18

Naina asked with tense eyes, "Say something."

Lalita put on sunglasses and said, "Let's bunk classes tomorrow and meet for coffee, alright? I'll let you know the place."

Naina said angrily, "Lalita, you're crazy. My life is in a mess, and you're worried about coffee."

Lalita smiled and said, " you can't handle what I want to say, then do what I say."

"Alright, but you have to confirm tomorrow for sure, or our friendship will be in danger."

"Threats? Were you a serial killer before?"

Naina controlled her anger and said, "You are so irritating...damn it."

Naina noticed that Teena looked quite sad, and Teena seemed to be lost in thought when she looked at some random boy, not knowing what to do. Just then, Aahan came to talk to Naina about the lines.

"These lines are a bit..."

Aahan was thinking why Naina was looking at Teena, Teena? It seemed like she was looking at the same boy she loved, Jay, Lalita's ex-boyfriend and the college rockstar.

Aahan went to Teena, and Naina noticed him. She was about to ask Aahan something, but Aahan went and hugged Teena.

"What are you doing here, babe?" Teena was shocked.

"What happened?"

Aahan said loudly so Jay could hear. Jay turned around, always carrying his guitar, with lots of tattoos on his hands. Jay looked at Aahan.

Jay thought to himself, "I didn't know there were some cute boys here too. What an adorable couple they are."

Upon hearing this, Naina left in anger, and Lalita followed after her.

Jay said to Teena, "Hi, I'm Jay. I need a couple for something, can you both come? Just normal dancing, and I'll sing on stage."

Teena showed no interest and said, "I'm Teena. Nah."

Teena thought to herself, "Who is this cartoon? Is he a human or a tattoo shop?"

Aahan held Teena's hand and said, "Yes, we love too. Of course, we are a couple."

Teena, controlling her anger, pushed Aahan aside and said, "Come on, I have something important to do."

Aahan gave a dirty look, took Teena's hand, and moved aside.

Jay said, "Enjoy, guys."

Jay took a deep breath and thought, "It's so hot."

When Meera came from the office, in the evening, she asked Aahan, "What was that?"

"Aahan, not here, mom will overhear, let's talk somewhere else."

Aahan and Meera sat in the garden outside the building, looking at the orange-colored sky.

"It looks so beautiful, Naina used to say... sorry, go on."

"If you love her so much, why did you break up, duffer?"

(Aahan's eyes were moist, but he didn't shed a tear) "Because she loves someone else."

"Wait, what? Naina cheated?" Meera said in shock, as if she couldn't believe it.

"So, we'll never talk about this again, I'm not going to tell who it is."

"Are you sure? Did you see any video? Did someone lie to you?"

"No, nobody told me anything."

Aahan stood up and left, then Naina was coming towards the garden. Aahan saw Naina, but Naina looked away. Naina's eyes showed anger, and there were thousands of questions in them. Then Naina looked at Meera. Meera was wearing a black suit, as if she was coming from a business meeting.

Naina asked Meera, "Are you feeling cold?"

Meera was speaking in confusion, as if she was thinking while speaking, "No, sit down. I talked to Aahan. Do you love someone else?"

Naina chuckled angrily, "He's cheating on my best friend, and he calls me a cheater."

"What? What's going on?"

Meera received a call from the office.

Meera said, "Yes, I'll call the client tomorrow. There shouldn't be any mistakes, it shouldn't repeat."

Naina was nervously shaking her right thigh. Meera put her hand on Naina's knees and said, "Relax, everything will be fine."

Tears welled up in Naina's eyes, "Nothing will be fine. Everything is getting messed up. Everything is happening because of me. I don't even know if I like Aahan or not because I miss his friendship more, and I like girls. How will I explain it to my parents, my mom? I'm crushing on my own boyfriend's sister. What does it mean? Am I a bad daughter, a bad girlfriend, a bad person? How fallen am I?"

Meera said very calmly, choosing her words carefully, "In love, it's not like multiple choice questions; it just happens. You like me, it's not your hand. Listen, whether you like Aahan or not, you'll know only when you realize if you're feeling attracted to him, like you felt a little with me."

