In The Heartbreak Club, Teen Leads Rescue Mission For Missing Sister

Here's an excerpt from Novoneel Chakraborty's The Heartbreak Club

Kisha couldn’t focus on her studies that night. Anara had a girlfriend? Really? Kisha knew her sister had quite a reputation in school, in London, for changing boyfriends faster than she changed clothes. But then, who enters into a lifelong commitment at that age anyway? Infatuations were common as were relationships that lasted a few weeks before fizzling out. Anara was hardly the only one going through boyfriends one after the other. Now, after what Selena had told her, Kisha wondered if Anara was exploring her sexuality. She had every right to do so, of course, but Kisha still found it a bit hard to believe. The reason was that Anara would usually tell her sister everything. But this had never come up, not even as a hint. Could the physical distance between them, once Anara moved to India, have caused a rift in their closeness? Was this something she wanted to meet and discuss? Kisha had to know and the only way to do it seemed to be to meet Rajveer. A solid link to the Heartbreak Club and an actual person whose life had been affected by them.

The next day was Sunday. Kisha obtained the necessary permission required to step out of campus from her father. She requested Tavish to join her in her plan. Tavish, besides being her captain, was a good ally to have, but truth be told, she also wanted him along because she liked his company. 

These days, Kisha found herself thinking of Tavish a lot. Sometimes she would close her eyes and his face would swim in front of her. His jawline especially was her weakness. Then the boys’ locker scene which was a blush-trigger for her. Even while they spoke, she rarely managed to look at him straight. She didn’t know if he had noticed it or not, but her eyes would wander to his jaw and then his mouth. One glance at his jawline and she would start getting butterflies in her stomach. Even the idea of his presence was enough for her to start knitting several emotionally arousing situations in her mind featuring both of them. He wasn’t just a boy for her, but a spell.

Tavish was quick to agree to her plan to step out. ‘It’s Sunday and I’d do anything to avoid meeting my parents. So, let’s go. I’ll tell them I have extra classes and they shouldn’t visit, while I would mail the principal from my dad’s email id for a permission,’ he said. Together they left school. It hadn’t been difficult to trace Rajveer’s address. Tavish had messaged one of his seniors on Instagram, who had passed out a year after Rajveer’s batch. He, in turn, connected him to another boy who was a family friend of Rajveer’s. And so, the the address was secured. A bungalow near HUDA City Centre, in Gurugram.

A person’s house says a lot about him. And Rajveer’s house shouted to the world that he was from a supremely wealthy family. As Kisha and Tavish entered the hall of the huge bungalow, a couple of friendly golden retrievers ran up to them and sniffed around. Kisha petted them, reminded of Fluff, who she had left behind in London.

The boy who had shared Rajveer’s address had shared his number as well. Tavish had called Rajveer and let him know that he and Kisha were coming over to meet him. Mindful of his mental state he didn’t want to spring a surprise on him. Luckily, Rajveer had agreed to meet them. Yet, when he walked into the living area, Tavish and Kisha were taken aback. Though Rajveer was older than them, he looked like a school kid. He was frail and there was a jumpiness about him. He came and sat opposite them.
‘So, what’s this about?’
‘Hi Rajveer, this is Kisha. I’m Tavish. Her captain in Fairmont High.’
A smile touched Rajveer’s face. ‘Good old days.’

‘Rajveer, my sister Anara is missing for the past eight months. And I believe the Heartbreak Club is responsible,’ Kisha said, unable to stop herself. Rajveer’s face changed. Kisha realised she shouldn’t have thrown that name so early and bluntly in front of him. He looked troubled, as if he was in a lot of pain that he was trying to suppress.

‘Do you guys know anything about me?’ Rajveer asked. His tone was cold. Both Tavish and Kisha nodded.

‘Thought so. It’s good you came when my parents aren’t here or else they wouldn’t have let you meet me. You know, it’s been more than a year and I still have to visit the shrink once every week.’

There was silence. Kisha wasn’t sure how to direct the conversation back to Anara and the Heartbreak Club.

‘They wanted me to be a part of them. They’d offered me their black handshake, their initiation rite to enter the club. I don’t know who they were exactly. I had heard about the club in school but no one said anything much. All I knew was that they were a super secretive club. They used to communicate with me using classic book titles with highlighted texts.’

Kisha’s heart skipped a beat. This was exactly what was happening with her as well. It meant she was actually dealing with the club people.

Extracted with permission from The Heartbreak Club by Novoneel Chakraborty, published by Westland Books.