Fruitcake - Volume 1: The Chapter 15 Journal: Selection

After our ordeal at Mrs. Das’s residence, we dropped Master da and Miss Sengupta at his home and left for the hospital.

As I reached the hospital I found the whole family assembled near Geeta’s room. I went and tried to start a conversation with Aamaya.

“How have you been doing. With all the things happening, I know it must be very tough for all of you?”

Aamaya replied impatiently, “Yes, It’s getting difficult. Geeta being in the hospital, Mom has to stay with her the whole day, and Dad staying in the hospital at night.”

“I don’t understand,” I replied.

She said “The only reason dad lives in Kolkata is to provide all of us with a better life. He has a business there, and ever since this mishap, there has been no one to take care of the business there. Even Mom works for a bank, and she has to be on leave till Geeta recovers.”

“Sometimes I get the feeling that Geeta has entered our lives just to make it miserable.”

I kept wondering if I heard it right. How can someone have such a stonecold heart? She is in COMA for heaven’s sake.

I asked her “Wouldn’t your parents do the same if it would have been you, or one of your other sisters lying on the bed instead of Geeta?”

I was not expecting the answer she gave me in retort. Her cruel words made me reconsider if she was indeed worthy to be my best friend.

Aamaya replied “We are family. It is their duty to take care of us. Geeta is not our blood. We should not have to go through this because of her.”

I took a deep breath to stop myself from retaliating and thought changing the topic would calm me down. My doubts were cleared. They don’t care about her at all. At-least I was happy that once Geeta is awake, we will have Master da looking after her.

I continued, “Forget about Geeta for now. Remember you made a promise to me before you left for Kolkata, You said you were going to spend some quality time with me. But I guess, with everything going on right now, some quality time with you is out of the question.”

“You know what, during my next vacation in January, I promise you I will spend one whole week in your place.”

Aamaya looked at me and smiled. She looked at me and said, “Really, you mean it?”

I smiled and said, “Of course, after all, you are my best friend, and besides I don’t want to miss out on the opportunity of spending time with one of the most beautiful girls I have ever met. You know if any of my friends saw me in your company, they would throw a jealous fit. You know how guy friends can presume about beautiful girlfriends… I mean a friend who is a girl/ not lovers by the way. Would not want you to be offended by my choice of words. I apologize if I said something inappropriate.”

My flirtatious words made her blush and she hugged me. It felt awkward with all the things happening around. I whispered in her ear “Sweety, people are looking at us.”

She would not let go of me but thankfully I heard aunty’s voice calling Aamaya that it was time to go.

Once they left it was me and uncle all alone once again.

Uncle asked, “Son, I am going to have some dinner. Would you mind sitting with my Geeta for the time being?”

“Sure, sir. Not an issue. You go ahead and have your dinner. I will be here with Geeta.” I replied.

I continued reading the journal where I left it last.

23rd May 1992

Today was Saturday. We were informed earlier that there would be a party in school to honor the players who bought glory to the school by becoming one of the top 3 teams of Kolkata. We were told to be in school by 5:00 p.m. in the evening. Aamaya di helped me choose the right clothes for the party. The school auditorium was decorated very beautifully. They have placed a makeshift stage on one of the corners and there was a banner hanging on it which said “Rising Phoenix”. Once we were there, the principal made an announcement. He said that during the last month, our team has proved everybody what we are made of, and he is especially proud of Sunaina who has been approached by SAI for a full scholarship to study and get training in basketball, Principal sir gave her a medal and then the party started. I was waiting in a corner when all of a sudden Aarohi came to me and said Monika was searching for me. As I approached Monika, I could see she was looking very beautiful in a Skyblue tutu dress. She was looking like a princess from a cartoon movie. All this while that I have known her I presumed her to be the tomboyish girl in school but today she proved me wrong. I asked her if she wants to dance with me and she agreed. She wanted to dance the waltz with me and I admitted that I didn’t know what that was. We finally ended up challenging one another that one day we will learn the waltz and outdo each other. We ending up dancing to our own styles and seeing us enjoy the whole school joined us.

**** Abhinu, you better learn from a good teacher how to dance, coz Monika has been trained in 3 different dance forms and I can bet my basketball career, that there is no better dancer in the whole school than her. ****

24th May 1992

I was very tired after the party and woke up late. Aunty enquired if I am alright because it was not like me to wake up late. I told her that my body was aching because of dancing in school. Aarohi was excited about yesterday’s chain of events told everyone in the house that Monika had asked me for a dance and that I really screwed up at asking her out for a dance. Garima and Darika started making fun of me however thanks to uncle they all kept quiet. Aamaya didi told me that she will teach me how to ask a girl out for a dance. Later in the evening we called up dad and narrated him about yesterday’s dance party. Uncle had a word with dad and then after the call, uncle informed me that he will arrange for a teacher who will come to our house every evening and teach me and Aarohi how to dance the Waltz. I thanked uncle for it and then we spent the whole day practicing for the coming matches.

