Arshi FF : Mujhse Pehli Si Mohabbat

Chapter 3

"Do you know who that guy is?" Khushi asked the girl beside her.

"Did you just ask me about a GUY? Is Khushi Gupta revoking her eternal sainthood to join the likes of us, sinners?"

"Shut up, Nidhi!"

"BTW, Who were you speaking of?" Asked Nidhi, scanning the room.

"That guy in the Brown kurta, speaking to the canteen manager."

"I see it Khushi. I get it. That's one fine dude worthy of forgoing your lifelong penance." replied Nidhi, spotting Arnav.

"Shut up, Nidhi; I was just asking. Can't a person be curious enough to ask who is who?" Khushi asked exasperatedly, shooting daggers at her friend.

"When was the last time you inquired about a boy? Forget that; when did you even raise your nose from your textbook to acknowledge the opposite sex?"

"You are insufferable."

"So, you don't want to know?" asked Nidhi, tongue in cheek.

"NO!" Khushi replied, faking anger.

"That's Arnav Malik. Student leader of the Left Wing. He is currently pursuing his PhD in Economics. Also, pretty famous around the campus, seen more in front of the administrative block 'protesting' than in his own department."

"Knew he was one of the liberals with that Kurta and awfully unkept beard." Said Khushi, eyes still on Arnav.

"Oh, please! Why, just because your dad's on the other side of the political aisle, you don't have to label them ugly."

"When did I say he was ugly?" Khushi asked incredulously.

"So, is he handsome?" quipped Nidhi.

"NO! SHUT UP! TALK NO MORE! I am off to class. BYE!"

Before Nidhi could conjure up another comeback, Khushi was already on her feet, sprinting towards the exit.

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Khushi

I remember aiming for the door, balancing my tea in one hand and my bag in another. And the next thing I knew, the ground slipped beneath my feet as I was stumbling forward. My heart raced, and I could feel the collective gasp of the people around me.

With a comically exaggerated yelp, I descended in what felt like slow motion, landing squarely on my bum with a resounding "thud."

I could feel the warmth of the recently spilt tea and with eyes still closed I prayed to my dearest goddess, begging her to grant me one tiny miracle: to ensure that the one person I didn't want to witness this epic humiliation stayed blissfully absent.

I opened my eyes to Arnav standing a foot away from me, careful to not step on the tea. With a mental eye roll to devimayya for her denied mercy, I attempted to stand. Nidhi took the empty cup from my trembling grasp and placed it on the nearby table as she helped me back on my feet, her expression apologetic, understanding the awkward spectacle I'd unwittingly created in front of the guy she'd playfully teased me about not too long ago.

I discreetly spared a glance at Arnav, who seemed poised to leap into action "if the need arose," attentively tracking my every move. The two idiots from the library stood right behind him.

Mumbling an almost incoherent, "I am ok," with Nidhi beside me, I dashed towards the door. This time hoping to make it out of the door unharmed.

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"Karma is real!" Aman said in a sing song voice. "Poor girl, that would hurt tomorrow!" The glee in his voice betraying the words.

Arnav who was watching Khushi walk away with her friend, turned to Aman, once the former was out of sight.

"Contain your mirth or you will be the next person to kiss the ground." Arnav spoke in his no-nonsense tone.

"I don't think I can beat the last performance," Aman replied, pure joy still evident in his voice.

"Idiot!" Arnav muttered as the trio left the canteen.

"That will be me!" Aman laughed.

"Bhai! A good man won't laugh at another's misery, watch your steps if you have really started believing in Karma drama." Azaan chimed in, adjusting his invisible halo and moral high ground back in place.

"Yeah, right. A gyaan from the nursery was what I needed today."

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Precap

"You Ok?" Arnav asked noticing that she was not blinking.

"Awesome," replied a dazed Khushi.

"Err.. Ok, Take care!"

"Do you have a girlfriend?" before she could think, process and stop herself, the words have already left her mouth.

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Love,

Dorothea