The Caffeine Fix

CHAPTER 26

“What's wrong? You seem worried….” Aiden asked worriedly.

“Uh, my friends must be worried about me. I have got plenty of missed calls. I think I should head out Aiden.”

Tyla got up and swayed a bit.

“But….,” Aiden was unsure.

“I am fine. Just a bit hungover. I should go home and sleep.”

“Of course, yeah, but will you be…..”

“Sure, sure….,” Tyla hurried out of his shop without waiting for him to finish.

Tyla decided to get a cab home. She got inside the cab and dialled Nancy's number.

“Hello? Tyla, where are you?!” Nancy did not even let Tyla say a “hello”.

“Gosh, I got calls from your friends. Where were you? Did you sneak out with some guy or something?”

“Okay, Nancy, calm down. I am fine. I…..felt a bit weird and I had to leave in the middle….I wanted to take a quiet stroll and my phone was on silent mode…..”

“How long have you been strolling for? Your friends called at 9:30 or 9:40….and it's almost 11:30 now….”

“Uh….I really couldn't keep track of time. Is it really that late? Argh, my head's still spinning…..argh….” Tyla tried to divert the conversation.

“Okay, fine, just reach safe. Are you coming now?”

“Yes, in the cab….”

“Okay….want me to keep some lime water ready for you? You had gotten drunk, hadn't you?”

“Oh yeah…..again, not sure how many of those cocktails I had…..please do.”

Tyla hesitated before dialling Cecille's number. She waited nervously for her to pick the call and as she did, Tyla could only let out a nervous “hello”.

“Hello? Tyla? Do you realize how worried all of us were? Where are you? We even called your roommate.”

“Ah, Cecille, I was feeling weird…..I had to leave.”

“Couldn't you have told any one of us or at least left a text?!”

“Oh, I was feeling faint Cecille…..argh….I am gonna call you later….,” Tyla quickly hung up.

‘Let's deal with that later.’

Tyla kept thinking about Aiden holding her and supporting her on the way to the shop. He was the one who looked out for her when she wasn't feeling well. 

‘That was really sweet of him…..Oh, I wish I didn't have to leave in such a haste…..this was a good chance to spend some time with him…..’

‘Uh-oh, I really am getting attracted towards him, aren't I? Not this again….’

Tyla slept throughout the way back.

Tyla slept till 12 in the afternoon the next day. Nancy had probably gone out. Tyla checked her phone and there was a text from Nancy saying,

“Going for a brunch with office pals. Let's go for a brunch tomorrow?”

“Sure….” She texted back.

“Oh-kay, what do I do today?” Tyla said while stretching her arms and suddenly she gazed upon the lavender plant kept by the window. She blushed as she imagined Aiden holding her tightly and supporting her.

‘Oh no, let's not do this…..I should probably…….well, what should I do? I am literally not in the mood to work on my paper today….’

She scrolled through Instagram and saw the familiar pictures and videos of the concert, there were also many reacts on the story that she had shared. Matt was also one of those who had reacted with a ‘heart’.

“Oh Matt…..been a while since I talked to him, huh….?”

Suddenly, she noticed that there was an unread message from Aiden.

“Tyla, did you reach home safe?”

Tyla felt butterflies in her stomach.

“Oh Aiden…….”

“Yes, sorry, I had slept….and thanks!” She texted back.

It was about half an hour and her text was still unseen.

‘What event is it at the campus today? Would he be there?’

Tyla read the event lineup for the fest carefully. There was a guest talk by a famous astrophysicist working at NASA, followed by a book launch and signing event by an author and some other activities.

“Hmm…..should I go and check these events out? I just hope I don't bump into someone else….I don't want to talk about yesterday. Well, either way, I don't have anything else to do, might as well be a part of the events….”

The campus was bustling with students. The crowd was quite contrasting to the one the previous night. Students were moving in and out of the auditorium with quiet murmurs. These were mostly students that she had not seen before, and she was relieved. Most of the seats in the auditorium were full but some were empty in the middle and back rows. Tyla sat on one of the empty chairs and listened to the talk, which appeared to be concluding. The speaker was a sophisticated gentle man who spoke in a confident and clear voice. After about 15-20 minutes the guest speaker began taking audience questions. Tyla had gotten engrossed in the interesting discussions between the audience and the speaker. After the talk, there was a break for an hour before the next event and the crowd slowly dispersed.

‘Hmmm….interesting…’ 

Tyla was pondering over the informative session as she got out of her row when suddenly a young girl who was coming from the other row bumped into her.

“Oh I am so sorry!” The girl spoke in a low voice.

Tyla was startled but looked at the girl carefully as she quickly went towards the exit of the auditorium. Her face seemed very familiar for some reason…..

Tyla didn't think much and slowly walked towards the exit. On the way, she met a classmate and they chatted while walking towards the exit. As she went out, she noticed the girl again. She talked to another girl and then left. Tyla kept staring at her as she walked.

Then she suddenly thought of Aiden. She checked her phone. There was still no text. Where was this guy? 

‘Should I go and check up on him in the shop? I hope it won't be weird after what happened yesterday…’