishment too...so he wise and try your best, don't worry this is for your learning,we will have a doubt clearing session in the afternoon"I said and all the students nodded,some of them gulped hearing the word 'test' while some looked like they wanted to vanish from here.

I distributed the question paper as well as the answer sheets after collecting their mobile phones.

Mobile phones,laptops,ipads and all kinds of electronic devices were strictly prohibited during my class.

I watched them all as they tried to solve the paper,some doing it with ease because they had actually practiced and paid attention in my class while some were trying to figure out things just now.

I shook my head at them.

"Pratik, don't make me call your parents right now!"I yelled as I saw him trying to look into the person next to his paper.

"So..sorry ma'am"He said and quickly started writing.

I sighed.