One Shift Too Far - Chapter Five

If you haven't read the fourth chapter, check it out here.

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The much-awaited team-building trip for the APAC team and the Europe team had finally arrived, two weeks after the catcalling incident. They had hired tents in a resort in a scenic hill station for Saturday afternoon to Sunday afternoon.

Anirudh and Sanvi had signed up for the trip as soon as they got wind of it. It offered a much-needed break from their routine. They would leave early on Saturday morning and return on Sunday evening. Naturally, Friday was the kind of day where productivity hovered somewhere between “I’m working” and “I’ve been staring at this spreadsheet for 20 minutes without doing a thing.”

Employees were working without actually working, regardless of the shift. And teabreak practically meant no more pretence. Even the strict employees, such as Mr. Verma, the manager, stopped trying to get them to work.

Ajay was seen with a large group of Europe and APAC team members, enthusiastically planning what rides to take and what games to play.

Just as Pranaya suggested a game of truth or dare, one of the interns enthusiastically cut in, holding a robotic mouse, “How about we prank people? Like this!”

And before anybody could stop him, he set the mouse! The rest of the group fell silent.

Everybody outside the group yelped and jumped out of the way. The mouse sthealthily made its way across the office floor, with the intern cackling and running after.

Anirudh stood by the balcony, arms stretched. Sanvi checked the slight bulge in his belly.

“I hate to say this, Ani, but Ajay was right this morning. Your belly is starting to show. But don’t worry, we can fix it!” Sanvi said, her head reaching up to his chest.

Anirudh groaned, “The last thing I want to be is…!”

But he never completed that sentence, for at that precise moment, the intern’s robotic mouse entered the balcony.

“AARGH!” Sanvi cried, pressing her face into Anirudh’s midchest.

Startled, Anirudh wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her closer. It was then that he noticed the mouse. And the intern. The intern grinned and collected his mouse without a word. Sanvi kept whimpering into Anirudh’s chest. Anirudh rubbed her back.

“It’s… just a robotic mouse.”

Sanvi’s neck went red. She lifted her head and glared daggers at the retreating intern’s back. The office was in a state of mild anarchy, and except for Mr. Verma, who had rushed out of his cabin in alarm, nobody had paid attention to her and Anirudh. She wondered if Mr. Verma would reprimand them, but he scoffed and went to investigate the source of the commotion. She realized that her hand still clutched Anirudh’s shirt, while his arms were still around her waist.

They quickly drifted apart, staring at each other in horror. Anirudh contemplated getting into the ground and vanishing. Sanvi’s cheeks were flaming as she tried to straighten her hair.

"Buckle up, guys. This is an office." Ms. Roya said, entering the floor.

“See you tomorrow morning, then?” Anirudh attempted casually.

“Yeah, punctuality is a must!” Sanvi attempted a feeble giggle and watched Anirudh move to his desk.

Even as Anirudh packed for the day and left, his eyes wandered and met Sanvi’s. They both froze - him midway through collecting his bag, and her midway through turning the pages of her file. Mr. Verma coughed impatiently, cutting the tension.

It had rained late on Friday night, resulting in damp streets on Saturday morning. Anirudh arrived early and met Ajay with a grin. Ajay had already kept a plan ready - snacks to eat, games to play, and rides to check out.

With a chuckle at Ajay’s retelling of the same plan, Anirudh looked away. Sanvi was approaching the building briskly, probably thinking she was late. Dressed in a simple white kurta with pastel embroidery, she radiated a quiet charm. As luck would have it, no sooner had she stepped on a loose carpet edge than it made its move, resulting in a sharp wobble.

Sanvi gasped, her arms flailing, tumbling over - but instead of meeting the cold, unforgiving floor, she fell straight into Anirudh’s arms.

Anirudh had rushed in the nick of time without pausing to think, ignoring Ajay’s plan to “sneak spicy chips into the lunches”.

Sanvi felt light, and Anirudh’s arms held her steady.

Sanvi’s hands clutched the front of Anirudh’s shirt, her breathing quick. Anirudh could feel the warmth of her skin. Their eyes locked — wide, startled, and far too close.

Neither spoke.

The world faded. All he could see was her. He wouldn’t know if even the entire day went by.

“Oi! The bus is leaving! Run before it’s too late!” Ajay’s voice cut through suddenly.

Mr. Verma, clad in his signature beige blazer, had made it his mission to supervise everything.

"Hurry up, people!" he barked, squinting at his clipboard.

Anirudh pulled Sanvi close, and the two split. Anirudh looked at Sanvi, “You okay?”

She nodded.

The bus hadn’t left, but was rapidly getting packed.

Soon, Ajay and Anirudh had found seats in the fifth row. Diagonal to Anirudh, Sanvi sat with a female colleague whom Anirudh knew only by sight. Right on cue, Verma seized the mic. "Good morning, team! This trip is not just a break. It’s an opportunity to reflect, bond, and embrace the core values of our company. Remember, a united team is an unstoppable force!"

