Friendship Bites ǀ A Young Adult romance about love and friendship

By Aslam Rahaman

Aryan has slogged and given his best to be the top performer in his company that year. When he reaches office on that fateful morning, he is geared up for "the" good news. But instead, he is summoned to the nearby police station.
What mess has he landed in?
His stubborn attitude had put him in trouble back in college too. He was the best in everything, but the cost he paid for it was too high – he was dumped by his love Ananya, and his friendship with his true friend Javed suffered.
Did Ananya and Javed betray him?
Or, was he suffering because of his own flaws?
With the police chasing him, politicians pressurizing him, and his colleagues ghosting him, only a miracle can save Aryan.
Witness the perfect cocktail of friendship, love, passion, jealousy and revenge in this thrilling story. Because, sometimes, Friendship Bites!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Srishti Publishers
• Release date: Jul 10, 2023
• ISBN: 9789395192125

Book preview

Aslam rahaman

Srishti

Publishers & Distributors

Srishti Publishers & Distributors

A unit of AJR Publishing LLP

212A, Peacock Lane

Shahpur Jat, New Delhi – 110 049

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First published by

Srishti Publishers & Distributors in 2023

Copyright © Aslam Rahaman, 2023

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

This is a work of fiction. The characters, places, organisations and events described in this book are either a work of the author’s imagination or have been used fictitiously. Any resemblance to people, living or dead, places, events, communities or organisations is purely coincidental.

The author asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the Publishers.

Printed and bound in India

To all those sensitive youngsters

who have experienced

bites in love and friendship.

Acknowledgements

Mr. Jayanta Bose and Mr. Arup Bose, the publishers at Srishti Publishers and Distributors have my gratitude for publishing this novel. Their planning and organizational skills are simply ineffable. Their teamwork, leadership and business skills are beyond words. Mr. Jayanta Bose has guided me several times in the past as well; for selecting the genre for writing my novels, and he has helped me in getting this novel published under his esteemed banner. Mr. Arup Bose’s out-of-the box creative skills in thinking up new ideas for publication have ensured that my novel conforms with the ever-evolving and dynamic publishing industry.

I am grateful to Ms. Stuti Gupta, the chief editor at Srishti for being creative, critical and detail-oriented. She’s extremely knowledgeable in a broad range of topics and has great interpersonal, imaginative and language skills. Her copyediting has made the manuscript clear, correct, concise, comprehensible, credible and consistent.

I am obliged to Mr. Suhail Mathur, my literary agent, and his team at The Book Bakers literary agency for their advice, support and for standing by me, throughout the book’s life cycle. His experience, persistence, forbearance, connections and trustworthiness have helped a lot in shaping this novel. His strong sense of what the market will respond to, what’s unique in the marketplace and understanding of the publishing industry as a whole has reinforced me with greater self-confidence, assertiveness and professional awareness of the field.

I am thankful to all the readers who have read my previous novel and kept asking me when I would write my next. Their love and interest in my stories have kept me motivated to write my next novel. I will keep writing relatable, conflict and tension induced stories, amusing and persuading the readers, and satirizing the situations – the way I have been doing thus far.

I am indebted to my family and friends for always being with me and supporting me while I wrote this story. They are the kindest people I know and their endurance has kept me going throughout my life.

What the mess!

It was a dark and stormy night. The rain fell in torrents,

except at occasional intervals, when it was checked by a violent gust of wind, which swept up the streets. Aryan Shekhawat had done whatever he could so that he could alleviate his mood, but had failed miserably. He was trying hard to sleep, but his eyelids had refused to fulfill his wishes. He wanted to conquer the world and was addicted to success. It was hard for him to believe that he had failed. He was a dreamer and an achiever, and was ready to do anything for success. He was regarded as the best by his friends and peers. He flipped through the channels on the television to alleviate his frame of mind. He picked up the glass, took a sip of whisky and kept a pillow against the wall behind him in order to relax. 

Alas! Everything was going so well. Why did I do it? I should be kicked out of the company, Aryan shouted and threw the empty packet of cigarette that hit the wall opposite him and fell on the floor. 

The room was full of smoke, which toughened the job of the 40 watt tube light. He looked in the mirror opposite him and threw the cigarette butt at it. The butt hit the mirror and fell on the ground, leaving a grayish ash mark on it. He picked up the half-filled bottle of whisky from the floor, poured it in an empty glass and added water to fill it to the brim. He took a sip and kept the glass on the stool kept on the left side of the bed. He got out of bed, took out the mobile charger from his leather bag to charge his mobile and connected it to the charging station. 

Aryan was a Mechanical Engineer from International Institute of Technology, Jaipur and had studied management at the International Institute of Management, Bareilly. Full of immense energy and enthusiasm, Aryan was fair, tall and a handsome guy with great intelligence and problem-solving skills. He was born and brought up in a very poor family at Ajmer and earned his living by commuting devotees in a rented Omni van between Dhai Din ka Jhopara positioned on the lesser slopes of the Taragarh hill near the world-famous Khwaja Gharib Nawaz shrine and Taragarh,where the shrine of Hazrat Syed Hussain Shaheed is located. Dargah Sharif, the epitome and quintessence of Ajmer which has brought Ajmer in the glare of publicity, reverence and fame is a tomb dedicated to the renowned Sufi saint Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti. Dargah Sharif of Ajmer happens to be the second largest congregation of Muslims after Mecca.

