17 Chess pieces overturned (1/2)

At college

”Seb?.....Seb?.....SEB??? Are you listening?”, Erica yelled finally.

”Huh-uh....yes? I'm”, Seb replied distracted. She wasn't at all concentrating on what Erica was teaching her. Her mind was hovering around.

It was lost in thoughts,.....about the strange morning encounter. Seb never imagined that the place which she visited regularly would turn out to be the place where she was held captive, Iven's hideout base. And in her dreams she never thought that she would meet him again!

”Seb, what's wrong with you today?”, Erica was pissed.

”Say Eric...”, Seb said,”...are wishes so powerful that they are bound to come true??”, she asked, thinking how strong her subconscious wish can be which wasn't even worth taking seriously.

”What?”, Erica fell from space,”Are you out of your mind??”.

”No!”, Seb replied lost,”Just a mere thought, You know, they say”.

Erica took her time to understand well the absurd question. Seb has the habit of dropping a very deep but weird question once in a while which Erica has to research well to find the answer. Else until then, Seb will be totally spaced out. She replied, choosing her words carefully,”It depends, on how much your positivism is and how much you have belief and hope for your wish to come true”, the answer was twice as absurd as the question, but Erica didn't find anything better.

But Seb maybe was satisfied. ”I see”, she said and nodded,”Then....am I a very optimistic person?”

”I have no clue what's cooking in your head Seb”, Erica sighed,”But I think you won't pay any attention now. So look here, I've written all the necessary formulas. Mug them up and.....”.

Seb was half listening or not at all. She was still thinking of Iven and why did he let her go away so easily on their second sudden encounter? The duality of this man is unbelievable!!!

Morning 5:00

The alarm rang with full force. Seb turned it off and was about to get up when something struck her mind.

Why to go this early? She thought, 6:00 am will be just fine. I'll be able to sleep one more hour and also.....

At 6:00 am

Seb was up without any more lethargy at the decided time. She was little excited. The reason was herself unknown.

Was she getting interested in the person who treated her with so much cruelty? He's capable of doing it again. He's dangerous to be around. But then, why Seb wants to meet him again so bad?

Is it because of his charms, his looks, his way of expressing attitude? Not possible, Seb is immune to those stuffs. Then what?

Seb kept thinking these all when she exited her house. Somehow, she made herself turn out such a way, that she wished to see him again. Is he that unpredictable?

On the designated place, Ichi,Dwi,Trio,Tet and Pentan were already present. Seb knew that even Rikki will show up sooner or later, unless Iven didn't let the poor thing come at all!

Seb sighed and attended her dogs. They, on the other hand, were beaming with joy to see her as usual. At least they appreciate my presence, Seb smiled. But then, she saw something which lit up her smile.

Rikki was dashing towards her with her small limbs. But Iven wasn't nearby. Seb didn't bother. That guy seemed rather protective of Rikki. He's bound to appear sooner or later.

Rikki approached and stood helpless, unable to find any way to Seb due to the huge dogs who already surrounded her. She ran from one side to another. She woofed once in a light tone. All of the dogs turned around at once to check. In a moment they created space for her. Seb smiled at their change in conduct due to a female presence. Dwi bent once and licked her nose and Pentan poked her tail playfully once. They all acted differently towards the new member. They were treating her like protective brothers. Even Rikki enjoyed their company.

With a corner of her eye, Seb caught the presence she was expecting. He wasn't approaching but was standing near enough to be noticed, throwing glances. Probably, he didn't like the dogs which Seb had for company. Seb chuckled to herself once but pretended not to see.

Then after a while when she realized that Iven was losing patience, she looked at him and pretended to be surprised. Leaving the dogs on their own, she approached him unafraid. He had received his warning earlier that day. He won't try anything funny, Seb knew that well.

Clearly he felt annoyed when she approached him. His tched once.

”You're here again today???”, he had warned Seb not to cross paths again, so she was insulting her threat.

”So are you!”, Seb shot back.

-I have been coming here every single day.

-So do I.

-Don't lie!!! I've never seen you before.

-So have I.

”Will you stop that!!!”, Iven's voice was sour,”And please, keep your stray pets away from Rikki!!! She'll get infected”, he expressed disgust.s

”Did I force her to go and mess with them?”, Seb wasn't at all amused when her friends were called stray pests.

Iven didn't proceed further.