A collective groan was barely masked by forced applause. Sanvi turned and quickly met Anirduh’s gaze.

"Oh no," Sanvi whispered. "He’s getting started."

"At least we have snacks," Anirudh quipped, leaning across and offering her a packet of chips.

While the rest of the bus chatted loudly, took selfies, played Anthakshari, and blasted music from the radio, Anirudh and Sanvi were sneaking glances at one another and smiling.

So much so that Ajay offered to exchange his window seat for the aisle seat where Sanvi was sitting.

Red in the face, Anirudh muttered something that sounded like, “No need,” but soon found Sanvi sitting beside him. Ajay settled himself next to that female colleague and dozed off peacefully. She didn’t look like she minded.

“Ajay…! You don’t even try! Oh, never mind!” Anirudh groaned.

Sanvi’s head dropped into Anirudh’s shoulder just then, as she began recounting her college days. The noise faded into the background.

Image from my drawings for representative purposes

“Tanvi, Anvi, and I - three childhood friends. Way into college! I still think of them, you know? I relocated here, Tanvi went abroad, and Anvi got married. This was ten years ago!” Sanvi sighed.

“Did you not try to call them or anything?” Anirudh asked.

Sanvi shook her head, “When Tanvi went abroad, she lost her contacts. As for Anvi, her in-laws are really strict, and somehow we drifted apart. Here, I have a photo.”

Sanvi took an old photograph of the trio. It was the backdrop of a lake. Sanvi was in the centre, her dark brown hair tied in a bun, sporting a rose top and waving at the camera. To her right, she pointed, was Anvi, with crisp brown hair loosely over her shoulders, in an orange top. She seemed the most mature of the lot. Sanvi then proceeded to the girl to her left in the photograph, a girl with dark, bushy hair, and a red top. Tanvi, the one who used to plan road trips spontaneously.

Anirudh wrapped an arm around Sanvi, letting her lean further into him and stare at the photograph. He looked over her head out into the passing buildings and vehicles. He imagined losing touch with Ajay, and immediately felt like his belly had dropped. He prayed softly that he and Ajay would forever remain close.

Soon, it was time! They’d arrived at the hill station resort. Sanvi hurriedly put the photograph back in her bag and got down after Anirudh.

Anirudh was excited to try out the slides first. To his pleasure, the water park was exactly the plan! Crystal-clear water, lazy river rides, and those long slides! Anirudh had turned back into the little boy he once was!

As Anirudh eagerly climbed one of the highest slides, he found someone already at the top.

“Uh… Sanvi?”

There she was — Sanvi — standing right at the edge of the platform, the breeze catching strands of her hair as she stretched her arms wide. She looked radiant, her laughter echoing above the water park’s chaotic screams.

“Anirudh!” She turned, her eyes bright. “Come on! Feel the fresh air! Look at those hills!”

She pointed to the lush expanse beyond the resort — swaying green fields under a clear blue sky. Her smile was infectious. For a moment, Anirudh forgot everything. The slide. The people below.

He hesitated. “Uh, sure?”

And before he could second-guess, he stepped forward.

Standing right behind her, he looked over her head. She leaned forward slightly, her arms still spread wide. The wind hit them both, cool and refreshing.

Anirudh exhaled, lifting his arms. “Wow. You’re right. The air’s amazing.”

All of a sudden, a shriek pierced the air.

“ROSE AND JACK??”

The booming voice was Ajay’s, who had spotted them from below.

“TITANIC PART TWO, EVERYONE!” Ajay roared, summoning the attention of half the water park. “LOOK! IT’S ROSE AND JACK! BUT CORPORATE!”

A collective wave of laughter erupted below. Lifeguards. Random tourists. Even the HR lady, who had conveniently appeared near the snack counter, was now holding her forehead in “Why me?” resignation.

“SANVI, DON’T LET GO!” Ajay howled. “ANIRUDH, HOLD HER LIKE YOUR JOB DEPENDS ON IT!”

Anirudh froze, but Sanvi burst into laughter, “Did he— Did he just—?”

“Oh, he did,” Anirudh groaned. “Of course, he did.”

But Ajay wasn’t done. Oh no.

“THE ICEBERG IS COMING! YOU KNOW WHAT TO DO!”

“AJAY!” Anirudh bellowed, but the damage had been done.

Phones. So many phones. Half the crowd was recording. The song, “My Heart Will Go On”, blasted from someone’s phone speaker.

Sanvi doubled over laughing, her hand clutching her stomach.

“I think we are going viral!” Anirudh said into his hands.

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Footnotes:

Chapter Four.

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To Be Continued in Chapter Six.

Written By Tharun Kumar S