Aryan had got selected in the Joint Entrance Examination and had gone on to study Mechanical Engineering in the renowned International Institute of Technology at Jaipur. He had qualified for a scholarship program due to which his fee was borne by the state government, while he taught tuitions to earn his living while studying engineering at Jaipur. He wanted to build a bright career in the corporate world, so after completing engineering, he appeared for the Joint Aptitude Test and got selected to study management studies in the renowned International Institute of Management at Bareilly. One of his old friends had given him a loan, so that he could pursue his studies and meet his regular expenses until he got a job and started earning. Aryan was able to return the money that he had borrowed from his friend within a year of getting a job.

He was working with TK Elevators Ltd, the multinational escalators and elevators manufacturing company head- quartered in Germany, as a Sales Manager at their Lucknow office. He had joined the company a year ago and had since then worked hard to enhance the sales volume and improve the revenues for the company at Lucknow. He had enhanced the sales of the lifts from 24 units per year to 42 units per year, and one month was still left for the company to do the annual financial closing. TK Elevators Ltd was amongst the world’s largest elevators manufacturing companies. He was a hard-working, result oriented and dedicated employee of the company. He had very quickly surpassed everyone in his group as far as career growth was concerned. He had over-achieved his annual targets, but was getting tough competition from his colleague, Pinaki, who took care of Kolkata, in terms of sales volume. Aryan had helped attain a growth of 75% in sales volume, while Pinaki had enhanced sales volume by 77%. 

The time for performance appraisal was approaching, and Aryan was determined to be at the zenith. He wanted to be the best. He called up Pinaki to understand if he had any sales query before the year-end and came to know that his hands were empty. He had already calculated that one more order before the year-end would be enough to propel him to the peak position. He would be amongst the top employees of the company, keeping in mind his widespread reputation. Now, his quest for being the best needed one more sales order from him. He contacted each and every resource he could; all the builders, building contractors, architects and even his friends in the building materials industry to bag a deal, but any tip-off needed minimum three to four months to be converted into a mature deal. He had a number of projects in hand, but they were in the pipeline for the next financial year. For his sales target, he needed a project that could get him an advance payment cheque before the month-end closing for it to be considered as a mature deal. 

It was a winter noon, and Aryan was standing at a tea stall in the famous Kapoorthala market near Sahara India’s corporate office in the sub-urban ambience of Aliganj. Aliganj is considered to be one of the most upmarket places to live in Lucknow and Kapoorthala market is the biggest market in Aliganj. The finest people of the area would hang around there. The place always had a fair-like atmosphere with the finest of girls roaming around. This was the charm factor that attracted the boys even from distant localities, especially teenagers, towards this market.  

He was sitting on his Hero Honda Passion motorbike, holding a glass of tea in one hand and a cigarette between his fingers when his mobile buzzed. He kept the glass of tea on the bench beside his bike, raised his hand to take a puff from the cigarette in his right hand and accepted the call, holding the mobile in his left hand.

Hullo!!! A shivering voice exclaimed.

How are you Ramu? Aryan asked. Ramu’s mobile number was already saved in Aryan’s phone book.

I am fine. I called you because I wanted to inform you that State Inter College has been granted funds for installation of an elevator in the old building. I was doing some repair work at the principal’s office and heard him speaking to someone over the phone, Ramu informed breathlessly.

Thanks a lot for the information. I’ll take you for a grand gala drinks party if I get the order! Aryan committed.

I don’t think anyone else is aware of it. Go and grab the opportunity! Best of luck! Saying this, Ramu disconnected the call.

Aryan thought for a while, took a deep puff from the cigarette that he was holding between his fingers before throwing it on the pavement, and kick-started his motorbike. He then drove towards Hazratganj in order to meet the principal of the State Inter College.

The gates of the college were closed, so he requested the guard to let him in. He handed over his business card along with a ten rupee note to the guard. The guard rushed to the Principal’s office to ask him if he was free and ready to meet Aryan. The guard returned with a grin on his face and opened the gates to allow Aryan to enter the college.

Aryan parked his bike in front of the Principal’s office, tied the knot of his tie and entered the office with an artificial smile. The Principal welcomed him and requested him to sit. He was nervous but confident of bagging the deal by hook or by crook. He had already crossed the initial barrier by managing to meet the decision maker in the very initial attempt. He looked at the Principal; a short and dark man in his fifties who was searching something among the scattered papers on his table and gestured at him to have the glass of water kept on the table. His office looked like a normal government office, with framed photographs of Mahatma Gandhi, Indira Gandhi and the then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh hanging on the wall behind his chair.

Tea or coffee? the Principal asked while peeping into the papers lying on his table.

I’ll just have a glass of water, sir. Aryan replied with a conjured smile on his face. The dimples cropping on his cheeks became more prominent.

How can I help you? asked the Principal.

Sir, I am from TK Elevators Ltd. We manufacture the best lifts in the world and provide the finest after-sales service prevalent in the industry, Aryan replied with a fabricated smile.

Who has sent you here? the Principal asked bluntly.

No one, Aryan replied instantly.

How do you know that we need a lift in this school? the Principal asked.

I had no clue. It was a cold call. I was passing by and thought of meeting you, Aryan replied instantly. He knew that such questions would be asked from him.

Do you think I am a fool? You must be half my age, the Principal grinned.

You can verify from the market that we manufacture the best-quality products along with world-class services, Aryan replied modestly.

Can you please help me with some estimate of expenses? The building has four floors, the Principal asked intriguingly.

It should be around ten lakh rupees, sir, Aryan replied instantly. He was already prepared with some rough calculations.

It’s too costly! Ricco Elevators has offered it for 8.5 lacs, the Principal said.

Sir, Ricco is a local company. How can you compare it with a multinational company like TK Elevators? We are an esteemed brand that enjoys a superb reputation and exceptional brand equity, Aryan said, trying to convince him.

"What will I