"Meera, I'll talk to Aahan. I need to know why he's doing this. I don't love you.  I don't love you. I don't love you. got it? This is all temporary. He's the prince of my dreams, I know, I know I definitely like Aahan. There's nothing between us, you're a friend, he's, my boyfriend."

Meera received another call from the office, "Okay, I'm coming now."

Meera told Naina, "Do whatever your heart desires. Just don't be afraid, and don't bring those tears at all." (Meera said, wiping Naina's tears)

As Meera began to leave, Naina called out to her, saying, "Meera, I needed someone to lean on. Thanks for being there for me."

Meera gave a faint smile and then left.

Naina hugged her mom when she got home, and her mom said, "Sometimes bad marks come, but good ones will come too."

"Mom, you'll never hate me, right?"

Mom lightly tapped her head and said, "Are you pregnant?"

"That was a terrible joke!"

They both laughed.

"I've made pakoras for you, but they're cold now, and this time they're long white radish pakoras."

"I don't like radishes."

"Child! So what? Have you ever tried radish pakoras?"

Naina tasted them and said, "Yummm! They're good, Mom, wow, umma."

"See, different things aren't always bad, they just seem bad from a distance."

Naina hugged her mom, holding her hand, and they sat on the couch.

"You relax, I'll make pakoras. TADA!"

"No, you enjoy, you're still young. Should I call Meera? You two are always so happy together."

"Maaaaa, aap bhi na (in hindi)"

"Does she know how to cook? I heard she earns 4-5 lakhs, can she buy me a massage chair?"

"Mom, what are you saying? Have some shames, are you trying to bring a daughter-in-law? I don't have a brother." (said like she is small, cute baby cat)

Mom laughed.

"She's a good girl, if only you had a brother, she could've been my daughter-in-law."

"Her son will do, Aahan isn't bad."

"Aahan? He's good, but I like Meera more, a strong and independent woman. I wanted to work too, but I got married after MBA, and your father got a job abroad, so I stayed here alone. I did nothing in my life."

"Mom, you can still work."

"No, this age? you work now, I'll relax." (laughing)

Naina started frying pakoras and thought, "Mom has gone crazy, Meera is not like that at all, Aahan is better."

The next day, Naina and Aahan were meeting face to face. Naina grabbed Aahan's hand at the college gate.

"How long have you liked Teena?"

Teena and Jay were also coming from the gate, Jay and Teena stopped.

As soon as Aahan saw Jay, he said, "How are you, Jay?"

"Hi Aahan, come at 6 today for practice in room 231."

Jay said this and left.

Teena said angrily, "We talked about this, Aahan, why don't you understand? This can't happen."

Naina started thinking. "So, Aahan loves only her, not Teena."

Naina said, "Listen, Aahan, Lalita and I are going to the mall for coffee. Shall we invite everyone there? We haven't enjoyed together for a long time."

Aahan said in excited mood, "What a great idea! Meera and Jay will also come, everything will be fine then."

Teena and Naina said, "Whattttttt?"

Teena tapped Aahan's head and said, "Why would Jay duffer come? He's Lalita's ex, Lalita will shoot you if he comes."

Naina grabbed Teena's hand and said, "Let Aahan do what makes him happy. Being a good friend, it's my duty to take care of his happiness."

Teena thought, "What is Naina thinking? (3-4 second thinking) Aahan and Jay both love each other? and she's talking about getting them together. Is Aahan Gay? Damn, my head is spinning. I've been getting shocks for two days. If this is true, I'll also help Aahan. Aahan wanted to meet Jay using me as an excuse."

Teena said, "Let's plan a trip instead. Shall we go to the mall or to Matheran for 3-4 days? There'll be trekking."

Naina thought, "That much time should be enough, Teena will also fall in love with Aahan."

Aahan thought, "Now it'll be fun when Naina and Meera meet, BOOM BOOM. My sacrifice will be useful."

Naina, Teena, and Aahan are all smiling, thinking something together.