(A/N):
Drop a here that you find funny. Or reflects your mood.
Guys I hope you put more comnts and power stones... Which will encourage ...
....
Now that introductions were out of the way, Chris's cricket fan instincts took over completely.
The man had clearly been waiting for this opportunity.
He folded his arms.
Narrowed his eyes dramatically.
And pointed accusingly at Karuppu.
"I have a question."
Karuppu already knew where this was going as the oldman had already spoke about a certain cricketer.
"About Flintoff?"
"About Flintoff."
Chris nodded seriously.
"The cris you committed that night."
Emma imdiately covered her face seeing her father once again starting it.
"Oh no."
But Chris continued.
"How?"
"How did you play those shots?"
"Nobody has that much ti."
"The ball was already there."
"You moved."
"You changed position."
"And then sohow the ball disappeared."
Karuppu chuckled hearing the detailed description of his batting.
The question genuinely sounded like sothing a frustrated cricket fan from an opponent would ask.
He thought for a mont before answering.
Then smiled mischievously.
"It was a wizard thing."
There was complete silence.
"...."
"...."
"...."
Emma blinked caught off guard.
Chris blinked caught off guard.
Then both imdiately understood.
The Harry Potter reference landed perfectly.
Emma laughed first. A genuine laugh.
"-Haha!"
Not the polite celebrity laugh she usually gave during interviews.
anwhile Chris pointed at him.
"See?"
"I knew it."
"Dark magic."
"That's the only explanation."
Emma joined in imdiately.
"So."
She folded her arms as she looked at him with a smirk.
"Could it be I'm standing before the legendary dark wizard..."
She paused dramatically.
"...Flintoff Destroyer?"
Karuppu put a hand on his chest.
"That title sounds dangerous my lady."
"Please don't let newspapers hear it."
The three laughed again.
What surprised Emma most wasn't the jokes.
It was how normal the conversation felt.
There was no awkward celebrity worship.
No endless Harry Potter questions.
No desperate attempts to impress her.
Honestly, she had beco accustod to certain patterns whenever people recognized her since her childhood.
Most conversations started with.
"I loved Hermione."
Or:
"You are Hermione... Right?"
Or:
"Harry Potter changed my childhood."
Or:
"Can you sign sothing?"
Sotis even celebrities behaved exactly the sa way calling her by her charecter's na.
Yet Karuppu seed strangely relaxed.
Of course he clearly knew who she was.
She could see that.
But he wasn't treating her differently because of it.
Whenever the topic drifted toward Harry Potter, he naturally shifted it elsewhere after noticing she wasn't entirely comfortable discussing it again.
Instead they talked about South Africa, travel, cricket culture, movies, strange fan experiences, and even food.
Emma found herself enjoying the conversation more than expected.
This young man was oddly easy to talk to.
anwhile Chris Watson quietly observed everything.
As a father, he noticed things.
And right now he noticed sothing very obvious.
His daughter was genuinely interested in talking.
Not politely. Not professionally.
Actually interested.
And the young cricketer seed equally comfortable.
Chris looked between the two. Then made a decision.
"...."
Slowly backing away, he pointed two fingers toward his own eyes.
Then toward Karuppu.
A universal father signal.
I am watching you.
Karuppu imdiately understood.
"...."
He raised both hands innocently.
Chris nodded his head.
Good.
ssage delivered to the young man who his daughters seems to like to have a conversation with.
Then the older man walked off toward the patio area.
Leaving the younger pair alone.
The conversation continued.
Ti passed surprisingly quickly.
Eventually Karuppu checked the volleyball under his arm.
Then glanced toward the distant resort.
His teammates were probably wondering whether he had gotten lost, been kidnapped, or joined another team.
"I should probably go."
Emma's expression changed slightly.
Not disappointnt. But close. Seeing the conversation was ending shortly.
"Your friends waiting?"
"They'll probably send a search party soon."
Karuppu laughed hearing her question imagining Harbhajan's face.
"And Harbhajan might bla for losing to the ti."
That earned another laugh from her.
He took a few steps backward.
Then turned to leave.
Emma watched him walk toward the gate.
For a second she hesitated.
"...."
Then before she could overthink it—
"Wait."
Karuppu stopped hearing her And Turning around.
Emma absentmindedly tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.
"...."
A surprisingly nervous gesture. Then spoke.
"Would you like to co for dinner?"
The question surprised even her.
Karuppu paused for a second.
Genuinely caught off guard.
For a mont neither spoke.
"...."
"...."
Then a grin slowly appeared on his face.
-Grin!
"Sure."
"I'll co."
Then he added with complete seriousness:
"I've always wanted to taste food cooked by a witch."
Emma imdiately laughed.
"-Haha!!!"
A bright uncontrollable laugh.
"You really aren't letting that go, are you?"
"Never."
Karuppu replied with a serious tone imitating Snape.
Then after exchanging the details and ti, he finally started walking away with the volleyball tucked under his arm.
Emma watched him disappear through the gate.
Still smiling.
Then suddenly her smile faded.
A realization hit her. She froze.
Wait. Her eyes widened.
"When did I say I was cooking?"
Several seconds passed...
Then from the patio ca her father's voice.
Far too amused.
"Congratulations."
Emma groaned imdiately.
Because she had just accidentally volunteered herself for a dinner she hadn't even planned yet.
And sowhere down the beach, completely unaware of the chaos he had left behind,
Karuppu was jogging back toward the Mumbai Indians resort carrying a volleyball that had sohow led him to one of the most unexpected etings of his life.
As the night arrived...
Inside his room at the Mumbai Indians resort,
Karuppu stood before the mirror adjusting the collar of his black suit.
The room's warm lighting reflected off the polished mirror.
