IN LOVE WITH YOU [SLOW UPDATES]

14

NAINA'S POV

My eyes burned from staring at the laptop for a long time. I was going through my assignment on a loop to find any mistakes. The Professor would go hard on me and put up tough questions, but I had prepared thoroughly for tomorrow's assignment.

I practiced speaking some important lines in an impactful manner, pausing at some points, emphasizing on some words and using hand gestures to convey my statements further. I had not prepared this much for any assessment on any subject, but impressing Professor Carlson was a daunting task. The seniors had informed me I could get excellent research opportunities under Professors, so I shouldn't take these assessments lightly.

My mouth went dry after some time, and my voice turned croaky. I walked to the kitchen to get some water. The lights of the old refrigerator had stopped working, but it wasn't an issue. The problem was the small size of the kitchen, which suffocated me when I tried to cook something. I missed home, the food, the spices, everything.

A knock on the door disturbed my thoughts. I answered the door to find my landlady, waiting with a small tiffin box in her hand.

"Namaste, aunty!"

"I called you to have dinner with us. Why didn't you come? Always busy with studies!"

She handed me the tiffin box. My mouth watered as soon as I opened the box.

"You like Rajma Chawal, right?"

"Yes aunty. Thank you so much and I'm sorry I couldn't come. I have to prepare for a presentation tomorrow so.."

"It's okay, beta. But you should be there in the Janmashtami Puja tomorrow. We will go to the temple together."

"Yes aunty, I will be ready, promise," I said with a smile. I bid her goodbye and ran to the kitchen to get a spoon. I didn't need to burn my taste buds with my horrible food today.

***

"I'm thinking of getting highlights. Which color would look better? Auburn or Blondes? Or maybe any funky color like red or blue?" I asked, as I joined my friends in the cafeteria.

My presentation went great. I answered all the questions the Professor had asked me and impressed her with the research I had done for the topic. My smile beamed with triumph.

"Since when did you get interested in such girly things?" asked Seth.

"What? Even boys get their hair colored. Which world do you live in, Seth?"

"In the world of dorks," Lisa interrupted us.

Seth glared at Lisa.

"I mean, you look more like a studious girl with glasses, who isn't interested in such things like appearance, makeup, and all," Seth commented.

"What's with the stereotypes?"

"Can't blame him. Hollywood is nothing but stereotypes, especially the teen movies," Omer said.

"Still, haven't you talked to a girl, ever?" I asked.

"Well, I tried, but no girl wanted to talk to me in high school and most of my thoughts result from teen movies and porn," Seth replied.

"They are movies. How could you believe them?" I face palmed.

"But you don't look like a girly girl."

"Because, there is no such thing. I can love video games and makeup at the same time or I can hate cars and like Math at the same time. What category would you put me in?"