Sweet

It was school time and past midday, Lakee and Karthik were spending their free lecture at their favorite spot. A quiet place at the boundary of the school, the side where forest touches the boundary.

Lakee resting on the boundary wall of the school and wondering in his thoughts,

"what to do, how to tell her, how, what to say and what not to, what if she yells at me, is I am good enough for her."

Lying straight on the wall. Lakee in anguish questions Karthik,

"can you atleast say something useful?"

Karthik sitting along the wall on the grass busy completing his homework, gives Lakee an advice in hope he might stop distracting him.

Karthik - "Man, just ask her out, and if she agrees, it certainly means there is some possibility for you and if she says no, you will save your time and heart not saying anything else to her."

"I mean man look at her, I don't mean to disappoint you, she's out of our league, she's senior and damn beautiful, also its her final year and exams are near, her future is on her mind, but I don't know man, what's the hassle, just ask her out and tell her everything you want and please leave me alone".

Lakee (to himself encouraging)- "he's probably right, if I try anything weird in school, its not gonna work, calling her out for a date seems a pretty working theory, lets hope she agrees.”

"hey, one last thing buddy, what do you think is the best idea to ask a girl like Sutopa for a date, not for a date actually, just to go out with a guy like me"

Karthik (irritated) - "slip a note into one of her notebooks, and write anything you want on it, mention the place and time."

“i like the idea, so its final then oh boy!!”

Karthik was finally feeling the peace he was looking for, out of nowhere a pat lands on his shoulder from high above sky. Coming down the wall Lakee interfered him again.

"tear me a paper please"- lakee to karthik with a grin.

Involuntary Karthik tears a page.

“i would die in a single day on this planet if you weren't there Jonathan Kent"- lakee thanking karthik

"now can i please do my work" - karthik requests lakee

"yeah!! Of course, just give me that pen of yours" lakee snatches the only pen karthik had and runs away with it.

"umm, its a saying "missed opportunities hurts the most", its your final year and i want to talk so, please nod your head to the guy standing at the door if you can come to Hashtag Cafe which is the first and closest cafe going back to your home from school this coming Sunday evening 7 pm."

He writes all of that on the slip. Now, he thinks to himself how to deliver the message. Then he started thinking who's worthy of the job. In an instant he got a name in his mind Kunal who was in the same standard in which Sutopa was and he also owed Lakee from the time when Lakee arranged him a pair of football shoes which Lakee borrowed from Karthik.

Lakee came out of that place and went straight to the football ground as he has noticed Kunal there a while ago.

Kunal was resting on a bench noticed Lakee waving his hand. Kunal remembered him and immediately went to him.

Lakee - “i need your help..."

Kunal - "whatever man, you ask it, i owe with my life"

Lakee - "i need you to give this to your classmate Sutopa without having a look into it"

Kunal - "wow, is this what i think it is....alright man you're the boss, consider it done"

Lakee - "lets go then"

"okay” replies Kunal. "you will come along?" asks Kunal. Lakee plainly declines. Kunal enters the classroom Lakee stands right there outside the classroom and through the crack he was able to see her sitting there looking into her book.

Sutopa was an attractive, highly energetic and enthusiastic girl. Yes it was correct she seemed different in ways nobody could ever explain. Kunal handed over the message to Sutopa. Now Lakee was seeing all through the crack, his heart was racing a race which had no end.

Sutopa looked at the slip and within a moment looked at Lakee standing out. Lakee couldn't deduce anything from her look whereas Sutopa without giving any second thought to the idea nodded her head. Lakee also nodded to her agreement to go out with her.

Lakee came back to his classroom where Karthik was being clutched in the fists of Mr Jaswant, looking at all this he immediately took u-turn and never returned for the day.

Now all his afternoon to evening Lakee had been surfing over the internet about how to dress and talk and behave on the first date of anybody's life.

Finally, the day arrived for which it seemed Lakee had been waiting all his life. A teenager wearing a tuxedo with a rose in his hand was already at the place 2 hours before.

It's 7 pm and to his amusement right when the minute arm ticked 12 Sutopa sat her feet in the cafe.

Sutopa was wearing a blue jeans, white t-shirt and blue denim jacket. As simple as it could be but still she looked gorgeous enough to make an actress shy. Lakee was thunderstruck with the mere look at her.

She looked for him and he waved his hand to guide her. Lakee in his thoughts,

"she came, oh my dear lord!!!!, time to be a man". As she came closer he stood up like a gentleman to greet her exactly like what he read on the internet. But to his surprise she didn't even noticed what he was trying to do.