On the bed nearby his room key, mobile phone, wallet, and watch were neatly arranged.
After spending nearly twenty minutes deciding what to wear, he had finally settled on a black suit and coat.
Simple. Elegant.
Not overly formal. Not casual either.
Just enough for a dinner invitation.
After all, this wasn't a team event.
Nor was it a movie function. It was simply dinner.
Or at least that was what he kept telling to himself.
Karuppu adjusted the sleeves.
Looked at himself in the mirror.
Tilted his head.
Sothing felt wrong.
Not wrong exactly. Incomplete.
His eyes narrowed searching for it.
'What was missing?'
He checked the coat.
The shoes.
The watch.
Everything looked fine.
Yet sothing still felt absent.
Standing before the mirror, he crossed his arms thoughtfully.
Then his eyes wandered toward a decorative flower vase sitting on a side table.
The resort managent had placed fresh flowers there earlier in the day.
White.
Blue.
And a few bright red blossoms.
For a mont Karuppu stared at them.
Then slowly... A smile spread across his face.
"Aah."
"There you are."
The missing piece for the final preparation.
A few monts later he carefully selected one flower and adjusted it neatly into the coat pocket.
Looking at the result, he nodded approvingly.
-Nod!
"Perfect."
Just as he was preparing to leave, a sudden knock echoed through the room.
-Knock! -Knock!
-Knock!...
Karuppu paused hearing the knock on the door.
At this ti? Confused, he walked toward the door and opened it.
The mont it swung open, he saw three familiar faces standing before him.
Saurabh Tiwary.
Ajinkya Rahane.
Shikhar Dhawan.
All three stood outside.
And all three looked suspiciously dressed up.
Like they have been preparing for sothing.
Karuppu blinked looking at them confused.
"...."
"...."
"...."
The trio blinked back looking at him confused.
For several seconds nobody spoke.
Then Dhawan pointed at the suit.
"You knew?"
Karuppu froze internally thinking.
'Knew what?'
Could it be the trio had sohow sniffed his night plan.
Before he could ask, Saurabh answered excitedly.
"The managent just inford everyone."
"There's a party."
"A five-star hotel."
"Tonight."
Rahane nodded his head chewing the chewigum.
-Nod!
"Apparently the team needs relaxation before the final phase."
Dhawan grinned raising his eye brow.
-Grin!
"So get your shoes and co."
All three looked at him.
Then looked at his suit. Then looked at each other.
The conclusion ford instantly.
"He already knew."
"See?"
Dhawan pointed dramatically.
"He's ready before all of us."
Saurabh nodded his head.
-Nods!
"Managent favorite."
Rahane laughed quietly.
"-Haha!!!"
anwhile inside Karuppu's head, several gears suddenly started spinning at dangerous speed.
The team party.
Emma's dinner invitation.
The team party.
Emma's dinner invitation.
The team party.
Emma's dinner invitation.
Two trains rushing toward each other on the sa track.
His brain imdiately chose survival.
Without hesitation he placed a hand dramatically over his stomach.
His face changed.
The transformation was so convincing it would've impressed veteran actors.
A slight wince. A bit of discomfort.
Just enough pain. Not too much.
Perfect.
"Actually..."
The three players imdiately beca concerned.
"What happened?"
Karuppu sighed heavily.
-Sigh!
"Food poisoning."
Silence.
"...."
"...."
"...."
Dhawan's smile vanished.
Saurabh looked alard.
Rahane frowned seeing Karuppu holding his stomach.
"What?"
Karuppu nodded weakly.
"Severe."
Another pause.
Then he added extra details.
Because apparently he had chosen full commitnt.
"Been fighting for my life."
The three instantly looked horrified.
Saurabh stepped forward.
"Should we call doctor?"
"No."
Karuppu replied imdiately.
"Doctor already ca."
There had been no doctor.
But that wasn't important right now.
"I'm recovering."
"Slowly."
Rahane looked worried.
"You sure?"
Karuppu nodded solemnly.
"I don't think I can even look at food."
That statent alone should have won an award.
Because everyone present knew Karuppu's relationship with food.
Dhawan imdiately looked sympathetic.
"That's serious."
Very serious.
Any illness capable of making Karuppu avoid food clearly ranked near death itself.
The three exchanged looks.
"...."
"...."
"...."
Seems like Karuppu was about to miss the party.
Then Saurabh patted his shoulder.
"Rest. We'll tell the managent."
Rahane nodded his head and advised his junior.
"Get better."
Dhawan pointed dramatically.
"Don't die."
Karuppu saluted them.
"I'll try."
Satisfied, the three finally turned around and began walking down the corridor.
The mont they disappeared around the corner...
Karuppu quietly closed the door.
Locked it.
Waited.
Counted to ten.
Then imdiately straightened his posture.
The stomach pain vanished.
The suffering disappeared.
The dying patient returned to perfect health.
Opening the curtain slightly, he watched from the window as the trio left toward the elevators.
A few monts later their figures disappeared entirely.
Mission successful.
Karuppu let out a relieved sigh.
"Forgive , brothers."
"Sotis sacrifices must be made."
Grabbing his coat, he adjusted the flower one final ti.
Then checked the ti.
He was already running slightly late.
Outside, the South African night stretched beneath the stars.
And sowhere nearby, inside a rented beach house...
A certain young witch was probably waiting for her unexpected dinner guest.
With that thought, Karuppu finally left the room and headed toward the beach path leading to Emma Watson's beach house.
Completely unaware that if Saurabh, Rahane, and Dhawan ever discovered the truth behind his miraculous recovery from "food poisoning"...
His survival chances might beco considerably worse than facing Zeus again.
*******************************
(Author note:)
I hope you guys give your opinion and idea's.
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