Blood Red Diamonds*: Natasha

We walked to the library together, silently. It was quite awkward for both of us as we had never done that before; we were never in good terms with each other. Reaching there, I said, “Let’s do some individual research. We’ll then share all the information we collect.” She nodded, and took one computer. I took the computer right opposite her.

The first thing I did was put my head in my hands. I needed a moment to process all of this. We were here to research on red diamonds; costing a fortune per carat. And my future of having a clean legal record and getting my dream job looked bleak at the moment. I saw the fire in Diya’s eyes. I signed up for this. I had to research now.

I opened Chrome, and went on Google, typed in Red Diamonds. I got a hundred results. I first read a bit about red diamonds on Wikipedia, and went on other sites for a better understanding. What I found made me regret my decision even more. There was evidence that could prove Diya was right. There was a robbery of a red diamond sometime back in the UK. The thief was caught, but the piece of diamond never recovered. It vanished from the face of the earth. The picture of that piece of diamond was there. I looked around to check if anyone was nearby, took my phone out and clicked a picture of the diamond. I looked for more news articles. All of them said the same thing. There was nothing new to add. The date, I noticed, was about two years back. So, if the school has this diamond, it has been hiding it for about two years.

Done with my research, I sat next to Diya, looking at what she was reading. Her eyes stuck on the screen, she was furiously reading an article, oblivious to the world around her. With the curiosity she was reading, I just hoped she had found something more than I had. I couldn’t read what she was reading. I waited for her to finish, which didn’t happen soon.

When she finished, she looked in front of her. I tapped her shoulder to indicate that I am sitting right beside her. She turned towards me with so much enthusiasm, that I was stunned for a moment. Diya doesn’t have any enthusiasm for anything but all things girly. “Okay, so what did you find?” I asked her, hoping that she found something that would make my brains rolling.

“It was stolen. Two years back.” She said with much enthusiasm.

I sighed. “I know that too, Diya. Anything you found that was out-of-ordinary? I need something that could throw light on the robbery, and any hint of where the diamond is located right now.”

“No. I didn’t read anything like that. I read a lot about that robbery.”

“What was that last article that you were reading?”

“Oh, THAT…that was about a fashion designer’s new design…” she said with a cheeky look.

I looked at her with an incredulous look. “Diya, you signed me up for this, and now you’re acting kiddish! That’s it! I am backing out!” I got up from the chair, and walked out of the library, and the plan, hopefully, to never return again.

I went for the next class, and even Diya joined it a bit later. She looked at me pleading all throughout, and I ignored her. But, this was something I couldn’t stop thinking about. It was difficult for me to concentrate in the classes, and it was difficult for me to sleep at night. What if the school really had it? What could we do with it? What if this was all illegal? It was just like a story; an adventure. I decided I’ll become a part of it again, however meek I sound in front of Diya.