My Ex - Crush

Episode 41

Deepika's POV:

"Ugh, we might as well die of hunger!" Manoj groaned dramatically, clutching his stomach like he'd just survived a famine.

"Shush already!" Lavanya hissed, giving him her best death glare. "Sri Devi ma'am is already losing it because this trip has been a disaster. Don’t make it worse."

Meera, ever the optimist, tried to salvage the mood. "Let’s distract ourselves until Sanjay and Arjun come back. They’ll bring food, I’m sure."

"Yeah, let’s play something!" Joshitha chirped, clearly immune to the hunger pangs the rest of us were feeling.

I rolled my eyes. "No, no! I’m done with games," I muttered. The last thing I needed was more distractions— where was Arjun?

I glanced toward the entrance, hoping to see him and Sanjay walking in with food.

That’s when Vishal, always looking for an opportunity to cause chaos, lit up. "I know palm reading! I can tell your future!" he said, with a grin that clearly said, this is going to be ridiculous.

"Alright, Vishal, let’s see what doom awaits me," I said, sighing as I held out my hand.

Vishal took my hand like he was about to deliver some life-altering news, tracing the lines on my palm with all the seriousness of a fortune teller. "Hmm... bad news," he said, shaking his head dramatically. "You have terrible luck in love. In fact, you may not get married at all!"

I huffed. "Well, that’s no news," I muttered, pulling my hand back. My friends, of course, didn’t let that slide.

"Vishal, check again! I think she’s having a sudden spike in luck lately," Meera teased, raising her eyebrows.

Vishal grinned, clearly loving the attention. "Or, maybe you'll end up with someone totally unexpected, someone right under your nose," he said, giving a dramatic look around the group.

"Yeah, yeah, or maybe someone under my foot," I said sarcastically.

Lavanya, always ready to stir the pot, jumped in. "Oh, don’t lie. We all know what happened between you and you-know-who on the empty bus!"

I whirled on her, smacking her arm. "Nothing happened!" I muttered through clenched teeth, my cheeks heating up.

Why did she have to bring that up again? My mind was already replaying Arjun’s stupid smirk from earlier. Ugh, that infuriating boy.

Thank God no one actually saw what went down. But from the way they were giggling and glancing at each other, I was starting to think they knew more than they were letting on.

"Vishal, keep reading her palm," Lavanya urged, her smirk widening. "Tell us if she’ll survive this semester with all of us driving her crazy."

Vishal squinted at my palm again, putting on an exaggerated show. "Well, the palm says... you’re doomed to endure bad jokes, terrible trips, and no romance for the foreseeable future. But hey, at least you’ll make it back home alive!"

Joshitha couldn’t resist chiming in. "No romance? Yeah, Deepika’s beyond that. She’s on the next level."

I knocked on her head playfully, laughing despite myself. I couldn’t deny my love life was a mess—especially with Arjun always hovering in my mind, driving me nuts.

Speaking of Arjun... where was he?

It was starting to drizzle again, and I couldn’t help but wonder if they’d get caught in the rain. Or worse—what if they ran into some rowdy protesters?

Just as my thoughts started spiraling, I glanced toward the entrance again—and there he was, finally, walking in with Sanjay, carrying food. My heart skipped a beat. Arjun looked like a hero returning from battle, minus the sword, but plus the fried rice.