My Ex - Crush

Episode 50

Arjun's POV:

"Arjun, have you checked the margins?" Jagan's voice broke through my focus.

"Yeah," I replied, scanning the final plot on my screen.

"Logo? Sheet number?" Jagan pressed, his voice edging on panic.

"Yes, bro," I said, rechecking all the GSen sheets. I wasn’t about to let anything slip; I knew how much this meant to him.

"Calm down, Jagan!" Chinmayi chimed in.

"No, I can't. This needs to be perfect," he insisted, his stress palpable.

"I'll recheck everything once the final data comes in," I said, trying to reassure him. GSen work was almost wrapped up, along with the other trophies, but the pressure still hung thick in the air. Ashok had been nitpicking every small detail, making us redo things more than once.

Vignesh dropped by sometimes at Jagan's house to give his input. The pressure to hold onto the GSen trophy felt heavier each day. Jagan kept repeating, "The GSen trophy should stay with us," as if saying it enough times would make it true.

I tried to push the weight off my shoulders, but it wasn’t easy. Except for Shalini and me, no one in our batch had any idea about the madness NASA brought every year. And I wasn’t just under stress because of the work—I was thinking of her. Deepika.

I smiled, remembering her words. Maybe we would be okay. Maybe after this chaotic period, I’d finally have time to see her again. Really see her.

"Stop daydreaming!" Chinmayi teased, snapping me back to the present.

She wasn’t wrong. I had been missing Deepika so much, it hurt. After that pointless fallout, she had accepted my apology, but something still felt off.

I couldn't shake the feeling that I'd messed up—big time. I shouldn’t have left her in the car parking that day. I promised Anusha I would help her, but I should’ve taken Deepika with me. Why didn’t I? I could’ve had her by my side instead of leaving her hanging like that.

I’d tried texting her countless times since then, but every time, my thumb froze. What if I crossed that line again? What if I embarrassed myself even more? God, I couldn't bear it if I pushed her further away.

"When does college start?" Jagan asked, jolting me again.

"Next week, Wednesday," I replied automatically. I’d been counting down the days to see Deepika again.

"Too eager to meet someone?" Chinmayi teased, raising an eyebrow.

I grinned. Yeah, too eager, but not for the reasons she thought.

"Anusha?" Jagan asked, smirking like it was some big inside joke.

I groaned inwardly. "No!" I shot back, shaking my head in frustration.

Why did everyone insist on pushing this stupid gossip about me and Anusha? I had done everything to shut it down, but it just wouldn’t die. Why was it so hard for people to understand that Anusha and I were just friends?

If they had to gossip, why couldn't they link me with Deepika instead? At least that would be closer to the truth.

"Did you pick your staff and classes?" Jagan asked, changing the subject.

"Yeah, I chose Sri Devi ma'am's class again. She was cool last semester and is supportive of NASA. She won’t give me a hard time for working with you guys."

"Cool, man. This semester is going to be your best! Rurals is awesome. No design project, no individual jury! Just pure fun," Jagan said, reminiscing about his experience.