"ahh!!! sit down junior time is less and I have a long bucket list, I have so many things on mind for tonight, starting with Wine, that too Red Wine." - she exploded. All the arrangements in Lakee's mind were going in vain. It was his dream date and he has prepared for it like his whole life depends on it, his dream girl was sitting in front of him but nothing felt like he intended.

"Wine?" - Lakee (hardly audible) but she heard it as if her senses were tuned up.

"Yes Wine, what you don't like it?" - Sutopa asked giving no attention him rather observing the cafe, and before Lakee could answer her question she spoke "nice spot, i give you that, i've been to this place quite a few times but from this side of it, it looks great, now look junior we better be quick after we're done here i want you to take me on a city tour" - Sutopa said that in high spirits.

Lakee buried the rose in the pocket which he had brought for her. He was not clear how to react to what she just said and to avoid the awkward moment he called for waiter. She was busy uploading the pictures of the café and herself and Lakee was staring at her, his days were flashing in his eyes. She was really different like everybody told. He tried talking “you know its my first date and ive always wanted to come with you”.

To which Sutopa replied – “yeah I can understand, its first date for me also, I got the chance for so many times but never have I ever wanted to go but this time its different with you, like you know I like doing crazy stuff and this date with you at this time and exams are near, I needed this, so thanks junior”.

And she interrupted by a voice – “yes sir, how may I help you?”

Lakee – “do you serve Wine?”

Waiter – “yes sir, we do we’re the only café in the town who does.”

Before Lakee could say anything else Sutopa spoke – “perfect, its Red Wine then and I want these fries” she pointed her finger towards a French Fries in the Menu, “Lakee, I promise you won’t regret eating them, I always have them everytime I am here”.

Lakee nods – “I thought you didn’t know my name”.

What Lakee just said grabbed Sutopa’s attention but before she could speak anything a beautiful glass of Merlot filled with bloody red Wine come flying in the air and landed on her wrist, the Merlot glass broke and peeled off a piece from her wrist. The Waiter stumbled and fell right before he could reach their table.

At first all of a sudden Sutopa and Lakee stood up and drifted away from the table. Lakee helped Waiter getting back to his feet and then he saw Sutopa, her reaction was rather strange than usual, stranger in a way any other person would have reacted. She looked terrified like she had committed a murder and she was staring at the wound. Lakee saw all this and then saw the wound, he thought as if she had already put a bandage on the wound, a black, wider than normal bandages like it was made up of carbon fiber.

Upon observing it closely he found that it was not any bandage or something, it was her inner skin, the inner part of the wound revealed by the wound, it was like the black part was the real skin and the outer skin was just a cover and the moment Lakee tried to console or look at her wound with more attention she took off from there in a hurry.

Sutopa is running in the streets trying get away from the people weeping in agony. She stopped at the end a lonely and dark street few blocks away from the Hashtag Café, she took out her phone and called her mother-

“mom he knows, mom he knows everything, I’m sorry mom he saw everything its all my mistake I didn’t listen to you, I didn’t take my medications today, mom I’m so afraid, he knows everything”

When she was about to tell her mom about the incident and she saw a silhouette of a man formed due to the street light above him at the end of the street, she stood silent while her mother was calling her on the phone, Sutopa didn’t notice as her eyes were fixed on the man, the man was holding a knife object in his hand Sutopa went numb, the man was getting closer and Sutopa couldn’t move, her phone fell on the ground.

When the shadowy figure was close enough she noticed he was in-fact Lakee who’s been chasing her from the café but to her surprise he was holding the broken glass of Merlot suddenly her feeling of little relief was over and she grew afraid of him.

Lakee raises the broken glass and Sutopa out of fear shuts her eyes but after a second she opens her eyes and what she sees stuns her Lakee is holding out his arm with a great wound on it. Exactly like the wound Sutopa suffered a few moments back.

Lakee – “we’re same Sutopa, I’m one of you and you’re one of us, I just want to know what are you told of our history at your place”

It took a while for Sutopa to get back her senses and finally she was relieved and happy to know that Lakee was also a Jupiter Refugee.

Then Sutopa tells him – “our Planet Jupiter was very similar to this planet but doomsday arrived and only few of us could escape the ill fate, we arrived here before the humans were evolved into early man and we arrived in the space ship which is beneath the Bermuda triangle waters and that is the reason behind the mystery of it....” and so on they continued their talks the whole night.

Lakee – “you’re so sweet”.