Beyond the Beats

Chapter 39. Biased

I spent yesterday's whole night binge-watching some interesting web series and couldn't complete my assignments. Arushi was also busy in her phone, so she was not at all strict with me like her usual self.

Therefore as a result, since morning, I was completing my projects in the library, while Arushi was doing timepass on her phone. Akshay was lost somewhere and hadn't joined us yet.

Arushi couldn't help me as her wrists were aching due to making notes for me while managing her own studies. It had been two hours, and I was still not done.

"I need a break..." I whined.

I couldn't go to Urmila Aunty's house because of my college lectures, so I had informed her that I would come in the evening. She didn't mind as long as I did my work diligently.

"Aru, I am hungry," I said.

Arushi gave me her bag, and I stormed on her tiffin. I was saving my own for lunch. After burping, I continued doing my assignments.

After a few minutes, I heard a chair screech beside me, and a very familiar dinosaur scream landed in my ears.

"Ewww, Bhoomi, what the heck is this?" Kshitij made a disgusted face.

He had made himself comfortable beside me and was checking the project papers I had just written. I shot a quick glance at Arushi, and she was acting like she was busy on her phone, but her gaze kept shifting towards Kshitij.

KD shook his head at me, and I smirked in silence as he continued with his act of not noticing Arushi at all. Suddenly, he looked at her and kept a poker face.

"Hi, Arushi," he said in a plain tone.

Arushi squinted her eyes a bit. "Hello to you too, Kshitij."

KD nodded and started checking my notebooks. With every page he flipped, his face contorted more and more, and as if he saw something scandalous, he shut my notebook close.

"My eyes are hurting," he complained. "How are you able to pass with this handwriting, Bhoomi?"

I couldn't control myself and pinched his arm. "Don't judge me, okay? Not everyone is a smartass like you and Arushi."

Just as I said that, KD and Arushi looked at each other; it was very funny to see how my shy friend maintained eye contact while the social butterfly removed his gaze within a second.

"Why are you here?" I asked KD.

He elbowed me under the table. "I can't come to meet my friend?"

I slapped his knee. "Sure you can."

KD and I kept hitting each other under the table because he was totally sucking at acting unaffected by Arushi's presence. I signalled him that Arushi was staring at him non-stop, but the idiot thought that I was making faces at him.

I don't know what's going on inside Kshitij's head. Now that Arushi is right here, why won't he just talk to her? Is he afraid of scaring her away?

"Just talk to her, moron," I spoke through my teeth. "She is in a good mood today."

Kshitij mimicked me. "You sure?"

I nodded discreetly. After getting the confirmation, Kshitij stretched his act for some minutes before he addressed Arushi as if he was in some business meeting.

"I saw your recent book review, Arushi. It was amazing like you-" KD coughed. "I mean amazing like your daily posts."

He shot me a nervous glance, and I bit my lips as I witnessed Kshitij completely doing opposite of what he had planned.