25th May 1992

Today was a big day for Monika. we had our inter-school Karate championship. What Aarohi told me the other day was right, I knew that Soham is all set to get a good beating from Monika. I went to talk to Soham and wished him good luck. Even though I am not a fighter but I still could provide him some helpful tips to at-least keep his head high. I suggested to him that the only way he could win against Monika was by being careful of her punches and if possible trying to aim the upper area with his kicks which will help him score the necessary point to establish a lead. Soham told me that it was all because of me that he had to fight with Monika. He promised me that he is going to make my life miserable whenever he gets the chance. I guess some people never change and there is no helping them. Monika got really mad at me when she heard that I went and actually tried helping Soham with some pointers. I apologized to her and requested her not to be mad since he was also a friend. Monika forgave me and told me that since Soham shouted at me she will give him a match he will remember for the rest of his life. Guys like Soham can never make true friends because of their arrogant nature and it was futile of me to try and change him with my helpfulness. When the match started, I was amazed at the fighting skills of Monika, she had to fight 4 different matches before she got to fight with Soham. Of the 5 matches she played, 3 of her opponents were boys and 2 of them were from the 8th and 9th standard and she won the fights without losing a sweat. But when it was time for her to fight with Soham, she started to play with him just like a wolf on a hunt who lets her opponent keep running till they tire out. She let Soham aim a few punches and kicks at her which she avoided easily. On one incident, she even taunted Soham by using her left hand to cover her eyes and gesturing him to land her a punch. When Soham tried to kick her instead, Monika landed a Jodan-uke and knocked him out cold. Monika was declared a winner for the 3rd consecutive time in a row.

***** Wow, that was fun. She was playing with him. It was a good show indeed, and landing a straight kick blindsided is really something. I should take a lesson and be careful the next time I quarrel with her. I continued reading the entries and on one of the entries, it was written that they were informed by the state basketball committee that each of the teams that will participate in the next round will have to name their team. The principal decides to keep the name “Rising Phoenix”. The next match was starting on 1st June 1992. ****

1st June 1992

Generally, we were not scared of playing any match, but today for some reason, there was a general fear and tension in our minds. It was not just me but Monika also told me that she was feeling this constant panic. Monika is definitely not the type of girl to be afraid of anything. We were all feeling tensed maybe because, this is the first time we will be playing a district-level basketball match, and we were opening the tournament. Our PTI decided to take a picture of us, to commemorate the team who was going to make him famous as one of the best coaches in Kolkata. We were wearing our sports uniform, Monika, Aarohi and me, we stood together and we wrapped our arms on each other’s soldiers before taking the picture. The match started. It was against Malda. It was a really good match and we won. Sunaina was declared the best player that day.

**** Abhinu writes that they kept playing the matches and were successful. He writes that they have a winning streak of 15 matches at a stretch. They played against Alipurdwar, West Bardaman, Birbhum, Hoogly, and Howrah and won all of them. They were excited and then the most amazing thing happened. One of the 3 musketeers were approached by SAI. ****

12th July 1992

Today’s match was between East Medinipur and Kolkata. This has been our 17th Match that we were able to win in a streak. We didn’t lose a single match. PTI sir told us today that this match was going to be difficult for us. This team has won the last 5 matches without letting the opponent score a single point. Sir also said it doesn’t matter whether we win or lose, what we have achieved in the past 3 months, was probably one of the most difficult thing to achieve. We came to know that of the 3 teams from Kolkata who were selected for the district level, Our Lady Queen of the Mission school was eliminated day before yesterday when they played against Kalimpong. It was a sad moment though, however, we were happy that we and St. Thomas School were still eligible for the playoffs. The match started and we suddenly understood the reason why East Medinipur team was able to win the last 5 matches. We were also happy today because Aamaya didi, uncle, Aunty, and the sisters have visited the playground to watch us play. The first half was a really difficult situation for us and the opponent team was leading with 10 to none. With all hopes of winning the game gone, Aamaya didi approached us during the half time and encouraged us by reminding us what we learned in Purulia. Basketball was a game of speed and skill. That particular day our opponents were twice the size than the current team. We played the second half giving all we had and proved in-front of the crowd what we were and what we could do. We won the match with a lead of 15 points.

13th July 1992

Today was an uneventful day. Since it was a Saturday, we spent most of the time studying. We were lagging far behind in our studies, mostly due to the matches or because of our hectic practice schedule. Principal sir had announced that all the players will be allowed to give a separate exam and we just needed to score the qualifying marks to get promoted to the next class. Uncle received a call today from someone and suddenly he started dancing in excitement. After the call, he starts shouting at everyone and ask them to get to the hall that very moment. When all of us reached the hall. Uncle announced that one of his children had made him the proudest father. Aunty told him to stop dancing and say clearly what had happened. He stepped forward and picked up Aarohi in his arms and said that he got a call from a sports agent from SAI and that she has been selected to represent the state for the national. I was so happy with the news that I didn’t know what to say. All of us praised Aarohi for achievement. We called Monika and gave her the good news.

**** Wow… Aarohi is good. I can feel it, I am starting to feel that Aarohi is none other than our Geeta. The way she scored those 3 pointers I knew it. Only a S.A.I. trained athlete could perform that feat. But then why did she stop playing and why did the family start treating her so badly. Isn’t she their daughter. She could have brought a lot of glory to this family. But the way she is being treated, this family doesn’t deserve a girl like her. ****