'I was the team captain for all municipal schools in the area, aunty. I have
personally chosen the bats,' Ish said with as much heart as Omi's dad said his
prayers.
'Please, mummy,' Harsh said and tugged at her saree. The tug connected to
aunty's purse, which opened and brought out two hundred-rupee notes.
Done. We had closed the deal of the day. The bat cost us a hundred and sixty,
so forty bucks profit, I exclaimed mentally.
'Goodbye, champ.' Ish waved to Harsh.
'I'll come to your shop on my happy birthday,' Chinu said.
'Yes! You are amazing, Ish,' I said and hi-fived everyone.
'The kid is a quick learner. If he practices, he will be good. Of course, his
mother will stuff him with studies the moment he reaches Class X. The only
stance he will take is to sit on a desk with his books,' Ish said.
'Don't be depressing, man,' I said. 'We made forty bucks on the bat and four on
the two balls. We are forty-four bucks in profit, sir.'
We sold some candy and two more balls in the next two hours. Our total profit
for the day was fifty bucks. We moved the bats and the ball baskets inside and
closed shop at 7.00 p.m., after the puja. To celebrate our opening we chose the
chana-bhatura stall. At four bucks a plate, I could expense it to the business.
'Do I get to take some money home? I really want to give mom my first salary,'
Omi said as he tucked in half a chili with his hot bhatura.
"Wait, this isn't real profit. This is contribution. We earn th< rent first and then
we will see.' I placed my empty plate back a the stall. 'Congrats guys, we are in
business.'
Three Months Later
'Eight thousand three, four and five hundred,' I said as I emptied the cashier's
box. 'This is our profit for the first three months after paying rent. Not bad, not
bad at all.'
I was super-pleased. Our shop had opened at an opportune< time. The
summer vacations had started and India had won the one-day series with South
Africa. Kids with lots of time and patriotism flocked to Team India Cricket Shop
the day they received their pocket money.
Some came even without money, if only to meet Ish and ge tips on cricket. I
didn't mind as it helped us pass the time. The dull aspect of opening a shop is
boredom. We opened from nine to seven, and even with twenty customers a day it
meant only around two customers an hour.
'So we get our share now?' Omi said excitedly.
I divided the money into four stacks. The first three stacks were fifteen
hundred rupees each - the money each of us could take home. The remaining
four thousand was to be retained in the business.
'What do you mean retained? What do we need to retain it for?' Ish questioned
even as Omi happily counted his notes.
'Ish, we need to keep a war chest in case we want to renovate the store. Don't
you want a better glass countertop? Or nice lighting?'
Ish shook his head.
'Sure we do. And ... I have expansion plans,' I said. 'What?'