Conundrum 》ICT AU

-46-

"Have you decided what you're going to be for the Halloween party?" Shruti asked Simran as they were walking through the corridor.

"I don't know. What are you thinking?" She replied back. "It's not like I can do a couple's costume, I have no couple." She laughed.

"So back to being a boring nurse then?" She giggled, being pushed by Simran.

"You'll be a stellar grinch." She said laughing as Shruti stopped laughing and huffed.

-

"Shruti, this is Shreyas. Shreyas, this is the person who's going to help me inside the party." Meera introduced them to each other at Shreyas' house, Shreyas nodding at Shruti before turning back to his laptop, typing something.

"Helping you with what? Meera listen, I can't get into this more than I have, okay?" Shruti walked towards Meera, hoping to knock some sense into her.

"Look, you might be set on destroying everything but I have a life, okay? I really don't want to do this." She continued, not noticing Meera turning towards her.

"And you don't think I have a life?" Meera remarked, laughing coldly afterwards. "Get over yourself, Shruti. The day you spoke to me is the day you signed over yourself to me."

-

"For fucks sake." Shruti looked over the city, standing on the balcony holding a glass of vodka with coke. She knew it was too early to drink but if she was to survive this day, she had to survive it drunk.

"Too early, isn't it?" Shreyas walked in the balcony, holding his own glass. He walked to stand beside her, leaning on his front towards the open.

"Speak for yourself." She grinned. "Besides, it's evening somewhere."

"Spoken like a true drunkard." He smiled. "Cheers to our everlasting liver health."

"Cheers." They clinked their glasses and Shruti drank the contents of her glass in one glup, leaving Shreyas bewildered. She went back into the house and took another glass, then came back onto the balcony.

"Woah, you wouldn't want to fall down before the party starts." He smiled and pointed to the glass. "Maybe slow down a bit."

"That's the idea." She muttered. "I want to get so drunk I don't have to help Meera."

"Then why did she call you?" He asked, curiously. "I thought you were willingly participating in this."

"You might be." She snorted. "What do you say in Hindi - maine upne pair pe kulhadi maari hai."

"Huh." He grinned. "Cheers to that, then."

"Cheers, cheers." She grinned. "Unfortunately, I can't get too drunk, I've to still go back home, dress up for hell and come back. By the way, why are you helping her, knowingly?"

"She's my best friend." He smiled at her. "When she helped me through my problems, she did so without any complaints. It's only right I do this for her without any questions as well. One free pass."

"Huh." She muttered. "She's lucky then." She muttered and turned around to watch him as he moved inside, finishing his drink and keeping the glass on the table.

"She's real lucky." Shruti turned back around to face the city view, finishing her drink as quick as she finished the first. She kept the glass back on the table and moved out of the house, looking back at the house, dreading the coming evening.

-

"Anushka!" Shruti wobbled over to her, grinning wildly. In her other hand, she held a drink. She stumbled through the garden, the other person catching her as soon as she was about to take a fall.